Summary and Schedule
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 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 Instructions | Download files required for the lesson | |
| Duration: 00h 00m | 1. Managing Issues |
How can labelling help me manage issues on a repository? How do I add labels to issues? What are the recommended labels, and when should I use them? |
| Duration: 00h 30m | 2. Reviewing Pull Requests |
What features does GitHub provide to facilitate reviewing pull
requests? What are the different options for the outcome of a pull request review, and when should I use each one? |
| Duration: 01h 00m | 3. Collaborating with your Team |
How will I know when something happens or needs my attention on the
lesson project? What communication channels should we set up to aid collaboration? What can we do to encourage regular progress on the project? |
| Duration: 01h 15m | 4. Collaborating with Newcomers |
What can I do to attract contributors to my project? How can I help them make good contributions when they get there? |
| Duration: 01h 45m | Finish |
The actual schedule may vary slightly depending on the topics and exercises chosen by the instructor.
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.