Class Jump

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

Fall Fund Raiser a Huge Success!

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:09:43

On October 22nd I posted this article, in which I reported that we were $1,295 short of achieving our Fall Fund Raising Goal of $1,950.

I am amazed and gratified to report that in less than three days, we received every bit of the funding dollars needed to pay for the ClassJump server costs for this quarter of 2012.

Donations ranging from $100 to $5 literally flooded in, one after another. Also gladly and humbly received were dozens and dozens of letters of support and thanks. I can not even begin to tell you how much this support means for the thousands of teachers, students and parents who count on ClassJump to be here for them each and every day.

As the unpaid executive director, it's enormously heart-warming to know that what is being offered here is not only appreciated, but supported.

I want to thank everyone who chipped in. Without you, ClassJump would be sliding down the rocky slope into internet history.

With warm regards,

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

ClassJump Only Stays Here Through Donations

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:23:01

After reading the below, please read this!

Each quarter, ClassJump must raise exactly $1,950 to pay for the cost of the server that everyone here uses. Our upcoming quarter ends on November 15th. That's when the bill for our wonderful server will land on my desk and stare up at me.

As of this writing, ClassJump has received $655 since our last successful quarterly fund raiser. Math was never my personal strong suit, but simple subtraction was never much of a problem. We're currently short $1,295 and have less than 30 days to satisfy our cold and insistent financial obligations.

We require support to keep this here for you.

ClassJump has no paid staff. As the Executive Director of the 501(3)(c) that is ClassJump. Inc, I have never received a single pay check and I have no intentions of ever doing so.

ClassJump operates on a few simple ideals

Provide web sites to teachers no matter where they are or what type of school they work for
Never place advertising in front of children
Never share anyone's personal information for any reason
Do the right things for the right reasons

Providing a web server as large and robust at ClassJump is not free

The server that ClassJump is on is in a large, air-conditioned data center. The amount of data that we transfer on any given day is often staggering. Transferring data, like transferring a ton of freight by land and sea, does not come cheap.

There are over 33,000 teachers here.
The annual cost of keeping ClassJump here is $7,800
$7,800 divided by 33,000 is around 25 ¢ per teacher, per year

If ClassJump is worth 25 ¢ a year to you, now is the time to say so

If we are not supported, we're gone. It's as simple as that.

About that last sentence. Back in High School, my favorite English teacher remarked that I was a bit too blunt. She wanted me to try my best to 'soften the edges' of my papers, to guide the reader more gently to conclusions, rather than dropping the facts on them one on top of another. Like the advanced math lessons I struggled with, I guess I never got very good at literary subtlety either. Sorry, Mrs. Ransmier!

All contributions are 100% tax dedictible

Click to support

Robert Zimmerman
Executive Director
ClassJump, Inc

Back to School!

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 01:28:45

Welcome back to all of the returning teachers and the thousands of new teachers who have just signed up and decided to use ClassJump.com this school semester!

For teachers who are just arriving here for the first time, you may be asking yourself how ClassJump is able to provide this service at no charge, without putting advertisments in front of you and your students. Good question!

The answer is, ClassJump is a 501(3)C non-profit public charity, and we count on small donations, one at a time, to keep all of this here for you.

The cost to maintain our server for you, your parents and your students is exactly $650 each month. We pay our bill quarterly, in the amount of $1,950. That's $7,800 a year in total costs.

We have NO PAID STAFF. Every single penny collected goes back into paying for the web server you use and depend on.

Okay, let's do some simple math. We now have over 30,000 teachers using the site. 30,000 divided by 7,800, rounded up a wee bit is $4.00 a year per teacher, per year.

Believe it or not, nothing is actually free

Is ClassJump worth $4.00 a year to you?

As of this writing, we are short exactly $267.00 for the quarterly payment (DUE NOW, NOW, NOW) to cover the cost of the server that you are interacting with.

What happens if ClassJump.com doesn't have anough money to pay for our server?

Pretty simple answer to that question: The lights go out. We aren't here any more.

Thanks SO MUCH to the teachers who have recently donated (tax free) to the ClassJump non-profit. You are making this happen for everyone here. If you have never supported, now is the time to step forward.

Do the right thing: SUPPORT CLASSJUMP BY CLICKING HERE.

Best wishes,

Robert Zimmerman
Executive Director (without pay)
Class Jump, Inc

May 14th Data Crash

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:25:17

I'm sorry to report that at or around midnight on May 14th, ClassJump lost an entire days worth of data.

How in the world does this happen? This data loss occured during a normally scheduled backup of our server and an error occured during the backup. We restored all the data that was on the server prior to May 14th, but for the 24 hours between midnight on May 13th and midnight on May 14th, all data was lost and can not be brought back.

What does it mean? It means that anything you may have stored on our server on Monday, May 14th is no longer available. You will need to store it again.

There's not anything I can do except to say I'm very sorry.

This data crash occurred during a very important fund-raising day for ClassJump

I want to thank everyone who contributed to our Spring Fund Raiser yesterday. If you contributed, we do have all contributions from yesterday intact. This morning I have gone through all the contributions from yesterday and entered them one by one back into the database.

Yesterday was a huge day for donations, and we were able to raise enough money to pay for the next 3 months of hosting, which costs $650 per month. Thank goodness that we were able to save all of those important funds that were contributed.

Once again, I'm sorry if you lost homework or message board posts or any other information from May 14th

We do our very best to make sure that our server is running in a reliable way. No system is exactly perfect and this has been a very humbling experience for me.

Best wishes to everyone,

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