Talk:ESpindle Learning

Hm, I'm quite new to editing on Wikipedia, but since I know this organization for quite a while now, and think it is a very worthwhile and impressive effort, I thought I'd start a page. Within hours, what I had written was totally taken apart, largely deleted, and some wrong information added. What are the criteria for leaving or deleting text? Can anybody just go in and delete anything? Is there a way to backtrack? --Kindneyjames (talk) 04:48, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Fixed some of the links and included 3rd party references. Whoever cut out my previous edits had done this so quickly that the content became distorted, and links no longer were in the right location. The article was also pretty much missing any content. A little bit frustrating... Also, why were statements like this being a nonprofit organization removed, and any reference to the character of the program? --Kindneyjames (talk) 06:43, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

The review in Learning and Technology mentions a number of 5,000 memberships, but I think this information is not correct. It seems the author may have referred to a press release found on the site announcing that 5,000 scholarships were offered in 2007? Also, memberships fluctuate, so it may be higher or lower at this point, since the article was written in 2007. Somebody should contact the organization, if that information is important. Also, the membership fees were changed erroneously to $99.80 per year. There are cheaper options of $79.80 and a monthly subscription at $9.50. The organization has also started to provide ways for members to receive free tutoring through scrip and affiliate type programs.--72.251.72.142 (talk) 18:37, 15 February 2009 (UTC) Did not notice I hadn't logged in. This was my comment ;-) --Kindneyjames (talk) 18:39, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Have to add another comment, to explain why I made the recent changes, regarding the statement that 5,000 memberships were sold. The reference (created in 2007) states that eSpindle has 5,000 members, but members include all individuals with an espindle account. This includes scholarships. It is also a number that is in flux, as people enroll/cancel, so stating a number like that as an absolute is doomed to be incorrect. I tried to now reflect what the review says, and related it to 2007. It seems that the organization maintains a much higher level of scholarships than it has paid members, and I know the goal was for 5,000 scholarships in 2007 (see newsroom on the site). It seems that they are maintaining much more scholarships than paid subscriptions at this point, and I am sure it is true, because they helped our school very generously when we asked.

There was also a comment regarding the CODiE nomination... "they didn't win the CODiE, so no need to mention the nomination". The CODiE awards are the most prestigious honor in the software industry, because it is peer reviewed. Even a nomination to be finalist means a whole lot. It's like the Academy Awards of software. If an actor is nominated for an Oscar, is that mentioned in Wikipedia as notable, or is that only mentioned when s/he carried the trophy home? --Kindneyjames (talk) 22:49, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

It seems this article has extensive 3rd party references now. Who turns the alert and "no references category" on and off? This should probably be reviewed. (Kindneyjames (talk) 20:49, 13 August 2009 (UTC))