Teaching teamwork uses system control versions

The development of the software applications is accompanied by the creation of different types of documentation, which is subjected to constant and uncontrolled changes. These changes are made by a large numbers of the project participants. The team of developers should coordinate their teamwork in the project so that to clearly understand what happens to the software application versions and which parts of the program are changed. There are a sufficient numbers of tools that are available for both commercial and freeware using for managing of the software application versions and configurations. The type of the software tools is called the Version Control Systems (VCS). Systems like VCS allow developers to register changes in one or more files, as well as provide an opportunity to return to the previous versions of these files. Version Control Systems are important tools for the software developers. As a university teacher we must familiarize computer science students with VCS for the formation of understanding of the modern IT-industry realities. We also must develop appropriate skills in working with Version Control Systems, for example, VCS like the centralized system Subversion, and distributed systems Git and GitHub. The skills of using the version control systems are included into the list of special competences required for undergraduates and graduates in computer science majors for the successful work in the computing area. In this regard, the use of various VCS products as a training platform is relevant in the educational process of the universities. The article presents a methodology for teaching students to computer science, their teamwork skills via the version control systems such as Subversion, Git and GitHub. We have also analyzed different VCS and presented the scenarios for teaching centralized and distributed VCS. We present the algorithm that will help students to understand the concepts of branching, version control and will create skills for using GitHub for team-working. It is important to understand how Subversion, Git and GitHub version control systems can be used in teaching and learning context. We describe the list of benefits provided by the hosting and social functions of GitHub for education. We also present recommendations and methods for using Subversion, Git and GitHub in learning support. There are some problems and difficulties associated with the Subversion, Git and GitHub using in courses related to programming and software development: the learning of the VCS in undergraduate and graduate studies requires a substantial revision of the teaching methods of many computer science courses and the building of new ties between them.

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