Learner Profiles
Typical Participants
Profile 1: Graduate Student Transitioning from Local Jupyter
Name: Sam Thompson Background: 2nd year graduate student in data science
Motivation: - Currently uses Jupyter notebooks locally (8-core laptop) - Data growing too large for laptop (~50 GB datasets) - Needs to run on Sagehen for speed and storage - Wants familiar IDE experience, not command-line only
Experience: - Proficient in Python (pandas, scikit-learn, matplotlib) - Used Jupyter extensively for exploratory analysis - Has a Sagehen account but only submits SLURM jobs via shell - Comfortable with VS Code basics locally
Pain Point: “Jupyter on HPC is hard to set up. I want my full IDE, debugging tools, and Git integration on the cluster, not just a notebook.”
Expected Outcome After Workshop: - Connect VS Code
to Sagehen directly - Edit Python code with full IDE features
(autocomplete, debugging) - Run code interactively in integrated
terminal - Access large datasets stored on /bigdata and
/scratch - Submit SLURM jobs from VS Code without SSH’ing
separately
Preference: Python development, will use integrated terminal heavily
Profile 2: Faculty Using RStudio Desktop Locally
Name: Dr. Maria Gonzalez Background: Associate Professor of Statistics
Motivation: - Uses RStudio Desktop on local Windows machine - Lab has large datasets (genomics) that belong on HPC - Wants to move workflow to Sagehen HPC but keep familiar tools - Need to collaborate with students accessing same cluster data
Experience: - Expert R programmer - Familiar with RStudio features and workflow - Never used SSH extensively - Limited Linux command line experience
Pain Point: “RStudio Server is complicated. Can’t I just use VS Code to edit R files and run them?”
Expected Outcome After Workshop: - Connect VS Code to Sagehen via SSH - Open and edit R scripts on cluster - Run R code in VS Code terminal (using Rscript or interactive R) - Understand file paths and folder structure on Sagehen - Know how to use Lmod to load R and R packages - Ability to demonstrate workflow to students
Preference: R development, will use terminal for data processing, may try VS Code extensions for R support
Profile 3: Undergraduate CS Student with VS Code Experience
Name: Alex Kim Background: Junior computer science major
Motivation: - Uses VS Code for local class projects (C++, Python) - Starting first research experience on Sagehen - Wants same IDE they know locally - Interested in learning HPC and cluster tools
Experience: - Comfortable with VS Code (used in algorithms class) - Basic Python and C++ programming - Never used a cluster before - Familiar with Git from computer science courses
Pain Point: “I know VS Code but not HPC. I want to apply what I know locally to the cluster.”
Expected Outcome After Workshop: - Understand how VS Code can extend to remote servers - Set up VS Code Remote-SSH connection independently - Recognize differences between local and HPC workflows - Know how to use Git on Sagehen - Understand SLURM job submission from VS Code terminal - Foundation for deeper HPC learning
Preference: Interested in all aspects, good learner, will ask system-level questions
Profile 4: Researcher Frustrated with SSH-Only Workflows
Name: Dr. James Chen Background: Postdoc in computational physics
Motivation: - Currently uses pure SSH + vim for Sagehen work - Find this workflow tedious (no syntax highlighting, hard to debug) - Wants better development experience - Has heard VS Code can improve this
Experience: - Experienced programmer (Python, C++, MATLAB) - Very comfortable with command line and SSH - Advanced vim user but open to trying IDE - Never used VS Code before
Pain Point: “I can code on the cluster, but debugging and refactoring are painful without IDE features. I lose time in vim.”
Expected Outcome After Workshop: - See how VS Code can replace vim for some tasks - Appreciate IDE features even for HPC work (debugging, syntax checking) - Connect VS Code to Sagehen successfully - Decide if VS Code workflow is better than pure SSH - Know how to use VS Code Remote-SSH extensions - Still comfortable with SSH if VS Code doesn’t work
Preference: Will compare VS Code to current vim workflow, appreciates technical depth
Profile 5: Undergraduate First-Time HPC User
Name: Jordan Rodriguez Background: Senior undergrad physics major
Motivation: - Taking computational physics course that uses HPC - First time using a cluster - Professor said “use VS Code to connect” - Wants accessible, user-friendly introduction
Experience: - Comfortable with Python from coursework - Used VS Code in CS electives - Never SSH’d into anything - Gets overwhelmed by Linux complexity
Pain Point: “Terminal stuff intimidates me. I want a GUI. How do I even start?”
Expected Outcome After Workshop: - Successfully connect VS Code to Sagehen - Understand basics of remote development concept - Edit Python files for class assignments - Understand storage paths and file organization - Know where to get help for further HPC learning - Confidence that they’re not “doing it wrong”
Preference: Needs clear step-by-step guidance, appreciates analogies to local VS Code
Common Learner Characteristics
What They Know
- VS Code (at least basics) or similar IDE
- Basic command-line operations (ls, cd, cat)
- How to manage files on their computer
- How to run code or scripts they write
What They Don’t Know
- How SSH remote access works conceptually
- Difference between “local” and “remote” files
- SLURM job submission (most will learn this separately)
- Module system and loading software
- How to navigate Sagehen’s file structure
Learner Diversity
By Research Field
- Data Science - Jupyter users, large datasets
- Statistics - RStudio users, collaborative analysis
- Computer Science - Familiar with VS Code, want to learn systems
- Physics - Computational simulations, need performance
- Biology - Pipeline development, data processing
By Career Stage
- Undergraduate - First time, needs support and reassurance
- Graduate Student - Scaling up from laptop, knowledge gaps
- Postdoc - Experienced coder, wants better tools
- Faculty - Teaching students, needs to understand system
Design Philosophy
This workshop bridges the gap between “I know VS Code locally” and “I want to use it on HPC.”
Key assumptions: - Participants have some IDE experience (usually VS Code) - Participants may not know SSH or Linux well - Participants have real HPC work to do (not just learning) - Participants want minimal setup time before working
The workshop emphasizes: - “How do I set this up?” - Clear setup instructions, troubleshooting - “What’s different from local?” - Highlight conceptual differences - “Can I do my actual work?” - Real examples, not toy projects - “What if it breaks?” - Reassurance and support
By end of day, participants should have: 1. Successfully connected VS Code to Sagehen 2. Opened a real project and made edits 3. Run code in the integrated terminal 4. Confidence to continue learning independently
Accessibility Considerations
Workshop should accommodate: - Visual - Large text in screenshots, clear colors - Auditory - Written transcript of demos, captions if recording - Motor - Keyboard shortcuts alternatives, no fast-paced typing - Cognitive - Clear language, step-by-step process, breaks - Technical - Good WiFi, contingency plans if Sagehen down
Provide materials in multiple formats: - Printed reference cards - Online documentation - Video walkthrough (optional) - Accessible code examples with comments