Tutorials

Choose a tutorial below to jump directly to the topic you need.

Getting started

Follow these steps to prepare your GitHub account, register with aiDACTO, connect GitHub, add students, and create your first task with AI assistance. You can create tasks before adding students. Further tutorials will guide you through the rest of the lector workflow.

Prerequisite: a GitHub account and organization

Before creating student repositories, prepare a GitHub account and an organization to own those repositories. GitHub is separate from your aiDACTO sign-in; you will connect it to aiDACTO during setup.

1. Create a free GitHub account. Go to GitHub sign up, enter an email address, choose a username and password, and complete GitHub's email verification. GitHub's free plan is sufficient for following this tutorial.
2. Create a free organization for the class or course. While signed in to GitHub, open GitHub's organization creation page. Choose the free plan, provide an organization name and contact email, and finish the setup. Choose a name that your students and colleagues can recognize; this organization will own the student repositories.
3. Keep access to the organization. Use an account you control as an organization owner, and make sure you can create repositories there. When connecting GitHub to aiDACTO, authorize the organization if GitHub asks you to grant it access.
4. Collect your students' GitHub usernames. Ask each student for their GitHub account name so you have it ready when adding students to aiDACTO. Students can use free GitHub accounts as well. If they do not have an account yet, ask them to create a free GitHub account and share their username with you.

For now, this account and organization setup is a prerequisite for the repository workflow described here. We expect this requirement and setup process to change in a future version of aiDACTO; these instructions will be updated when that happens.

Step 1: Register and sign in to aiDACTO

Choose your email address

Register with an email address you can access. This is the address you will use to sign in, and aiDACTO also uses it to send notification emails, for example when an analysis is ready. If you are assigned to a school, you can also receive information from your school administrator at this address.

If your school is registered with aiDACTO, consider using your school email address to help associate your account with the school. Check with your school administrator if you are unsure which address to use.

1. Open registration

   On the aiDACTO home page, select Login / Register in the navigation.

   

2. Create a new account

   On the Sign in page, select No account? Create one. If you already have an aiDACTO account, sign in with your existing email address instead.

   

3. Enter your email address

   On the Create account page, enter the email address you chose and select Next. Use your own address; the addresses in these screenshots are examples.

   

4. Verify your email address

   A verification code is sent automatically to your email address. Open your inbox, copy the code, enter it on the Enter code page, and select Next. The code is valid for 30 minutes.

   If the email has not arrived, check your spam or junk folder and confirm that you entered the correct address. If the code expires, request a new code before continuing.

   

5. Complete your details and sign in

   Complete the remaining registration details when prompted, then sign in to aiDACTO. After signing in, additional menus become available, including Students, Tasks, Assignments, Analysis, and Repositories. Your account menu appears at the bottom of the navigation, along with Connect GitHub if you have not linked your GitHub account yet.

   

Step 2: Connect GitHub and choose your organization

Connect your GitHub account so aiDACTO can work with your course repositories. This authorizes repository access; it does not replace your aiDACTO sign-in or automatically create repositories or issues.

1. Connect your GitHub account

   Select Connect GitHub near the bottom of the left navigation pane. Sign in to GitHub with the account you prepared earlier, if prompted. Use your own GitHub credentials; the account shown in the screenshot is an example.

   

2. Authorize aiDACTO and grant organization access

   Review GitHub's authorization request and allow aiDACTO to use your GitHub account. Grant access to each organization that aiDACTO needs for your course:

   • The organization where repositories for individual students or groups of students should be created.
   • The organization containing sample source code that you want to copy into student repositories.

   These can be the same organization or different organizations. Your GitHub account must also have the necessary permissions to create repositories at the destination and read the sample-code repositories. If GitHub requires an organization owner's approval, request that approval before continuing.

3. Choose the preferred GitHub organization

   Back in aiDACTO, open the GitHub button showing your GitHub username in the left navigation pane and select GitHub Settings. In Preferred GitHub Organization, select the organization where new student repositories should be created, then select Save GitHub Settings.

   This preference sets the destination for new repositories; it does not move existing repositories. The organization holding your sample code can be different and does not need to be your preferred destination.

