PluggedIn by LASA Ezine

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inside?

Learn how to keep your computer running healthy and clean! Find what laptop is right for you for this school year! See inside a computer and how it works! Learn about the technology used in audio/video production!

Table of Contents 2

Table of Contents Locate each story

What Laptop is Right For You?

Can’t decide which one you want? We’ve got your back

3 4

Letter from the Editor

A friendly letter from the Editor

Eric Bowen, the Genius Boy Who Built His Own Computer A young teen built his very own computer

Clean your computer and extend its life

The Parts of a Gaming Computer

Professional Producers

Audio Producers and Film Producers

Google Classroom

Demographics of the Internet

Learn how this handy program is affecting schools everywhere

Learn who’s behind today’s film, music and sound FX

Discover countries with the most internet use and common languages used on the web

Get a good visual idea of how Producers work

Best Gaming Desktop From Dell...?

And you thought you’d seen it all

Take a look on the inside of today’s technology

Cleaning Your Computer

An Idea to Global Success

Learn how Dell started and evolved

Contributors

Take a look at who worked on the magazine

Dear Reader,

Letter From The Editor

Technology is continuously evolving, so we here at PluggedIn want to keep you in the know. We cover a range of topics involving technology from the computers showcased in Tyler’s, Jack’s, and my articles to new programs and technology in Jared’s and Andrew’s articles. During the process of making this magazine we encountered some trouble finding a theme that would fit our topic, but after some trial and error we created a modern theme that screamed technology. Through this challenge and the many others we overcame, we all remembered our love for technology and knew that we must succeed. Sincerely,

3 3

Eric Bowen,the Genius Boy Who Built His Own Computer By TYLER STENCE

With his plan set in place, Bowen said all he had to now was to find where to buy the parts for his computer. He had been searching and came across a local Austin business called Fry’s Electronics. While there, he considered what games he wanted to play, how powerful his PC needed to be, and how expensive it was. Fry’s Elecrtonics

Photo by MysteriousMystery

After years of using his old, slow, IBM computer, a young man in Austin, Texas decided to build a new one from scratch. To build one is no simple task, and it may take countless hours to achieve, but if you have the right information and knowledge, then it can be easy. This is the story of how a 14-year-old boy, who built a computer at such a young age. Eric Bowen said he decided to build his computer because he thought it was time for an upgrade from his current setup. Bowen started his computer build in the summer before his freshmen year in high school. Bowen was able to complete his PC build with financial help from his parents, and by researching on online blogs of people who have build them before. “I had always seen all these Youtubers with these cool gaming computers and I was like I want one of those, I want to buy one. Then I realized that people just build their own custom computers and thought, that’s cool. That sounds like fun!” said Bowen.

He said he then consulted with an employee at Fry’s to make sure all of his parts were compatible. “The majority of the parts I purchased were from Fry’s Electronics, with some other parts from Bestbuy, or Amazon.” he said. Once he had acquired all of the parts for his computer, Bowen researched the process of building, and how his whole system would connect and work together. He found a few

he was very frustrated because that was the only compatible CPU for his setup, so he had to send back his motherboard and reconfigure his whole build. Bowen also mentioned that you need to have extra precaution when actually plugging in, and connecting your parts while building. “...Remember this: it only plugs in one way, and if you have to force it, it’s probably wrong. Photo byPetteri Aimonen

Photo by Eric Bowen

articles on www.pcmag.com, and prepared his workspace. “First, we installed the power supply--that’s always the first thing you do, then we took the motherboard and assembled all the small parts on that, like the CPU, RAM, and CPU cooler. We put that in the case and then put the graphics card in.

