CSinParallel Summer 2021 Virtual Workshop

Workshop Overview

About CSinParallel

Multi-core computers with increasing core counts are here to stay, and distributed cloud computation has become a staple of industry innovation. How can instructors help today's undergraduate computer science (CS) majors to learn the principles and practices of parallel and distributed computing (PDC) that they need as they begin their careers after college? Hands-on experience with Raspberry Pi single-board computers and computer clusters gives students a tangible understanding of concepts and behaviors of PDC systems, and firsthand use of remote clusters demonstrates high-performance and scalability. CSinParallel is an NSF-funded initiative to help CS programs incorporate parallel and distributed computing (PDC) into their undergraduate curricula. We provide brief teaching modules and other materials for adding PDC to nearly any undergraduate CS course, in order to address established CS curricular recommendations such as the ACM/IEEE CS2013 and ABET accreditation guidelines for Computer Science.

Workshop Goals

This CSinParallel Summer 2021 Virtual Workshop will gather educators who are committed to increasing the parallel and distributed computing knowledge and skills of undergraduates in their Computer Science programs. Through an introduction to the CSinParallel modular course materials and hands-on sessions with PDC technologies including Raspberry Pi units and remote systems, this workshop will help its participants change and improve curricula at their institutions.

The CSinParallel team will present this workshop as an interactive videoconference on June 21-23, 2021. Participants in this 2.5-day workshop and related activities can expect:

  • Hands-on experience with parallel multithreading using OpenMP and distributed multiprocessing using the Message Passing Interface (MPI) on Raspberry Pi single-board computers and Raspberry Pi clusters.
  • Hands-on experience with remote high-performance multiprocessor systems and clusters to demonstrate scalability of larger exemplar applications.
  • Engaging discussions about how PDC can stimulate teaching and research (faculty and undergraduate).
  • A hands-on introduction to the CSinParallel teaching modules and other teaching resources that feature PDC software technologies, PDC Unplugged offline activities for learning PDC concepts, parallel programming patterns for teaching PDC problem solving and "parallel thinking," and realistic exemplar applications that motivate students to learn PDC.
  • Assistance in planning how to integrate more parallel and distributed computing (PDC) into the participant institution's undergraduate CS curriculum.
  • Ongoing support for implementing such a plan after the workshop, including support for using remote parallel computing resources.
  • Making connections with other faculty who are also seeking to add more PDC to their own curricula.

Dates and times (tentative)

  • Monday, June 21, 8:45am-4:00pm MDT
  • Tuesday June 22, 8:45am-4:00pm MDT
  • Wednesday, June 23, 8:45am-noon MDT

See the program page for session details on these dates.

Costs and equipment

  • No costs for participating in the workshop.
  • Participants must provide their own laptop or desktop environment, assumed to support Windows, Macintosh, or Linux.
  • Raspberry Pi kits are available for participating faculty, including two Raspberry Pi units, a network switch, and cables/adapters for connection to a laptop or desktop for input/output and for connecting to the switch.
    • Parts lists will be posted for both the kits used in this workshop (suitable for both parallel and distributed computing) and for single-unit Raspberry Pi kits (including laptop/desktop connection cables, suitable for parallel computing).

Application

Click here for application form . Selection will begin on May 15th and continue until we are at capacity.

For more information

Send any questions to csinparallel@stolaf.edu. The CSinParallel leadership for this workshop includes Joel Adams (Calvin University), Dick Brown (St. Olaf College), Suzanne Matthews (West Point), and Libby Shoop (Macalester College).