UF poised for breakout season running the rock in 2011...

Jeffery Demps (5-7, 191) outweighs Chris Rainey (5-9, 174) by 17 pounds despite being two inches shorter. THAT'S why Demps prefers to "run through" people compared to Rainey. I'm sure it's strictly coincidence that Demps has changed his number to 28 (the same number as Warrick Dunn, F$U's last 1000-yard rusher), and I know that some Gator fans hate anything to do with F$U, but if Demps had Dunn-like senior season, few would complain. Dunn's 5-9, 187 frame when he played is pretty damn similar to Demps' at 5-7, 191, in my opinion, but we'll of course wait and see how this season plays out and then see how the numbers stack up.

Looking at the personnel and stats, I think that if UF's offensive line stays healthy this year, the team is poised for an outstanding year running the ball.

Consider these stats. During Meyer's years at UF, he averaged over 500 rushing attempts a year, a fact that is mitigated some by just how many quarterback runs were called. During Weis' years at Notre Dame, his teams averaged a little under 450 rushing attempts per season.  Taking that into account, if Demps, Rainey and Trey Burton each get 100 carries this year (which would only total 300) and manage to produce at their career averages, here's how their stats would look.

Demps (7.07 ypc) - 100 carries, 707 yards

Rainey (7.12 ypc) - 100 carries, 712 yards

Burton (4.65 ypc) - 100 carries, 465 yards

That's 1884 yards of rushing production, without taking into consideration the 150 to 200 carries to be snapped up by whoever steps forward among them or the promising duo of Mike Gillislee and Mack Brown. Behind a much improved offensive line (as in, it literally CAN'T be any worse), and more I-formation with upgraded fullbacks and tight ends, you start to see why I'm optimistic about the Gators' offense this year.

Specifically at fullback, I didn't realize until writing this that both of last year's fullbacks are not on the roster any longer. Steve Wilks (6-1, 235, oft-injured) and TJ Pridemore (6-1, 247, oft-whiffing-on-blocks) have been replaced by the brainy jack-of-all-trades Burton, who has gotten stronger (6-3, 229), the versatile Gerald Christian (6-3, 245, who's also playing TE), and freshman Hunter Joyer (a beefy 5-10, 242). Defenders looking to feast on UF's small backs will have to encounter them at the line of scrimmage first, and the position as a whole is something I think people are overlooking.

At tight end, even though losing top recruit A.C. Leonard to a knee injury for a few weeks hurts, the position is still stronger than last year, simply because there is more than one player at the position. At times in 2010, the green Jordan Reed, who was also playing a lot of snaps at QB, was the only true tight end for the Gators. This year, at least Reed is backed up by Gerald Christian and Trey's brother Clay Burton, who adds some size at 6-4, 258, with the hopeful return of Leonard in a month or so.

The rushing game, passing to the tight ends (Reed has to have a breakout year, right?) and backs (can a brother get a swing pass?), and using a couple of reliable receivers will allow Brantley to just be an effective game manager rather than having to conjure heroics, something which many analysts are at least dubious he's capable of.

10 Questions...

1. What is the most important issue regarding privacy and social media like Facebook?


2. If you could change one thing about Facebook, what would it be?


3. What is the single most useful aspect of Facebook for you?


4. How has your Facebook use changed since you first started using it?


5. Do you treat what you do on Facebook as being public?


6. Does it bother you to create content and information without compensation on Facebook?


7. Which of the following things have caused you greater distress through Facebook? (jealousy, time management, cheating, privacy, cyberbullying, other)


8. Which of those things would you be concerned about for your children and loved ones?


9. Considering how quickly it has grown and become part of our everyday lives, where do you see it going in the next 5 years?


10. How, specifically, would your life change if you no longer had Facebook?

Using Wikis in Education...

1. The first online resource I found regarding using Wikis in Education is the PBworks Educator Community.  Since two of my current Education classes exclusively use PBworks as their Wiki engine, it seemed like a good place to start, and I was rewarded with a wealth of information, from Educators themselves.
   
   The community has Discussions, Real Examples, Best Practices and even a Campus Edition, which shows you how to introduce PBworks to your own school and other teachers.  I can actually see just using this site as enough for me to go on.
   
