OnRamp to parallel and distributed computing

Abstract

Computer Science students must understand parallel and distributed computing (PDC) concepts to be effective computer scientists in the workforce, as reflected in the ACM Curriculum guidelines [1]. Communities of CS educators are creating educational modules, and making parallel compute environments (PCEs) available to educators who are integrating PDC concepts into their existing curriculum. 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 while also providing a path for students to learn how to be productive on the native PCE. OnRamp is designed to be 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. As students become more comfortable with running parallel applications on PCEs, OnRamp transforms into a reference guide as they graduate to using the native PCE.