Eric’s Computer

Then we just added hard drives and case lighting.” Bowen said that when you are preparing to build a computer, you need to have the full amount of funds before you purchase parts. Bowen said he had run into this problem when he bought the motherboard, and case, and waited to purchase his CPU later. Then, a week later, when he had enough money for the CPU he needed for his motherboard, it had gone out of stock. He said

Damaged motherboard

And just be careful, because if you break anything it’s gonna be expensive to repair,” said Bowen. Like Bowen said, if you are being careless while building, you are most likely going to break something. If you break something it will be very hard to fix it on your own, and to send it in to get it fixed will be costly. Also, a good thing

to use while building is an anti-static wristband. These wristbands have a wire that you connect to a metal part of the case, so you don’t end up accidentally sending a shock through the unconnected parts and frying them. One misconception about home built computers is that they are always very costly, but contrary to what many people might think, they actually aren’t that expensive. There are so many different ways you can build a computer. If you just want a fast one that is not for gaming, it could cost only 600 dollars, however if you want it to be able to play the latest games, it might cost over 1,000 dollars. This may seem crazy, but with more and more new computers and components coming out, it keeps getting cheaper. “Building a computer is a lot cheaper then you would think,” Collin said, “I would say that you only need to spend $800-1000 to get a very good computer. If you aren’t playing games or doing video editing you could easily get by in the 600-800 range and still have a fast computer,”

After Eric Bowen Completed his PC build, he said, “It is still a very cool feeling to know that I put together this beast gaming machine myself. My parents were proud of me, I’m proud of me, it was just a great learning experience.” Like Bowen said, building a computer can be fun, and a huge learning experience. Home-built computers are even cost efficient, and are usually cheaper than even many Dell computers, since you don’t have to pay the cost of them being built since you do it yourself. If you buy a pre-built computer, chances are you will not be able to upgrade it, but with a homebuilt computer, you can keep upgrading it as technology evolves. Because of all of this, I highly suggest that if you need a computer or are looking to buy one, that you consider building your own. •

The Parts of a G By: Tyler Stence CPU and Cooler: According to Stephanie Crawford’s article on How PCs Work at http:// computer.howstuffworks.com/pc1.htm, the CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the main computing component of your system. The CPU is basically a brain, and it sends and directs all instructions to the rest of the computer. But with all of this power going through the CPU, it generates heat. Because of this, you will have to buy a dedicated CPU cooler to make sure it won’t overheat.

Motherboard: According to Stephanie Crawford’s article on How PCs Work at http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pc1. htm, the Motherboard is the component that connects everything together. The CPU connects into the cpu socket near the top, and the ram to the sides of that. Down to the bottom of the board are the PCI slots. These slots are what house and connect the graphics cards.

Power Supply: According to Stephanie Crawford’s article on How PCs Work at http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pc1. htm, the Power Supply is the part of your computer that provides energy and power throughout the system. The Power supply is the most important part of your pc because it can single-handedly destroy every component. This is why you should invest in a quality power supply with a warranty, so if anything goes wrong you can get it replaced.

Gaming Computer SSD’s and Hard Drives: According to Stephanie Crawford’s article on How PCs Work at http://computer.howstuffworks. com/pc1.htm, SSDs (Solid State Drives) and Hard Drives are the components that you store all of your information and documents on. The difference between a SSD and Hard Drive is that there are no spinning disks in an SSD, and everything is connected electronically. This can make them up to 3 times faster than Hard Drives.

GPU: According to Stephanie Crawford’s article on How PCs Work at http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pc1. htm, the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) also known as the Graphics Card, is the unit that processes all 2d and 3d modeling. While GPUs are mainly used for gaming, they can improve performance on video rendering, and entertainment consumption.

Radiators and Fans: According to Stephanie Crawford’s article on How PCs Work at http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ pc1.htm, the Radiators and Fans on a watercooled computer cool the fluid as it runs through the radiators. The Fans are mounted on the Radiators and bring cold air through the aluminum fins on the radiator, which the fluid runs through. As opposed to only air cooling a system, water cooling is much more efficient, but requires more space to operate.

