Using Cognitive Computing for Learning Parallel Programming: An IBM Watson Solution

While modern parallel computing systems provide high performance resources, utilizing them to the highest extent requires advanced programming expertise. Programming for parallel computing systems is much more difficult than programming for sequential systems. OpenMP is an extension of C++ programming language that enables to express parallelism using compiler directives. While OpenMP alleviates parallel programming by reducing the lines of code that the programmer needs to write, deciding how and when to use these compiler directives is up to the programmer. Novice programmers may make mistakes that may lead to performance degradation or unexpected program behavior. Cognitive computing has shown impressive results in various domains, such as health or marketing. In this paper, we describe the use of IBM Watson cognitive system for education of novice parallel programmers. Using the dialogue service of the IBM Watson we have developed a solution that assists the programmer in avoiding common OpenMP mistakes. To evaluate our approach we have conducted a survey with a number of novice parallel programmers at the Linnaeus University, and obtained encouraging results with respect to usefulness of our approach

An Embedded System for applying High Performance Computing in Educational Learning Activity

HPC (High Performance Computing) has become more popular in the last few years. With the benefits on high computational power, HPC has impact on industry, scientific research and educational activities. Implementing HPC as a curriculum in universities could be consuming a lot of resources because well-known HPC system are using Personal Computer or Server. By using PC as the practical moduls it is need great resources and spaces.  This paper presents an innovative high performance computing cluster system to support education learning activities in HPC course with small size, low cost, and yet powerful enough. In recent years, High Performance computing usually implanted in cluster computing and require high specification computer and expensive cost. It is not efficient applying High Performance Computing in Educational research activiry such as learning in Class. Therefore, our proposed system is created with inexpensive component by using Embedded System to make High Performance Computing applicable for leaning in the class. Students involved in the construction of embedded system, built clusters from basic embedded and network components, do benchmark performance, and implement simple parallel case using the cluster.  In this research we performed evaluation of embedded systems comparing with i5 PC, the results of our embedded system performance of NAS benchmark are similar with i5 PCs. We also conducted surveys about student learning satisfaction that with embedded system students are able to learn about HPC from building the system until making an application that use HPC system

Análisis y evaluación del uso de la supercomputación en la mejora del desempeño formativo = Analysis and evaluation of supercomputing for training performance improvement

205 p.Los recursos de supercomputación son en la actualidad el pilar fundamental para el desarrollo de la investigación en diversos campos. Su impacto se basa en la capacidad de cálculo, que permite realizar simulaciones computacionales que permiten mejorar la precisión de los experimentos. La presente Tesis Doctoral pretende, en primer lugar, realizar un estudio de la evolución de la supercomputación y su aplicación a diversos campos para, posteriormente, estudiar los factores determinantes que permitan analizar los aspectos más relevantes a la hora de estudiar la relación existente entre los estudios de supercomputación con los aspectos pedagógicos, de conocimiento y de contenido, basándose en el modelo TPACK. El estudio se realizó con información procedente de la base de datos de estudiantes del Centro de Supercomputación de Castilla y León (SCAYLE), de la que se obtuvieron 97 participantes. En el estudio se realizó un análisis factorial para comprobar que la estructura de datos obtenida era coherente con el modelo TPACK usado como referencia. Los resultados obtenidos del análisis relacionan las dimensiones tecnológicas con las de conocimiento, pedagógicas y de contenido