   

4. If an organization is missing from the list

   Check aiDACTO's organization access in your personal GitHub account settings, not in aiDACTO's Profile page:

   1. On GitHub, open Settings.
   2. Under Integrations, select Applications.
   3. Select Authorized OAuth Apps, then choose aiDACTO.
   4. Under Organization access, grant access to the organization where student repositories should be created and to any organization containing the sample code you want to use. Request approval from an organization owner if required.
   5. Return to aiDACTO and reload GitHub Settings. Select the preferred organization and choose Save GitHub Settings.

You stay in control of changes on GitHub

With GitHub connected, aiDACTO can create repositories for individual students or groups, upload sample code and task instructions, and create GitHub issues from analysis results. Authorizing access alone does not start these actions.

• You explicitly start repository creation. Review the selected students or groups and the repository settings before confirming. For example, for a class of 30 students, one confirmation click can start creating 30 repositories, one per student. You do not need to create each repository separately.
• You approve issues within aiDACTO. After an analysis, review the findings and decide which feedback to publish. No GitHub issue is created without your approval in aiDACTO.

Step 3: Open your Profile and choose template languages

Open your account menu near the bottom of the left navigation pane and select Profile. This page contains your repository-provider preference, template languages, and school options. It is separate from GitHub Settings, where you selected the organization for student repositories.

1. Review the repository provider

   Under Repository provider, GitHub is currently the only available provider. This will change in the future as support for additional repository providers becomes available. For now, leave GitHub selected.

   

2. Choose the template languages you want to use

   aiDACTO provides templates for creating homework, team projects, tests, and other assignments. Templates can come from three levels:

   • Global templates are provided with the application.
   • School templates are customized for your school.
   • Personal templates are customized for your own aiDACTO account.

   Templates are currently available in English and German. To keep the template list shorter, select the language or languages you want to use under Template Preferences and deselect the others. Keep at least one language selected, then choose Save Template Preferences. For example, select only English if you do not need German templates, or keep both selected if you teach in both languages.

3. Review the school options

   If you act as a school administrator, open the form with Request school administrator access in the Request School Administrator Access section to request that role. See school administrator Step 2 for the walkthrough. A school administrator can:

   • Customize templates for the school.
   • Add shared school students so that each lector does not need to enter the same students separately.
   • Manage the school's aiDACTO subscription and payment.

   Requesting access does not grant the role automatically; the request must be reviewed. If you are not a school administrator, ignore this section.

   If your school already has an administrator in aiDACTO, you can request membership through Join a School. The school administrator must approve your request before you can access the school's students. Your active affiliations appear under My Schools.

   Joining a school will be covered in a separate tutorial. For this step, it is enough to choose and save your template languages.

Step 4: Add your students

Open Students from the left navigation. If you have not joined a school, you may not see any students listed yet. You can still add students for your classes or workshops as personal students, managed with your own aiDACTO account.

1. Add a student

   Select Add Student on the Students page. Choose a name that helps you recognize the student. It does not have to be their real name; use a name or label you can identify. A student name together with the student ID makes it easier to find the right student later.

   

2. Enter the student's details

   Enter the student's name and student ID; both are required. Enter the student's GitHub account name so it is ready when you create or assign repositories. You collected these account names as part of the prerequisites.

   Add one or more groups, separated by commas. A group can be a class or workshop, or a project team where students collaborate. A student can belong to more than one group. Select Create Student when you are done.

   

3. Use groups to organize repository work

   Groups make it easier to prepare repository work for either a whole class or a project team. In a later repository workflow, you can create one repository per student in a selected group, or create one shared repository for the group and invite its students automatically.

4. Find and manage your students

   After you create students, they appear in the Students list. Use the group filter to show a class or team, or search by student name, student ID, or GitHub account name.

   

5. Import or export a student list

   You do not need to enter every student one at a time. In Import and export students, choose the personal-student scope, export the full list as JSON or CSV, then edit the exported file to add more students and import it again. Imports match students by student ID in the selected scope, so existing records with the same ID are updated and new IDs are added. Export is for the selected scope and includes all its students, even if the list above is filtered.

