One of the hardest part getting anyone into Programming is actually setting up their Dev environment. ( You have many different platform, OS version or other compatibles issues... etc. And most student dont have clue about any of these ) You then have to teach them basic Git ( Github ) usage.
Cloud9 could be great but hasn't gotten any traction apart from using it for some tutorials.
This Codespaces brings the best of both world and kill two birds with one stone.
The next step is Azure, hopefully they could have an Amazon Lightsail equivalent that is simple to understand and deploy without scaring beginners away.
I think that setting up your development environment is often an ironically pleasant and linear (i.e. easy) task that is a matter of following some tutorials and that might make a beginner feel like they are accomplishing something. There were always plenty of tutorials for doing that as well, and I can imagine it is not least because developers like sharing their experience by writing them. Of course after some time it becomes a hassle and one just wants to have their setup the habitual way, but in the beginning for me at least it felt like accomplishing something.
Cloud9 could be great but hasn't gotten any traction apart from using it for some tutorials.
This Codespaces brings the best of both world and kill two birds with one stone.
The next step is Azure, hopefully they could have an Amazon Lightsail equivalent that is simple to understand and deploy without scaring beginners away.