(Reference: https://help.github.com/en/github/getting-started-with-github/fork-a-repo)
Open the repo (https://github.com/cs800-research-spr20/dissertation-sched) and click the Fork button. This will create a copy of this repo in your own GitHub account.
Between the time you've forked the repo and when you're ready to make your updates, there may have been changes to the files. I may have made an adjustment, or another student may have made an adjustment. So, before you make any edits, make sure that you have the latest version of the repo.
The directions below are showing how to do this via github.com, but if you're comfortable with git on the command-line and have checked out a local copy of your forked repo, then this process is much easier, as described at https://help.github.com/en/github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/merging-an-upstream-repository-into-your-fork
Reload your page and see if there's a message that either says you're up-to-date or behind the cs800-research-spr20:master. If you're behind, then you need to pull in the updates. Click the Compare link.
The default direction (from your repo to the main repo) isn't what we want, so click the switching the base link.
You'll see the commits that have been made since you last updated against the main repo. Scroll down to see all of the changes. Hopefully, you'll see a Able to merge message. (If not, then you've changed something locally that was also changed on the main repo.)
To merge these changes into your repo, click the Create pull request button.
Type in a title for the PR and click Create pull request.
Hopefully all is green. Scroll down and click the Rebase and merge button.
Then on the next page, click the Confirm and rebase button. And then you should get to the successful merge page.
Then reload your repo. If you still have a message that says you're some number of commits behind the master, click Compare then switching the base and scroll down to verify that it says "Showing 0 changed files with 0 additions and 0 deletions."
Now you can make updates in your copy of README.md as needed.
Follow the directions at https://help.github.com/en/github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/creating-a-pull-request-from-a-fork