Teaching parallel computing concepts using real-life applications

• Autores: Ali Yazici, Alok Mishra, Ziya Karakaya
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 32, no. 2 (Parte A ), 2016, págs. 772-781
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The need to promote parallel computing concepts is an important issue due to a rapid advance in multi-core architectures.This paper reports experiences in teaching parallel computing concepts to computer and software engineering under-graduates. By taking a practical approach in delivering the material, students are shown to grasp the essential concepts inan effective way. This has been demonstrated by implementing small projects during the course, such as computing the sumof the terms of a geometric series using pipelines, solving linear systems by parallel iterative methods, and computingMandelbrot set (fractal). This study shows that, it is useful to provide real-life analogies to facilitate general understandingand to motivate students in their studies as early as possible via small project implementations. The paper also describes anoverall approach used to develop students’ parallel computing skills and provides examples of the analogies employed inconjunction with the approach described. This approach is also assessed by collectingquestionnaires and learning outcomesurveys.