I've never led with a GUI, but I have introduced RStudio's git integration after going through the regular git command line lesson. I still favor teaching it at the command line first. Knowing the actual git commands is pretty helpful -- whenever I muck up my git client I inevitably go fix things at the command line. Also, the last time I looked there were some things (like setting a remote) that you couldn't do from RStudio. So I don't think you could totally abandon the shell, and switching back and forth might be confusing. (Though I haven't used RStudio in a while, so this might have changed.)
That said, I do agree that learning a GUI like RStudio probably improves adoption. People were really excited about learning git in RStudio and said things like "now I can see actually using this". So I do support teaching GUIs, but I still prefer to build learners' mental model of git from the command line first. On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 8:55 AM, Noam Ross <[email protected]> wrote: > Having encountered the git executable issue before, at the July 2015 Davis > workshop[1] we (1) put this in the install instructions (2) checked > students' laptop on arrival and at lunch prior to the git session, and (3) > briefed our helpers on this issue and how to catch and fix it quickly. > This worked fine, as opposed to a previous workshop where we had to pause > as about a third of learners needed a fix. > > Yes, it does seem that the parallel approach has both conceptual mapping > challenges and would require additional time. One aid to mapping would be > to show how the RStudio GUI's visual state tracks changes executed in the > command line (e.g., the checkbox next to a file will be checked when it is > staged). For the reverse, one would want to type the equivalent command of > an action executed in the GUI. > > [1]: http://dib-lab.github.io/2015-07-06-ucdavis/ > > On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 11:17 AM Kate Hertweck <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> 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/ >> > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > > http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org >
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