SPECIAL DISCUSSION -- Opportunities for Implementing Technology in Secure Classrooms

Hello Members,

I am thrilled to welcome you to the special LINCS discussion around Opportunities for Implementing Technology in Secure Classrooms.  Our esteemed guest contributors for this discussion are: Dr. John Linton, Ms. Michelle Tolbert and Mr. Brian Walsh (please see their extended bios below).  

There has been much recent buzz around the introduction of new technologies into correctional education classrooms. Connectivity and access to tablet technology have been the focus of several recent conferences, most notably the Correctional Education Association's Annual Conference titled "Education and Technology: The Pathway to Re-entry" held last month in Washington DC.  At the CEA conference the members of our panel presented an overview of a comprehensive policy report on which they have been working.  The report will address the need for technology in corrections classrooms as well as how such technology is already being safely and securely implemented in some areas.  Our experts will post comments for consideration and discussion throughout this week and next.  Please join the conversation with comments and questions.

 

Dr. John Linton is the Director of the Office of Correctional Education in the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office of Career Technology and Adult Education (OCTAE), and a member of OCTAE’s Adult Education team.  He provides leadership for ED’s work involving educational services to U.S. correctional populations.  John also represents ED on the workgroup supporting the cabinet level federal Reentry Council.  Prior to his federal appointment, John was director of the education and library programs in Maryland’s adult prisons, working first in Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and then in the Maryland State Department of Education.  Trained as a reading teacher, John began his professional career as an adult education teacher in a correctional setting.

Ms. Michelle Tolbert oversees adult education projects focused on improving policies, programs, and resources targeting under-skilled adults. She conducts qualitative research and analysis and provides technical assistance to states and programs in the areas of correctional education and reentry, transitions to postsecondary education, workforce development, community partnerships, and state and federal policy.  Her extensive experience in correctional education and reentry includes evaluating postsecondary education reentry programs, providing technical assistance to programs bridging the gap between institution- and community-based education and training programs, and developing a guidebook to support the collection and analysis of correctional education data at the national and state levels. She has also authored a broad array of guides, online tools, policy briefs, research reports, and literature reviews on correctional education, transitions to college and careers, industry recognized credentials, and community partnerships.

Mr. Brian Walsh, M.A. leads the offender education program for Peninsula College at two state prisons in the northwest corner of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula. Brian believes that by providing quality college education, offenders will be less likely to return to prison and be better prepared to care for themselves and their families. As Education Director for Clallam Bay and Olympic Corrections Centers, Brian started the first prison-based Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program, a nationally recognized curriculum for adult education in Washington State. He has led the effort to expand the use of technology in the prison classroom and worked to develop secure ways for faculty within prisons to deliver offenders the same technologically enhanced courses available to the public.

Comments

We are doing our GED practice testing with printed screen shots of the practice GED tests, but we are going to ask our IT person if we can download the tests onto the student PCs in the computer lab. We have found the KAPLAN GED preparation book to be the most useful thus far. I've also been putting together content guides for WWI, WWII, chemistry, grammar, etc., using MS Word and cutting and pasting from the internet.

Our education coordinator is currently just starting to work with Pearson Vue to become a test site, but we don't anticipate offering the test before Christmas.

Thus far, we send students to the GED if she has:

Scored 12.9 on TABE reading, math, and language
Completed pre- and post tests in all four areas in the Kaplan
Written practice essays
Taken all the 2014 print outs of the online practice tests in reading, math, ss, and science,
Completed the advanced level on the ITTS software

At this point, even all this cannot guarantee a student will pass the test.  I like to offer the opportunity to take the test after they've put in this much work over the four months they are with me in education classes. 

 

I would like to thank you for sharing.  You have given me so much to think about (curriculum development).  I would like to know what is ITTS software?  We currently use Programmed Logic Automatic Teaching Operations (PLATO).

 

 

For Title I, I tried to find software that we could use for the classroom utilizing the Smart Board Technology.  I found Boardworks, but it is CD ROM based.  We are trying out the high school level math in an effort to prepare the students for both the new GED 2014 and for college prep.  I purchased about 10 more Smart Boards for our Title I sites.  The FETC (Florida Education Technology Conference) opened my eyes to what is out there.  It still boils down to that we have to have a safe and secure institution and with adult prison systems, it is vital that security is not breached. I like the Egranary idea. This may be a way to have simulated access for content you build inside.

Hi Suzanne,

WiderNet's eGranary is a great off-line tool, and it utilizes a secure browser developed by the founder over the course of the life of the organization that is a really good simulation of an on-line browser.  The librarians at WiderNet have also done a good job of curating content and offering the resources in a very Google-esque way that teaches digital literacy tools while also providing access to resources and information.

