As test professionals, we need to have the knowledge and hands-on experience of the tools and techniques used there. So it’s always a good idea to seize the opportunity to learn something new whenever you get the chance. In this post, I would like to introduce you to an online community that I’ve found highly useful for learning more about test automation.
Test Automation University (TAU) is an online education community with more than 100,000 enrolled students. It’s available at testautomationu.applitools.com.
.TAU offers 60+ free online courses on subjects related to test automation; languages, tools, and techniques. Students can choose to take single courses, or multiple courses within a predefined learning path (Web, API, Mobile, etc.). Courses are available for different programming languages such as Java, C#, Python, Ruby, and Swift.
As someone who spent a good number of hours and eventually completed all courses on the site, here are the things I appreciated the most:
- You have access to a collection of courses on a wide range of topics. Are you interested in learning about a certain tool such as JUnit, Selenium, or Cypress? Do you need guidance on a specific subject, such as how to set up automation for your REST APIs? Maybe your team is just starting out with test automation, and you want to pick up some useful tips for getting started. All of this, and more, can be found on TAU.
- Courses generally follow a similar pattern. First, the subject is introduced on a high level. What is it and what can you use it for? Next, you will typically be walked through the installation of software, as well as any configuration needed to start using it on your own machine. You will learn how to write and run your first test case. “Hey, I’ve got a crazy idea; let’s assert that it says ‘Hello World’ on the screen!” Once everything is up and running, you will gradually be introduced to more details and complexity. Your instructor will walk you through examples and explain how to accomplish different tasks. Personally, I find live coding to be the best approach since it lets you follow the instructor’s thought process step by step. At the end of the course, you will often get a few tips and a list of resources for self-study.
- Learning from experienced professionals. Course instructors have many hours of practical work experience with the tools and techniques they teach. And they tend to be very passionate about them as well. So whenever you take a TAU course, it almost feels like having a one-on-one presentation from a senior work colleague who knows all the ins and outs. Someone who can show you what will work and what traps to avoid. This is, without a doubt, very helpful.
- Earning credits and receiving certificates. Each lesson ends with a multiple-choice quiz, that will test your understanding and attention to what was presented. Completing a quiz will add credits to your total score. In addition, once you have completed all lessons, a certificate of course completion will be automatically generated for you.
TAU is managed by Applitools, a provider of a test automation platform for AI-based visual testing. Hence, it should not come as a big surprise that several courses devote a lesson to demonstrating visual testing using the Applitools service. If you take multiple classes, you may find this somewhat repetitive. Though I think it’s a rather small price to pay. After all, in hosting TAU, Applitools provide a valuable learning resource to the testing community. (And no, we are not affiliated with them. They provide an awesome learning facility, that’s all.)
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to visit Test Automation University and browse its list of courses. Who knows, it might be the first step to a new adventure in your career. So go ahead, have fun, and add another string to your test automation bow!