Class Jump

Fall Fundraiser an Overwhelming Success!

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:12:26

What Happened First...

At 4:00 pm on Friday December 6th I posted this urgent notice that ClassJump was $927.00 short of raising the money to pay for the quarterly cost of our server.

What Happened Next...

Mostly, I sat here and worried that no one would care. The cost of our server is the only expense we have have, but it is very real. Failure to come up with the funding for our server costs could signal the end and I had four days before that server bill was going to arrive on my desk.

And Then...

By Saturday morning, in increments of $5, $10, $20 and sometimes even more, I was astounded to see that teachers, parents and sometimes generous by-standers had rallied to the call! All $927 had come in! In less than 24 hours, the cost of the server was covered for the forth quarter of 2013! I then knew that when that determined and steely-eyed server bill arrived, I could stare it down with confidence and perhaps even a modest swagger.

But Hold On Just a Minute...

Through-out Saturday evening, Sunday and into Monday the 9th of December, the generosity and words of support never stopped! By Monday evening, ClassJump had raised an astonishing $2,449.00!!!

What This Means...

Besides the fact that I am humbled and overwhelmed by the flood of support that this little non-profit received, ClassJump now has $1,552 raised for the cost of our first quarter of 2014! That leaves us with just $428.00 to raise by February 11, 2014. This is a big deal for a little non-profit such as ClassJump. I mean a very big deal!

Many Thanks to Everyone Who Appreciates What ClassJump Offers

I am so grateful and honored to be abe to offer this service. As many of you already know, there are only two guys who maintain all of this for you. We receive no pay checks. Every single dollar that comes in goes straight back into the cost of our ever growing server.

Warm wishes to everyone and many thanks for showing me once again that what happens here really does matter.

Robert Zimmerman
Executive Director, ClassJump, Inc.

ClassJump is a 501 (3)(c) non-profit public charity and all contributions are 100% tax-deductible

ClassJump Requires Your Support

Fri, 06 Dec 2013 19:58:57

Please read the amazing follow-up to this article by CLICKING HERE!

If you like what ClassJump offers, is it worth a dollar?

Every quarter, this little non-profit has to raise $1,950 to pay for our wonderful server.

Some of you reading this in the United States will be aware of the problems encountered by HealthCare.gov. When they attempted to launch their site, the walls came crashing down because...well mostly because they couldn't handle the number of people trying to access it at one time.

ClassJump handles around 30,000 visitors every hour, sometimes a lot more. We do it for $7,800 per year. I'm not exactly sure how many hundreds of millions of dollars have been dropped into HealthCare.gov so far for a site that (as of this writing) still doesn't work as expected.

I feel their pain, I just don't feel their budget. Handling huge numbers of people who are all eagerly gobbling up documents and data, it's not an easy thing to pull off.

Doing it for $7,800 a year, well that might be unheard of...

Some Quick Math

There are just over 40,000 teachers here as of this writing. At $7,800 per year, that's about what? 20 cents per year per teacher? Pretty close. If ClassJump is worth 20 cents to you, we'd be happy to receive it and promise to spend every penny wisely.

The cry for help!

We're short this quarter!!!! As of this post, ClassJump has received $1,021.00 for our Fall Fundraiser. Thanks so much to everyone who has helped. Right now, we're $929.00 short of paying our server bill when it will shortly land on my desk and stare up at me with a grim determination to be paid in full.

We count on you!

As you may be aware, there are two guys (count em) that do this. Neither of us has ever made a single dollar from our beloved non-profit and we have no intention of ever doing so. We do this for educators and we are thrilled to do so.

Please consider a donation by clicking here.

Your donation is 100% tax deductible. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity - and very proud to be so.

Many thanks to everyone,

Robert Zimmerman
ClassJump.com

ClassJump Releases Upgraded Software

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 03:22:13

Back in early February of 2013, I announced that ClassJump would be upgrading our software. Well, it took a bit longer than I anticipated, but I'm very pleased to announce that it has finally arrived.

Our launch day was nerve-wracking!

Some of our code wasn't working as expected and the Twitter Universe of ClassJump Kids lit up with complaints. It took us seven LONG hours to find the problem! Sorry about that!

But at least we're finally here with the latest software!

We got a lot of great suggestions and have implemented quite a number of them.

For example, here's a short list of new features:

Teacher news articles now allow for comments!
Teachers can now comment on documents uploaded by students!
The student / teacher message exchange is way better!
The class message boards are way better!
Drag and drop for ordering documents!

Many of the upgrades we made we made are related to boosting server performance. These improvements are "under the hood" and not the sort of thing that you can see. That said, these coding upgrades will allow for ClassJump to continue to grow and keep our services reliable.

We do not yet have a mobile app

ClassJump would love to have a mobile app - everyone wants this and who can blame them? We're looking for reliable and skilled individuals who might be interested in helping us develop for iphone and Android. If you fit that description, send us a note!