The RACHEL system that David recommended above is also pretty cool.  This was the first I'd heard of the resource and at first blush it appears to be a really good collection with very specific education-based materials much like what is offered on the eGranary (or COEP for corrections classrooms, standing for Corrections Off-line Education Platform).

Donna Crawley,

Have you ever used XAMPP (https://www.apachefriends.org/index.html) or WampServer (http://www.wampserver.com/en)?  They allow you to emulate a server environment on a single desktop or laptop PC.  I used XAMPP to develop and test my program's website (HTML with a small amount of PHP) offline before uploading it to the web hosting service.  I also use it to apply and test changes to the website before uploading it to production.  In the past, I've also downloaded and installed WordPress and Joomla on top of XAMPP, but never had a chance to experiment with them much.  This may be a way for you to simulate a large piece of a real world environment for your students on standalone PCs.  There are a lot of possibilities.

And I agree 100% with your statement that students need to know how to find information on their own.  The real world demands this.

Hello,

I, too, have used XAMPP at home to test my websites before uploading to a live environment. I initially had thought that it would be a wonderful asset to use here in the classroom -- that is until I tried to access apachefriends.org. Our filters block the website due to it having the word "friends" in the URL. Yes, I rolled my eyes too. I had not looked at WampServer but am able to access the URL and will give it a try. Thank you for the suggestion. 

rebker-

It sounds like Virginia is much like our facilities in Vermont. Many of our classrooms have SMART boards and all our instructors have access to the Internet. Several of our instructors will connect their Internet-capable computers to the SMART board to bring the Internet into the classroom. All of our instructors use a USB drive in one way or another to bring additional materials into the classroom.

My main concern is that the students (inmates) are not allowed access to the Internet. Sure, the instructors implement it in their lessons, but the students don't have any form of authentic research. Our only form of research are old encyclopedia volumes and outdated encyclopedia CD-ROMs (some facilities still only have Encarta--something MicroSoft stopped supporting years ago!).

Hi Marshall,

Can you share anything else about your experience in using RACHEL?  WiderNet's collection also includes all of Wikipedia, although not necessarily vetted for corrections classrooms, but you can "quarantine" information you want to restrict.  WiderNet also has Khan Academy, the straight site, not K.A. Lite, which is actually a separate organization, which I noticed that RACHEL also has (Khan, not Lite).  WiderNet has MIT Open Courseware and a lot of other open source materials, which is essentially the same set up from which RACHEL works.  They both seem like great potential solutions.

I've always said that off-line caching of web-based resources is much like manned space flight.  It's awesome while it's needed, but even better when we get to the point where it's no longer necessary... 

Ma'am,

    the folks at World Possible have a 'live' version of RACHEL on their site (http://rachel.worldpossible.org/) so that people can see how it will normally work (we're still working with the previous version - I haven't gotten around to downloading the latest version) .

    They are currently using 'Khan on a Stick' (which is how I found RACHEL originally), it is a group of compressed videos from Khan Academy (KA) with a web page wrapper to allow for navigation (to see this 'live' http://www.rachel.worldpossible.org/ka/index.html).  World Possible has been working with the folks at Foundation for Learning Equality (FLE) on either including KA-lite or using FLE's web server to host RACHEL (both of their visions are similar).  FLE is also working on adding additional content to it's system (KA-lite and FLE was created from a core of KA developers and interns) so they're added a method to include content in the KA-lite server.

As far as use in the offender classroom...

  • We've removed some of the files from the base installation (as we did with KA-lite).  There is a LOT of material (@ 32GB of compressed data and video) that is designed primarily for a third-world public audience.  We've removed much of the medical information (we've had issues in the past with offenders self-diagnosing and then going to Medical...).  In KA-lite we removed some of the physics videos (building a motor for example).
  • There are ebooks that can help support offenders working on their reading
  • There are e-textbooks, videos and software to support math from basic skills to calculus
  • As I mentioned in my earlier post, I use the Wikipedia for Schools as part of having students doing research (part of my computer literacy class has them producing a presentation on a subject that they have to research).  After looking over the material again, they also have some other pieces of Wikipedia that had been developed for the One Laptop Per Child project.
  • There are some e-textbooks and videos to support science education

-Marshall

I'm really interested in learning more about Virginia and Vermont's use of Smart Boards to provide students with access (although not direct access) to Internet content.  Do DOC/facility staff have to review the downloaded content before it's shared with the students?  How did you get permission to use this approach in the classroom?  What are the benefits and challenges with this approach?

Thanks for starting this discussion, Heather.  Thanks also for the honorary doctorate.  (I guess it must be honorary since I know don’t have an earned doctorate!)  I am delighted to be able to participate in this discussion because I believe it is both an interesting and productive topic. 

