Changelog

April 3rd, 2024 - Introducing Learning Bytes 🧠

Happy April! We're excited to announce a new learning format on Astronomer Academy: Learning Bytes.

Learning Bytes are short-form (less than 10 minutes) modules that provide an overview of key Astro or Airflow features. They provide a brief run-through of the topic broadly as well as a demo of a use-case of the feature.

In our first release, we cover new Astro features that were released as part of the Astronomer Q1 release. More specifically, we go through the Reporting, Custom Deployment Roles, and Customer Managed Workload Identity Astro platform features. All Learning Bytes can be found by visiting the All Modules page and filtering by Learning Bytes on the left hand side.

We expect to leverage this format this year and in the future to make learning more accessible for learners looking for a quick way to pick up knowledge about Astro or Airflow. We hope you will check them out and we are looking forward to hearing your feedback!

March 11th, 2024 - Updates to Our Airflow 101 Learning Path 🎉

Great news! We're updating the Airflow 101 Learning Path. In this first major update to the path, we are making improvements to the first three modules in the path to help decrease the steep learning curve of getting started with Apache Airflow and keep up with the changes that have happened to Airflow since the original release of the Learning Path.

Why?

Back in late 2022, we released our Airflow 101 Learning Path. Since then, we have seen Apache Airflow evolve substantially. To keep up with the new features of Airflow and the feedback we have collected from Astronomer Academy learners, we are taking the first step to provide the best possible learning experience for individuals new to Airflow.

What are the specific changes?

While the core of the Learning Path remains the same, we’ve taken some time to update and restructure the first three modules. The specific changes are as follows:

1. Two new modules have been added to the path and replace the Airflow: Concepts module currently in the Learning Path. The following modules have been added:
   
   
   • Introduction to Orchestration and Airflow: This new module will provide a comprehensive understanding of the history and significance of data orchestration and introduce Airflow as a data orchestrator. This will help technical and non-technical learners grasp what Airflow is and why it is useful.
   • Airflow Basics: This new module closely represents the current Airflow: Concepts module but with some improvements. Specifically, we have shortened the module by focusing only on the basics, such as Airflow core components, how Airflow runs a DAG, and the components of a DAG file.
     
     
2. We’ve improved the following modules:
   
   
   • Local Development Environment:
     • We have added a new lesson showing the different ways of running Airflow.
     • We’ve shortened the module quite drastically to focus only on the essentials for getting your Airflow local environment up and ready.
     • We’ve added a new lesson for installing and setting up the Astro CLI with Windows.
     • We’ve added a new lesson for configuring Airflow with VSCode.
     • We removed the lesson about configuring Airflow with PyCharm, as we saw learners lean towards using VSCode. We still have an available resource about setting up PyCharm on our documentation site.
       
       
3. Improvements to the overall path:
   
   
   • The path used to start with the Local Development Environment, followed by Airflow Concepts Modules. With the update, the path  will be ordered as follows:
     1. Introduction to Orchestration & Airflow
     2. Airflow Basics
     3. Local Development Environment
   • We have added quizzes to every lesson rather than just the end of the module. The end of the module quiz will now be used as a final assessment, testing your knowledge of the module as a whole, while quizzes in each lesson will test your understanding of the content from the lesson video.

When?

The changes went live on April 1, 2024.

How does this impact you?

We will apply updates directly to our existing content. You'll automatically get the latest updates if you’re enrolled in any affected modules. However, since we are adding lessons and modules to the Airflow 101 learning path, it will affect your progress. That means:

• If you’ve already completed the path, it will still be marked as complete in our system, but your progress bar on the learning path will not be set to 100% anymore. You will need to complete the new modules to reach 100% completion.
• If you are currently enrolled but have not completed the path, you will see your progress decrease and will need to complete the new modules to reach 100% completion.
• If you have passed the Airflow Fundamentals certification, there is no impact. The certification stays valid, and you will not need to pass it again as we haven’t changed any existing questions, and we still cover the same content in the Learning Path.

Where?

Applicable changes will appear in the following modules:

• Introduction to Orchestration and Airflow (New)
• Airflow: Basics (Replaces the existing Airflow: Concepts module)
• Airflow: Local Development Environment (Existing)

And the following Learning Path:

• Airflow 101