Professional Producers

Photo by Michelle Loconto

Their jobs and goals The idea of music,The same rules go for movie and are closely related yet movies, sounds sound directors/pro- varied in many ways, and games beducers when they’re just like the millions of ing related may seem far fetched working. projects that they’ve at first-glance. Es- “It’s different for all created. There’s a pecially when you every single comreason they work so pany. The composer think about how hard at this job and do they help us. But can come in at dif- what they do. It seems looking more in- ferent parts of the depth, we can see process. Or they may that all of the producers how they function. not come check until seem to enjoy their job Their structure is after the movie is fully and have fun. You may almost like a com- edited. It’s fun to see think that directing is too puter; each per- the whole thing be putmuch for you. Anyone son has a function together as it goes, can do what they want And you can make and without that person, the out- interactive stuff and as long as they are decome wouldn’t be the game can change termined to make it hapas good. Having a and ramp up based pen; and this applies for completely differ- on how you’re play- every job. Anyone can ent job than some- ing the game” says start at any age to write one else doesn’t Will Loconto, a sound music, make sounds, producer. mean the same and even movies! Mufor your goals. You sic is anything that has a don’t have a be a beat, not something that genius to be a diplays on popular music rector/producer. stations. Movies are anyThere are over 8 million bands, and thing you can watch, not each band has a something showing in the sound producer to theaters. Sound edit their music. Loconto playing 10 a guitar

Photo by Jared Perlmutter

FX is anything you can hear, not about how our products impact students. It’s like the sounds from popular games taking information that’s or movies. You don’t always in a text book and turnhave to work hard on something “The hardest things to work on ing it into a film”. This ends up being the worst.. It’s kin- seems to explain why da weird because sometimes, the our first years of school were so easy. “We help process destroys the creative part students who are above of it, input from people can screw grade level, at grade levit up. The more inspiration there it, el, or below grade level, trying to succeed in that the less average the result is” area. So if someone is Loconto says. above grade level, we’re Although video trying to keep them indirector Wallace terested in school beWeatherspoons cause if they were just conditions in a classroom with evseem slightly erybody else, only doing different. This that, they’d get bored” Wallace Weatherspoon may be besays Weatherspoon. Pho to b cause he gets to choose what y Jo e Ga llach he wants to film. er “At my current place of employment, every assignment is my idea. Because I work for an educational software company, so everything David Rosentha l filming is built around a story

These projects aren’t need to let everyused for just enter- one know that a new tainment itself. Stu- project is on the way. dents are educated This includes video by videos; games, music, and movies for the most “Working in a retail part. job taught me how you have to be to interact with people, I Gal Perlmutter is do contract jobs, so I a financial advisor work with 10 compa- at Morgan Stanley, nies at a time. We’ve “[Companies use] had a talk about how social media, newspapers, advertising, the creativeness in the business doesn’t stacking media, using multiple approaches matter. But if you can’t be a business whether it’s touching the client or the person, you won’t make a living off of prospect via email, through letters perit” says Loconto. Speaking of market- sonalized through the ing; these companies mail, just to name a few” says Perlmutter.

Everyone has what it takes, they just need to be committed enough to complete what they need to do. If you have a job and you’re reading this article, you should be able to relate to what these producers are saying. To be good at your job you need to enjoy it, because then you won’t think of it as a job. Being in different parts of the company can greatly affect how much you like your job.

These two producers may have somewhat similar jobs, but they have different strategies for their projects. They even think of ideas with their own personal touches. “I’m drawn towards race issues in this country; I haven’t necessarily produced any films based on that, but when I was in theater I selected plays and scripts based on that” says Weatherspoon.

12 11

As for Loconto, he chooses his topics on a more broad list of options. This gives him more varied projects to work on, which is great but can be hard to choose and use all of the different options that are offered.

Now we have a firm idea of what producers do. Some marketing questions are left unanswered.

