I think this is absolutely the way forward for technical courses (where the prof and maybe students already know how to use git, or can be expected to learn).
A course is kind of like a web app with a lot of common functionality. Too bad most LMSs seem to think we want to write our course in a little text box with no version control (even newer ones like Canvas make this assumption).
I agree, I think students should be learning how to set up version control very early on in 101 level classes. If for nothing else, it will preserve their work and ensure nothing is lost. I wish I had all of my work from University in git. I still have a lot of it, but things were inevitably lost because I did not use any kind of version control.
Also I like Markdown as a format for taking notes when you want to type them. Github renders these very nicely and its very convenient. However, I wish they had support for latex equations (inline or block).
I think this is the 'backend' for courses, but there has to be a better frontend for authoring of assignments, viewing those assignments, and viewing and optionally grading the completed assignment.
Way forward? Stuff like this has existed for years already just not as well marketed maybe.
At my university we typically use a single shared svn repository. Permissions restrict which directories are readable and writeable to students/groups. Performing reviews is a problem but apart from that it works perfectly even in classes with hundreds of students.
A course is kind of like a web app with a lot of common functionality. Too bad most LMSs seem to think we want to write our course in a little text box with no version control (even newer ones like Canvas make this assumption).