Using Academy Content Template Creator

The Academy Content Template Creator is a step-by-step wizard that helps you create structured templates for your Academy content. This generator streamlines the process of creating learning paths, challenges, and certifications by collecting all necessary metadata and generating a ready-to-use template.

Getting Started 🔗

1. Access the Creator: Click on the “Create New Content” card in your Academy dashboard
2. Create Your Content: The wizard will guide you through 5 essential steps to create your content template

Since it’s straightforward, let’s walk through a practical example to demonstrate the process.

Example: Creating “Meshery Contributors Certification” 🔗

This example demonstrates how to use the Academy Content Template Creator to build a certification program for Meshery contributors. Each step shows what information to enter, followed by specific example values.

Step 1: Basic Information 🔗

• Type: Choose “Certification” from Learning Path, Challenge, or Certification
• Title: “Meshery Contributors Certification”
• Description: “A comprehensive certification program for developers looking to become active contributors to Meshery”

Step 2: Content Details 🔗

• Categories: “open-source, cloud-native”
• Add Tags: “meshery”, “kubernetes”, “golang”, “contribution”, “open-source”
• Banner Image: “images/meshery-contributors-banner.svg”

Step 3: Content Access 🔗

• Workspace: “Meshery Academy”
• Team: “Contributors Program”
• Access Status: Enabled
• Content Access End Date: Leave blank for permanent access (Meshery always welcomes contributors)

Understanding Access Status: Enabled vs Disabled

The Access Status setting in Step 3 controls the visibility and accessibility of your Academy content to users.

Enabled Status Behavior:

• Visible: Content appears in Academy catalogs and search results
• Accessible: Users with proper permissions can view and interact with the content
• Active: All features work normally (enrollment, progress tracking, badge awarding)
• Discoverable: Content shows up in filtered searches and category browsing

Disabled Status Behavior:

• Hidden: Content does not appear in public Academy catalogs
• Inaccessible: Users cannot access the content even with direct links
• Inactive: No progress tracking or badge awarding occurs
• Non-discoverable: Content is excluded from search results and browsing

For the Meshery Contributors Certification example:

If Enabled:

• Contributors can immediately find and enroll in the certification
• Progress tracking begins upon enrollment
• Badge is awarded upon successful completion
• Content appears in the Contributors Program workspace

If Disabled:

• Certification is hidden from the Contributors Program
• No new enrollments possible
• Existing progress is paused
• Content remains invisible until re-enabled

Step 4: Recognition 🔗

The Recognition step defines the badge or certificate awarded upon completion. You have two options:

• Use Existing Recognition: Choose from the Layer5 collection
• Create New Recognition: Design a custom badge with an image URL

For our example:

• Create a “Meshery Contributor” badge with the Meshery logo

Step 5: Generate Template 🔗

After clicking “Continue” in Step 4, a success notification appears in the bottom-right corner confirming your template has been created successfully.

Generated Template Output for Meshery Contributors Certification:

This template provides the YAML front matter metadata for static site generators (like Hugo/Jekyll). After copying it, we can directly create new content files in our Academy repository.

---
type: "certification"
title: "Meshery Contributors Certification"
description: "A comprehensive certification program for developers looking to become active contributors to Meshery"
weight: 1
banner: "images/meshery-contributors-banner.svg"
id: "unique-content-id"
level: "beginner"
---

Provide a brief summary of what learners will gain.
<!-- Add your Academy content here -->

Next Steps 🔗

After generating our template:

1. Copy the Template: Use the provided copy button to get your front matter
2. Create Your Content File: Paste the template into a new .md file in your academy repository
3. Add Your Content: Replace the placeholder comment with your actual learning material

Manage Invitation 🔗

Auto-Generated Invitations 🔗

Navigate to Identity → Invitations to find your automatically created invitation.

The first column labeled “INVITATION” contains a shareable link that you can copy.

What Can the Invitation Link Do for You? 🔗

The auto-generated invitation link is a powerful tool that helps instructors efficiently manage learner access and streamline the enrollment process.

1. Precise Team Access Control 🔗

Your invitation link provides targeted access management:

• Specific Team Access: Only members of your selected teams can access the content through this link
• Automatic Role Assignment: Users who accept the invitation automatically receive the “Academy Learner” role
• Organization Boundary Protection: Only users within your organization can use this invitation

2. Flexible Sharing and Distribution 🔗

Automated Email Distribution:

• The system automatically sends invitation emails to specified team members
• Emails include course descriptions and one-click access links
• Reduces your manual notification workload and ensures consistent messaging

Direct Sharing Options:

• Copy and send the invitation link directly to team members
• Share through collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Discord
• Embed the link in internal documentation, wikis, or learning portals

Customize Invitation Properties 🔗

Click the pencil icon to access the invitation customization form.

The invitation form contains eight properties. Three are automatically generated by the system for convenience, which you can modify according to your needs:

Auto-Generated Properties:

1. Name: Automatically formatted as “Academy Invitation for [your-content-name]” Example: “Academy Invitation for meshery-contributors-certification” (lowercase with dash)
2. Description: “Invitation to join organization [organization-name] for academy curricula [course-name]”
3. Roles: Defaults to “Academy Learner” - Learn more about Academy roles

Customizable Properties:

1. Emails - Invitation Email List 🔗

Configure who receives the invitation:

• Supported Formats:
  • Individual emails: test@domain.com
  • Domain-wide invitations: @domain.com (invites all users from that domain)
• Duplicate Handling: The system automatically merges duplicate entries
• Quantity Recommendations:
  • Small team invitations: 10-50 email addresses
  • Department-level invitations: 100-200 email addresses
  • Large organizations: Use domain wildcards like @company.com instead of listing individual emails

2. Expires At - Expiration Settings 🔗

Control when the invitation expires:

• Flexibility: Supports any time setting, extension, and recovery. Leave blank for permanent access
• What happens at expiration?
  • Expiration is only checked when users attempt to accept the invitation
  • If the expiration time has passed, users cannot proceed with the invitation
  • Expiration check compares server current time vs. set expiration time
• Can I modify expired invitations?
  • Yes, you can recover and extend expiration times by entering edit mode

3. Quota - Usage Limits 🔗

Set limits on how many users can accept the invitation:

• When quota is exceeded:
  • Operates on a first-accept, first-in basis
  • Users beyond the quota cannot join, even with a valid invitation link
• Recovery options:
  • If quota is reached, you can increase the quota to restore access
  • Admin console provides real-time usage monitoring

4. Teams - Team Assignment List 🔗

Specify which teams invited users will join:

• Team Selection: Choose from available teams via dropdown menu
• Multiple Teams: You can assign users to multiple teams
• No Teams Available: If your organization has no teams, create them first. Users will be added to all successfully configured teams

5. Status - Enabled/Disabled 🔗

Control invitation accessibility:

• Enabled: Invitation functions normally
• Disabled: If users open a disabled invitation link, they can choose to “Retry” or “Go to Dashboard”