---
title: "Learn to Grow Shorts: The Practical Beauty of Virtual Labs"
description: The Learn to Grow Podcast is where we speak to leaders in the learning and development industry about the learning landscape.
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## Blog
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# Learn to Grow Shorts: The Practical Beauty of Virtual Labs
by [Simon Behan](https://blog.sureskills.com/author/simon-behan)
Jun 2, 2021
[Learning Services](https://blog.sureskills.com/tag/learning-services), [Learning Podcasts](https://blog.sureskills.com/tag/learning-podcasts)
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---
Summary:
Reflecting on my conversation with Joe, there are so many things I love about [his approach to labs](https://www.sureskills.com/What-we-do/Learning-Services/Learning-Content).
The first is that his story about how a training session inadvertently turned into a lab demonstrates some really cool aspects of learning – from both the mentor/educator perspective and from the student perspective.
Joe explained a situation where software for training stopped working, just broke. As a mentor/teacher/ Joe opened it up to the students. Ego was taken out, and they turned instead to working on a solution.
And the students we fired up about really using their skills, not just to provide a solution, but an elegant, efficient one. There was a natural curiosity there that couldn’t have happened otherwise.
And that to me is the beauty of practical, hands-on training. We get to choose our own adventure rather than clicking through the one prescribed to us.
And I have had conversations with clients and potential clients this week – it seems labs are such an essential element of training and learning, especially for software.
You always need some sort of direct instruction/coaching, but then, go play. Go experiment. Go create. I would love to see cloud native virtual labs become more standard in learning, and Joe and his team are doing their part to bring that to some of our clients – and doing it very well I might add!
Next week I will have Ruth Gotian, CLO of the Weill Cornell School of medicine on the show – looking forward to that!
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