Distributed Computing Education, Part 1: A Special Case?

Governments and other funding agencies worldwide have recently been investing in the development of research- and production-quality e-infrastructures. To allow for the full development and use of these technologies, the necessary infrastructure must be in place, and researchers of all disciplines- and ultimately all citizens--must acquire the skills required to access the available services. Therefore, it's vital to develop policies to support e-infrastructure education and training. However, distributed computing teaching must address issues beyond the strictly technological. This installment is an introduction to a description of experiences in addressing these issues at national and international levels.