Daily Archives: February 10, 2011

Education, Education Resources, Education Services, Education Solutions, Educational Outsourcing, Educational System, eLearning, Knowledge, Schools, Society, Student

HomeschoolBlogger.com—Largest Blogging Community for Homeschoolers—Up for Sale!

Leave a comment

Four years into publishing The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine (TOS), owners Paul and Gena Suarez recognized a need for an easy-to-use, FREE, online community where homeschool moms, dads, kids, and grandparents could interact and launched HomeschoolBlogger.com (HSB). Within the first month of its existence, HSB hosted more than 30,000 visits! By the first quarter of 2008, HSB was hosting almost 400,000 unique visitors and averaging more than 9 million page views monthly. Currently, HSB logs more than 500,000 page views per month, hosts about 11,000 new posts per month, and registers 25 new users daily. For many homeschoolers—both teachers and students—a visit to HSB has become part of their daily routine.

Obviously, TOS has identified—and met—a vital need within the homeschooling community. The success of HomeschoolBlogger.com has proven it.

So, why sell HomeschoolBlogger.com and its counterpart, HomesteadBlogger.com? “We’re narrowing our focus at The Old Schoolhouse®, and we’ve fulfilled our original goal: to provide a ‘mini blogosphere’ for homeschoolers around the world,” explained Gena Suarez. “It’s time to hand over the reins to someone else. We’ve simply decided to invest our time and resources in other opportunities that have our attention.”

The site almost exclusively uses open source code, thus effectively sidestepping most licensing fees. Last year HSB rolled out a brand-new platform on WordPress, which offers lots of bells and whistles. More than 140 themes are available, including plugins that provide both secure and feature-rich styling of any of the themes. The platform changes also enabled TOS to minimize maintenance costs and support time.

The current platform makes it possible for a new owner to easily assume control of the site on the existing server. Surprisingly, even if the new owner switched to a different server, migration should require downtime of 8 hours or less! The site could grow to power more than 8 million users before a rewrite or change in platform would be necessary.

HSB operates correctly within any current browser and operating system; therefore visitors can “come as they are” from their mobile devices, Wii, PSP, and others. Use of the Anti-Splog API automatically terminates accounts used for spamming, ensuring that the site quality remains high.

HomeschoolBlogger.com has, in essence, succeeded in creating an international virtual neighborhood of homeschooling families, a neighborhood supported entirely by advertising revenue, enabling users to enjoy the perks at no cost to them. As the billion-dollar homeschool market continues to grow, the potential for profitable expansion—for everyone—appears to be unlimited.

Interested buyers should contact the owners of HomeschoolBlogger.com, Gena and Paul Suarez, or the company’s Director of Marketing, Julie Nott, directly for more details (publisher@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com). HomesteadBlogger.com, a user-friendly, customized network for the homesteading community, is also for sale.

Via EPR Network
More Education press releases

Education, Education Services, Education Solutions, Educational Institution, Educational System, Schools, Society, Student, Teacher

Schools Unite To Form UK’s First Schools Co-operative

Leave a comment

More than 100 primary, secondary schools and colleges in England are set to pool resources, expertise and buying power in the first organisation of its kind in the UK – the Schools Co-operative Society (SCS).

The announcement comes at a time when the Government is encouraging greater independence in education as part of major reforms and is designed to help schools help themselves in accordance with co-operative values and principles.

Already registered as a co-operative, the organisation’s governing body is now working on a strategy that will include:
• Sharing best practice in terms of teaching and management.
• Advancing the co-operative cause in the field of education.
• Using combined buying power – estimated at £100 million plus – to purchase a range of goods and services including energy, administrative services.

All the schools and colleges involved employ globally shared co-operative values such as self-help, democracy, equality, honesty and social responsibility both in their governance and in the curriculum. They are part of the Co-operative Schools Programme, one of the community projects which has been run by The Co-operative Group, the UK’s biggest mutual retailer, and the Co-operative College, the Movement’s educational charity, for the last eight years.

Dave Boston, head teacher of Sir Thomas Boughey Co-operative Business and Enterprise College in Newcastle-under-Lyme, has been appointed Chair of the SCS Board.

He explained: “Co-operative values and principles are more relevant than ever at a time when people are being urged to be more independent and less reliant on the state.

Via EPR Network
More Education press releases

Boarding Schools, Courses, Education, Education Services, Knowledge, Lessons, Schools, Student, Teaching

Saint George International Students Are Looking to the Burns Night in London for Language and Fun

Leave a comment

Saint George International students are looking forward to the Burns Night in London because it allows them to immerse themselves in the language and the culture of the British Isles.

After 50 years, St George knows the importance of not only teaching and drilling grammar but also exposure to the culture that surrounds the language. The Burns Night in London is a celebration of one of Scotland’s greatest poets; bring Scottish culture and food to the heart of this capital.

Hundreds of restaurants are participating in this night, making menus that feature Scottish classics like haggis and Scottish whiskey. Comedy venues have invited some of Scotland’s best comedians to come down for that night and there will be poetry readings and folk music across the city.

Some less traditional celebrations are happening as well. The London Cyclist Campaign has a fundraiser every year on this date for their organization and many restaurants are running interesting deals for unusual guests. Kettners, for example, is giving away a free glass of champagne to each customer who comes in a kilt.

Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet, was born 252 years ago on January 25. He pioneered both the Romantic poetry movement and also what would be later the political concepts of liberalism and socialism. His English poetry was highly critical of the political climate in which it was written and he enjoyed a huge celebrity during his lifetime. Some great poems of his include “Auld Lang Syne”, “A Red, Red Rose”, “A Man’s A Man for A’ That”, “To a Louse”, “To a Mouse”, and “Ae Fond Kiss”.

For English language learners these London festivities can be a great way to learn about the multiple cultures and identities that exist within the United Kingdom. Even for English speaker in London, this festival is a great way to celebrate one of Scotland’s greatest poets. With festivals like these if you are looking to learn French London is a great place to do so because you get access to great schools and events. This is true of any language. If you want to learn Spanish London and SGI make a great combination.

Via EPR Network
More Education press releases