That’s just the gist of it though. These companies will grow and get bigger. Weatherspoons company hopes to help students with school and make their education easier. Loconto works for multiple people, so he never stays with one company. It seems he wants to keep working on games, films, and music. In addition, he’d probably like to grow and make

Photo by Ville Hyvönen

“If I were doing a zombie apocalypse game, I pick my sounds based on the genre. The sequence of chords lend themselves more to horror movies, happy games, and heroic games. They add a feel and it’s cool because you can make people feel a certain way before they see anything” says Loconto.

making a company or how popularity and reputation affect how successful they are. “Seeing something inspiring aids your realization of which job you want. This is good because there are so many jobs out there that you’d enjoy, but only one job you’d enjoy just as much as the amount of work you put into it.” says Loconto.

people aware of him. Don’t be surprised if entertainment products get even better in the future! •

13 12

An Idea to Global Success

Photo By Eustress

By GRIFFIN DAVIS

Dell Office Building

said Michael Dell in an interview with Charlie Rose. Dell began with one of the first consumer computers, called the TurboPC. Of course a year later, they improved with the new, faster computer in first place in the race for innovation. This pattern of continually improving on the past with modifications kept their computers at the top.

Photo By Jeff Keyzer

One student, sitting in a college dorm room, started the computer accessory company that would eventually evolve into the global technology giant it is today. This was an attempt to make something of the science-fiction movies available to the public. This college student, Michael Dell, is the creator of an international technology company called Dell. With this idea and $1000 from his parents, Michael started a computer accessory company, called PC’s Limited, in 1984. This company was started in his college dorm room at the University of Texas at Austin and after years they moved into a massive headquarters in the same state it began, Texas. “When you start a company, you have an incredible passion for it. All you need is a framework and a dream,” Michael Dell said in an Entrepreneur magazine article about how he started Dell. The area of Austin, Texas cultivated his and many other technology startups’ ideas into full-blown, international technology companies. But these startups just like Dell, need more than just the community’s support like Michael found in Austin, they also need strong leadership and good ideas. Not only has the community in Austin been known to have helped Dell succeed, but Dell’s success may have helped to attract other companies to this city. “Austin has been great to us and we’ve been great for the city. Austin is now a destination for startups,”

The TurboPC released in 1984

Jack Fishbaugh thinks that Michael’s leadership has what helped the company succeed. “I think Michael worked really hard to grow the company, and his hard work really shows in the company,” said Jack Fishbaugh, a Dell customer who lives in Austin. Not only did they have Michael’s lead, Jennifer Davis, Dell Executive Director of Corporate Communications living in Austin, thinks that Dell had morals that helped them grow. “Started 31 years ago out of Michael Dell’s dorm room at the University of Texas, Dell has

Photo By Cindy Zimmer

stayed true to its entrepreneurial roots – embracing risk-taking and always striving to find a better way to help our customers’ solve their top business issues,” said Davis when interviewed on how the company succeeded. Of course, a company can not automatically achieve greatness with just leadership, they will need an accepting market. A company needs a market that is willing to invest in its products and help the company shine. Dell found this market in Austin, where the company began. The seed of the business developed into a leader of the industry. This happened with the culture in Austin “Well, it’s a culture that embraces change and is an early adopter of new technologies,” said Laura Lorek, editor of the Silicon Hills News based in Austin, when asked about the culture in Austin. Without this accepting culture Lorek spoke of, Austin would have never become the technology hub it is today. And without this acceptance, companies like Dell, even with good leadership, would not have survived here. Austin has also become globally known for this culture through events like South by Southwest. “There are 180 different countries that come to SXSW every year in March, so that is huge exposure for Austin to a global stage,” said Lorek.

The band Nell performing at SXSW 2014

Not only did Austin help companies like Dell progress, but the achievement many of these companies reached also helped to make Austin one of the cities in the middle of the technology industry. When Austin became this type of city it changed how the community here acts and how the economy works. The community has become larger and changed Austin into the big city it is now, but continued to keep the hip feel it started with. The economy is now heavily saturated with the technology industry, causing better competition which helps the consumer. The changes in the economy and community have benefited this city and the population that lives in or around it just because of technology. “Michael Dell and the tone he sets from the top down is a big part of our company’s long-term growth and success – leading a culture that is first and foremost committed to the customer and what they need. We approach innovation from a customer-centric point of view – not innovation for innovation’s sake” said Davis. The changes Dell has made to