   Keep the exported field names and format when editing the file. Each record can include the student name, student ID, GitHub account name, and groups. This is a convenient way to prepare a class list in a spreadsheet or text editor and then load it into aiDACTO.

Step 5: Create a task with AI assistance

Tasks describe what students need to do: homework, labs, programming tests, team projects, and more. You can create tasks before adding students, even if you do not yet know who will take part. Students and groups are needed later, when you assign the task. This is also one of the areas where aiDACTO uses AI to help you prepare your teaching material.

1. Open the task editor

   Select Tasks from the left navigation. When you open this page for the first time, no tasks are available. Select Create Task to open the editor, which is divided into several areas.

   

   

2. Name the task and plan the repository layout

   Enter a Title. In this example, use C# pattern matching lab. Set the Task shortcut to patterns for quick searches, and optionally enter labs as the Prefix name. The repository-name preview shows how these values will be used, for example labs-patterns-2026-10-{student-name}.

   Repositories are created later, when you assign the task, in the GitHub organization you selected earlier and control. For group work, the group name is used instead of the student name. Creating or saving a task does not create these repositories yet.

   You can also keep several labs in one repository for each student instead of creating a separate repository for every lab. In that case, use a separate folder for each task. Enter lab1 in Folder name inside the repo where files should be stored for this example. This is a folder inside the repository, not the repository name.

   

3. Choose a task description template

   You can write the instructions yourself in Markdown content, or start with a Task Description Template. The list includes available global, school, and personal templates, filtered by the template languages you selected in your Profile.

   Select Homework for this example. Selecting a template automatically fills the Markdown content. Review it and customize it as needed. You can also create your own templates for exercises you prepare regularly.

   

   

4. Describe the learning goal in Lector notes

   Lector notes are the important input for AI-assisted task creation. Briefly describe what students should do and what they should learn. For this lab, enter:

   The student should copy the existing source code from the starter folder to the final folder and change it to use all the different C# pattern matching features that are useful with the existing code.

   These notes guide generation of the final student-facing instructions. You do not need to write the complete exercise here; you will review and refine the generated text before saving.

   

5. Select optional starter code

   In Optional code samples, select the GitHub repository containing the code you want to provide to students. Opening the repository selector for the first time can take a while, depending on how many repositories you can access. aiDACTO caches this information, so selecting a repository for the next task can be much faster.

   

   Select the repository and the folder containing the sample code. This source folder identifies the code to copy; it is separate from the destination folder, lab1, entered above. The code is uploaded when you later assign the task to students.

   

6. Analyze the sample code

   Select Analyze sample to get information about the selected code. Review the analysis for ideas that can help you improve the exercise or make the Lector notes more precise. This analyzes the starter code, not a student's submission.

   

7. Leave ratings for a later tutorial

   Below the optional code samples, deselect Create ratings for this task. The rubric and test-case areas are hidden when ratings are disabled. The agent skill template remains available regardless of this setting. Ratings, rubrics, and test cases will be covered in a separate tutorial.

8. Configure the AI agent and future submission analysis

   Select an Agent skill template (AI generation); this example uses Homework - Agent Skill Prompt. This supplies additional instructions for AI-assisted task generation.

   Under Analysis configuration, choose:

   • Primary technology stack: use .NET / C# for this lab.
   • Issue and report language: the language for findings, student reports, and GitHub issues.
   • Additional technology stacks: select these if the exercise spans more than one stack, such as a C# API with a JavaScript front end.
   • Technology notes: optionally provide framework or runtime details.
   • Task kind: choose the scale of the work, from a small homework exercise to a multi-week team project.

   The technology choices determine which language skills the analysis agents use. Task kind helps determine the analysis budget and model tier; leave Model tier override set to Automatic (recommended) for this tutorial. This analysis configuration is stored with the task for later use by the agents analyzing students' results. Configuring it does not start a submission analysis now.

   

9. Generate and review the student instructions

   Select Generate with AI to create a draft from the information you entered. When generation finishes, scroll back to Markdown content and read the result. Check that it matches your learning goal, refers to the correct folders, and gives students clear instructions. Edit the generated content wherever needed.

   

10. Save the task

    When you are satisfied, select Save Task. The task now appears on the Tasks page, ready to assign to students or groups later. Saving the task does not assign it, create student repositories, or analyze student work.

