Minimum time, maximum effect : introducing parallel computing in CS0 and STEM outreach activities using Scratch
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Date
2014-09-24Author
Andresen, Daniel
Feldhausen, Russell
Bell, Scott
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This talk discusses our experiences and outcomes using Scratch to teach parallel computing concepts to students just learning about computer science. We presented versions of this material to middle school and high school girls during a summer camp and then to undergraduate university students enrolled in an introductory computer science course. Using the Scratch development environment, students were able to build, modify and observe the changes in the performance of applications that utilize multi-threaded, concurrent operations. This includes some scenarios that involve more advanced topics, such as race conditions. We first used this exercise in Summer 2013 with a group of middle school girls as part of a summer STEM camp at Kansas State University. After our lesson, 22 of 41 students surveyed showed an interest in a job using high performance computing to solve problems, and 27 of 37 said they were capable of learning to write computer programs.