Terms of Service and Privacy Agreement

We try to keep these terms of service and privacy policy as simple, straightforward and clear as possible. Should parts of it be unclear to you and of concern, please email us at [email protected].

By visiting our site and using the service provided by eSpindle Learning you are agreeing to these terms. If you don't agree with all or part of this agreement, please refrain from using our website and services.

This is the complete agreement between you, the visitor and/or member of the LearnThat domains ("you") and eSpindle Learning, the 501 (c)3 nonprofit managing the LearnThat domains ("we" or "us").

General

LearnThat domains provide online tutoring programs with focus on review- and practice-based learning tasks. The service is offered on Pay-Per-Result basis, which means the member or sponsoring organization only pays for actual, measured learning results. A deposit of learning credits maintains access to the tutoring technology. Alternatively, users may be subscribe to an annual or multi-year membership for a flat fee.

Pay-Per-Result

Pay-Per-Result is a unique, patent-pending payment concept developed by eSpindle Learning. It offers members performance assurance. Members only pay for measured learning results in an otherwise free program.

A learning credit is deducted only when a test item was
(a) previously challenging for the student as demonstrated by providing an incorrect answer,
(b) added to that student's practice cycle and reviewed over subsequent sessions, and
(c) successfully removed from the practice list after demonstrating retention.

The criteria established for defining a learning result may vary across LearnThat domains, and is specified in each domain. Within the LearnThatWord domain, for example, a learning result is registered, a learning spark assigned, and a learning credit deducted from the deposit after the user has entered a practice words correctly in three subsequent quizzes.

Performance, study progress, and credit accounting is available on the member, teacher and administrator portals in real-time. 

A learning item that was added to the practice cylce by mistake can be removed after the session during which it was added. This is useful for example if an item registered as an error but the member is confident that the cause was a typo or oversight, not a learning gap. Once the next session has been started, items from the previous sessions can no longer be removed from the practice list, as they have actively entered the practice cycle.

Obviously, each individual is different, and we have no influence over your personal motivation or ability to retain knowledge in the long-term. We ensure that the item has been learned at the time the study cycle completes and are not responsible for future preservation of the knowledge.

Purchase of Learning Credits

Learning credits are purchased in bundles, with increasing quantity discounts offered as volume increases. Our current price list is published on the payment page. Unless otherwise stated, all fees are shown in U.S. dollars, and the payment portals utilized are responsible for converting foreign currencies at the applicable and current rate.

Learning credits can be freely shared among members or organizations. Credits are always purchased by one individual or organization representing the group.

Sponsoring relationships can be reviewed and updated on the "my portal" page. Splitting payment between multiple parties is not supported by the LearnThat payment systems and has to be managed through external processes within the group.

The full responsibility for sharing learning credits lies with the sponsoring party. Neither eSpindle Learning nor the recipient nor any other party can be held responsible if sponsorship is not properly monitored and maintained. Assuming sponsorship includes a risk of unintentional use of learning credits. It is the sole responsibility of the sponsor to monitor the sponsorship to make sure credits are used by the intended recipients.

eSpindle Learning is not responsible for managing any arrangements within the group. We provide real-time reporting that documents the use of credits in minute detail. These reports make it easy to review usage and distribution of credits.
However, any arrangements or agreements within a group are solely to be managed by the group. We do not assume any responsibility for any issues that may arise from a group purchase.

In addition to payment, we also offer a range of ways to obtain learning credits by fundraising for eSpindle Learning. These learning credits care are simply a courtesy given in appreciation of the support provided, and can not be refunded or exchanged for payment. 

Self-Sustaining Philanthropy

Every dollar individual members invest is matched with 10 learning credits in support of our literacy campaigns. Users may be given a choice which literacy campaign they would like to support.

Campaigns are commonly launched with grant or sponsorship support, and are designed to be self-sustaining after that initial investment.

Refund

We warrant our programs with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Should you want to return your credits, we will deduct the value of the used credits and refund the remaining amount. For example: You purchased 5,000 credits at $0.10 each. You cancel after using 100 credits. We will deduct $30 (price of 100-credit package) from $500 and refund the rest.

Memberships are an effective alternative for dedicated and high-volume users. Before buying a membership, make sure you try out the program for a while, as memberships are non-refundable.

Cancellation or Expiration

No deposit for credits is due if your account has no activity, so there is no need to cancel your account.
Learning credits do not expire, and may be donated to the literacy campaign of choice, if you no longer need them.

Memberships automatically expire at the end of the time period purchased.

Only exception:
The self-renewing membership via PayPal has to be canceled to avoid repeat charges. This can be easily done by logging into the PayPal platform, clicking on "details" next to the last charge, then clicking on the item ID number under the headline and clicking "cancel subscription" at the bottom of that page. Our friendly agents are glad to assist you, if you have problems with that process.

