Using Computer Conferencing Technology To Assist Collaboration between Higher Education Faculty, Student Teachers and K-12 Practitioners.

The College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) created collaborative partnerships with nine major school districts in Iowa in order to establish several kinds of relationships between practitioners and university faculty which computer networks facilitated. A new "Cobra" computer conference system was expanded to the nine regional off-campus centers where UNI student teachers were working, and modem-equipped portable computers were linked to the campus through a WATTS telephone line. Personnel, including field-based personnel and practitioners, were then able to communicate with nearly all offices on UNI campus through E-mail and computer conferences. Further programs have recruited teachers as center Cadre members. The ability to connect campus faculty to field practitioners has positively affected the teacher education program at UNI. Classroom teachers have been a valuable resource for teacher trainees and student teachers; they have influenced university committee decisions, impacted curriculum content and methods classes, and enhanced rapport between faculty and teachers. When faculty and teachers talked about a mutual interest, traditional barriers tended to disappear. Student teachers have benefited through more frequent communication, and their cooperating teachers' interest in Cobra was heightened. Lessons proposed for similar programs are: (1) keep technical information simple; (2) establish leadership and commitment; and (3) find ways to introduce computer network users face-to-face to build rapport. Contains 8 references. (JB)