Blogs

=**__Blogs__**=

A **blog** or weblog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning //to maintain or add content to a blog//. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (Video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.

//Retrieved from Wikipedia October 2009//

__**Vocabulary**__

 * blogosphere** - the interconnection of all blogs on the internet


 * WYSIWYG**- is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed during editing appears very similar to the final output, which might be a printed document, web page, slide presentation or even the lighting for a theatrical event.


 * post/article** - A single entry written by the blogger on a blog.
 * comment** - This is a written reaction by a reader of a blog to what was written in the blog entry by the author. Comments can often be found directly following the blog entry.


 * permalink** - Blogs are made up of many posts. The permalink is the unique URL of a single post on a blog. It is usually located at the bottom of the blog entry. It is used when someone wants to link specifically to a certain post they wish to reference to when they are writing about it. Think of it as the permanent identifier to a specific weblog post or article.


 * link** - A hypertext reference in a blog to another blog or other resource.
 * blog title** - This is the title or name of your blog.


 * post title** - This is the title of your blog article.


 * sidebar** - One or more columns along one or both sides of most blogs main page. They may contain profiles to the blogger, links to other blogs, categories, and other information.


 * blogroll** - A list of blogs, usually placed in the sidebar of a blog, that reads as a list of recommendations by the blogger of other blogs.


 * categories** - This is a method of organizing entries by assigning each entry to a predetermined topic. Each topic (category) will link to a list of entries, all with related content.


 * Archives** - A collection of all your posts on one page that can be categorized by month, etc.


 * tags** - Keywords that are used to label similar posts.


 * dashboard** - is the control panel. It allows administrators or contributors the ability to edit the blog's interface, membership, and content.

__**Blog Services**__
Blogger - a free blog service provided by Google. https://www.blogger.com/start

Edublogs - a blog service for education. http://edublogs.org/

ClassChatter - a free blogging service for students http://www.classchatter.com/

WordPress - blogging software http://wordpress.org/

**__Blog Lists__**
Technorati - a search engine for blogs. http://technorati.com/

Top 100 Educational Blogs __http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs__

Kathy Schrock's EdTech Blog Recommendation __http://kathyschrock.net/edtechblogs.htm__

Social Media Explorer - uses data to present the top 10 blog sites for education __http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/2009/01/13/determining-the-top-education-blogs/__

Find an educational blog you like online. Post the link to the comments section of the example blog I have constructed and try and persuade members of the class to follow the blog by explaining why you like the blog so much.
 * //Assignment for the Week://**

Class Blog http://jhuemergingissues.blogspot.com/2009/10/welcome-and-class-assignment.html