This article outlines the in-course labs' learning experience and how learners can access the feature.
Please note: In-course labs and their companion workspaces are only available to learners enrolled in eligible subscriptions. You may see a prompt to upgrade your subscription when you click Start Practice on a lab. By completing the subscription upgrade, you’ll gain access to the lab workspace.
What are in-course labs?
In-course labs are hands-on learning experiences that allow learners to practice the technical skills they are learning in a course, directly within real-world environments.
In-course labs are comprised of three parts:
- Instructional video - A video from the course instructor that explains the activity learners will complete in the lab.
- Technical workspace environment - A real technical environment where learners complete the activity described in the instructional video.
- Lab tasks - Steps that the course instructor has created to help structure the lab activity.
- AI task review - For eligible courses, you can submit your task solutions to the Udemy AI Assistant to receive AI-guided feedback, helping you learn and improve your skills.
How to access in-course labs
In-course labs can be found within selected courses. To find courses that contain an in-course lab, navigate to the search bar, enter a course topic, and click on the “Labs” filter to find courses with an integrated lab. Learn more about searching for courses on Udemy.
Once enrolled in a course with an in-course lab, you can scroll through the “Course content” on the right side. Here, you will see a “Lab” tag on a specific lecture to indicate it has a lab. Select a lecture with the “Lab” tag to start an in-course lab.
Note: When you select a lab, you will navigate to the in-course lab-taking experience. You can exit the lab to return to the course and proceed with other lectures in the course.
How to use in-course labs
Starting an in-course lab
To start an in-course lab, select a lecture tagged with “Lab” in the Course content.
Selecting a lecture tagged with “Lab” will navigate you to the lab experience.
In this experience, you will begin by watching a video lecture that introduces the lab. While the video plays, the technical workspace is loading in the background, so it’s ready when it’s time to start the lab.
Using timestamps
As you’re watching the instructional video, you’ll encounter timestamps that pause the video and prompt you to start practicing. These timestamps are added by the course instructor and align with specific lab tasks the instructor wants you to complete.
After selecting “Start Practice” on a timestamp, you are taken to the Practice section of the activity, where the workspace environment and task automatically open, ready for you to begin practicing.
Using the workspace
In the practice section of the activity, you have access to a technical workspace. Since this workspace is selected and preconfigured by the instructor specifically for your lab activity, the workspace may vary depending on the lab activity.
Each workspace has a 60-minute timer to complete the lab. When the timer ends, the workspace will close, and any work from that session won’t be saved. You can restart the workspace at any time to continue the lab, but it will open as a fresh workspace, and you’ll need to begin again from the first step.
Accessing tasks
Tasks are step-by-step instructions that guide learners through the lab. You can access lab tasks in two ways.
- The first method is to select a timestamp while watching the video instructions. Each timestamp links to a specific task and opens that task in the Practice section.
- The second way is to use the navigation menu in the top-right corner. This menu lists all available tasks and can be accessed from either the video or Practice section.
Tasks include four main parts:
1. Task title - A title for the task you are completing
2. Link to video - A direct link to the video timestamp for the task you are working on
3. Lab assets - Downloadable resources or code snippets you can use to help complete the task
4. Mark task as done - An indicator you can use to mark tasks as complete and move on to your next task
5. Submit for review - If available for the lab, submit your task solution for AI review to receive feedback before moving on to the next task.
After you click Submit for review, the Udemy AI Assistant will check your work.
If you completed the lab without any errors, you’ll receive a success message.
If there are errors in the completed task, you’ll receive a message with details. You can then resubmit your task or ask the Udemy AI Assistant further questions.
Using the AI Assistant while taking in-course labs
While taking an in-course lab, you can use the Udemy AI Assistant to ask questions about the lab and for additional guidance regarding its technical concepts. You can access the AI Assistant tab from the top right of the course player.
Completing the lab
A lab is complete when all tasks for that lab are marked as complete.
When all tasks are marked complete you will see a completion screen. On this screen, you can choose to continue working in the lab, or you can exit the lab and move on to the next lecture. When you exit the lab, you’ll return to the course to continue with the next lecture.
Lab views
In-course labs have three views to help you work through the lab activities in the way that best fits your learning style:
1. Full-screen video, or the “Watch” tab. This is the view you will start each lab with, and allows you to watch the lab instructions in full screen
2. Full-screen workspace, or the “Practice” tab. This view provides full focus to the workspace and allows you to fully immerse yourself in the technical work at hand.
3. Split screen. This view allows you to watch the instructional video and access the workspace environment at the same time.
In this split-screen view, you can use the split in the middle of the panels to change the panel size of the video or workspace.
Navigating back to the course
There are three ways to navigate back to the course from an in-course lab.
Note: If you leave an in-course lab before finishing, the workspace will close and any work from that session won’t be saved. When you return, you can restart the lab in a fresh workspace from the beginning.
1. If you click the “X” button on the top left of the screen, you will be prompted to exit the lab and return to the course.
2. If you click the “Next lecture arrow” on the top left of the screen, you will be prompted to exit the lab and move on to the next lecture in the course.
3. If you click on the “Next lecture” button on the Lab Completion screen, you will also be prompted to exit the lab and move on to the next lecture in the course.
Note for Safari users
Udemy labs run in an environment isolated from udemy.com. You will need to allow third-party cookies in your browser settings to use the preview browser in these labs.
You can change these settings in Safari -> Preferences -> Privacy. Be sure you are using the latest version of Safari and that the checkbox below is unselected: