Fullan (1993) suggests that there are benefits for schools and there are benefits to the university as a result of the partnership. In terms of the latter, it has been my teaching that has benefited most from the partnership. It is relatively easy for me to stand up in front of a class and lecture my students on some of the current concepts in the field such as constructivism, situated cognition, goal-based scenarios, intelligent tutoring, and so on. It is quite a different thing to try and put these theories into practice. My partnership with Lincoln allowed me to grapple directly with the issues of applying theory to practice. The result is that I have built a repertoire of stories to describe how these applications might work. The stories from an actual classroom add a measure of validity to my instruction. Because this work involves relying on a teacher's expertise, the resultant application is a combination of practical and theoretical knowledge, an important aspect of educational theory construction (Carr, 1989). A consequence of this team-based work is to credit all key members of the team in the authorship of any publication. Therefore, authorship might include as many as ten authors on a single manuscript (e.g., Orey, et al., 1997). 

"Collaboration means that the players combine to carry out their common interests in improving the quality of life in educational institutions and programs" (Shive 1997, p. 37). This assessment is true, but it takes more to make the extensive efforts of a partnership worthwhile for all. I was able to have four of my doctoral students conduct their dissertation research (along with all the pilots) in this setting. I was also able to give my masters students the opportunity to try out their ideas in an actual educational setting. In sum, my partnership allowed me to create a venue for research and application for myself and my students. For the teachers, they were given access to several people who had technical expertise to assist them in fulfilling their need to integrate computers into their classrooms. My students, the teachers, and I each had motivations that "sweetened the pot." Shive (1997) describes these benefits of a partnership: 1. Teachers can emerge from isolation in their classrooms to working on a team.  2. Everyone learns. Everyone "researches." 3. Partnerships provide the opportunity to share successful practices. 4. Because teachers are involved in the change, they have investment in the change and will continue with the new practices after collaboration ends. While we do not have direct evidence of and did not really focus on the first of these benefits, our work at Lincoln did result in less isolation for all parties. The second issue was certainly true: my partnership with Lincoln was a great learning experience for everyone. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but I think I was the one who learned the most. It clearly was an opportunity to get out of the ivory tower and "get my hands dirty" in the real world of a real school. 

In addition, lots of research happened. Much of the research was informed if not guided by the teachers. Clearly, everyone was researching. The opportunity to share practice occurred for at least Kate, if not for many of the teachers. Kate was our prototype for the project-based application. We designed this project in collaboration with her, so our implementation was shared with the entire school. Others refined this approach and adapted it to their classes; these modifications were shared across the school. 

We did all that we could to invest the teachers in the change. At this point, approximately 6 months after the end of the partnership, project-based activities continue and many teachers still use the Teacher Tools application. 
 

Carriuolo (1991) provides a useful guideline: value the knowledge and skills of the teachers and allow them to use the consultant's knowledge and skills. This is key. I don't know how many times I would say things like, "I know the computer can do this, but I don't know if your students can do this. You know what will and will not work with your students." At a faculty meeting in the middle of my partnership with Lincoln, I showed the faculty some projects that some students had created. I then told them I knew computers and had some book knowledge, but needed the teachers' experience to help me figure out what would and would not work in the classroom. While it sounds somewhat pretentious in print, comments like these led to some really powerful ideas for integrating computers into their classrooms. It was an opportunity to cooperate with me rather than submit to an activity I wanted to do to them. This difference is important because it allowed me to take on a legitimate role in the school as a consultant. 

Lieberman (1992) describes how she was able to establish legitimacy in a particular school. She started by working with one teacher. The result of their work could afterwards be shown to other teachers, and they could be told what could be done because that specific project happened in Ms. Smith's class. I did the same thing. It was my work in Kate's classroom that led to the widespread integration of technology into the classrooms at Lincoln. 

There is no magic bullet for how to form a partnership, but my hope is that you complete the reading of this paper with a framework for establishing your own partnership. Respecting teacher knowledge and establishing a legitimate role for yourself are two general strategies for getting started. Working with a single teacher for an extended period of time and then expanding to the school level is another excellent strategy. 
 

Over the four years of work with Lincoln, the school has benefited from technological expertise and grants. In that time, I benefited by having a readily available place for conducting my own research and helping my students to do theirs. It was an excellent place for students to learn about doing research and learn about the environment of school. The Lincoln experience helped me to contextualize my teaching of graduate technology integration classes. It gave me practical rather than theoretical experience in a school situation. On the negative side, it was very easy to get caught up in caring about the children and school and forget that your job is to share the results of your research with others. This paper attempts to disseminate some of the knowledge that I have gained from collaborating with graduate students, teachers, and middle school students. The results were unexpectedly productive.