   
2. Education Wikis at Wikispaces.com has a page filled with lots of articles talking about the topic.  Some of the articles are a little dated, but the page is useful as a resource.
   
   
3. Finally, in a slight step up from Wikispaces, but not quite as professional-looking as PBworks, is Wikis in Education from Wetpaint.com.  The site has nearly 8000 registered members (presumably all Educators) and their General Discussion Forum seems pretty lively with some good information being exchanged.  I could see myself using that.
   
   Furthermore, each year, Wetpaint spotlights the Best Educational Wikis, helping to spread ideas and innovation, and which I will continue to take a look at as I run my own classroom
   
   

Summary of an Informal poll about Facebook...

First of all, I recognize that my poll is very unscientific.  It's biased by both the questions I chose (those that interested me), the wording I chose, my use of mostly multiple choice, who I sent the poll to, and, of course, those who responded.


I think that the questions that revealed the most about my respondents were the question about how their Facebook use has changed and the final series of questions designed to gauge both their knowledge and use of other social networking sites.


The majority of them are both cautious with what they put on Facebook and know most of their friends there, and while many are aware of other sites like Twitter, MySpace and Windows Live Spaces, few are members of them and virtually none of them are active elsewhere.



Summary

How do you usually use Facebook?

Directly, on the site, using a PC 7 70% Directly, on the site, using a phone 1 10% Indirectly, using email 0 0% Indirectly, using an app on a mobile device 2 20% Indirectly, using text messaging 0 0% When did you start using Facebook? Middle School (or aged 11-14) 0 0% High School (or aged 14-18) 0 0% College (18-25) 3 30% Post-Graduate (26-34) 4 40% Professional (35+) 3 30% What is your age group now? Middle School (or aged 11-14) 0 0% High School (or aged 14-18) 0 0% College (18-25) 0 0% Post-Graduate (26-34) 5 50% Professional (35+) 5 50% How has your Facebook use changed since you first started? Overall, I use it more often. 5 50% Overall, I use it less often. 3 30% I comment less on items. 3 30% I comment more on items. 2 20% I only use it to connect with family. 0 0% I am more cautious about what information I make public. 7 70% I still directly interact with most if not all of my Facebook friends. 2 20% I know most if not all of my Facebook friends. 7 70% I have actively eliminated some Facebook friends. 6 60% Other 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%. How many Facebook friends do you have? Less than 75 0 0% Between 75-200 4 40% Between 200-500 4 40% Between 500-1000 2 20% More than 1000 0 0% Do you think you will delete your Facebook? Yes 0 0% No 1 10% Probably someday 2 20% Only if something changes 5 50% I never really thought about it 2 20% Are you friends with either or both of your parents on Facebook? Yes 5 50% No 2 20% My parents are not on Facebook, but I'd rather not 1 10% My parents are not on Facebook, but I probably would be 0 0% Other 2 20% Have you heard of any of the following Social Media Networks? Twitter 10 100% Windows Live Spaces 3 30% Myspace 10 100% LinkedIn 10 100% Bebo 3 30% Quora 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%. Are you a member of any of the following Social Media Networks? Twitter 0 0% Windows Live Spaces 0 0% Myspace 1 33% LinkedIn 3 100% Bebo 0 0% Quora 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%. Do you use any of the following Social Media Networks OFTEN? Twitter 0 0% Windows Live Spaces 0 0% Myspace 0 0% LinkedIn 1 100% Bebo 0 0% Quora 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%

Internet Research Findings (from January 2007) & My Tech User Rating...

The Pew Internet Research findings Social Networking and Teens has data that takes a snapshot of the phenomenon over 4 years ago (the study itself was conducted in Fall 2006).  Notably, at that time, only 55% of teens reported using social networking, and when thinking back to the trends of the time, MySpace was a much more important player in the conversation.


Imagining only 17% of teens reporting using social networking sites to flirt seems inconceivable, but perhaps when you consider that this information was all self-reported, the number isn't as outrageous.


A more recent survey by Pew, conducted in Fall 2009, shows significant differences, first and foremost an increase in overall use to 73%, in the 2010 Social Media and Young Adults.

Lesson Plan One Reflection...

• What I learned from designing this first lesson plan for class was...
  Updating a Unit Plan into a single lesson plan isn't as easy as I'd assumed.  THe nuance of actually figuring out what I'm going to present to my students versus the IDEA of what I want to present to them are entirely different things. My assumptions for how to do a lesson plan were challenged.
   
