Blogging Vocabulary

1. Dashboard – This is the back-end area of your blog where you make changes and edits.  This area is not seen by the public and only accessible to blog administrators, editors, or contributors.
2. Theme – Usually one of the first things bloggers do is pick out a theme.  This is the template or look of the blog which helps give it a personal touch.
3. Post – Posts are the basic entry in blogs.  Usually, the main page of a blog shows all of the posts in reverse chronological order.
4. Page – Pages are similar to posts, but are best for “static” content which you want to always be accessible and doesn’t change to often.  For example, you usually find pages such as Contact Us, About, or Calendar on blogs.
5. Comments – Depending on your theme, comments are allowed on posts and sometimes on pages.  Here, users can reply to what you write, leave links or comments, and create a general discussion.  You can turn on and off comments on individual posts and pages in your blog’s dashboard.
6. Sidebar – The location and even existence of sidebars depend on your theme.  Some themes even have 3 or more sidebars.  You can add and rearrange widgets in your sidebars in your blog’s dashboard.
7. Widget – These are the blocks that make up sidebars.  Popular widgets include the ability to subscribe to a blog, user statistics, and suggested links.
8. Plugins – Plugins are extended features that you can turn on and off on your blog.  Popular plugins include form creation, facebook and twitter connections, and calendars.

RSS – RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” which is a way for people to use RSS Readers to subscribe to and follow your blog.  For all Edublogs, the rss feed is found by going to yourblog.edublogs.org/feed.