Free, Foundational Self-Paced Computer Practice Labs
Tech Learning Collective provides numerous free, self-paced practice labs that you can use to jump-start your learning before you ever join us at one of our events.
These labs are provided free of charge, and are always available, so feel free to take as long as you need to work through them. Our “Foundations” series of courses are designed to introduce you to the most important foundations of our material. We also offer several bite-sized modules of additional sample learning modules to show you some of what our longer in-person and online webinar workshops are like.
Of course, nothing can compare to learning directly from a teacher whom you can actually see and ask questions of in real time, but we hope that these self-paced learning modules will whet your appetite until your next (or first) class with us!
Foundations: Command Line Basics
Learn the basics of using a terminal or command line.
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Enchantment in the Command Line
This is a magic ritual developed for people who want to understand their computer better, and use it in a more fulfilling way. It is designed to enchant your computer (and you) through the use of the terminal.
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Commands versus Buttons
Understand the “command” paradigm as opposed to the “buttons” paradigm of using your computer.
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Grammar for Command-line Languages
Learn the basic rules of grammar common to almost all command-line languages.
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Foundations: Linux Journey
Learn the ways of Linux-fu, for free.
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Getting Started
What is Linux? Get started with choosing a distribution and installation.
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Command Line
Learn the fundamentals of the command line, navigating files, directories and more.
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Text-Fu
Learn basic text manipulation and navigation.
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Advanced Text-Fu
Navigate text like a Linux spider monkey with vim and emacs.
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User Management
Learn about user roles and management.
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File Permissions
Learn about permission levels and modifying permissions.
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Monitor Processes
Learn about the running processes on the system and how to monitor them.
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Software Distribution and Packages
Learn all about the dpkg, apt-get, rpm and yum package management tools.
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Devices
Learn about Linux devices and how they interact with the kernel and user space.
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Filesystems and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
Learn about the different types of filesystems, the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, disk partitioning, and more.
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System Boot Process
Learn about the stages of the Linux boot process and how the hardware startup systems work.
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The Linux Kernel
The most foundational part of a GNU/Linux system is the Linux kernel itself. Learn about how it works and how to configure it.
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Init Systems
Learn about the different Linux init systems: SysV, Upstart, and systemd.
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Process Utilization
Learn resource monitoring with top, load averages, iostat and more!
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System Logging
Learn about system logs and the /var/log directory.
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Network File Sharing
Learn about sharing files over a network using tools like scp, rsync, nfs, and more.
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Network Basics
Learn about networking basics and about the TCP/IP networking software stack.
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Subnetting
Learn about subnets and how to determine whether your computer is connected to the same logical network as another computer at a different IP address.
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Internetwork Routing
Learn how packets are routed across networks!
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Network Configuration
Learn how to configure your computper’s network interfaces, setting values like your IP address and looking up information such as neighboring computer addresses.
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Network Troubleshooting
Learn about common networking tools to help you diagnose and troubleshoot issues!
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Domain Name System (DNS)
Learn the basics of how the Domain Name System works and learn about the various tools available for diagnosing DNS issues.
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Sample Learning Modules
These sample modules provide a peek at some of what you’ll learn in our more in-depth, instructor-led training workshops or intensive courses.
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Scaling SSH Authentication with Certificates
Creating and using SSH certificates for host authentication.
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