There really are only two guys that do this....

I would like to acknowledge my colleague and friend Josh Carpenter for writing the vast majority of our new program. Without his dedication and skills, ClassJump would not be what it is today. I chipped in with some code here and there, but Josh really takes the credit.

And many thanks for our server support guys too!

In order for our server to perform without fail, ClassJump relies on the great services of PurpleCat. While we do have to raise the funds to pay them for maintaining our beloved server, they also step in with many contributions of time and effort on our behalf. This was especially true today, with the launch of our new code. They are just great people and we owe them many thanks.

And last but not least, thanks to all the teachers who contributed their ideas and support.

It's impossible to imagine providing these services without all the kind words we receive from teachers and students. Please continue to let us know how we are doing and how we can help in any way.

I hope everyone benefits from our new software! ClassJump has no paid staff and we rely on contributions large and small to provide the services we love to make available.

Best Wishes,

Robert Zimmerman
Executive Director, ClassJump, Inc
ClassJump, Inc is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity

ClassJump to upgrade services

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:08:33

ClassJump, Inc has received a substantial donation that is to be used exclusively for upgrading what is offered here! This money is not be to used for hosting, only for improving the services offered and adding additional services.

Yes, we will still have to raise money for our server to pay for hosting, but at least we can now dig in and make ClassJump better by offering new and improved services.

So, who better to ask what's needed than the great teachers who use the site?

What's on your wish list? During our last upgrade which took place at the end of 2011, many teachers wanted instant messaging. I tried to make this happen, but fell short. Perhaps it's something that should be done now? Post your ideas in the comment area below!

If you have great ideas, post them here as a comment.

This upgrade will be in production over the next six months and will be released in late summer, 2013. I'm looking for ideas from you!

Let the ideas for making ClassJump.com better begin!

Robert Zimmerman
Executive Director, ClassJump, Inc
ClassJump is a 501(3)(c) non-profit public charity

Thank you to teachers

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 06:11:50

When done well, teaching is probably the hardest profession there is.

I want to thank all the teachers who are here at ClassJump and work hard each and every day on behalf of their students. I created this site for you.

I hope that ClassJump helps you encourage and inspire your students. That's why it's here, that's why it's free and that's the only mission.

There's no political agenda here. ClassJump welcomes all, regardless of political beliefs, religious beliefs, or economic standing.

Great News!

ClassJump has already raised enough funds to pay for our server until March 15th, 2013!

Financial contributions ranging from $1 to $100 flooded in after my cry for help in October of last year. Most of the contributions were gratefully receieved online, but many were also welcomed by standard mail. Many of the envelopes I received were accompanied by heart-warming letters, which I appreciated so much.

Thanks to everyone who's helping keep ClassJump here.

If you're new here, this is how ClassJump stays online for you

ClassJump, Inc is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. 100% of all tax-deductible contributions go to paying for the cost of your server, that you, your students, your parents and school hopefully enjoy using.

ClassJump has no paid staff. As executive director of ClassJump, Inc, I have never received a thin dime of compensation and have no intentions of ever doing so.

The cost of maintaining this HUGE server with almost 16,000 schools and well over half a million students clambering for information day and night is $650 a month.

Many thanks to each and every hard-working teacher

You're making a difference in the lives of children. ClassJump is here to help make your job easier and more productive.

Best Wishes,

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN
Executive Director, ClassJump, Inc

ClassJump has a new and faster cat!

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:29:15

At midnight, ClassJump.com moved to a new web server and the move was a long one! Over 1,000 miles away from our original home in Austin Texas! Our new, much faster and more reliable web server is located in Asheville, North Carolina and maintained by the great guys at PurpleCat.net.

ClassJump experienced some MAJOR growing pains this year! I was in no way prepared for how much our service would be needed. To say that our server was slowing down would be a terrible understatement. My email in-box was so full of cries for help, that I could not answer all of them. Instead of spending my time answering emails, I spent my time taking action and getting ClassJump onto a faster web server that could keep up with and exceed the demand.

The move took a bit longer than I hoped for, but getting over a quarter of a million documents, such as PDF's and Word files moved, along with over 400,000 student accounts transferred over 1,000 miles and housed safely again is no easy business. I relied on the amazing guys at PurpleCat to make sure we landed safely in our new home and they did an amazing job.

I want to apologize to everyone for the recent slow-down. I know that you count on what we do here and I am personally very humbled by the experience. I used all of my personal resources to make the changes necessary and did so as quickly and efficiently as humanly possible.

Going forward, we are in very good hands with PurpleCat and it's a guarantee that with these new wizards in our corner, we will never experience the type of service interuptions that ClassJump has experinced this school year.

Best Wishes to everyone,

Robert Zimmerman
Executive Director, ClassJump, Inc
ClassJump, Inc is a 501 (3)C non-profit public charity