GitHub Education combines the Student Developer Pack and GitHub Classroom. GitHub wants to make sure IT students have the proper tools for their education. (Image via GitHub)
As interest in programming and STEM education grows, more classrooms are required to have the right tools for teaching. GitHub, the online open source code repository, wants to make things easier for schools and is launching GitHub Education. This gathers the Student Developer pack they released in 2012 and the 2015 GitHub Classroom for teachers. GitHub Education packages all these tools together, and it’s available to schools free of charge.
Previously, the program was offered to a select number of degree or certificate granting schools. Now, all schools will have access to developer packs, training, workflow, advisors, and GitHub’s student community. It also gives them quick access to GitHub Education premium perks like private repositories. Access to GitHub Enterprise or Business Hosted as well as teacher training via GitHub campus is included. Schools can apply now for early access.
Since Microsoft purchased GitHub earlier this month, the company has shifted its focus to helping developers and professional growth. After acquiring the site, CEO Satya Nadella said teaming up with GitHub helps to strengthen their commitment to developer freedom. Similar sites the tech giant acquired include Lynda.com and LinkedIn, both of which are frequented by professionals and developers.
GitHub Education is a program for schools offering IT programs. They now have the tools, training, and platform they need to help their students succeed and grow. Of course, GitHub isn’t the only platform offering these tools. Rival GitLab announced earlier this month offering its Ultimate and Gold packages free for classrooms.
GitLab Ultimate is a self-hosted platform while GitLab Gold is their SaaS offering hosted on GitLab.com. Similar to GitHub Education, the tools are free to any schools whose purpose is related to learning, teaching, and training. It’s also available for free for OSI-approved open source projects that don’t seek to make a profit. Unlike GitHub, GitLab’s offering does not come with support. Instead, they offer support at a steep discount.
With more students getting interested in programming and IT, don’t be surprised to see more developer platforms being offered to schools for free. GitLab and GitHub may be in direct competition with each other, but it’s great to see so many companies making their resources available to schools for no money.
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