GoRails - Ruby on Rails Screencasts

Premium Ruby on Rails video tutorials and screencasts covering everything from beginner concepts to advanced techniques.

Quick Overview

What is GoRails?

GoRails is a premium screencast series focused on Ruby on Rails development, created by Chris Oliver. It covers practical, real-world development techniques and modern Rails practices.

Key Features

• 400+ Video Tutorials covering Rails development
• Weekly New Episodes with current best practices
• Source Code Access for all tutorial projects
• Forum Community for questions and discussions
• Beginner to Advanced content progression
• Real-world Examples and practical applications

Student Benefits

With the GitHub Student Developer Pack:

• Free Pro access for the duration of student status
• Full library access to all premium content
• New episode notifications and early access
• Community forum participation
• Downloadable episodes for offline viewing
• Source code repositories for hands-on learning

How to Redeem

Prerequisites

• Active GitHub Student Developer Pack
• Interest in Ruby on Rails web development

Step-by-Step Process

1. Access the Offer

   • Visit your GitHub Student Pack dashboard
   • Find the GoRails offer section
   • Click to activate your Pro account

2. Create GoRails Account

   • Sign up using your student email
   • Verify your student status
   • Complete profile setup

3. Start Learning

   • Browse the episode library
   • Follow learning paths for structured progression
   • Join community discussions

Best Uses for Students

Web Development Learning

• Learn Rails fundamentals from basic concepts to advanced patterns
• Modern development practices including testing and deployment
• Real-world project building with practical examples
• Industry best practices for professional development

Academic Projects

• Course assignments requiring web applications
• Capstone projects with full-stack development
• Portfolio projects showcasing Rails skills
• Research projects requiring data-driven web applications

Learning Paths

Beginner Track

1. Rails Basics - MVC, routing, controllers
2. Database Fundamentals - ActiveRecord, migrations
3. User Authentication - Devise and custom solutions
4. Testing - RSpec, integration testing
5. Deployment - Heroku, production considerations

Intermediate Track

1. Advanced ActiveRecord - Complex queries, optimizations
2. API Development - JSON APIs, versioning
3. Background Jobs - Sidekiq, delayed processing
4. Real-time Features - ActionCable, WebSockets
5. Performance Optimization - Caching, database tuning

Advanced Track

1. Microservices - Service-oriented architecture
2. Advanced Testing - System tests, test strategies
3. DevOps - Docker, CI/CD pipelines
4. Scaling - Load balancing, database sharding
5. Security - Authentication, authorization patterns

Featured Series

Practical Applications

• Build a SaaS Application - Complete multi-part series
• E-commerce Platform - Shopping cart, payments, inventory
• Social Media Clone - User interactions, feeds, notifications
• Project Management Tool - Task management, team collaboration

Modern Rails Techniques

• Hotwire and Turbo - Modern frontend without JavaScript
• ViewComponent - Component-based view architecture
• Stimulus - JavaScript framework for Rails
• Importmaps - Modern asset management

Technical Skills Covered

Backend Development

# Example from authentication tutorial
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
  before_action :authenticate_user!
  
  private
  
  def current_user
    @current_user ||= User.find(session[:user_id]) if session[:user_id]
  end
end

Database Design

# Advanced ActiveRecord patterns
class Order < ApplicationRecord
  has_many :line_items, dependent: :destroy
  has_many :products, through: :line_items
  
  scope :completed, -> { where.not(completed_at: nil) }
  scope :recent, -> { where('created_at > ?', 1.week.ago) }
end

Testing Practices

# RSpec testing examples
RSpec.describe Order, type: :model do
  describe '#total_price' do
    it 'calculates total from line items' do
      order = create(:order)
      create(:line_item, order: order, price: 10.00, quantity: 2)
      
      expect(order.total_price).to eq(20.00)
    end
  end
end

Community and Support

Active Community

• Discussion Forum - Get help with Rails questions
• Code Reviews - Share projects for feedback
• Weekly Discussions - Topics from latest episodes
• Student Groups - Connect with other learners

Creator Support

• Chris Oliver - Personal responses in forums
• Guest Experts - Industry professionals share insights
• Live Streams - Regular coding sessions and Q&A
• Conference Coverage - RailsConf and other event content

Integration with Academic Work

Course Integration

• Web Development Courses - Supplement classroom learning
• Database Courses - Real-world database design patterns
• Software Engineering - Professional development practices
• Capstone Projects - Build production-ready applications

Portfolio Development

# Example portfolio project structure
class Portfolio < ApplicationRecord
  belongs_to :user
  has_many :projects, dependent: :destroy
  has_one_attached :resume
  
  validates :title, presence: true
  validates :description, length: { minimum: 50 }
end

Career Preparation

Industry Skills

• Professional Rails development patterns and conventions
• Team collaboration using Git and GitHub workflows
• Code quality through testing and code review
• Deployment and production environment management

Job Readiness

• Portfolio projects demonstrating Rails expertise
• Understanding of scale and performance considerations
• Modern tooling knowledge (Docker, CI/CD, monitoring)
• Best practices for security and maintainability

Additional Resources

Supplementary Learning

• Rails Guides integration and references
• GitHub repositories with complete source code
• External tool tutorials (Redis, PostgreSQL, etc.)
• Career advice and interview preparation

Project Ideas

• Blog Platform with content management
• Task Management application with teams
• Marketplace with payments and reviews
• Analytics Dashboard with data visualization

Support and Help

Getting Assistance

• GoRails Forum - Community and creator support
• Episode Comments - Specific questions about tutorials
• GitHub Repositories - Source code and issue tracking
• GitHub Education Support - For Student Pack issues

Learning Tips

• Follow along with code examples in your own environment
• Experiment with variations and extensions
• Build projects to apply learned concepts
• Join discussions to learn from other students

This resource provides comprehensive Rails education that prepares students for professional web development careers using one of the most productive web frameworks.