• What I want to know more about is...
  How to use Bubbl.us, and figure out why I'm falling into a pattern of misunderstanding Dr. Sessums assignments so terribly.  I'd like to be able to more accurately and efficiently do what is being asked of me in the class.

Lesson Plan Assessment Review...

This assignment asked us to "locate two lesson plans that you feel have a strong assessment component", and I confess that I struggled whether to look for lesson plans or assessment ideas.

Scholastic.com - From our Teaching Advisors: Assessing Students
I chose this because it seems to be a good resource for teachers needing lesson plans that will enable them to assess their students.  In particular, this link contains an article entitled, "Preparing High School Students for Standardized Exams", which should be of particular resonance for those of us expecting to teach in the state of Florida.

Discovery.com - Remediation for the 21st Century Student
As the description on the page reads: "Progress Zone combines diagnostic assessment with the power of Discovery Education’s educational videos to provide an item bank of over 60,000 items where educators can create, assign, and share assessments."


Again, that seems more like strictly assessment rather than a lesson plan to me, but hopefully it has some helpful aspects of both that prove useful.


Connect to me on Twitter @malikg

Assessment Links...

Below, as requested in my Integrating Technology into the Secondary Classroom course, are three links to websites about assessing learning:


http://www.readfaster.com/culturalliteracy/


http://americanculturalliteracy.com/


http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=11814840076670976351


Each of these links has different variations on tests for cultural literacy, with the first one, from www.readfaster.com containing tests in a great variety of subjects.  I chose these both because I've been fascinated (and tormented) by the idea of cultural literacy since I first heard about it in high school and because I feel that the idea is something I will readily be able to incorporate into a high school contemporary classroom discussion.


Connect to me on Twitter @malikg

Somebody (else) does it better...

Yesterday, on my Facebook page, I tried to be balanced as I attempted to makes of the awful tragedy in Arizona. As usual, there was some pretty heated debate and discussion, but in hindsight, I'm a bit ashamed at even hinting at linking what happened with something partisan.

Jon Stewart, however, was able to eloquently convey what I should have said. As compiled by Media Matters (link below):

On the January 10 broadcast of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, host Jon Stewart noted:

I do think it is important for us to watch our rhetoric. I do think it is a worthwhile goal not to conflate our political opponents with enemies. If for no other reason than to draw a better distinction between the manifestos of paranoid madmen and what passes for acceptable political and pundit speak. You know, it would really be nice if the ramblings of crazy people didn't in anyway resemble how we actually talk to each other on TV.

From The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Arizona Shootings Reaction
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Stewart: "[I]t Would Really Be Nice If The Ramblings Of Crazy People Didn't...Resemble" Pundits On Cable | Media Matters for America

Connect to me on Twitter @malikg

Doing it, doing it, and doing it well...

The blog of Dave Chen has really given me a great deal of food for thought lately.  His posts have provoked thought and caused me to seek out background information on a variety of topics:


http://www.davechen.net/


As an example, a week or so ago, Chen posted briefly in disdain about the proposed abridged (or censored, depending on who you ask) version of Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  A publisher is replacing all 219 uses of the N-word with the word "slave", which Chen termed a victory for the "idiocracy":


http://www.davechen.net/2011/01/newsouth-is-removing-n-word-from.html


He also referenced the Twitter account of Scott Mendelson, from which he'd presumably culled news of the publisher's plan.  


After posting a brief reply on the blog post, I was able to reply to both Mendelson and Chen via Twitter and point out a differing view by Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon.com.  Afterwards, I not only got a response from each of them but also enjoyed the continuation and deepening of the debate in a subsequent blog post by Chen.

In that post, Chen linked to the article by Williams, thanked me for pointing it out to him, and then Williams herself commented on the post as well:


http://www.davechen.net/2011/01/is-selectively-altering-great-works-of.html

The end result is that Twitter and blogging allowed me to contribute to a more informed, interactive debate that I think elevated the discussion.  The only reason I know of Chen's blog is through my consumption of the Slashfilm Podcast he co-hosts weekly about movies, which is yet another interesting way technology is allowing us to reach, learn and interact with and from each other.


Connect to me on Twitter @malikg