Teaching Without the Setup Headache
Every instructor knows the drill: students arrive with different laptops, different operating systems, and different versions of the same tools. Getting everyone onto the same page before an assignment can eat up more class time than the lesson itself. GitHub Classroom now addresses this directly by letting students work in online integrated development environments (IDEs), right from a browser. No local installs, no version conflicts, no device limitations—just a consistent coding environment that works on laptops, tablets, and even smartphones.
Two Online IDEs, Built Into Classroom
GitHub Classroom now integrates with two browser-based development environments: Repl.it and Microsoft MakeCode Arcade. Both run entirely online, which means students don’t need to install anything or keep software current on their own machines. The environment is the same for everyone, so issues that arise in one student’s code can be reproduced and debugged instantly, regardless of the device they’re using.
Repl.it for a Broad Range of Languages
Repl.it supports virtually any programming language. Instructors create assignments from a repl—a collection of code files and directories hosted on Repl.it. Private repls are supported for assignments, letting teachers decide whether student code stays visible only to the class or is open to the public. The IDE includes editing, running, and debugging tools, all in-browser. Students can push their work back to GitHub through the Repl.it git interface, and those unfamiliar with the environment can start with the Repl.it Quickstart Guide.
For group work, Repl.it Multiplayer lets teams collaborate in real time. When the first student in a group accepts an assignment, they create the repl, and the rest of the group joins as collaborators.
MakeCode Arcade for Block-Based and Physical Computing
MakeCode Arcade is geared toward students building retro-style arcade games using drag-and-drop block programming, with the ability to run and play their creations directly in the browser—mobile devices included. It’s also the primary editor for micro:bit and works with other hardware like Adafruit Circuit Playground Express, Minecraft, LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3, and Cue robots. The platform supports both block-based programming and transitions into JavaScript and Python. Group assignments are handled with standard GitHub collaboration, so teams can work through branches and pull requests as usual.
Students new to the platform can take the MakeCode Arcade Tour or try a tutorial, and the MakeCode blog explains how code is synced with GitHub.
Setting Up an Assignment with an Online IDE
The Classroom assignment workflow remains largely unchanged. If you haven’t already set up a digital classroom, the setup walkthrough covers the basics. The key difference is in the Starter code and environment step, where you now have the option to allow students to use an online IDE. The default remains a standard GitHub repository.
After that, students proceed exactly as they always have: accept the assignment through an invitation URL, get access to their repository, and begin coding—only now the repository connects them directly to the chosen IDE.
Getting Started
For a full walkthrough, the help docs for online IDEs cover every step of configuring an assignment with an IDE. GitHub is also hosting webinars where the creation process is demonstrated in detail.
