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Appendix Y: Accessing and Downloading Workshop Materials

Listen to Episode 42: Accessing Workshop Materials - a conversational audio overview of this chapter. Listen before reading to preview the concepts, or after to reinforce what you learned.

Reference companion to: Chapter 00: Pre-Workshop Setup

Authoritative source: Community-Access/git-going-with-github

How to Get, Read, and Keep These Documents

Why this appendix exists: The workshop content is available in multiple formats - Markdown source files, pre-built HTML pages, and a live GitHub Pages site. This guide explains how to access each format, download materials for offline use, and keep your copy up to date.

Learning Cards: Accessing Workshop Materials

Screen reader users
  • The GitHub Pages site includes skip-to-content links and ARIA landmarks -- press D (NVDA) or R (JAWS) to jump to the main content landmark on any page
  • On GitHub.com, press T on the repository's main page to open the file finder -- type any filename to jump directly to it without navigating the file tree
  • After cloning the repository, open it in VS Code and use the Explorer panel (Ctrl+Shift+E) to browse the file tree with arrow keys
Low vision users
  • The HTML version in the html/ folder provides the most polished reading experience with styled, navigable pages that work offline in any browser
  • For reading Markdown source files, use VS Code's built-in preview (Ctrl+Shift+V) which renders headings, links, and code blocks in a formatted view
  • When downloading a ZIP from GitHub, the Code button and its dropdown appear near the top of the repository page -- look for the green button
Sighted users
  • Three ways to access materials: GitHub Pages site (online, styled), GitHub.com (browse rendered Markdown), or local clone (offline, editable)
  • The repository's docs/ folder contains all Markdown source files; the html/ folder contains pre-built HTML versions of every page
  • Use git clone for a full copy you can update with git pull -- ZIP downloads are snapshots that do not update automatically

Table of Contents

  1. Browsing Online (GitHub Pages)
  2. Reading on GitHub.com
  3. Downloading Everything
  4. Downloading Individual Files
  5. What's in Each Folder
  6. Offline Reading
  7. Keeping Your Copy Updated
  8. Which Format Should I Use?

1. Browsing Online (GitHub Pages)

If the facilitator has enabled GitHub Pages for this repository, the workshop materials are available as a website at a URL like:

https://<organization>.github.io/Learning-Room/

Your facilitator will share the exact URL. Once you have it:

  1. Open the URL in your browser
  2. The landing page (index.html) is the workshop homepage - equivalent to the README
  3. Use headings (H key in NVDA/JAWS browse mode) to navigate within any page
  4. All internal links between chapters and appendices work - click any cross-reference to go directly to that page
  5. Bookmark the URL for quick access during the workshop

Screen reader tip: The HTML pages include skip-to-content links, breadcrumb navigation, and ARIA landmarks. Press D (NVDA) or R (JAWS) to jump to the main landmark on any page.

For details on how GitHub Pages works, see Appendix P - Publishing with GitHub Pages.

2. Reading on GitHub.com

You can read every file directly on GitHub.com without downloading anything:

  1. Go to the repository page (your facilitator will share the link)
  2. The README renders automatically as the repository homepage
  3. Click into the docs/ folder to see all chapters and appendices
  4. Click any .md file - GitHub renders it as formatted text with headings, links, and code blocks

Navigating the repository with a screen reader

  • File list: The repository file listing is a grid. Use T to jump to the file table, then arrow keys to navigate rows
  • File content: Once inside a file, GitHub renders the Markdown. Use H to navigate headings
  • Breadcrumbs: At the top of each file view, breadcrumb links show the path (e.g., Learning-Room / docs / 06-working-with-pull-requests.md). Use these to navigate back
  • Go to File shortcut: Press T on the repository's main page to open the file finder - type any filename to jump to it

3. Downloading Everything

Option A: Clone with Git (recommended)

Cloning gives you a full copy of the repository that you can update later with git pull:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/community-access/git-going-with-github.git

# Move into the folder
cd Learning-Room

After cloning, every file (Markdown source, HTML output, scripts, learning-room materials) is on your computer.

Screen reader tip: After cloning, open the folder in VS Code (code .) and use the Explorer panel (Ctrl+Shift+E) to browse the file tree. Press Enter on any file to open it in the editor.

Option B: Download ZIP (no Git required)

If you do not have Git installed or prefer not to use the command line:

  1. Go to the repository page on GitHub.com
  2. Press T to find the file finder, or navigate to the green Code button (it is a dropdown button near the top of the file listing)
  3. Activate the Code button - a dropdown menu opens
  4. Choose Download ZIP
  5. Save the file and extract it to a folder on your computer

Screen reader navigation for the Code dropdown

  • The Code button is near the repository description, after the branch selector
  • In NVDA/JAWS browse mode, press B to jump between buttons until you reach "Code"
  • Activate it with Enter or Space
  • The dropdown contains options including "Download ZIP" - arrow down to find it

Note: A ZIP download is a snapshot. It does not update automatically - see Section 7 for how to get updates.

