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THINKWAVE LINKS TEACHERS AND PARENTS ONLINE

August 3, 1999

Software program ThinkWave Educator 2.0 and a new web site called ThinkWave.com are making parent-teacher conferences shorter but more frequent. The software and online site work together to give the most important people in a student's life a chance to collaborate on the student's progress.

While the online resource increases the opportunities students and their parents have to communicate with teachers, it also increases exposure for ThinkWave Educator, a classroom management program designed to help teachers simplify their administrative tasks and make more time for actual teaching. The program helps teachers create and manage assignments, activities and calendars, track grades on the computer and create progress reports for students and parents.

Once those records are created, teachers can put the information online on ThinkWave.com's secure server. The web site uses technology to prevent access to those reports except by authorized individuals, who must use a password to view the student's account and send feedback to the teacher. Teachers or parents not comfortable with using an Internet site to exchange information can opt to communicate via the software program's e-mail function.

But the key to ThinkWave.com's success as a company is drawing visitors to the web site, Director of Business Development Jim Kiriakis said. To that end, ThinkWave.com is stressing to teachers and others who inquire about the program that the online service is as secure as any other transaction conducted over the Internet. Initial worries over protection of credit card numbers and other personal information held back online commerce in the early stages too, he noted, but as secure online transactions continue to build a positive track record ThinkWave expects those concerns to subside.

The software and the web site are available at ThinkWave.com for previewing until an updated version of the site launches Aug. 13. The software program is free and can be either downloaded or delivered through the mail on CD-ROM. To date, the software has been downloaded about 40,000 times, and the company counts 8,000 to 10,000 teachers actively using it to track their students, Kiriakis said. The web site started in test mode in March and has attracted more than 500 teachers who distribute about 13,000 student records online, he said.

ThinkWave.com is funding the project with investments from venture capitalists, according to Kiriakis. A round of fund-raising in May raised more than $1 million, which Kiriakis said will support the company through the end of this year. Another dip into the venture capital well slated for September should raise enough cash for ThinkWave to continue well into next year, he added. Former America Online executive Barry Waitte and Pierre Omidyar, founder and chairman of online auction site Ebay, are among the company's financial backers.

As it continues to build publicity for ThinkWave Educator, the company plans to court sponsors and online merchants to fund the project, Kiriakis said. Noting the education market is estimated to comprise more than 8 percent of the nation's total gross domestic product, Kirikis argues that "people's conception that there's no money in education is really a misconception."

Sponsors, which will get advertising space on the ThinkWave.com web site, will be selected from companies ThinkWave deems "appropriate" for a family oriented, educational web site, he said, noting the company plans to put an advisory board in place to approve the sponsors. Merchants will likely be companies selling learning aids, books and other materials teachers say are needed to help their students. A third source of revenue will come from the sale of "boxed sets" that bundle ThinkWave Educator with an ongoing support contract, a user manual and other materials that will add to the value of the product, Kiriakis said.

Though the company already sells support contracts and some materials for the free ThinkWave Educator program, Kiriakis said he does not expect to see significant revenues until the fourth quarter of this year or beyond.8