Photo By Gaming Laptop

continue to be a place for technology, “I think so, it is hard to know years into the future what’s going to happen, but because Austin isn’t the kind of city that regulates things right out of the box... that is huge for innovation... there is no reason that Austin won’t continue to be a huge technicon, even bigger than it is now” Dell began and succeeded in Austin through their unique mindset (innovation for the customer), their leadership, and the accepting community around them. Without each and every one of these items, Dell may not be at the place it is now. This community that Dell found in Austin also brought other companies here and allowed them to reach success. Dell is thought to have helped the city of Austin become better known on a global scale, and bring other startups, not just in the technology industry, to this place of turning little ideas into enormous companies. •

Photo By LoneStarMike

this community and its reputation have been accompanied by other similar companies that started with one person’s idea and got support from others to succeed. With Austin’s increase in fame, many other companies are moving to the Texan city. These companies, not only in the technology industry, have seen the benefits of running their businesses from Austin. Fishbaugh thinks that Dell stands out in the way that it was a stepping stone for the rest of technology movement into Austin. “I think Austin is a very large technology city... I think that due to Dell’s success it brought them here. Dell was able to create one of the first consumer available computers” said Fishbaugh. Now that Austin has become a technology hub, the companies here will have to continue to hope that the community stays as accepting as it is now. Many people have high hopes that Austin will continue to be like the Silicon Valley of Texas because no matter how much bigger this city gets, it has always seemed to keep the original vibe that made it awesome.

The Dell Inspiron Laptop

The Austin Skyline in April of 2015

Lorek believes that Austin can

What Laptop Is Photo by India7 Network

Photo by Maurizio Pesce

Top 2 Laptops on a Budget

$499

$329

Acer Aspire E1

Acer Chrombook 15 Source: Digital Trends Article

Photo by Yaoj1

Photo by Vernon Chan

Top 2 Hybrid Laptops

$1899 Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro

$399 Asus T100

Source: CNET Article

Right For You? By GRIFFIN DAVIS

Photo by Valentine Mueller

Photo by Intel Free Press

Top 2 Laptops for Work

$1299

$749

Apple Macbook Pro

Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Source: PCMag Article

Photo by Cmccarthy8

Photo by India7 Network

Top 2 Laptops for Gaming

$1167 AVADirect Z97

$1399 Alienware 17

Cleaning Your ByComputer JACK KOVACS

A computerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motherboard

Photo by kenstonlocal.org

Have you ever wondered why you should clean your computer? What’s so bad about not cleaning it? Most people don’t think it is necessary but what can happen to your computer if you don’t clean it can be brutal, it can become infested with insects, collect excessive amounts of dust, slow it down, part failure, and power shorts. If you don’t clean your computer at least once a year, your PC could die. Without the proper care, your computer could be toast. You should clean it physically and digitally on a regular basis. “[If you don’t clean them physically,] you could end up with shorts, you could actually end up with part failure, when things actually physically break, it could stop functioning. Digitally, things will overtime get a little bit slower, you’ll notice trying to start up programs won’t be as fast, and then sometimes you’ll just get odd errors, you’ll get just weird pop-up errors that really don’t make a whole lot of sense,” said Stephen Thompson, an IT analyst for Click Security in Austin Cleaning your PC physically and digitally is important in order to keep it running correctly. You should physically clean it about twice a year, and it should be a deep clean that gets into all the crevices and interior of the PC, and also clean up the old data files digitally off the hard drive. Cleaning it digitally is just as important as cleaning if physically, it should happen more often that cleaning it physically, just because people’s hard drive gets cluttered up faster,

you should clean it once every three months. “Most offices and homes are fairly clean and it’s not a big deal, but after a year’s dust collects, they have fans that suck air through and they collect dust. It will overheat, they’ll cause problems,” said Thompson. The benefits of cleaning your computer are well worth it. Also if you don’t clean your computer you could end up with some terrible disadvantages. The advantages of cleaning your PC are: it’ll help increase it’s efficiency, make it run faster, open up storage space, virus free, makes your work station more presentable, it creates a more clean atmosphere, decreases the downtime spent on repairs, and the satisfaction that you computer is as good as new. “Cleaning them physically is absolutely necessary because they keep cool by fans, and the fans suck in dust and stuff and if you get that dust in there it retards the ability for those fans to cool off the chips, and it could really cause your computer to run hot and cause a lot of problems. And then of course cleaning your computer digitally is necessary just to keep it running well,” said Matthew Kovacs, a manager at Rackspace in Austin. “Open your pc case and use a can of compressed air to remove any dust from the cpu fan and power supply fan. Also blow off the system board to remove any extra. Then I would use an electronics vacuum to remove any more dust remaining in the

