I have limited experience teaching Git to novice programmers using content similar to that included in GitHub Guides (https://guides.github.com). I also have taught the RStudio Git integration in a few workshops. Both of these issues hit problems regarding additional installs (I've had problems with students working with both the native Git GUI and finding a Git executable through RStudio), which is pretty demoralizing to students when it occurs mid-lesson. I'm also very hesitant to teach combined GUI/command line exercises, because mapping the activities occurring in one to the other is surprisingly difficult for learners. Then again, I also use git almost exclusively from the command line. Despite this, I would be interested in developing the RStudio git integration lesson so students can follow along more easily on their own (perhaps following a workshop).
On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 9:47 AM, Noam Ross <[email protected]> wrote: > I learned to use git via the RStudio GUI. It is not the most powerful > interface, but it was enough for most tasks I needed as a beginner: > committing, reviewing history, pushing/pulling from Github, etc. As I > became comfortable with the concepts and had more advanced needs I switched > to the command line. > > For R-based SWC/DC workshops I have taught and seen, we often teach git in > the command line and then afterwards briefly demo the fact that similar > tasks can be accomplished in the RStudio IDE, which learners already have > installed. Has anyone attempted to teach with the GUI first, or somehow > teach them in parallel? I hypothesize learners might be more likely to use > git immediately with this approach. > > Two other thoughts on this approach: > > 1. While we aim to teach script-ability, scripting git commands is > rare/advanced use. > 2. I have gotten feedback that teaching the RStudio git GUI is hard to > follow. This seemed to be because (1) this was a less well-developed > lesson - more a demo at the end of the main git lesson, and (2) learners > could not follow along via SWC notes or the live command history we shared > via dropbox. So such lesson might require a screenshot-heavy set of > accompanying lesson notes. Guidance might come from the DC experience with > OpenRefine and Excel lessons. > > - Noam > > On Wed, Mar 2, 2016, 7:54 AM Konrad Hinsen <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> On 02/03/16 10:30, Juan Nunez-Iglesias wrote: >> >> > I hope we all migrate soon to UIs built on top of git, such as gitless >> > <http://gitless.com/>. But it's gonna be slow and painful, because of >> > the huge momentum that git has. >> >> I considered using gitless instead of git for my recent course for >> French PhD students >> (https://github.com/khinsen/FdV-Computer-Aided-Research-2016). The two >> main reasons I ended up sticking to plain git were >> >> 1) Gitless requires additional installation, whereas plain git was >> already available on all machines. >> >> 2) There is excellent SWC teaching material for Git, but not for gitless. >> >> So, yes, SWC is becoming a part of the "system inertia" for me! >> >> A problem I see with gitless is that it is technically compatible with >> git, but not operationally. For a given local repository, you use either >> git or gitless. For everyone who knows some git commands, that means >> unlearning. >> >> What I use myself is Magit (http://magit.vc/) within Emacs. It's a much >> more reasonable UI for git, but it's fully compatible with git (it >> actually calls git under the hood), so you can mix it with command line >> work. But I wouldn't consider Magit for teaching because I am not >> looking forward to doing "introduction to Emacs" first! >> >> Konrad. >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Discuss mailing list >> [email protected] >> >> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org >> > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > > http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org > -- Kate L. Hertweck, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Biology The University of Texas at Tyler 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799 Email: [email protected] Office: HPR 109, 903.565.5882 https://www.uttyler.edu/biology/
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