As the demand for AI skills is on the rise, educational institutions worldwide have found themselves at the epicentre of an unplanned transformation, with educators often left to figure it out all alone, unsure of where to start or the right tools to implement. Even if one signs up for an AI tool, the task of running hands-on AI courses is more complex than ever, with faculty facing an exhausting to-do list, setting up labs, preparing content, managing software downloads, rising platform costs, and dealing with clouds of technical issues, as courses scale.
If you’re a professor already stretched to your limits, it’s little comfort knowing your peers across departments or continents are feeling the same strain. They are also looking for a better hands-on platform to guide them through a seamless AI course delivery process. CloudLabs, for almost a decade, has been helping leading institutions all over the world in developing AI-curriculum aligned hands-on courses, for their global campuses. Institutes trust us with end-to-end managed, customizable, hands-on labs based on the cloud, featuring inbuilt lab guides, practice tests, and smart controls for the educators in charge. Continue with your reading task to discover the best of CloudLabs’ role in simplifying AI course design, delivery, and teaching.
Challenges of AI Course Delivery
Ask any professor, teaching advanced technology doesn’t just demand subject matter expertise; it requires you to moonlight as a part-time systems admin and IT troubleshooter. Common frustrations include:
- Unreliable Access to Tools: Whether it’s GPU-enabled environments, data science libraries, or auto-grading frameworks, students waste hours troubleshooting installations on their own machines. And professors, beyond the syllabus, have to make sure the system is running well, to be precise, it’s functional during teaching hours.
- Poorly Structured Lab Environments: Even when virtual labs are available, they often lack consistency. Educators end up working in mismatched environments, making collaboration and grading unnecessarily difficult.
- Costs Spiralling Out of Control: Juggling cloud credits, local licenses, and various hardware can quickly blow through departmental budgets. Many platforms don’t offer fine-grained controls for professors to monitor usage, leading to surprise bills each semester, hardly ideal when every dollar is scrutinized.
- Lack of Scalability and Standardization: 78% of educators cite limited computing resources as a significant barrier to delivering hands-on AI labs. What works for a class of 20 collapses under the stress of 100, especially if the solution isn’t robust, repeatable, or easy to reset.
- The Burden on Educators: Professors and course designers are left to stitch together scattered tools, document messy workarounds, and provide 24/7 support, pulling them away from the central mission: teaching. Professors spend up to 30% of course hours managing lab environments rather than teaching content.
CloudLabs Simplifying AI Course Design, Delivery & Teaching Experience
Imagine a platform purpose-built for your classroom, not just a developer’s playground repurposed. CloudLabs, for almost a decade, has been trusted by leading institutes, taking care of all the heavy lifting, guiding professors through the best course plans on their journey to implement AI in education. Here is a list of everything available with CloudLabs:
- Pre-built, Browser-Based Labs: Our pre-configured labs are hands-on, fully managed, and most importantly, available over any browser of choice, with zero software dependency ensured. Experienced support experts at CloudLabs provide 24/7 assistance, resolving lab-related technical issues in real-time.
- Labs Aligned with Your Course: CloudLabs managed labs are mapped according to common learning outcomes and unique requirements: Getting Started with Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900), Automated Machine learning using AML, Innovate with AI, Azure OpenAI, and Form Recognizer BPA accelerator, etc. New labs are added every month. You can always reach out to the CloudLabs team to share custom lab requests.
- Inbuilt Advanced Controls: Monitor and shadow students’ VMs as an instructor. Resolve issues and share feedback in real-time. Lab guides are thoroughly tested and updated, while practice tests ensure a seamless, exam-ready experience. Smart leaderboards further enhance engagement by encouraging healthy competition in the classroom.
- Usage Limits & Scheduled VM Shutdowns: Keep costs predictable by setting GPU hours per student or by scheduling automatic shutdowns on idle labs. No more running labs left open overnight, blowing up your department’s cloud bill.
- Instructor Dashboards for Monitoring Progress: Get live insights into each student’s engagement. See who’s started labs, track completion, and identify slow learners before assessment panic hits. Export data when needed.