Privacy

eSpindle Learning understands that you care how information about you is used or shared, and we appreciate the trust you put in us. We promise to use your information carefully and sensibly and incompliance with the policy outlined here. 



We only request minimal information, and only what we need to supply you with the services you request. Your payment information is not stored on our server, and your password is encrypted. 

Any personal information maintained by eSpindle Learning, including contact information, is used only to maintain user accounts and to contact you for purposes related to our service. 
Members can easily access, verify, and change their information in the customer profile, found in their member portal when logged in. 



Visitors who supply us with their telephone numbers or e-mail addresses online during live chat may receive telephone or e-mail contact from us with information they requested.

Occasionally, we may also share updates regarding special promotions, new products and services or upcoming events. If at any point you no longer wish to receive information from eSpindle Learning, you can contact us via phone or e-mail us at [email protected] and we will remove you from our mailing list.

We hate spam as much as you do. eSpindle Learning will not release, sell, rent, or trade the personal information of any of our customers to any third party.

Children

eSpindle Learning’s content was developed by concerned parents and educators according to cutting edge research and the standards for legal and social compliance outlined by the California Department of Education. This ensures that your child will find a carefully monitored, balanced and safe learning environment. 



eSpindle Learning’s domains and services may be used by children, but it conducts financial transactions with adults only.

Although the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) excludes nonprofits, we agree with the spirit of the law, and encourage students who are 13 years of age or younger to sign up for eSpindle Learning with involvement of a parent, teacher, or guardian. 



Enrollments are free and non-transferable between students.

Information we gather

Because eSpindle.org is customizing its programs to the individual and a personalized learning profile is maintained by the learning engine, we need to gather and process certain information about you.

- Information You Give Us: 
We receive and store any information you enter on our Web site or give us in any other way. Information that you entered can be reviewed in your customer profile page. 
You can choose not to provide certain information, but then you might not be able to take advantage of certain features. We use the information that you provide for such purposes as responding to your requests, customizing your learning quizzes, maintaining your membership and documenting progress. Additionally, contacting our customer service department may create a record regarding the issues you discussed. Any such information is used exclusively to ensure your satisfaction.

- Information Resulting from Learning Sessions: We store and process learning data from previous sessions to be able to provide you with targeted and relevant future sessions. This information can be seen by you, your teacher, your school administrator and sponsors of your school. However is never shared with third parties, unless as part of a statistical evaluation of program wide performance and results. Reporting of learning results are available to you, your teacher, your school administrator and anyone sponsoring your studies.

- Automatic Information: 
We receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with us. In addition, your web browser may register and store information in its cache to remember your log-in information, store page elements, etc. We use technology exclusively to make service features operate smoothly. In addition, we encourage you to let your web browser cache various content, so that your download wait time during your visit at our domains is reduced.

- Email Communications: 
To help us make emails more useful and interesting, our email client may track when you open email from us. If you do not want to receive email from us, please let us know by clicking the unsubscribe link located at the bottom of each email.

What About Cookies?

Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser to enable our systems to recognize your browser and to provide certain time-saving features and conveniences. Information communicated via cookies is not used for marketing or purposes other than making the experience at eSpindle Learning a pleasant one.

You can configure your browser not to accept new cookies, or to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie. However, for conveniences like log-in support, faster load times, etc. we recommend that you leave them turned on.

Is information about your customers shared?

No. Under no circumstances do we share your information with third parties, unless necessary and initiated and agreed upon by you personally, such as to process payments. 

Any third party companies or individuals that come in contact with your information - for example to process payments, as eSpindle Learning affiliates, service partners, or employees - have only limited access and are bound by contract to use information available to them only to fulfill their specific purposes.

How secure is the information?

We work to protect the security of your information in any way possible. Our servers use state of the art security measures and we do not store your payment information or unencrypted password on our servers. During transmission, your data is protected by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you input. 
Payments are processed through our payment partners and done according to highest industry standards.

Passwords and your account

It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. Somebody other than yourself using your membership will distort the learning profile eSpindle Learning is creating individually for you.

Failure to protect your password or failure to monitor your account may lead to unintended sponsorships, and we are not responsible for sponsorship credits deducted due to a breach.
You are responsible to monitor your account and change your password if someone unauthorized gained access to your account.

Be sure to sign off whenever you finish using our program on a shared computer, since other users may be able to re-enter your account if the browser remembers your log in settings. A log-out link is available in the top right corner of each page of the site whenever you're logged in.

If you use this site, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your computer, and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that originate from your account. In addition, eSpindle Learning and its affiliates reserve the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, remove or edit content, or cancel orders in their sole discretion as needed.

How can settings be changed?

We give you access to a broad range of information about your account and your interactions. Your portal allows you to review and update your information and preferences. We may keep a copy of the prior settings for our records to avoid future customer service problems.

