Every member has FREE access to ALL comments on ISC: The ‘Browse All Comments’ page! (UPDATE)

Sometimes it is fun to just see what life is like at all the international schools in the world.  Even if you don’t have the slightest interest in working at a specific international school or in a specific place in the world, you still might be curious to see what the benefits there are (for example).  Maybe you are curious about how the weather is there or what the city life is like.  We are also always curious to know what it is like to work at the school itself and how the campus really is.

In turn, the ‘Browse All Comments‘ page.

Right now we have a total of 42002 comments and information on 1184+ international schools listed on our website (out of a total of 2221 schools listed).

There are four comment sections on each school profile pages:

• School Information – Total Comments = 19481 (up 2369 comments from June 2020)
• Benefits Information – Total Comments = 13061 (up 1678 comments from June 2020)
• City Information – Total Comments = 6695 (up 895 comments from June 2020)
• Travel Information – Total Comments = 2765 (up 316 comments from June 2020)

Want to see all these comments in ONE spot?  Now you can!

The ‘Browse All Comments‘ homepage will always be a random selection of 12 comments from our database of school profile comments.  To view the next 12 comments, just click on the ‘Browse next 12 comments’ button.  Continue clicking on that button to view all 42002+ comments on our website!

Have fun taking a look at all the comments and information that have been submitted by our over 22376 members.

Who knows? Maybe you will see a useful and/or interesting comment that will catch your attention.  If you find one, just click on the school’s name to go to its profile page where you can read even more comments that have been submitted on that school (available to premium members only).

Maybe you will be so interested that you will take a look at the school’s website and find a position vacancy that fits you perfectly.  We can only dream that would happen to us (never too soon to start networking for your next position)!

What are you waiting for then? Browse away!

Save $$$ at International Schools ANYWHERE: Tip #2

As a career international teacher, I am happy to continue this series on Save $$$ ANYWHERE! Last week we introduced the 70% target for savings as an international teacher.

Helpful Hint #2: Housing Package

When moving to a new country for a new teaching assignment, there is always a transition period. Culture shock is real and different for everyone. Some teachers can hit the ground running, some take a few weeks or months, and some break contract and never transition. Moving is hard, and international schools understand that a proper induction program can make-or-break a new teacher. The first impulse when arriving is to surround yourself with “comfort stuff”.

When relocating to a new country, housing is one of the most important factors in accepting an assignment. Some schools offer a housing allowance, others offer discounted housing, and some offer fully furnished, and fully subsidized housing. These details are important and often glazed over during the recruitment phase. Asking lots of questions is important to understanding the full cost of relocation.

A colleague of mine was looking for a new school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he asked the school for a larger housing allowance, as he did the research and found out the allowance would only support a studio apartment. Living in a studio was unacceptable for him, so he asked for a housing allowance that would pay for a 1 bedroom. The answer was a harsh “NO – the terms of the contract are non-negotiable”. My friend smiled at me and said, “Wow I guess the reports on this school were true, no wonder they are struggling to find teachers”. Doing your homework and due diligence can uncover many red flags, and set you nicely up to reach your savings goals.

International teachers generally only stay at an International School for an average of 2.4 years. The money that you spend on your relocation, you will almost never get back. This is a sunk cost, and understanding what you are moving into can help increase your savings, and speed up your acclimatization to your new home.

Stay tuned next month for Tip #3 on Save $$$ ANYWHERE!

This article was submitted by an ISC member and veteran international school teacher. If you are interested in being a guest author on our blog, please contact us here.

How Northfields International School simplified textbook distribution with eBooks.com

Key points

  • New service makes it easy to acquire e-textbooks and issue them to students.
  • Find and issue e-texts to your class in a few minutes.
  • You only pay for ebooks that are actually accessed by a student. (No leftovers.)

How it works

The goal of all international schools is to give students the best chance of success. Whether your students are studying for the IGCSE, the International Baccalaureate or following another curriculum, getting the right textbooks into their hands is critical. Traditionally there is a lot of administration and overhead involved in sorting out appropriate books for students. Before purchasing textbooks:

  • You need to determine student numbers accurately
  • Then submit a bulk order request to a book distributor
  • Then wait days or weeks for the books to be shipped and delivered, particularly during the current pandemic
  • If better textbooks or new editions become available, you’ll have to submit another order and wait all over again.

eBooks.com has developed a service that simplifies the distribution of ebooks to international school students. Once you’ve set up an account, you can choose from millions of titles and get the relevant text into the hands of your students within minutes. The flexibility of the system ensures that you always buy the correct number of ebooks for your students and you’ll only get charged when a student accesses the ebook for the first time. So there’s no guesswork as to numbers; no wastage.

Helen Keetarut, the Librarian from Northfields International School has said:

“At Northfields International School we have children from Nursery right through to Year 13, and we are a busy school with lots of book requirements. eBooks.com has been a fantastic supplier for us mainly due to their amazing customer service and friendly helpful staff. We have queries from students and teachers alike and Ebooks.com is always on hand to help. We recently started using their Ebook course management, which has made ordering and allocating books much easier and efficient. This was explained to us in our own private training session. Well done eBooks.com for your great team and thank you for all your support.”

Using this simple interface, you can just choose the book(s) for the course and then upload a spreadsheet of your students’ email addresses. We’ll handle the rest.

Here’s how the Ebook Course Management platform simplifies your life:

  • Allows students to access content with just their email address or a unique fulfillment URL.
  • You’ll have open access to the entire eBooks.com catalog to choose from.
  • Multiple administrators or teachers per course.
  • Multiple groups per course, allowing you to split students into cohorts.
  • Multiple levels of authorized access to the system.
  • Students own their ebooks forever.
  • We’ll bill monthly, based on the number of students that have accessed their ebook for the first time.

If you’re interested in learning more, just register your interest, or contact us directly at ecm@ebooks.com. Wherever you’re based, we’re happy to organise a demo of the system.

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