4. Downloading Individual Files

To download a single file (for example, one chapter or the screen reader cheat sheet):

From GitHub.com

  1. Navigate to the file in the repository
  2. Click the Raw button (it appears above the file content, in the toolbar with "Preview", "Code", "Blame" buttons)
  3. The browser shows the raw file content
  4. Press Ctrl+S (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+S (macOS) to save the page

For HTML files: Navigate to the html/ folder and download the .html version of any file using the same Raw → Save method.

From a cloned repository

If you have already cloned the repo, every file is already on your computer. Open the folder and copy whichever files you need.

5. What's in Each Folder

Folder Contents Format
docs/ All 17 chapters (00-16) and 31 appendices (A-Z, AA-AE) Markdown (.md)
html/ Pre-built HTML versions of every Markdown file HTML (.html)
html/docs/ HTML versions of all chapters and appendices HTML (.html)
learning-room/ Practice repository files: challenges, group exercises, setup guides Markdown (.md)
html/learning-room/ HTML versions of learning-room documents HTML (.html)
.github/ Issue templates, PR template, Copilot agents, slash commands YAML and Markdown
scripts/ Build script that converts Markdown to HTML JavaScript
Root (/) README, agendas, facilitator guide, contributing guide, and other project files Markdown (.md)

6. Offline Reading

Once you have downloaded or cloned the repository, you can read everything offline:

Reading Markdown files

Open .md files in any text editor. They are plain text with lightweight formatting syntax. VS Code renders Markdown with a preview panel (Ctrl+Shift+V).

Reading HTML files

  1. Open html/index.html in any web browser
  2. All internal links between pages work locally - no internet connection required
  3. Navigate between chapters using the links at the bottom of each page

Screen reader tip: The HTML files work the same offline as online. All ARIA landmarks, heading structure, and skip links are embedded in each file.

Recommended offline reading setup

  • VS Code with Markdown: Open the repo folder in VS Code, browse the Explorer, and read files directly in the editor. Use Ctrl+Shift+V to open the rendered preview
  • Browser with HTML: Open html/index.html and navigate from there - this gives the most polished reading experience

7. Keeping Your Copy Updated

If you cloned with Git

# Navigate to your local copy
cd Learning-Room

# Pull the latest changes
git pull

If you have not made local changes, this updates your copy cleanly. If you have local edits, Git will attempt to merge - see Chapter 7 - Merge Conflicts if needed.

After pulling, rebuild the HTML to ensure it matches:

npm run build:html

If you downloaded a ZIP

Download a fresh ZIP from the repository and replace your local copy. There is no incremental update for ZIP downloads.

8. Which Format Should I Use?

Need Best format Why
Reading during the workshop GitHub Pages (online HTML) No setup, always current, fully accessible
Offline reference Local HTML (html/ folder) Works in any browser, no internet needed, styled and navigable
Editing or contributing Markdown (.md files) The source format - edit these, then rebuild HTML
Quick lookup of one section GitHub.com Navigate directly in the browser, no download
Archiving a copy ZIP download or Git clone Full snapshot of all materials
Staying updated long-term Git clone One-command updates with git pull

Learning Cards: Choosing the Right Format

Screen reader users
  • For workshop use, the GitHub Pages HTML site is the most accessible option -- it includes skip links, landmarks, and proper heading structure in every page
  • For offline reference, the local HTML files in the html/ folder work identically to the online version with full navigation between pages
  • For contributing edits, work with the Markdown source files in docs/ using VS Code -- these are the canonical source that generates everything else
Low vision users
  • GitHub Pages and local HTML both support browser zoom to 200%+ without layout breakage -- use whichever gives you a better reading experience
  • VS Code's Markdown preview inherits your editor theme -- if you use a high-contrast theme, the preview will match
  • If viewing on GitHub.com, enable GitHub's dark theme (Settings then Appearance) for reduced eye strain during long reading sessions
Sighted users
  • Use the GitHub Pages site during the workshop for the most polished, hyperlinked reading experience with no setup required
  • Clone the repository for a permanent offline copy -- the html/index.html file serves as a local homepage linking to all content
  • The Markdown source in docs/ is what you edit to contribute improvements -- changes are rebuilt to HTML automatically via the GitHub Actions workflow

Next: Appendix Z: GitHub Skills
Back: Appendix X: Resources
Teaching chapter: Chapter 00: Pre-Workshop Setup

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