Merge pull request #680 from layer5io/academy-dcs

Add extending Academy docs

Author: zihanKuang

content/en/cloud/academy/_index.md

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+---
+title: Academy
+weight: 5
+description: >
+  Building, managing, and extending Layer5 Academy learning paths.
+categories: [Academy]
+tags: [Designer]
+---
+
+{{%pageinfo%}}
+Academy: https://cloud.layer5.io/academy
+{{%/pageinfo%}}

content/en/cloud/academy/extending-academy.md

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+---
+title: Extending the Academy
+weight: 2
+description: >
+   Learn how to create and publish custom cloud-native learning paths and challenges using the Layer5 Academy platform.
+categories: [Academy]
+tags: [Designer]
+---
+
+# Extending the Academy
+
+The **Layer5 Cloud Academy** is a modular learning management system (LMS) designed for building **learning paths** (also referred to as **specializations**) and **interactive cloud-native challenges**. It is deeply integrated into the Layer5 cloud ecosystem and **Kanvas**—a visual designer and operator for cloud-native infrastructure. This integration enables embedding live visualizations, interactive designs, and contextual experiences directly within courses.
+
+---
+
+## Who Can Extend the Academy?
+
+Organizations subscribed to the **Enterprise Plan** have the capability to:
+
+* Create and manage their own academy content
+* Publish courses to the Layer5 Cloud Platform
+* Enjoy full **multi-tenancy**, **white-labeling**, and **customization** support
+
+---
+
+## How to Extend the Academy
+
+The Cloud Academy is designed to **avoid vendor lock-in**. Enterprise users manage their academy content in their **own Git repositories**—you own your content and data.
+
+Content is sourced using the **[Hugo](https://gohugo.io/)** static site engine. To get started, use the [Academy Starter Template](https://github.com/layer5io/academy-example). This provides a working scaffold based on the Hugo directory structure, pre-configured with the custom `layer5-academy` theme.
+
+> ✅ No need to write HTML, manage layouts, or build custom shortcodes.
+> Everything is abstracted behind a simple markdown-based authoring experience.
+
+---
+
+## Directory Overview
+
+When you clone the template, you’ll see a familiar Hugo structure:
+
+```
+academy-example/
+├── content/
+│   └── learning-paths/
+│       └── org-name/              # Replace with your actual org name
+├── static/
+│   └── org-name/                  # Static assets (images, custom CSS)
+├── layouts/
+│   └── shortcodes/
+│       └── org-name/              # Custom shortcodes (optional)
+```
+
+### ⚠️ Organizational Scoping
+
+To ensure **isolation** between different organizations:
+
+* All your content must reside under your scoped folder:
+  `content/learning-paths/<your-org-name>/`
+
+* Only content within your organization folder will be published.
+
+* Use the **same org-name** consistently across `content/`, `static/`, and `layouts/shortcodes/`.
+
+* Content outside of your scoped folders will **not be picked up in production**.
+
+---
+
+## Adding Content and Assets
+
+You can begin by adding your learning material under:
+
+```
+content/learning-paths/<your-org-name>/
+```
+
+This folder acts as the **root scope** for all your learning paths. Supporting assets can be placed as follows:
+
+* `static/<your-org-name>/` – images, stylesheets, other static files
+* `layouts/shortcodes/<your-org-name>/` – optional Hugo shortcodes for custom widgets
+
+> 🔒 This organizational scoping ensures that customizations made by one organization do not affect others.
+
+---
+
+## Learning Path Structure
+
+Each learning path can include multiple courses, chapters, and lessons, organized in a clear hierarchy.
+
+```
+learning-paths/
+└── <your-org-name>/
+    └── <learning-path-name>/
+        ├── _index.md             # Metadata for the learning path
+        └── <course-name>/
+            ├── _index.md         # Metadata for the course
+            └── chapter-1/
+                ├── _index.md     # Metadata (requirements, summary, etc.)
+                └── content/
+                    ├── lesson-1.md
+                    └── lesson-2.md
+```
+
+Each `_index.md` file contains frontmatter and overview content for that level (path, course, chapter).