Spartan Tech Magazine

Spring, Volume 2

Ho w t o c h e c k y o u r w in d o w s s p e c s
h o w t o ma n a g e y o u r e x t e n s io n s
Fe a t u r e d Pr in c ip a l
Co d e , c o d e , c o d e
c h r o me -b o o k t ip s
hour of code
h e l p d e s k : Mo v e a n d s e t -u p p l a n s

Sp a r t a n Te c h Mis s io n

The Spar tanTech Team 's m ission is to be a positive for ce in NCISD
and the com m unity w ith innovative appr oaches to instr uctional
technology and a com m itm ent to ser ve its com m unity, faculty,

staff, and students.

Co n t a c t In f o

Em ail: Spar tantech@new caneyisd.or g
Website: http://w w w.new caneyisd.or g/dom ain/2991

How t o ch eck you r w i n dow s syst em specs

If you ever want t o f ind out what your syst em specs are, such as CPU,
RAM, graphics card, or OS version, it ?s pret t y easy t o do so. To f ind out
about your CPU, RAM, and OS f irst open t he st art menu and right cl ick
on ?my comput er?, t hen cl ick on propert ies in t he menu t hat came up.
In t he cent er of t he comput er propert ies page is a l ist t hat shows you
your CPU, RAM, and OS inf ormat ion. To f ind out what kind of graphics
card you have inst al l ed f irst open t he st art menu. Then search f or
?device manager? in t he search box. Cl ick on t he it em t hat l ooks l ike a
t ool box and is cal l ed ?device manager?. In t he l ist t hat came up cl ick on
t he arrow beside ?displ ay adapt ers?. The device l ist ed under ?displ ay
adapt ers? is your graphics card.

How t o manage ext ensions in Googl e chrome

Ext ensions are one of t he biggest advant ages of Googl e chrome. They
l et you modif y t he behaviour of your browser t o suit your needs.
However, f or various reasons you may want t o remove some of your
ext ensions. The process f or doing so is very simpl e. First cl ick on t he
but t on in t he t op right t hat l ooks l ike 3 l ines st acked on t op of each
ot her. Then hover over ?t ool s? and go t o ?ext ensions?. From t his page
you have several opt ions. You can uncheck t he t he box t hat says
?enabl e? beside any ext ension t o t emporaril y disabl e it . Disabl ed
ext ensions no l onger af f ect your browser, but if you want t heir
f unct ional it y again it is real l y simpl e t o t urn t hem back on. If , however,
you just want t o compl et el y remove an ext ension f rom your browser
you simpl y cl ick on t he t rashcan icon on t he f ar right side of any
ext ension in t he l ist . This wil l compl et el y remove t he ext ension f rom
your browser, so if you ever want it back you?l l have t o f ind it in t he
chrome web st ore and downl oad it again.

Tip Br o u g h t t o y o u b y Sp a r t a n Te c h :
Da n ie l ONe a l

Principal Interview

About Dr. Ken Hodgkinson

Dr Ken Hodgkinson al so known as Dr.H has been t he
principal of Port er High school since f irst
est abl ished. Dr.H has a Doctorate in Educational
Administration and Supervision, Masters Degree in
Administration, BBA in Marketing, an Associates in
Computer Programming .

Current Technology on Campus

As we al l know t he main t echnol ogy on
campus , Chrome-books , t here is
anot her cool piece of t echnol ogy we
wal k by every day. The VBAS (Visual
Bel l Al ert Syst em) is used every day by
st udent s and st af f . Dr. H can change t he
t ime, add not es f or and show videos
f or everyone t o see and here. The VBAS
was creat ed and f orged int o what it is
t oday by Dr.H.

W hat technology do you plan to bring on campus in the
futur e?

Dr. H pl ans t o make an app f or Andriod t hat al l ows him t o cont rol VBAS f rom his
phone. He al so pl ans one day f or everyt hing t o be t ied t oget her. Everyt hing t hat
st af f and st udent s use wil l be in one spot . Theref ore, making everyt hing easier
and f ast er t o access.

Ar t ic l e Br o u g h t t o y o u b y Sp a r t a n
Te c h : ma r t in An d r a d e

Code, Code, Code

With the Hour of Code approaching (December 7-15), computer programming is on a lot of people?s
minds -- or, it should be. Programming computers is a lucrative, necessary skill in the modern world

(not to mention the fact that knowing how to code will make you a valuable commodity).