- Multi-Region Support for Hybrid & Global Classrooms: Teaching a global cohort or collaborating across campuses? CloudLabs deploys environments close to your students, reducing latency and ensuring everyone gets a responsive, glitch-free experience.
AI Labs supported by CloudLabs
| Category | Course/Lab Name |
|---|---|
| Introductory Courses | Getting Started with Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) Get Started with OpenAI and Build Natural Language Solution Build Prompt Engineering with Azure OpenAI Service Use Your Own Data and Explore Content Filter with Azure OpenAI Services Getting Started with Azure Cognitive Services Automated Machine learning using AML |
| Azure Depth Workshops | Innovate with AI Use Azure OpenAI like a Pro to build powerful AI Applications Empower Knowledge Workers using Azure OpenAI with MS Teams and Azure Bot Service Develop Generative AI solutions with Azure OpenAI Service Azure OpenAI and Form Recognizer BPA accelerator |
| Guided Sandbox Environment | Innovate with Azure OpenAI |
| Challenge-Based-Labs | Activate GenAI with Azure Introduction to Building AI Apps Intelligent App Development with Microsoft Copilot Stack |
CloudLabs Role in AI Education
Wayne Community College Delivered an Impactful Learning Experience in Artificial Intelligence with the Help of CloudLabs’ AI-900 Labs
Wayne Community College, as a public community college, offers 70+ credit programs. Annually, serving 14,000+ curriculums, including Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, IT Business support, and many more Cloud Technology programs. Affiliated with the North Carolina Community College System, it plays a vital role in the state’s educational landscape.
The Challenge
Wayne Community College, as part of its CSC 215 – Machine Learning II program, wanted to teach students to use Azure ML services and take the AI-900 exam to get certified.
- The college required comprehensive instructional materials to guide students through each lab task.
- Access to Microsoft’s Azure for Students offered free starter subscriptions but imposed limitations on resource accessibility. The college was looking for a solution to the same.
- Consequently, faculty members would have to dedicate substantial time to developing their own resources and were looking for a reliable guide.
Solution by CloudLabs
CloudLabs supported Wayne Community College with end-to-end managed hands-on labs and ensured a seamless course delivery process, catering to the exact requirements.
- Our pre-built AI-900 labs required no additional setup, ensuring instant deployment for instructors and effortless access for students.
- Further, we ensured access to all necessary resources without concern for depleting free cloud credits. Everything came encompassed within a fixed budget, eliminating unforeseen expenses.
- Detailed lab guides with step-by-step instructions helped students with a seamless learning experience.
- CloudLabs’ smart lab validation feature helped with successful lab completion and identification of areas for improvement.
To know more – Download the case study
Your Next Steps as an AI Educator
If you’re tired of rebuilding your tech stack every semester and just want to solely focus on teaching, here’s how to get started with CloudLabs:
- Connect with Us: Learn more about the platform’s capabilities and get answers to your technical questions from our specialists.
- Match Labs to Your Course: Choose from a library of “plug-and-play” AI labs, or work with CloudLabs’ instructional design team to adapt to your curriculum.
- Customize Access: Control who gets which labs, set usage limits, and deploy to classes or research groups with just a few clicks.
- Monitor and Iterate: Use our Power BI-backed reports to track progress, monitor budgets, and export analytics for deeper insight into your course effectiveness.
You Teach. We Simplify.
Time is your most precious resource as a professor. Every hour spent diagnosing a malfunctioning lab, answering tech support tickets, or untangling infrastructure billing is an hour lost from what matters: guiding the next generation of AI talent. CloudLabs exists so you can teach more, troubleshoot less, and never compromise on the quality of your instruction.
Ready to leave the lab chaos behind?
Amit Malik is the COO at Spektra Systems, known for his expertise in Microsoft Cloud and digital transformation. He drives strategic planning and operational initiatives, reshaping the cloud landscape to deliver superior business outcomes. He is a recognized thought leader and speaker on Cloud, AI, and IoT, and holds a position among the Leaders Excellence at Harvard Square.
