SIUC’s College of Education will open a new microcomputer lab with new computers next week, allowing students to access the World Wide Web and a college-wide computer network.

The lab is part of an ongoing effort by the dean’s office and Information Technology to connect the administration, faculty and students by networking computers in all departments with the computer labs, the administration and the Internet, administrators said.

William Sharp, associate dean for administrative services, is coordinating the network projects. He said so far, the college departments located in Wham, Rhen and Davies Gym are connected by a fiber-optic network, and connections for Pulliam Hall were recently approved by the SIU Board of Trustees.

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Sharp said the college worked closely with SIUC’s Information Technology to connect the college, evaluating what equipment the college had and what was needed to bring the school up-to-date.

Some computers we had to replace completely, others we could upgrade, he said. We purchased 34 new Dell Pentiums (IBM) and 23 Macintosh 7100s.

The college network began operation in the fall semester of 1995 and worked even more smoothly than Sharp expected, he said.

One of the most valuable everyday advantages we now have is e-mail, he said. Professors or department chairs can be anywhere in the country and communicate with the college through a laptop computer.

I recently returned from vacation, and instead of going through phone messages, I had probably 20 e-mail notes waiting for me.

The college hired three computer specialists in 1995 to help it with everyday problems users have with the network. Sharp said the technicians are each employed full-time in one of the three connected buildings, specifically to answer questions.

Sandy Hostetler, Wham’s computer help specialist, said the additional staff has greatly improved the college’s accessibility.

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This college is way ahead of the game in helping individuals use the system, she said.

Hostetler said the new network will benefit SIUC’s student teachers, who work all over the region, by giving them access to a LISTSERVer e-mail group initiated by Hostetler through the school server. Through the LISTSERVer, members of the group pose questions, and all members can discuss problems their peers are dealing with.

Student teachers send e-mail, and I put it on the server, sending questions to all the students in the group, she said. Somebody else is bound to have had the same problem, and the students can help each other.