Promotional Offers

Sometimes (very rarely) we may send announcements of third party offers to our newsletter subscribers.

When we do this, we do not give that organization your name and address. We only introduce items that we expect to be of genuine value to our members.

If you do not want to receive such offers, please unsubscribe to the newsletter via the link provided in each email.

Web Site Link Policy and Disclaimer

eSpindle Learning links to certain third party websites throughout its site and quizzes. eSpindle Learning is not responsible for the content of any such site that is not owned by eSpindle Learning, or of any other links contained in such third party sites. eSpindle Learning provides links to you for your convenience only, and the inclusion of any link to a site not owned by eSpindle Learning is not an endorsement by eSpindle Learning of the site or its contents.

eSpindle Learning assumes no responsibility for any other party's site which is hyperlinked from the eSpindle Learning web site or in which any part of the eSpindle Learning website has been hyperlinked.

Linking to eSpindle

You are granted a limited, revocable, and nonexclusive right to create a hyperlink to eSpindle Learning so long as the link does not portray eSpindle Learning, its affiliates, or their products or services in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise offensive matter. You may not use any eSpindle Learning or LearnThat logo or other proprietary graphic or trademark as part of the link without express written permission. Such permission, however, will not normally withheld.

Affiliate and similar partnerships

Affiliate and similar partnerships are governed by a separate agreement. Please request more information by indicating your intent to join our partnership program in an email to [email protected]

Comments and member communications, etc.

Visitors and members may in certain pages of the site post comments and other content; send emails and other communications; and submit suggestions, ideas, comments, questions, word lists, or other information, so long as the content is not illegal, obscene, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, infringing of intellectual property rights, or otherwise injurious to third parties or objectionable and does not consist of or contain software viruses, political campaigning, commercial solicitation, chain letters, mass mailings, or any form of "spam."

You may not use a false e-mail address, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise mislead. eSpindle Learning reserves the right (but not the obligation) to remove or edit such content, but does not regularly review posted content. 
If you do post content or submit material, and unless you indicate otherwise, you grant eSpindle Learning and its affiliates a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media.

You grant eSpindle Learning and its affiliates and sub-licensees the right to use the name that you submit in connection with such content, if desired. 
You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify eSpindle Learning or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply.

eSpindle Learning has the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any activity or content. eSpindle Learning takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third party. 

Trademarks eSpindle, Word Cup, LearnThatWord, LearnThat, Pay-Per-Result, as well as the eSpindle, Pay-Per-Result, LearnThat, LearnThatWord, and Word Cup logo and mark, Shirley Brainy, and we put a spell on the web are registered trademarks of eSpindle Learning; there may be others.

Elements of this web site are protected by trade, patent and other laws, and this web site and its contents may not be copied or imitated in any way without the express written consent of eSpindle Learning. 
eSpindle Learning's trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not eSpindle's, in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or in any manner that disparages or discredits eSpindle Learning.

All other trademarks not owned by eSpindle Learning that appear on this site are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, sponsoring or be sponsored by eSpindle Learning.

Patents

Various patent applications are currently pending regarding the proprietary mechanisms used in building our sites, its features and services.

Our unique Pay-Per-Result payment concept is also patent-pending.

Warranty and Other Disclaimers

The materials and information you find on the eSpindle Learning web site are provided "as is," without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation any warranty for information, services, or products provided through or in connection with the eSpindle Learning web site and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, expectation of privacy or non-infringement. 

This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record, whether for breach of contract, tortuous behavior, negligence, or under any other cause of action.

You specifically acknowledge that eSpindle Learning is not liable for any defamatory, offensive, infringing or illegal materials or conduct, or that of third parties contained on the eSpindle Learning web site, and eSpindle Learning reserves the right to remove such materials from the eSpindle Learning web site without liability.

Our database

eSpindle Learning has undertaken extraordinary efforts to build and enhance a comprehensive database, utilizing the expertise of teachers, editors and language experts. While building our database and web pages there has been a dedicated and careful attempt to be as accurate as possible. However, eSpindle Learning does not warrant that word definitions or other content of this site are at all times accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free. Should you find an error on one of our pages, we would greatly appreciate it if you would let us know by emailing the specifics to [email protected], by clicking the “comments” button within the quiz pages, or by submitting the information via our live help (chat) button.

Risk of loss

Our team at eSpindle Learning has taken every measure to protect the integrity and completeness of our database and your personal account settings. Daily backups, firewalls and 24/7 monitoring are part of the services we provide to keep your data protected. However, eSpindle Learning does not accept any liability, expressed or implied, regarding the integrity of your records, and we can not be held liable for any breach or loss of data, including personal or learning data.