Let’s start with the point that technology is key for re-entry in the broadest sense – for education and for the many other reentry related activities.  I believe that educators will be more successful in opening doors for technology in corrections (particularly in getting past the security issues and in finding funding for technology) if we approach this as a multi-disciplinary imperative. 

Our correctional education team at the Department of Education was successful in getting a “reentry myth buster” approved and posted to the Interagency Reentry Council web site last month.  Heather provided some companion information in a prior post related to a myth buster on technology in juvenile justice education.  There is also an adult focused technology myth buster and it can be accessed at:  http://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/reentry-council-mythbuster-IT-adults.pdf  We think it makes a pretty strong case.  But please take a look and let us know what you think.  Will this be useful in working with corrections on technology expansions? 

This myth buster will be followed late this year by a Department of Education publication on technology access with a more specific focus on correctional education.  Please stay tuned.

An exciting application of expanded technology in corrections is the establishment of “One Stop Centers” in correctional facilities.  Toward this end, the Attorney General of the United States and the U. S. Secretary of Labor yesterday visited a correctional facility which pioneered a One Stop behind bars.   Who doesn’t think that it is important to connect incarcerated individuals with employment opportunities as they prepare for release?  That’s an easy sell.  And our contemporary mechanisms for connecting job seekers to employers are now technology dependent.  (Secretary of Labor Perez was quoted as saying yesterday that a grant competition will be announced this fall to implement one stops behind bars.  See:  http://www.mymcmedia.org/attorney-general-holder-labor-secretary-perez-and-ce-leggett-tour-montgomery-county-correctional-facility/)  

Lot’s more to come…

This grant competition would be a great opportunity for career pathways members to get funded to be involved with corrections facilities and personnel.  Please see the link in John Linton's discussion above for more information.  Apparently Labor Secretary Perez will announce the grant competition later this fall, so you have some time to do some preliminary exploration of the educational and job preparation activities in your local corrections facilities to see where collaboration might be welcome.  Mr. Linton (or should I honor your honorary doctorate and say Dr. Linton?), could you keep us informed as to any more information that comes out about this grant competition?  We appreciate your letting us know about this possibility.

Donna Brian, SME Career Pathways Community of Practice

Hello Donna,

Thank you and yes!  This is a great cross-over opportunity for agencies and organizations involved in Career Pathways.  There is so much potential for good work to be done serving a lot of heretofore unreachable people.

-- Heather 

Following up on my earlier comments about the importance of on line resources for re-entry preparation, I'd like to provide two examples that I have learned of through our inter-agency reentry work group.  These are both examples of on line resources that came available only this year offering resources that could make a huge difference in reentry.  Useful ammunition to those trying to make the case for the importance of on line access in correctional institutions?

For those persons who need to get back on disability post release, the Social Security Administration has a great new web site with clear information on this topic intended specifically for the reentry population.  It is titled "Benefits After Incarceration, What You Need to Know."  It has detailed information about how incarceration impacts various types of social security benefits and guides a former or potential recipient preparing for release.  The site also serves as a reentry preparation portal with links to other reentry related information sources.  Check it out at:    http://www.ssa.gov/reentry/ 

Another example of a new and critical resource is from the Office of Child Support Enforcement.  Many previously incarcerated fathers have had great difficulty getting back into the labor market due to arrears child support payments.  Often, persons in this situation could have had payments suspended or adjusted due to incarceration if they had known how to do so and been able to make the necessary contacts.  The Office of Child Support Enforcement published to the web the "Guide to Changing a Child Support Order" which includes 54 modules -- for specific States and territories.  The State by State information is detailed and even includes fill-able forms to apply for suspension or adjustment due to incarceration.  See:  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/css/resource/state-by-state-how-to-change-a-child-support-order  

So while most people have already recognized that on line access is critical to post release employment -- we can also now make a strong case for the importance in multiple domains.   

Thanks John, these are amazing resources and more evidence of how important it is that access to resources like these is available PRE release in order to provide the greatest possibility of successful re-integration. I'd like to know whether cached versions of the Child Support enforcement modules -- for example -- are available in order to help transition the resources to facilities nationwide. I also imagine that these resources could be provided via a secure tablet by either placing the resources directly onto a hardware memory, or by whitelisting the sites through a securely connected platform.

First, thank you Heather for asking me to participate in this discussion.  I’m sorry to be a day late to the party!  As John Linton mentioned in his post, OCTAE has provided funds to RTI to develop a report to inform federal, state, and local corrections and correctional education administrators as they explore ways to securely and cost-effectively provide IT and the Internet in corrections facilities to help strengthen and expand educational services.   Specifically, it will examine the current status of these technologies in corrections and correctional education, existing approaches to providing such services in facilities, and the successes and challenges of early implementers. 

