The Microsoft Learning Pathways are a commission solution for SharePoint that can be used as a central help and learning page as a site collection. The learning paths not only contain a wide variety of Microsoft products (e.g. MS Teams, SharePoint, Sway, and many more), but you can also add your own learning content. If, for example, certain tools are used in your own company, perhaps developed by yourself or by third-party service providers, you can create your own individual learning paths. In this blog post we will reveal the advantages of this, what to look out for and how the learning paths can still be used.
Figure 1: Microsoft Learning Pathways home page
Reasons why the MS Learning Pathways should be used
+ Free solution
+ Extension of the initial solution possible through own learning paths
+ There is a learning path for the administrators of the solution
+ The solution can be used in up to 10 languages, including German
+ There is documentation for making available on the Microsoft docs to find
There is potential for optimization here
-Faults in the application are difficult to identify without trained personnel
-Updates need to be updated regularly
Where can I find the solution?
The MS Learning Pathways are provided by the pnp community. Provisioning takes place through the SharePoint lookbook , which, in addition to the template for the MS Learning Paths, also has many other templates ready.
What should you watch out for during installation?
Before starting the installation, make sure that some preparations and certain roles are necessary.
On the one hand, the solution is for Dynamics 365 BC Consulting and cannot be used on-premise
A Tenant App Catalog is required. This should be installed at least 2 hours in advance, otherwise errors in the application can occur
Global administrator rights are required to carry out the installation. At least Catalog Administrator rights are required for the Tenant App Catalog
So that the new site can be called up quickly, the URL should be given a name that is as simple and logical as possible
What to do after installation
After the installation has been successfully completed, the page can be adapted to your own requirements: Are the given navigation points required? Are the provided web parts necessary? Are additional learning paths required?
It should also be noted that English is the initially provided language. The actual content, i.e. the learning paths, is available in different languages, but there are individual areas, such as the navigation or the page title, which have to be updated manually.
Once the page has been configured, the URLs to the MS Learning Pathways should be positioned so that employees can access the SharePoint site quickly and easily. For this purpose, it is advisable to add a link to the learning page via the navigation in the intranet. The employees can then be informed about the new feature, for example by means of a news post.
Inserting the learning paths into the (hub) navigation bar (of the intranet)
Figure 2: Inserting the learning paths into the (hub) navigation bar (of the intranet)
Alternatively (or additionally), a tile can be created, which can be seen at the top left via the “9-point symbol” and employees can access the learning paths from anywhere.
Add MS Learning Pathways as a tile
Figure 3: Adding MS Learning Pathways as a tile
If a hub structure is used for the intranet, the solution can also be added to the intranet hub . For this purpose, the read authorizations of the hub on the MS Learning Paths can then be used. All other persons who are responsible for maintaining the SharePoint site can be authorized as editors or persons responsible for the pages, just like in a regular SharePoint site. Depending on the size of the company and the number of in-house learning paths, several or fewer people may be useful for maintaining the application.
Use of the lift authorization
Figure 4: Using the lift authorization
If no hubs are used, all employees can be authorized as visitors via “Everyone, except external users”.
Assignment of authorization to “Everyone […]”
Figure 5: Allocation of authorization to “Everyone […]”
What else is possible?
If the standard functions are not sufficient, Power Automate can be used to map various company scenarios. For example, to first subject new learning paths to a QA. Topics for additional learning paths can be: multi-factor authentication, security topics, a communication etiquette for MS teams or decision-making aids for SharePoint vs. teams – and of course much more, depending on your own company requirements.
The knowledge in your own company can be shared via new learning paths. A community that provides its own knowledge and is available for questions and answers can become active via the learning paths. These can be, for example, IT specialists or employees who are particularly interested in the subject of further training and / or SharePoint. True to the motto helping people to help themselves .
In addition, there is a special help area in which, among other things, existing help pages can be linked, e.g. to the internal ticket system, a community or a training plan. Not yet available or not planned at all? Then the individual areas or the entire help page can be removed.
Figure 6: Microsoft Learning Pathways help page
The MS Learning Pathways can also be accessed directly via MS Teams . Perhaps a team or channel already exists on the subject of further training? Then the SharePoint page can be made available as a new tab in a channel with just a few clicks.
Integration in MS teams
Figure 7: Integration in MS Teams
What should I do if there are errors?
If there are errors in the provisioning or in the further process, suggested solutions can be found on github.com. Among other things, there is an article on errors that have occurred during provisioning: Microsoft Graph Error When Trying to Provision Learning Pathways · Issue # 411 · SharePoint / sp-provisioning-service (github.com) .
If errors occur later, this may be due to a required update of the solution. If an update is required, this will be indicated via the MS Learning Pathways Administration. The steps to be carried out for the update can be found via gibthub Step-by-Step. The correct permissions as tenant administrator are also required here in order to be able to carry out the update.
