Candied Bacon Recipe

The ITRT group I’m a part of had our monthly meeting and annual holiday luncheon yesterday. Normally I bring drinks or something that doesn’t require cooking but after experiencing the candied bacon at the Virginia Society for Technology in Education annual conference last week I asked my wife to make some for me to bring as well. It got rave reviews from my group so here’s the recipe for anyone interested in trying it on their own:

1. Put bacon on a rack on top of a sheet pan.
2. Drizzle a little real maple syrup on it.
3. Add course black pepper and then sprinkle on a mixture of brown sugar with a bit of ancho chili powder.
4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes but you just have to keep checking it. You don't want to burn it, but you want it to crisp it up a little.

According to our boss this bacon is now, "the new official ITRT snack." So I'm guessing it'll be making an appearance at every event like this from now on. 

Where Are You Online?

Near the Makerspace at the Virginia Society for Technology in Education conference they had placed the whiteboard seen above for attendees to write where they are online. While it was mostly Twitter usernames there were also a few websites and hashtags for Twitter chats. I’ve taken a few minutes to type up everything on the board (pretty much in the order it was written) and link it for easier access:

Twitter Users:
@timstahmer
@techinteaching
@DesignMakeTeach
@witchyrichy
@BirdBrainTech
@TechCoachBC
@mswecker
@bgruber10
@tmays921
@iTechSpec
@dchearlihy
@WiseOwlTech
@KatStaton
@2ndHFB
@mspatricianhfb
@edutechgray
@MrsPluim
@dimensionu
@dhubbell
@englishteacher8
@DrJustinNichols
@MsBiologeek
@MrsMoran_TAHS
@elemitrt
@glndschools
@twcruz
@HistoryMeade
@misseieio
@ThatsWightman
@johnmayo
@Mr_B_Teacher
@instruct_edtech
@dhorndorff
@PeggyGordon65
@hdwade15
@divein2edtech
@stevendean
@dmharazin
@MrsRoubie
@ZWAAA
@teachrqueen
@techy_margaret
@hcrompton
@dhotler
@HCSInfoLit
@moderndayskirt
@iteachflorida
@jeff_rew
@herndon
@vaedtech
@mrssbutchers
@hcpstinytech
@rus_eng_teacher
@carritrt
@jfcerza
@Mrs_Colenda
@HFES_Jones
@kashleydickson
@DAITchr
@hastie4thgrade

Twitter Chats:
#NOVAedchat - Wednesdays - 8-9pm
#TechCoachBC - Monthly, Second Tuesday, 8-9pm
#vachat - Mondays 8-9pm
#apschats - Tuesdays 8-9pm
#edchatie
#FlyHighFri
#wiredatwalton

Websites:
The Computer is Broke
Assorted Stuff
DesignMakeTeach.com
Bird Brain Technologies
Ivy Run
Learning Collaboratory
Edutechically Speaking

Hour of Code Resources

I originally posted this to the blog I run for one of my schools but I'm posted it here as well.

Earlier in the week students at Albert Hill took part in the global Hour of Code event to introduce them to computer science.

For students interested in pursuing it further on their own time I’ve put together a list of resources below:

Hour of Code - the original Hour of Code site used for Monday’s activities.

Snap!- Drag and drop programming interface designed to help you learn how to program.

Code Monkey - Learn how to code through by playing the game.

Code Maven - 59 lessons on coding fundamentals.

Code Monster - 58 short lessons on programming in Javascript.

Game Maven - Learn code and write three simple games.

Blockly - Series of educational games that teach programming.

Also, last summer an Introduction to Computer Science and Coding enrichment course was offered in summer school that will most likely be offered again. I encourage interested students to sign up for it when the summer school applications come out in late spring.

Lastly, I recently attended the Virginia Society for Technology in Education annual conference. While I was there I had a chance to play with The Finch robot that is designed as an even more hands on way to learn programming. It supports not only the drag and drop programming like what is found on the Hour of Code site but also writing code in many of the languages used today. I liked it so much I’m ordering one for my own son to play with.