Photo by CleanerComputers.ca

The interior of a copmputer; its fan, before and after cleaning it

case. Do not use a standard vacuum as these can give off a static charge that can damage components... To help the computer run at its peak, I would then pull the cpu fan and heatsink and remove the old thermal paste from the top of the processor with 99% isopropyl alcohol. Next, place a small amount of fresh thermal paste back on to the processor, reattach the heatsink and fan and then close it all up. Do not use a standard vacuum as these can give off a static charge that can damage components. There are specially made vacuums for this type of job, however a can of compressed air will do the trick,” said Word. “Digitally [cleaning your computer], is actually really important, overtime they just collect files, what we refer to as ‘cruft,’ they just have extra stuff laying around, extra programs running, extra things leftover that just need to be cleaned out periodically. That needs to happen more often, on

some sort of regular basis. It doesn’t need to be every week or every month, but it needs to happen occasionally,” said Thompson. Cleaning it digitally is necessary because it prevents it from slowing down and just helps your computer maintain it health. Certain programs can help clean it digitally like, CCleaner, and Malwarebytes. Removing the old data files and running a disk cleanup is relatively easy, it just involves you going into your hard drive and just removing old files you don’t need and just going in a deleting old programs that will help the computer run without fail. You can organize your documents, delete the temp. files (temporary files), clear your cache, sort through your old email, delete unwanted programs, clear your hard drive,update your software and system, then when you’re through with the clean up, empty the trash so you can get rid of the unnecessary files for good. “Well [you should] absolutely run

Image by Quark67

Image by Simon

something, there’s a host of different ones. There are some free ones, at t the office we use AVG and Sophos are our recommended ones, depending on whether or not you’re on a PC or Mac. Personally I use Kaspersky AntiVirus on all of my personal computers. And Microsoft actually distributes one called Security Essentials that’s, you know, relatively good, none of them are perfect. Things are gonna happen no matter what, but yet if you don’t run one you’re putting yourself at huge risk,” said Thompson. Viruses and Malware are big weak points for PC’s, you should always run something to protect against them or you risk losing your personal information, data files, you forfeit all of your computer’s data and information once you get a virus. Some software that will help protect your computer like, Kaspersky, Norton Antivirus, AVG Sophos, and Security Essentials. “I will say that Macs are typically less vulnerable to viruses than Windows machines are. And it’s probably because there’s more Windows machines, and so if somebody is writing a virus they would write it for a Windows machine, and it’s more likely to get picked up,” said

Kovacs. “[Time to] set aside the brushes and mops. Grab a liter of soda and get a comfortable chair. Put on your problem-solving hat, and get started. The goal: To make your computer faster, more efficient, and more reliable for all the work you’ll be doing to wrap up the school year,” said Photo by OpenClipartVectors

Apple and Microsoft Logos

A new computer

Jacqui Murray in an article on teachub. com. Not cleaning your computer can have horrid results, and it is very important that you do clean it. There are tons of different ways out there but, this way has been discussed and agreed upon. Viruses and malware are still a threat in current computers and you should prepare for them using the recommended software. Overall, don’t be lazy and put yourself in risk of catching viruses, or damaging your computer by not cleaning it. Cleaning your computer is an important issue that you now know how to handle. •

Photo by india7network

Photo by designmilk

Best Desktop • Alienware Area-51 Gaming Desktop from PCMag • $1699.99

• Alienware X51 R3 Gaming Desktop from Alienware • $699.99

• 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processor • Windows 10 Home • 8GB Memory • AMD Radeon™ R9 370 with 4GB GDDR5