Why Should I Want to Code?
This is a good question -- why should a person care about programming computers? Can?t you
just buy whatever software you might need ready to go? Well, you can! And that is precisely why
a person should learn to code; it provides a skill that you will be paid for, if properly applied. In

addition, you can?t really buy every piece of software you might want pre-made -- or, the
software you want might be weirdly specific and therefore expensive, even if it isn?t complex. In
such a situation as that, it could be worth your while to invest time into your work and make the
software yourself, instead of paying for it. Plus, some languages are made with specific purposes
in mind. Visual Basic, for instance, is a language designed to work with Microsoft Windows and

other programs they make. This allows you to make completely custom plugins for Microsoft
Word or Excel, relatively easily.

Okay? But Isn?t it Difficult?
?Is it difficult?? is a common question in regards to programming. The answer is no? and yes. The
difficulty in programming computers is all based on the programmer and how difficult they want
programming to be. In the end, though, programming is a skill like any other; it takes work if you

want to be good.

You Said I Would be Valuable? How Valuable? What Does That Mean?
I mean you?ll be valuable in terms of legitimate money! Programmers are well paid for the work
they put in. Plus, many programmers experience excellent working conditions and a good salary.
Software Engineers (typically the leader on a team of programmers) at Google have a base salary
of $128,000 -- that?s nearly three times the national median income! And Google has consistently
ranked as the best place to work in the nation. But, even if you don?t get work at Google, your job

placement and compensation would still be excellent; regular programmers have a median
income of $74,280 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Code, Code, Code

I?m in! Where do I Start?

Great! The absolute best place to start is with Porter High School?s Hour of Code event on
December 8. During the Hour of Code, you?ll learn basic programming principles with

drag-and-drop programming. Speak to Mrs. Herr in the LMC for more information. If you can?t
make the Hour of Code, don?t let it stop you! The internet contains a swath of information and a

very helpful programming community that loves new learners. Try searching for tutorials on
YouTube -- you?ll get more hits than you?ll ever get through.

Languages to Start With

You will, of course, have to pick a language to start learning programming skills; I would suggest
these, numbered from easiest to most complex:

Pyt hon

- This can be downloaded from the website python.org. It is an excellent beginner
language, and it is surprisingly robust. It will work on any major operating system and
features very readable syntax.

Visual Basic

- This language is great, but only for very specific tasks. It incorporates drag-and-drop with
regular typed code -- it?s good for making simple forms. The only problem is that it is

Windows specific. You cannot write or run the code on Mac or Linux, which handicaps it
consi der abl y.

Java

- Java is probably the most common programming language in the world. It runs on
everything and is the structure behind everything from Android cell phones to electric
toasters. This language, however, does begin to get complicated. Be sure to look up
YouTube tutorials if you?re attempting to learn this one on your own -- the install of the

program and an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) alone is relatively forbidding.

C++

- Similar to Java in syntax, this is a very old language (in computer terms). It?s been around
a while and has become integrated into many different sources. C++ is a powerful
language, but it comes with complicated syntax.

C

- C is not easy. You should probably not start with C, but you should
know what it is; it controls low-level information flow, such as storing
information on a hard drive. The syntax for C is practically machine
code, and therefore not readable. While interesting, this is an advanced
l anguage

Hour of Code

Hour of Code is an event t hat t akes pl ace
during comput er science week which is
f rom December 7t h t o 13t h. The Hour of
Code was st art ed by an organizat ion cal l ed
Code.org in 2013. They st art ed t he event t o
bring comput er science t o every cl assroom.
They want ed kids t o l earn about code
because in t he f ut ure coding is what ?s going t o make everyt hing and t hey
want kids t o be prepared f or t hat . Our school , Port er High School ,
part icipat ed in Hour of Code. It t ook pl ace at t he Texan Drive St adium. The
Spart an Tech Team was set up at t he Texan Drive St adium during t hat t ime
t o hel p. The Hour Code host ed by Port er High School was a big success
wit h st udent s of al l ages f rom Port er and New Caney at t ending.

Ar t ic l e Br o u g h t t o y o u b y Sp a r t a n
Te c h : Ge r a r d o Cu e v a s

Help Desk: M ove and Set-Up Plans

As many peopl e may know, our IT sol ut ions hel p desk is made up of t wo
t abl es joined t oget her and covered wit h a whit e cl ot h. But , we, t he
Spart an Tech Team, have pl ans f or t he f ut ure of our hel p desk. The NCSID
Technol ogy depart ment has set aside some money f or us in order t o make
a proper and suit abl e pl ace f or t he Spart an Tech Team and f or t he peopl e
in need of t echnol ogical hel p. We st il l pl an t o make our hel p desk next t o
t he Spart an St ore. St ay t uned f or updat es regarding t he hel p desk in t he
Spring edit ion of our magazine.

THIS ARTICL E IS Br o u g h t t o y o u b y
Sp a r t a n Te c h : Ch r is t ia n Br io n e s