1.5 Services

Over the course of the semester, we’ll use three web-based services. Each of these will require you to create an account with a username and password. GitHub will require you to enable two-factor authentication as well, and you should also enable this for Slack. I strongly recommend using a password manager.

All of these services have free tiers as well as premium features that require a monthly subscription. None of these premium features are required for this course - what you can access for free is all the functionality you will need!

1.5.1 GitHub

The majority of course content (sample code, documentation, and assignments) for this course will be made available using GitHub. GitHub is a website used by programmers, data analysts, and researchers to share computer code and projects. GitHub will also be used for assignment submission and feedback. In addition to providing us with platform for hosting course content, using GitHub will give you experience in some of the techniques that researchers use to conduct both open-source and collaborative research. GitHub is free to use but does have some premium features, which students can access for free through their Student Developer program. As I noted above, these premium features are not required for this course but are worth knowing about if you decide to continue using GitHub.

1.5.2 Slack

We will be utilizing the communication service Slack to stay in touch. Slack allows me to post announcements and updates about the course that you will receive alerts to. Any changes to our course GitHub repositories will also be posted there automatically. Slack will also provide us with a space to host virtual office hours. This allows students to monitor the types of questions and issues that are arising, and learn from each other’s experiences. Slack can be accessed via a web browser or you can optionally install mobile as well as desktop applications available for both Windows and macOS.