I’m a substitute teacher that like many of you, uses a notifier.
Today, I was told by a teacher friend of mine that a sub told him that the sub uses a notifier that AUTOMATICALLY accepts ALL jobs that come through the Aesop system. The sub picks then one they want then dump the rest. They filter the jobs they want and it accepts all jobs that fit those parameters. It’s especially helpful at night when the sub goes to bed.
If this is true and other subs are using this mystery app, then they are breaking the law.
Let's say this is true. In my district, the sub would get dumped. If a sub accepts, then cancels too many jobs, they are removed from the list. I've had to cancel one day this year due to a family emergency. I'm very careful about cancelling so that doesn't happen to me.
"...sub uses a notifier that AUTOMATICALLY accepts ALL jobs that come through the Aesop system. The sub picks then one they want then dump the rest."
I don't think that's possible as I too have my network of people. It's not possible for Aesop to book you multiple times within a school district. Once the sub picks a job, Aesop doesn't allow you to get double booked. However, if the sub is serving more than one district, I can see how it might be possible for this sub to pick and choose but I don't think that Aesop really allows that to happen. Once you've picked a job then you don't get anymore notifications even if you have an app. An app that lets you auto-accept shows a job one a time but I don't think it holds a job for you. If you have more than one app, it will show the same jobs like the other app. It cannot hold a job for anyone sub otherwise timing will be a problem as well.
But I think the jobs are locked out from anybody else getting them.
In my district, people who turn away jobs less than 24 hours after accepting them are locked out of all jobs scheduled for the next day.
If it’s over 24 hours, there’s no penalty. If they do keep track, it’s so uncommon to be reprimanded that I’ve never heard about it happening at the district level.
More often that not, a teacher will tend to block out that sub since they drop jobs.
It’s not a violation of the law, but it is a violation of the agreement that a substitute takes when they choose to use notifiers on Aesop as their method to choose and receive jobs.
As I understand it, any notifier that uses technology that automatically accepts assignments and/or checks the Aesop site (automatically, not manually) less than one minute intervals, then that user is in violation of Aesop’s own rules and can be disciplined at the discretion of their district or Frontline.
At least that was my take on it when I was researching it. :-)
It bugged me that so many times in the last two years, others were getting jobs I seemed to get before.
I hated the idea that somebody was “gaming the system”, so to speak.
Thanks for clarifying. We don't use AESOP, but there were times when someone would put something up and I knew it was going up, but it was gone before I even saw it. It definitely is annoying. It does feel like cheating in some ways, but then again... The way of this new world.
Is it possible for an (auto accept) to notify and hold jobs on the same (or for multiple) days? I think that this is the question being asked. Imagine if this mysterious app can also do so for many districts.
Not that it's related but I heard of subs trying at least two apps but found out that they're getting pretty much the same notifications for a single district.
If there's a hacker in AM or if this mysterious app exists that holds jobs, I would definitely think that's gaming. But if this person is on a preferred/priority sub list then it could be a "way" to game the system. This supply teacher could have the best of both worlds in theory, monopolizing.
My district used to give a "bonus" at different tiers of days worked each year. This was an incentive to work more days and have more consistent subs. That was taken away after a couple of years. I do wish there was some benefit to helping fill open spots so often, especially at our low daily pay rate.
I was a total newbie to subbing and this idea of an "app" that tell you when a job is open. I just got on the band-wagon about a month ago and in my nievite (sp?) of not knowing anything, I signed up for the two that I had heard about (I think from this list). They are both almost identical. One of them requires a password to get the info over the phone (of which I have NO idea of what THAT is), but within minutes (seconds?) I am informed of the job from each of them. I don't know the password, but it tells me that there is a new job so I can check AESOP online.
I tried out a few of these subscription iPhone apps (SubSidekick, Jobulator, SubstituteAlert, etc.) when I was with a district that used AESOP (my current district uses SmartFind which blocks these apps). Nijima...I think the sub's explanation about how these apps work was misconstrued. There's a lot of misinformation out there.
Let me explain. These apps remain continuously logged on to AESOP using your ( the subscriber's) logon info. Every time an appropriate job enters the system, the app notifies you ( the subscriber) immediately and you can then immediately attempt to accept the job via the app.
It's much faster than having to go through AESOP yourself. But unless YOU accept the job, it's still available for someone else. The app does NOT automatically accept jobs for you. In fact, even with the app, you may attempt to accept the job only to be notified that it's no longer available (someone beat you to it). I often experienced this.
Having the iPhone app is NO guarantee that you will get every job you want to take. To get the most benefit, you also have to be constantly checking your phone and quick to accept jobs before they get snatched up by someone else (e.g. another subscriber).
Lastly, these apps don't allow you to hoard overlapping assignments. You are still booking with AESOP, so once you have accepted an assignment, you cannot take any other jobs in that time slot, and you will no longer receive notifications for jobs that conflict with what you have scheduled.
Hope this helps.
Last edited by luv2teach2017; 11-04-2018 at 08:37 AM..
I just learned that a preferred list isn't necessarily what an admin calls priority list. If you're on both then it works to your benefit and I also learned that if you're on some priority list, you truly get to pick and choose for same day or multiple in the same school. Time is limited though for a sub on priority to do so. At one time, those in priority would actually get an e-mail from the system notifying them that there's job waiting to be accepted/rejected. They can also reject without being denied same-day jobs!
Is it true that if you reject a job that you won't get offered another job for that day? I can see it if you accept and then CANCEL a job, but do they really expect me to take a job for "boys P.E.?" I'm asking because I haven't been offered many jobs lately and I'm wondering if that might be why? I really doubt that it is true, but I thought I would ask, anyway. I really think that one can reject a job without any penalty, whatsoever, but stranger things have happened.
"if you reject a job that you won't get offered another job for that day? I can see it if you accept and then CANCEL a job..."
I think it depends on how close it is to start time. So yes, if you keep rejecting or cancel a job within a period when a job starts, you may not be offered anymore choiceds. It also depends on how your district has their Aesop set up.
Hello. This is an old thread, so I don't know if anybody is going to get this, but I just saw an ad for "jobulator." I have subalert. Does anybody know if jobulator is better than subalert?
I guess the free trial has changed - I think the charge, normally, is now $5.99 a month, when it was $8.00/month before? So the cost has gone down, but so has the free trial as it is now only 14 days.
I don't remember how much subfinder costs, but I don't think it is a lot.
So I am now signed up for both. Subfinder gave me 8 jobs. Jobulator didn't give me any of them, but it may have just been b/c I signed up only 2 hours ago.
> 
11-01-2018, 10:55 AM