• 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processor • Windows 10 Home • 8GB Memory • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 745 with 4GB DDR3

Rated 4/5

Rated 3.5/5

From Dell? Photo by kjarrett

Photo by Editor at Large

By JACK KOVACS

• XPS 8900 Desktop from Dell • $649.99

• Inspiration Desktop (AMD) from Dell • $329.99

• 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processor • Windows 10 Home • 8GB Memory • 1TB Hard Drive

• • • •

Rated 3.5/5

No Rating

AMD® A4 Processor Windows 10 Home 4GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive

vv The Google Classroom logo

Google Classroom By ANDREW BOLDUC

What it is, and how it is changing schools

Remember having to lug what felt like 20 pounds of worksheets, binders, paper, pens, pencils, and textbooks to school? For a long time, that’s been what it was like to be a student, lugging heavy backpacks through the snow, uphill both ways. But now Google

is aiming to change that, with its new product, Google Classroom. “It’s kind of like a webpage that you create for the students and then they can log into it, you can post all their assignments, you can post announcements, but not only can they see

Photo by Stocksnap.io

Photo by Wikimedia Foundation

it, they can access it, they can create Google Docs and turn in assignments off of it. It’s very userfriendly,” said Nick Dellas, an LBJ science teacher and student council sponsor. Google Classroom is a Google’s new educational

tool designed to allow students and classes that have also read the same teachers to communicate more easily book that they have. I definitely find that... and simplify assigning and turning in collaborative learning is more enhanced work online. Since its release in August via this technology,” said Josephine of 2014, its popularity has taken off, Icaro, a LASA English teacher. especially at the Liberal Arts and Science Google Apps for Education is a free Academy, with positive reception from suite of ad-free Google services such both students and teachers about how as Google Classroom, Gmail, Google Nick Dellas it simplifies giving Drive, and others. out assignments It is all provided and collaborating, free, with the intent as well as reducing to both give back clutter through to the educational online documents community, as without paper, and Google was founded giving students and by a Stanford teachers access University research to their work and project, and to assignments from get students used anywhere. to using Google Many students and services, so they will teachers are praising use paid or with ads Classroom because, versions of those as Jack Kovacs, a services later in life. LASA student said, Students at LASA “It does change how seem to have I get my work done. reacted well to using I can get my work Google Classroom. done easier now, as “Once they get long as I am carrying used to using it they around something definitely respond that can connect to well. [Compared LBJ science teacher Nick Dellas in his classrom. the internet, I don’t to] in the past when have to have my homework, I can just go I haven’t used it I definitely have fewer online and find it.” students coming to see me asking me “I definitely feel that adding on that for materials because they already know technological piece helps students in this what’s expected of them and they come day and age, especially since they’re to class prepared,” said Icaro. digital natives, for example one of the “[The students] love it for the most things that we do in our final unit, is we part. [The students said that] they loved have discussion boards where students it because they didn’t have to save dialogue digitally about their texts, not anything, they could turn it in right there just with their classmates face-to-face on the computer. They didn’t have to during class, but also at home...they bring a flash drive,...they could just plug can communicate with students in other it in, they could access it on their

phone. I’ve heard nothing but good things from the students about it. No student has complained about using it,” said Dellas. Google Classroom has seen a large amount of use since its release in 2014, especially at LASA, where it is not uncommon to see students with computers or their phones out, working on a digital assignment in class. Icaro also said that it has helped her improve as a teacher, saying, “I think it’s definitely pushed me forward as a teacher who is aware of the types of media that students use, and find most relevant in their lives, I just feel that especially in this day and age, because students are so plugged in and wired to their devices and phones that it’s great to use a technology such as Google Classroom because there are apps for it.”