    

Step 6: Assign the task and create student repositories

Assigning the task creates the student or group assignments and, if you choose, creates GitHub repositories containing the task instructions and starter code. Before you begin, confirm that GitHub is connected and the preferred organization is the one where you want the repositories to be created. For repositories you want to create independently of tasks and reuse across multiple tasks, see Create repositories for multiple tasks.

1. Confirm your GitHub organization

   Open GitHub Settings and check the Preferred GitHub Organization. Choose the organization that should own the student repositories. If it is not listed, make sure aiDACTO has organization access authorized in your GitHub settings, then return and select it. Select Save GitHub Settings before continuing to Tasks.

   

2. Open assignments for the task

   Go to Tasks. Find the task you want to assign and select its Assignments button. The task's assignment page shows its details and the available students and groups.

   

   

3. Select groups or students

   Select one or more groups to assign the task to everyone in those groups, or select individual students instead. You can select multiple groups. Check that the intended students are included before saving the assignments.

   

4. Choose repository creation options and save

   To create repositories automatically, check Create GitHub repositories automatically. Choose One repository per student for individual work, or One shared repository per group for group work. Select Save assignments to create the assignments and start repository creation. It can take a little while for GitHub repositories to be created; wait for the results to appear before navigating away.

   

5. Check repository access and contents

   Open a repository from the results. As the organization owner, you retain control over it. The assigned student or students are added as collaborators with write access so they can complete the task. You can verify access in the repository's Collaborators and teams settings.

   

   Check the folder you specified when creating the task. It contains the uploaded sample code and TASK.md, which holds the task description. If no folder was specified, check the repository root.

   

6. Review all assignments

   Open the Assignments page to see the assignments you created. Students can now open their repositories and begin working on the task.

   

Back to tutorial topics

Create repositories for multiple tasks

Use the Repositories menu to manage student repositories and create repositories independently of task assignments. This is useful for shared lab repositories that students can reuse across multiple tasks. To create repositories together with a task assignment, see Assign the task and create student repositories.

1. Open Repositories

   Select Repositories in the navigation. This page lets you create repositories for multiple students at once, independently of any task.

   

2. Configure the repositories

   Enter labs as the Repository prefix. Set the repository name pattern to {prefix}-{year}-{studentName}. The pattern uses the prefix, current year, and each student's name.

   Leave Create one repository per selected group unchecked to create an individual repository for every student. To create empty repositories, leave the source selection set to Create empty repositories.

   

3. Select students and create repositories

   Select every student, or select a group to include its students. Check that the GitHub organization is correct, then select Create Repositories. Wait for creation to finish; each new repository is created with write access for its student.

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School administrator tutorials

As a school administrator, your main role is to support lectors at your school. There are no lector prerequisites to complete: you do not need to prepare a GitHub account or organization. Start by registering and signing in to aiDACTO.

Step 1: Register and sign in to aiDACTO

Use your school email address

Register with your school email address, and make sure you can access its inbox. Verifying this address helps verify that you are from the school. This is the address you will use to sign in, and aiDACTO also uses it to send notification emails. Verifying your email address does not automatically grant school administrator access.

1. Open registration

   On the aiDACTO home page, select Login / Register in the navigation.

   

2. Create a new account

   On the Sign in page, select No account? Create one. If you already have an aiDACTO account with your school email address, sign in with that address instead.

   

3. Enter your school email address

   On the Create account page, enter your school email address and select Next. Use your own school address; the addresses in these screenshots are examples.

   

4. Verify your email address

   A verification code is sent automatically to your school email address. Open your inbox, copy the code, enter it on the Enter code page, and select Next. The code is valid for 30 minutes.

   If the email has not arrived, check your spam or junk folder and confirm that you entered the correct address. If the code expires, request a new code before continuing.

   

5. Complete your details and sign in

   Complete the remaining registration details when prompted, then sign in to aiDACTO. Initially, the application shows the lector features, including Students, Tasks, Assignments, Analysis, and Repositories. Your account menu appears at the bottom of the navigation, along with Connect GitHub if you have not linked your GitHub account yet. You do not need to connect GitHub for this school administrator tutorial.

