Moolakee - 21st Century Teaching and Learning Social Network

DAVENPORT, FL, January 19, 2011 (Press-News.org) There are many people that will agree that the United States education system needs some work. The recent movie, 'Waiting for Superman' pointed out many of the issues and made some suggestions towards resolving some of these issues. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, donated $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey show towards this cause. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Rupert Murdoch and other tech giants all have gone public with their position on the need to make America more competitive with education reform. And now a new social network called Moolakee has been created to help with this effort. The site was recently featured on Fox News (http://tinyurl.com/moolakee-foxnews) as a 21st Century Teaching and Learning tool and has just partnered with Costco to provide discounts to its members.

The following is from a recent interview with Jewell Folta, the Founder/CEO of Moolakee and her vision of how she can help the school system compete better with Moolakee.com.

What is Moolakee.com and why did you create the site?

"ESCAPE to Moolakee! is a place where educators feel they are valued and have purpose. ESCAPE to Moolakee! is a rewards-based social networking community for educators that promotes excellent educational standards, resources and rich dialogue while contributing to benevolent cause.

"Because I interact with teachers on a daily basis, I see how stressed out they are. I also see how much education has changed over the recent years; while the change directive means well, it has put a lot more pressure on educators and I see how this change has affected their once cheerful personalities.

"I wanted to create a place where teachers could engage in a professional environment however, they would feel appreciated and have fun with it, too. Another reason I am passionate about this idea is because ESCAPE to Moolakee! gives purpose by providing 21st Century practices as well as giving to philanthropic causes.

"If I may elaborate more on this, there are many children and adults who are very sick with cancer and other diseases. Currently, students sitting in classrooms, right at this very moment, have the potential to be our future scientists, researchers, presidents, etc, that will find cures for these diseases. Don't we owe it to our teachers and students to give them everything they need, so effective teaching and learning can happen? It's all one big circle and each depends on the other. That's one reason why ESCAPE to Moolakee gives so much of the membership fee to charities. All of these things, as whole, will make a difference in our world's future."

Do you have a background in Education?

"I've been in education since graduating from Miami University of Ohio in 1996. I also hold a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Technology. While teaching high school Biology at Lakota Locals Schools, I also served as the building's Student Government Advisor and supervised students to raise thousands of dollars for local charitable organizations. I was deemed one of the district's Master Teachers and was one of four key leads the district's successful goal, for all faculty and staff, to become Novice Certified. I accepted an Administrative position as the district's Educational Technologist, at Springboro City Schools focusing on 21st Century Teaching and Learning. I also conducted several eTech Ohio presentations and organized the district's Summer Technology Mini-Conferences, participated in Battelle for Kids Value-Added Data for Learning initiatives, was a Discovery Education Star Educator and also was on the High Schools That Work committee, before founding ESCAPE to Moolakee!

"Several years ago I was a part of an educator network that provided teachers with excellent resources and professional development. However, to be a part of it, one; the district had to purchase their product and two; the educator had to apply and there were requirements and expectations. Therefore, not all teachers could be a part of this exclusive community. When I was part of this community, I remember thinking how wonderful it would be if there was something this great that ALL educators could be a part of. Opportunely, I acquired a position to work with a company that had this vision in mind. However, the company did not see it to fruition and decided to finish the work. Web 2.0 is a way that teachers can connect with each other from all over the country and the world therefore adding priceless, incessant value."

How were you able to create this social network website?

"I am technology savvy when it comes to the user interface however; I am not experienced in writing or developing a program and definitely needed someone to do it for me. After several months of trying other do-it-yourself solutions, I knew I had to find a company that could help me. I found rSitez.com via a Google search using several search terms for example, "white label social network." I liked a lot of the out-of-the box features that rSitez provided and rSitez beat competitor bids with customizations that ESCAPE to Moolakee! needed. Not only were the out of the box features wide-ranging, Rohan, the company's CEO, is very cordial, accommodating, professional and really took the time to understand ESCAPE to Moolakee's needs.

"I couldn't find a white label service that provided ALL of the features and options that I needed to be available for educators, in ESCAPE to Moolakee! specifically, a document library, reward structure. I don't think there is even one out there that will do it all. Most likely, if you want to set yourself apart from other competition, you're going to have to invest in some customization.

"The rSitez team has been delightful to work with. They are very talented have been prompt in response to support tickets. I also value that the team has been very professional and courteous. I wish I could take them all out for Starbucks!

"I've had several very nice surprises from rSitez. One day I logged in and the theme was absolutely beautiful! I had no idea that rSitez was working behind the scenes on a brand new theme that captures the feeling that I wanted ESCAPE to Mookee! to have; and I didn't even ask for it! That was the big one however, I'd like to mention there were a few other functionalities that rSitez understood were important for ESCAPE to Moolakee! and they surprised me by creating them. Very thoughtful and rare to have a company help you this way. I've been very pleased with the experience and rSitez has given me some customizations that I did not have to pay for and I really appreciate that.

"Working with rSitez has been a very nice experience. The management and the development team are hard-working, professional and courteous and really listen to understand what your company and social network needs are, during the custom development process. I've been impressed with everyone that I've worked with. I would like to mention that I value that Rohan, the company's CEO, especially understands the challenges of an entrepreneur and seems to become part of the entrepreneur's team by valuing and supporting the company's mission and objectives."

rSitez specializes in creating unique social networking websites. Each site comes with a variety of social networking features including blogs, chat, video, photo sharing, audio and a lot more. The sites are integrated with Facebook for content sharing, and include a variety of monetization features to allow the site owner to generate revenue from the site. The sites are 100% white labeled and can be customized to the last detail.

Website: http://www.rsitez.com