Google Classroom’s rapid growth since its 2014 release has led many people to believe that it will continue to grow and change the way schools work. Griffin Davis, a LASA student thinks that “It will [keep majorly changing how schools work into the future], and it might become more prominent and update over time, and more teachers will start using it. I don’t think that the way it’s used will change much, but the availability of it and the how common it is [will].” As with many of Google’s products, Classroom is expected to continue receiving changes and updates. In the future it might even have a major overhaul like the change from Google Docs to Google Drive or the introduction of Google Instant to the company’s flagship search

engine. “I think it will change, especially when they add new features, I think that it’s a way for students to still have access to material and learning outside of the classroom, still with my help and An old computer

guidance but also with help from other students, because if they are using the comments function or the site as a place to post relevant material, then learning habits not just within the confines of the classroom, but also outside the bounds Photo by Stocksnap.io

of school, and it’s very applicable to their lives,” said Icaro. But Dellas still has his doubts on the feasibility of worldwide expansion of Google Classroom, saying that, “I think [having everyone be able to use Google Classroom] would be awesome. The biggest problem most people have is the lack of constant technology in their classrooms or students having technology in their homes is the only limiting factor.” Although most of us are used to having computers and smartphones everywhere we go, what many don’t know is that, according to the Census Bureau, 16.2% of American households do not have computers. This fact shows that although new technology like Google Classroom can take us far and improve education, we need to help those who are not

fortunate enough to have access to technology, both in our country and overseas. Google Classroom is also a powerful force in not only reducing the amount of work students and teachers have to carry around, it also helps save trees by reducing paper usage, which is an important consideration due to the fact that, according to a survey by The Reflective Educator, American schools use approximately 34 million sheets of paper every year. Using programs such as Google Classroom to completely replace paper in the United States would save lots of money in the long run, and be able to save lots of forests from destruction. Now it seems that the question that remains is: How long will it take for everyone to start using Google Classroom?

Demographics of the Internet By ANDREW BOLDUC

What Countries Use the Internet the Most? Top 10 By Internet Users Germany United Kingdom Indonesia Russia Japan Nigeria India

China

United States

Brazil

What Language is Used Most on the Internet? By Percentage of Top 10 Million Websites

Other Languages German French Polish Russian Japanese Portuguese

English

Chinese

Spanish

Italian

By Number of Internet Users Other Languages German French Malay Russian Japanese Portuguese English

Chinese

Spanish

Arabic

Contributors Page Griffin Davis

Andrew Bolduc

Griffin Davis is the Editor in Chief of Plugged In. He wrote the article “From An Idea To Global Success” and created the “What Laptop Is Right For You” page. Griffin is lover of new technologies and always interested in a new startup. He wrote my article on Dell because the company started in Austin, his home, and has grown in an unbelievable way.

Andrew Bolduc was born in Austin in 2001, and has lived here all his life. He decided to work on this magazine because he loves technology, and wrote the articles “Google Classroom” and “Demographics of the Internet” because he spends far too much time on the internet and was curious about it, and because he had seen many of his peers and teachers using Google Classroom. He is currently trying to convince the world that competitive procrastination is a legitimate sport.

Jack Kovacs

Jared Perlmuttler

Tyler Stence

Jack Kovacs loves gaming and all things technology, when he was tasked to help write a magazine he knew it would be about technology and computers. Jack wrote “Cleaning Your Computer” and “Best Desktop From Dell...?” Jack wrote “Cleaning Your Computer” because he has always been really organized so he wrote about keeping your computer clean and organized. He wrote “Best Desktop From Dell...?” because he doesn’t have his own computer and wanted to make suggestions when looking for one from Dell.

Jared Perlmutter was born January 20th, 2001. He has been involved with media production since middle school. He created the Table of Contents and wrote “Professional Producers” and “Audio Producers and Film Producers”. In his spare time, Jared likes to speedsolve Rubik’s cubes and create YouTube videos and music. His life consists of Sherlock, music, games, recording and Churros.

Tyler Stence is a writer for the Plugged In magazine. He wrote the article “Eric Bowen the Genius Boy Who Built His Own Computer” and created the “What’s Inside a Gaming Computer” page. Tyler loves new technologies and tech conventions. He decided to write his story on Eric because of how impressive his computer was and how complicated the building process is.