   After you are promoted to school administrator, the lector features may no longer be available following the role change. The screenshot shows the initial lector view, not the navigation after promotion.

   

Back to tutorial topics

Step 2: Request school administrator access

After signing in with your school account, send a request to the aiDACTO office to have your school administrator role reviewed.

1. Open your Profile

   Open your account menu near the bottom of the left navigation pane and select Profile.

   

2. Open the administrator request form

   On the Profile page, find Request School Administrator Access and select Request school administrator access. The form is hidden by default because most users do not need it.

   

3. Enter your school details and comments

   Fill in School name, City, and Country. You can also enter your Department, if applicable. Contact email is prefilled from your account. You can change it for this request, but use an email address from your school to help verify your school affiliation.

   Use Comments (optional) to send any additional information to the aiDACTO office. You can enter up to 2000 characters. Use your own school details and email address; the screenshot contains examples.

   

4. Choose whether to remain a lector

   If you also teach, select I also want to remain a lector. Remaining a lector requires a subscription after the trial month. Leave the checkbox unchecked if you only want to work as a school administrator. The school administrator role is free and allows you to buy and manage subscriptions for lectors.

   Without the lector role, menus such as Tasks, Assignments, and Analysis will no longer be visible once the role change is active. Select the checkbox if you need to keep using the teaching features.

5. Send the request and wait for activation

   Review your information and select Request administrator access to send the request to the aiDACTO office. Submitting the request does not change your role immediately. It can take up to 24 hours for the role change to become active.

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Step 3: Sign in again after approval

Once your school administrator role has been activated, sign out and sign in again to refresh your access. If the role is not active yet, allow up to 24 hours after submitting your request.

1. Review the updated navigation

   The navigation now shows school-administration features, including School Templates, Manage Lectors, and Template Library. Lector menus such as Tasks, Assignments, and Analysis are no longer shown unless you also kept the lector role.

   

2. Confirm your school on the Profile page

   Open your account menu and select Profile. The page shows your School administrator role and the school you administer. Git repository connections are no longer displayed on this profile page.

   

Back to tutorial topics

Step 4: Manage students for your school

Open Students from the navigation to manage students for your school. You can add students individually, or use the import and export tools to work with a JSON or CSV file instead of entering every student manually.

To add a student individually, select Add Student and enter the student's details for your school.

The controls are similar to the Students menu for lectors, including importing and exporting student lists. The difference is the scope: a lector manages only students in their own account, while a school administrator manages the school's students. Those students are accessible to all lectors associated with that school.

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Step 5: Create a school template

1. Open the Template Library

   Select Template Library from the navigation. The library lists global templates and templates created for your school. When your school is new and no school templates have been created, you will see only the global templates.

   

2. Start from a global template

   Rather than creating a template from scratch, choose a global template and select Use as school template. This opens the template editor, where you can change all of the template's entries to fit your school's needs.

   

3. Save and share the school template

   When you have finished customizing it, select Create school template. The resulting school template is available to all lectors associated with your school. Each lector can customize it further and save that version as a private template for their own use.

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Step 6: Approve lectors and assign subscriptions

1. Open Manage Lectors

   Select Manage Lectors in the navigation. When your school is new, this page may be empty: no lectors have requested to join and none are assigned yet.

   

2. Wait for a lector to request school membership

   The lector must sign in, open their Profile, find your school under Join a School, and select Request to join. When a lector requests to join, aiDACTO sends you an email notification to review the request.

   

3. Review and approve the request

   Open Manage Lectors to review the pending request. If you have confirmed that the lector belongs to your school, select Approve. The lector will then be listed among your school's lectors.

   

4. Assign subscriptions and share school resources

   After approval, you can assign subscriptions to the lector. The lector also gains access to the school's students and school templates, which are shared with lectors associated with the school.

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Coming next

Further tutorials will cover:

• Running submission analysis and reviewing generated findings.
• Submitting feedback to students.
• Creating tasks with ratings, rubrics, and test-case templates.
• Managing a school.
• Joining a school.

Want to get started before the tutorials are available? Schedule online a kickoff meeting, and we will walk you through aiDACTO.