DocumentCode :
1414714
Title :
Supporting Undergraduate Computer Architecture Students Using a Visual MIPS64 CPU Simulator
Author :
Patti, Davide ; Spadaccini, Andrea ; Palesi, Maurizio ; Fazzino, Fabrizio ; Catania, Vincenzo
Author_Institution :
Dipt. di Ing. Elettr., Elettron. ed Inf., Univ. of Catania, Catania, Italy
Volume :
55
Issue :
3
fYear :
2012
Firstpage :
406
Lastpage :
411
Abstract :
The topics of computer architecture are always taught using an Assembly dialect as an example. The most commonly used textbooks in this field use the MIPS64 Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) to help students in learning the fundamentals of computer architecture because of its orthogonality and its suitability for real-world applications. This paper shows how to use the EduMIPS64 visual CPU Simulator as a supporting tool for teaching the standard topics covered by an undergraduate course in computer architecture. The proposed approach is first compared to other similar works in the field, then after a short description of the simulator, the paper focuses on how it can be used for teaching specific topics in an undergraduate computer architecture course. This discussion is then followed by a quantitative assessment of the suitability of the simulator by means of a survey compiled by students themselves; the results show that EduMIPS64 is suitable for the purpose for which it was built-that is, supporting the learning process of computer architecture topics.
Keywords :
computer aided instruction; computer science education; educational courses; further education; instruction sets; microprocessor chips; reduced instruction set computing; teaching; text analysis; EduMIPS64; ISA; instruction set architecture; learning; quantitative assessment; real-world application; teaching; textbook; undergraduate computer architecture course; visual MIPS64 CPU simulator; Assembly; Computer architecture; Computers; Education; Pipeline processing; User interfaces; Visualization; Assembly programming; distance learning; instruction-set simulator; teaching methodology; visual simulation;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Education, IEEE Transactions on
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
0018-9359
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/TE.2011.2180530
Filename :
6122467
Link To Document :
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