Zinn, Karl L.

Karl L. Zinn joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1963 as a research associate in the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) and as a lecturer in psychology. Zinn was promoted to research scientist in 1969 and maintained this title until he retired from active faculty status in 1997. Zinn joined the Information Technology Division in 1995.

Zinn received his B.A. degree from Swarthmore College in 1959 and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan in 1962 and 1964, respectively. Zinn's first work assignment in CRLT was to assist faculty with problems related to testing and evaluation of computer technology for classroom use. Zinns work in this area soon led to him being identified as one of the "best informed individuals in America in the area of computer-assisted instruction, establishing connections with other research centers and setting up demonstration projects using access to the experimental computer systems at IBM, Dartmouth and the University of Illinois."[1] Other significant accomplishments include writing a proposal to the State of Michigan for a possible shared information network to be used among major universities. This proposal resulted in a planning grant for a state-wide computing network. Zinn also authored the proposal to the National Science Foundations that led to the development of the MERIT (Michigan Education and Research Information Triad) computer network in 1966. Zinn was named an associate director of MERIT in 1969.[2]

Zinn is also credited for introducing computer graphics to the University of Michigan; putting the first interactive programming language on the Michigan Terminal System; programming simulations and academic games for instruction; and setting up the first computer-based conferencing system, CONFER, on campus.[3]

CONFER was developed in the mid-1970s when experimental psychology graduate student Bob Parnes attended a seminar which Professor Merrill Flood discussed aspects of electronic mail and conferencing on group decision making. Professor Flood had a prototype of such a program and approached Parnes to modify the application for MTS but, Parnes was interested in developing a program from the ground up.[4] With the support of the University, particularly the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, CONFER was developed.

Parnes' vision of the system was one where the individual group participant would alternate between being a producer and being a consumer of information. The unique CONFER feature in this regard was initially the functionality of the "vote." This feature allowed the consumer to voice their "feelings" or opinion on a statement by voting. Initially, responses were limited in size.

The first major "test" for the CONFER system was the October 1976 International Society for Technology Assessment (ISTA) Conference held in Ann Arbor. Zinn was interested in testing the technology to facilitate the coordination of tasks among the conference staff as well as using the system to allow conference participants to extend discussions on conference topics. CONFER provided a new opportunity for group discussion and is credited for playing a "tremendous role in enlarging the electronic community" at the University of Michigan.[5]

CONFER continued to gain in popularity with faculty, students, administrators and staff through the 1980s. By 1991, a group of students established the first computer conference for exclusively for students called MEET: STUDENTS. This very popular conference marked, in a sense, the acceptance of online communications as a culturally accepted mode for student communication and exchange.

For many on campus, the benefits of CONFER included meeting new people with similar interests, engaging in group discussion, and communicating outside the normal parameters defined by time and space. The CONFER system continued to be a widely used communication tool until 1999. By this time, the university had moved from the Michigan Terminal System to a distributed computing environment and several newer digital technologies replaced the functionality provided by CONFER. [6]

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NOTES

1) Information taken from University of Michigan Regent’s Proceedings, January Meeting, 1998.

2) Eric M. Aupperle, Merit-Who, What, and Why Part One: The Early Years, 1964-1983, Merit Network, Inc., website, http://www.merit.edu (last viewed September 14, 2004).

3)Information taken from University of Michigan Regent’s Proceedings, January Meeting, 1998

4) MTS Fostered Creation of Computing Community, Information Technology Digest, May 13, 1996 (vol. 5, no. 5).

5) Susan E. Topol, Students Met Students on Confer U, InfoTech Digital, September 8, 1997.

6) ibid.

From the guide to the Karl L. Zinn papers, 1964-1997, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)