License and site access

eSpindle Learning grants you a limited license to access and make personal use of this site. This license does not allow you to download (other than page caching) or modify any content, or any portion of it, except with express written consent of eSpindle Learning. Resale or commercial use of this site or its contents is prohibited, as is any collection and use of any product listings, descriptions, or prices; any derivative use of this site or its contents; any downloading or copying of account information; or any use of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools.

This site or any portion of this site may not be reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, resold, or otherwise exploited for any commercial or non-commercial purpose without express written consent of eSpindle Learning.
You may not frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any trademark, logo, or other proprietary information (including images, text, page layout, or form) of eSpindle Learning and our affiliates without express written consent. 

You may not use any meta tags or any other "hidden text" utilizing eSpindle Learning's name or trademarks without the express written consent of eSpindle Learning. Any unauthorized use terminates the permission or license granted by eSpindle Learning, and may further result in legal action.

Pricing

In accordance with standard industry practice eSpindle Learning reserves the right to offer varying rates for its services to various markets. Where subscriptions or learning credits are offered by one of our affiliates, the List Price may be provided by the merchant and may differ from the prices listed on our main site. 
The price you pay will be confirmed in the order process. Please note that we do NOT charge your credit card until after your order has been confirmed.

Copyright Statement

Copyright for all content ©2004 and ongoing, belongs to eSpindle Learning. All rights reserved and protected by United States and International copyright laws. The contents of the eSpindle Learning web site pages, including, but not limited to text, graphics, logos, images, audio clips, digital downloads, data compilations, software and icons, are copyrighted materials owned or controlled by eSpindle Learning, including eSpindle Learning's name, trademarks, service marks, and trade names. You may download one copy of these materials on any single computer and print a copy of the materials for your use in learning about, evaluating, or acquiring eSpindle Learning's services or products. No other permission is granted to you to print, copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, upload, download, store, display in public, alter, or modify these materials for any other purposes. 
All software used on this site is the property of eSpindle Learning or its software suppliers and protected by United States and international copyright laws.

Copyright Complaints

eSpindle Learning and its affiliates respect the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact us immediately at [email protected].

Conditions of Use, Notices, and Revisions

If you choose to visit eSpindle.org or any affiliate sub-domain, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to the rules and conditions laid out in this document, including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application of the law of the state of California. 
If you have any concern about privacy at eSpindle.org, please contact us with a thorough description, and we will try to resolve it. 

Our business changes constantly, and our policies regarding Privacy and Terms of Use may change also. We may email periodic reminders of our notices and conditions, unless you have instructed us not to, but you should check our Web site frequently to see recent changes. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Notice applies to all your information. Since we wholeheartedly stand behind the promises we make, we will never change our policies and practices to make them less protective of customer information collected in the past without the consent of affected customers.

Product/Services Information

eSpindle Learning offers services and programs in many parts of the world. The eSpindle Learning web site may refer to certain services or programs that are not available worldwide, without specifically limiting the offers as such. Such reference does not imply that eSpindle Learning intends to offer such service or programs in all countries or locations. eSpindle Learning may make improvements and/or changes in the products and/or programs described in the eSpindle Learning web site without liability. 

 

Protection of eSpindle Learning and others

We release account and other personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law; enforce or apply our Conditions of Use and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety of eSpindle Learning, our users, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. Obviously, however, this does not include selling, renting, sharing, or otherwise disclosing personally identifiable information from customers for commercial purposes in violation of the commitments set forth in this agreement.

Disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability

This site is provided "as is" and on "as available" basis. eSpindle Learning makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of this site or the information, content, materials, or products included on this site. You expressly and clearly agree that your use of this site is at your sole risk. 
eSpindle Learning disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and while we do everything in our power to prevent any damages, we do not warrant that this site, its servers and email system is free of viruses or other harmful components. 

eSpindle Learning will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this site, including, but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive and consequential damages. 
Certain laws do not allow limitations on implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. If these laws apply to you, some or all of the above disclaimers, exclusions, or limitations may not apply to you and you might have additional rights.

Applicable law

By visiting eSpindle Learning, you agree that the laws of the state of California, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms of Use and any dispute of any sort that might arise between you and eSpindle Learning or its affiliates.

Disputes

Any dispute relating in any way to your visit or subscription to eSpindle Learning or to products you purchase through eSpindle Learning shall be submitted to confidential arbitration in San Francisco, California, except that you violated or threatened to violate eSpindle Learning's intellectual property rights. In that case, eSpindle Learning may seek injunctive or other appropriate relief in any state or federal court in the state of California, and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in such courts. Arbitration under this agreement shall be conducted under the rules then prevailing of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator's award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no arbitration under this Agreement shall be joined to an arbitration involving any other party subject to this Agreement, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise.

This policy page was last updated on 8/11/2010.