Parallel and Distributed Computing across the Computer Science Curriculum

Two recent curriculum studies, the ACM/IEEE Curricula 2013 Report and the NSF/IEEE-TCPP Curriculum Initiative on Parallel and Distributed Computing, argue that every undergraduate computer science program should include topics in parallel and distributed computing (PDC). Although not within the scope of these reports, there is also a need for students in computing related general education courses to be aware of the role that parallel and distributed computing technologies play in the computing landscape. One approach to integrating these topics into existing curricula is to spread them across several courses. However, this approach requires development of multiple instructional modules targeted to introduce PDC concepts at specific points in the curriculum. Such modules need to mesh with the goals of the courses for which they are designed in such a way that minimal material has to be removed from existing topics. At the same time the modules should provide students with an understanding of and experience employing fundamental PDC concepts. In this paper we report on our experience developing and deploying such modules.