Parallel And Distributed Computing Concepts Research Articles

Hands-on parallel & distributed computing with Raspberry Pi devices and clusters

Parallel and distributed computing (PDC) concepts are now required topics for accredited undergraduate computer science programs. However, introducing PDC into the CS curriculum is challenging for several reasons, including an instructor's lack of PDC knowledge and difficulties in accessing PDC hardware. This paper addresses both of these challenges by presenting free, interactive, web-based PDC teaching modules using inexpensive Raspberry Pi single board computers (SBCs). Our materials include a free disk image that makes it possible for instructors to build Raspberry Pi clusters in minutes and use our software in a variety of curricular contexts. Our multi-year assessment of these materials on students and faculty members indicates that: (i) our materials increased students' confidence regarding important PDC concepts and motivated them to study PDC further; and (ii) our materials increased faculty members' confidence and preparedness in teaching key PDC concepts at their own institutions.

Visual analogy videos for understanding fundamental parallel scheduling policies

Parallel and distributed computing (PDC) education is increasingly gaining greater recognition as a core topic in undergraduate computing degrees. While the application of PDC concepts to software development involves the use of highly-technical tools and libraries typically reserved for advanced courses, PDC educators are seeking pedagogical approaches that can be used to introduce PDC concepts in earlier, introductory courses. This study presents such an approach, and aims to introduce undergraduate students to fundamental PDC concepts without the expectation that they can apply those concepts. The proposed approach is inspired by the success seen in the wider computing education literature, where analogies and visualization have helped students understand other abstract computing topics. The proposed learning resources come in the form of a series of short videos, carefully aligned to a learning activity that guides towards achieving the intended learning outcomes. In addition to being a simple activity to complete with students, evaluations illustrate its value even with minimal guidance from the instructor. The proposed approach is studied as both a synchronous in-class activity guided by the instructor, as well as an asynchronous online self-directed activity. These two studies produced different outcomes with respect to student learning, revealing an important implication for designers of instructional material to consider.

OnRamp: A web-portal for teaching parallel and distributed computing

Computer Science students must understand parallel and distributed computing (PDC) concepts to be effective computer scientists in the workforce, as reflected in the 2013 ACM Curriculum guidelines. Significant work has been done by CS educators to develop curriculum materials and increase access to parallel compute environments (PCEs) by leveraging and clustering a plethora of small multicore systems. Even with these resources there is a barrier to entry for students to use PCEs, namely the unfamiliar and complex system software ecosystem of modern PCEs. The OnRamp project lowers that barrier to entry for exploring PDC concepts on a variety of PCEs by abstracting away the details of interacting with the system and focuses the students’ attention on the PDC concepts. This top-down approach is in contrast to existing approaches involving all aspects of PDC necessarily being taught before the key concepts can be explored. In this paper we discuss the motivation, design and implementation of OnRamp, a general purpose web portal for supporting the exploration of PDC concepts that harnesses the existing educational resources created by the CS education community. It coaches students through interactive modules that teach them about PDC concepts and PCEs while allowing them to launch parallel applications from day one.