Definitions

Stuff you want to know but were afraid to ask (well, who can blame you?)

 

TECHNO LANGUAGE YOU NEED TO KNOW

(or things I will be saying that confuse people):

Blog (short for weblog): “a website where regular entries are made (such as in a journal or diary) and presented in reverse chronological order. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The word blog can also be used as a verb, meaning adding something to a blog.” (from Wikipedia)

Dashboard: The interface in WordPress (or other blog software applications) where you can manage all your posting, design, and other blog functions from a common page. You can also can see stats there and updated information on the software as soon as you log in.

Link: A hyperlink in the text (meaning it is underlined or highlighted in some way within the post) that links to another website, post, or file. Also a verb, to “link” to something.

Next Blog Button: Blogger and WordPress.com both have this on their blogs in the top left corner. I don’t like it because when you press it, it can take you to content that might be questionable. If you can get rid of it, do so. I haven’t figured that one out yet, but if someone does, then please let me know. If you don’t want to worry about it, choose Edublogs.org instead (it also uses WordPress, but is more controlled).

Podcast: An online audio presentation, also called a webcast. Sometimes in the format of a blog.

Post: Individual articles “posted” on your blog. Each one is a separate item. Also, a verb, to “post” something on your blog.

RSS: Real simple syndication. Don’t ask. It just means people can “feed” your blog updates to their desktops or newsreaders and get your latest posts without ever visiting your blog. It’s cool, but requires another training session altogether. Just enable it to make it easier for people to get your content the way they like.

Sidebar: This is a section of your blog or the dashboard that is on the left or right sides of the page.

Template: The basic style of your blog, which you can pre-select. These are made for you, so you need not know HTML.

URL: (uniform resource locater) Website address (as in www.wordpress.com or http://mzcowe.edublogs.org) When I say “type in the URL” what I really mean is “type in the website address.”

WordPress: An open source blog publishing system. Open source means it is free to the public, can be freely shared, and can be modified by users (unlike proprietary software such as Microsoft).