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English Composition 1

Checking Grades in ThinkWave

The grades for students in the course are recorded in ThinkWave, a Web-based grade book program that allows students to access their own grade reports on the Internet. You can access ThinkWave with any Web browser, and you do not need to download any software to use ThinkWave. Before you can check your grades, you need to establish a ThinkWave account, following the steps below:

Step One: Establish your ThinkWave Account

1. Go to http://www.Thinkwave.com.
2. Click "Login" in the upper right
3. Under "Classic," click "First Time? Start Here."
4. Fill in the required information. (To keep things simple, you might use the same login and password that you use for Blackboard.)
5. Click "Next."

Look carefully at the next screen. If you see spaces for your "Start Key" and "Start Key Password," along with the button to "Add Teacher," then you have successfully established your ThinkWave account. You can use your login and password to enter ThinkWave.

However, you might see an error message--maybe a message indicating that you have chosen a login or password that someone else already is using. Look carefully at the screen to see if it indicates that you must make some changes to the information that you have entered. 

Step Two: Add this Class to your Account

1. Log in to ThinkWave as explained above
2. Under "Add Teacher," type your Start Key and Start Key Password. Important: I will send you your Start Key and Start Key Password a few weeks after the course begins.

Your grade information will appear on the screen, and you can follow the links on the screen to view additional information. You are be able to view the names of assignments, the grade for each assignment, and your average course grade.

Important: You have to add this class to your ThinkWave account only once, when you first establish your account and add this class with the Start Key and Start Key Password. In the future, you can check your grades simply by going to ThinkWave and entering the login and password that you came up with.

You will notice that ThinkWave allows instructors to provide other information, such as assignment descriptions. However, I use ThinkWave only for the recording of grades, so you will see "No information available" for many ThinkWave options.

Please do not send the instructor any messages through ThinkWave. I check Blackboard and e-mail often, but I do not check ThinkWave for messages.

I will record grades in ThinkWave shortly after I grade each assignment. Of course, if you have additional questions about an assignment grade or your course grade or about how you are doing in the course, make sure to contact me. Likewise, let me know if you think that a grade has been recorded incorrectly. Your grade information is kept secure and is given out only when the proper login name and password is entered, so keep your login name and password private!

ThinkWave might be a bit confusing at first, as you are setting up your account, but you should soon find that ThinkWave is an easy and convenient way to keep track of you grades in the course.