I have used Github Desktop (mostly) with my students the last 2 years. I had a few try to sign up for the Developer Pack but they all got rejected so I gave up. When I was using Unity it was a major problem because we ran into a space limitation. I forget what it was but typically those students who downloaded everything they could find as an asset in the Unity Store, and had huge projects, they had to enable LFS(?) in Github to push. I put that on them, if you do that, you have to fix it.
Since moving to Godot, everything is much more optimized, and smaller size, so I don't even bother with the pack. They sign up for the free accounts and that's it. I never really explored Github Classroom, but so few teachers in my district even use Github, I didn't want to try it.
When students work on the curriculum, they have to do a lesson, record a short video in OBS to show that everything works as the lesson taught them AND what they learned. They turn in the video and a link to their commits page. I randomly go through the commits pages to spot check or check students who I am not sure if they are doing it correctly yet.
I have a system for using Github with our course. We do a curriculum called Learn 2D Game Dev. That is the repo name. The course is divided into modules, I think there are 18 modules, each module they build a new little game, some modules carry over the game from the module before, but most are new.
What I do is have them make a new branch for every module, call it by the Module name and number, then make their commits to that branch. At the end of the module once they finish, then they merge that branch back to main. We start the next module, they make a new branch, do the lessons and commits, merge it into main when done, rinse and repeat.
I have students 2 years in a row. My juniors really don't get Github at first. Some learn by the end of the year, but most by mid Senior year they get it. SPring semester senior year they work in teams on their Capstone projects then they are like OH NOW I GET IT
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Owen Peery k12teacher
SAN FRANCISCO CA
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