Parallel Computing: Unplugging to Learn

Abstract

Technological devices programmed through parallel computing are increasingly present in people's daily lives. They are responsible for processing images that we see on computers, televisions, cell phones and games. It is a fact that parallel processing is a reality, so computer professionals need to know the peculiarities of this form of programming. However, teaching parallel computing is not a simple task, the computational thinking parallel is quite different from that for the sequential processing. This work, then proposes a new methodology for teaching parallel computing for young beginners in programming. Our technique is based on principles of unplugged computing, like to learn doing and playing. We believe that unplugged computing can be very useful in teaching the difficult concepts of parallel computing 1