From zero to a full class online in an afternoon
A short, honest checklist for getting your first StudentLabs class running before your next lesson.
Standing up a cloud lab sounds like an IT project. It does not have to be. If you can give an afternoon to it, you can have a whole class on their own machines by the end of the day. Here is the path, start to finish.
1. Connect your Azure
StudentLabs runs the machines in your own Azure subscription, so the first step is connecting one. If your institution already has Azure, this is a short job for whoever holds the keys. You choose the region, which decides where student data lives.
2. Pick or build your image
Choose a ready made image, Windows, Ubuntu or Kali, or bring your own ISO with your unit's tools already on it. Set how much power each machine needs. This becomes the template every student receives.
3. Set the class
Decide how many students, and let auto shutdown handle idle machines so nothing runs away over the weekend. The system builds a machine for each student, ready to go.
4. Share the link
Drop one link into your LMS or an email. Students open it, sign in with their school account, and land on their own machine in the browser. Nothing for them to install, nothing to register.
Before your first lesson, check:
- Your Azure region is the one you want student data in.
- The template has every tool the first task needs.
- Auto shutdown is on, so idle machines stop billing.
- The invite link is in the right spot in your unit.
That is the whole setup. No server room, no imaging trolley, no help desk queue on day one. Just a class, their machines, and a link.