Products improving education access

Some Web-enabled communications tools for education include:

* ThinkWave Inc.'s Educator (www.thinkwave.com) — Free online gradebook that is used with the company's Web site to enable teachers to communicate with parents and students.

* Excelsior Software Inc.'s Pinnacle System (www.gradebook.com) — An electronic gradebook for teachers that includes a front end to link with a school's existing legacy systems so that teachers can avoid entering grades and attendance information twice.

* Parlant Inc.'s ParentLink (www.parlant.com) — Suite provides Internet and phone access to homework information, attendance records and announcements from the school. The system automatically calls parents, or they can call the system, enter a phone number and listen to messages left for them by teachers or other school officials.

* Chancery Software Ltd.'s K12Planet.com (www.chancery.com) — Teachers can enter data on grades and attendance via an online gradebook. Parents and students can then access data via the K12Planet.com portal.