We Just Redesigned the HeatSpring Classroom

When was the last time you took a class on HeatSpring? Last week we rolled out a redesigned classroom and it’s pretty sweet. You should check it out.

What’s New?

The average HeatSpring learner works at a bigger company than in the past. So their learning path has been assigned by team leaders as part of a bigger program. With that in mind, here’s what we focused on:

Simplified navigation. The header is cleaner, and your course assignments always live in the right sidebar — so you can see exactly where you are and what’s coming next, at a glance, without hunting around.

Clearer required vs. optional work. HeatSpring instructors often include supplemental material for people who want to go deeper — and a lot of students love that. But if you’re someone who needs to get in, complete what’s required, and get out, the new classroom makes that much easier. Required and optional assignments are now clearly distinguished so you can make that call for yourself.

More context about the course itself. If you were enrolled in a course by your manager or a team leader, it’s not always obvious why you’re there or what you’re supposed to get out of it. We’ve added more course overview and objective information inside the classroom, so you can orient yourself before you dive in — not just on the marketing page before you enroll.

These might sound like small things. But they add up. Less friction means more of your energy going toward actually learning.

Why We Keep Investing Here

HeatSpring has always believed that online education in the clean energy industry can be genuinely excellent — not a compromise you make because in-person training is too expensive or too far away, but a legitimate first choice.

That belief requires us to keep raising the bar. Instructor quality matters enormously, and we’re proud of the practitioners we work with. Curriculum design matters. And yes, the classroom itself matters too.

We’ve been doing this since 2007. Over that time, we’ve watched the clean energy industry grow from a niche sector into a workforce that’s central to the economy. The professionals who power that workforce deserve training tools that take them seriously.

This redesign is one way we try to live up to that.

A Great Place to Start

If you want to put the new classroom to the test, we’d suggest starting with one of our favorite free courses: How We Got Here: A (Riveting!) History of DER Interconnection in the U.S.

Taught by Vaughan Woodruff — this course is the only publicly accessible collection of more than two decades of interconnection resources.

It’s free. It takes two to six hours to complete. And it’s a good reminder of what learning can feel like when the content is excellent and the environment gets out of the way.

If interconnection doesn’t light your fire, there are a ton of other free courses on HeatSpring you can take to check out and appreciate the new-look classroom!