the fact that it looks really cool likely has surprisingly strong effects on student motivation and work/attention levels, leading to more learning, which is the sole target here
We had an overpriced external hard drive we had to slot into computers to play around with, but it helped because it wasn't a virtual "imaginary" thing.
Do we assume that 18+ folks are only interested in parallel programming if it's assembled of shiny pipes?
This. The first step to teaching anyone anything is to grab their attention. Especially kids/teens.
But I'll admit, the price is too steep. They can definitely do better