https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.8/topics/http/shortcuts/#render
render(request, template[, dictionary][, context_instance][, content_type][, status][, current_app])
render() is a brand spanking new shortcut for render_to_response in 1.3 that will automatically use RequestContext that I will most definitely be using from now on.
2020 EDIT: It should be noted that render_to_response() was removed in Django 3.0
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.8/topics/http/shortcuts/#render-to-response
render_to_response(template[, dictionary][, context_instance][, mimetype])ΒΆ
render_to_response is your standard render function used in the tutorials and such. To use RequestContext you’d have to specify context_instance=RequestContext(request)
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.8/ref/generic-views/#django-views-generic-simple-direct-to-template
direct_to_template is a generic view that I use in my views (as opposed to in my urls) because like the new render() function, it automatically uses RequestContext and all its context_processors.
But direct_to_template should be avoided as function based generic views are deprecated. Either use render or an actual class, see https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.3/topics/generic-views-migration/
I’m happy I haven’t typed RequestContext in a long, long time.