Summary and Setup

This skill-up teaches some of GitHub’s features and the skills for more effective (lesson) repository maintenance. It is designed primarily as a resource for skill-up leaders, but may also be useful for self-directed learning. The skill-up is taught with example lesson repositories in GitHub but the principles and skills covered are transferable to other repository hosting systems such as GitLab.

We recommend that skill-up leaders use the Instructor View of this lesson.

Target Audience

This skill-up is aimed at Carpentries community members who want to use GitHub’s features to manage their lesson project more effectively.

It is suitable for people who:

  • Know how to use GitHub’s web interface to edit the source files of a repository.
  • Can open and merge pull requests to make changes to the project.

Familiar with the folders and files of a Carpentries lesson repository will be beneficial but is not essential.

By following the session, participants will learn to

  • Manage and track issues on their project more effectively.
  • Review and provide targeted feedback on proposed changes.
  • Coordinate with collaborators to make steady progress on the project.
  • Encourage newcomers to the project to engage as contributors.
Prerequisite

Prerequisite Knowledge

Participants are expected to know how to do the following things before joining the skill-up:

  • Edit files using the GitHub web interface.
  • Format text as headings, lists, and links with Markdown.
  • Open and close/merge issues and pull requests in the GitHub web interface.

Learning Objectives

After following this skill-up, participants will be able to:

  • Manage issues on their repositories with labels and milestones.
  • Review contributions and provide constructive, targeted feedback.
  • Choose ways to communicate and work with their collaborators to ensure regular progress on the project.
  • Document their repository to encourage contributions.
  • List three actions they could take to boost the visibility of their project in The Carpentries community.

Setup

To follow this skill-up, you will need a GitHub account and a web browser. The session facilitator will provide an example repository for you to work with during the session.