I am developing the report with the support of three subject matter experts—Heather Erwin, Brian Walsh, and Stephen Guyton.  The report is being drafted as I write this and we’re still in the process of collecting more information, particularly about the successes and challenges of early implementers.  So, please share your experiences with introducing technology and Internet access or content in your prison-based classrooms!

I also wanted to direct you to findings from a recent survey of state correctional education directors completed by RAND (http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR564.html), which found that while most states provide some form of access to desktop and laptop computers, only one-fourth of them allow inmates to use tablets, such as Kindles and iPads.   In terms of computer networking, more than half of the surveyed states reported that their computers are part of a local area network (LAN), 26 percent are part of a wide area network (WAN), and only 14 percent allow their students to have restricted access to the Internet—the largest WAN available.  However, nearly 40 percent of states use simulated Internet programs and most (63 percent) give their instructors access to live Internet technology in the classrooms.  Only a handful of states, though, use interactive or one-way Internet-based, video, or satellite instruction.

I look forward to reading more of your posts and continuing the conversation.

A couple of years ago, I was helping with an evaluation of the technology grant that a very rural high school had received and how the technology was actually being utilized.  What we found has applications to the discussion here because, although the teachers had the technology in their classrooms such as white boards,  student computers,  and internet access, they were limited by what they were allowed to access on the internet.  They were being stymied by administrators and school board members who were fearful of what students, and also the teachers themselves, would access.  I am wondering if this same problem doesn't apply to what correctional institution instructors are allowed to do with the (limited) equipment and access the RAND survey found was provided in each state.  It may well be that actual access is more limited than would be permitted by the states in many facilities because of the fears of other gatekeepers who come between the state correctional education directors and the instructor in the institutional classroom setting.  Do others have experiences that let us know what is actually happening in the field?

Donna Brian, SME Career Pathways CoP

Most definitely...the fear of what would be accessed by both the inmate students and any/all corrections staff (both security and non-security) is probably the biggest reason that internet access is not allowed at all for inmates and limited to staff access. The internet is the best source of free information (free is big because there's never any money for technology or education in general). This free information is not accessible due to the security restrictions. In our institution (an adult, all male maximum security correctional facility in Wisconsin) our inmates are not allowed any internet access, period. We do have an ED LAN for some very old outdated programs specific only to the DOC (which is no longer compatible with the state job site for re-entry purposes). Our legal computers are standalone's with data that is updated daily by staff (not on the internet).  Teachers have some limited internet access but are often blocked from websites and are not allowed to download anything, ever.  We do not have access to smart boards. Everything is done on standalone's which is extremely limiting. Even if you come across free learning tools they all require internet access. This has been very frustrating for us since all of the new GED testing is all internet based we can't even do pretests yet.  With all of the new useful tools that are currently available but not allowed in our school many teachers are frustrated and feel helpless.  Our guys are not getting what they need to prepare for testing (no books, no pretests and definitely no technology).  One juvenile facility has received tablets for the first time but so far no feedback as to how that is going.  Realistically, I try to get stuff online at home bring it in and try to do the best that I can. Even so, due to all of the resources needing internet access (like for our new GED testing service) most of what I'm able to get is non-interactive.

I have read over many of your comments and suggestions and found them most enlightening.  Please pardon any typos or misspellings in this message since it it very late at night and I am tired after a long day.

As many of you know there are now some secure tablets in correctional facilities, pre-loaded with materials like GED, ESL, financial literacy, etc..  Some of the videos and reading materials are from publishers and some are free from sites like Khan Academy. The tablets are not free but the costs are reasonable.  Secure tablets were verboten a year ago in almost all correctional facilities and now many correctional agencies have gotten over the fear of an inmate figuring out how to break into secure tablets and activate the WiFi capability to get onto the Internet and communicate with gang members or look at pornography and cause a sensation in the local newspaper.    Getting over the fear of tablets is a quantum leap for corrections.   States like Ohio, Michigan and Kansas corrections have recently purchased lots tablets and will be deploying them in various educational settings soon.  The next step, hardly just around the corner, will be secure platforms that can provide amazing amounts of educational resources and be accessed with tablets that are not pre-loaded but are capable of communicating with them.  There are at least two groups working on this and they are in pilot stages and/or ready for the market soon. 

Since the Correctional Education Association is involved with both kinds of tablets and a platform I don't want to turn this into a commercial.  CEA is trying to be "agnostic" with its efforts and will allow almost any quality education publisher to be part of the platform and tablet.  I have communicated much of this to Heather, John Linton (honorary doctor) and Lois Davis, among others.  CEA will be making a formal announcement at the American Correctional Association meeting in mid-August and more information about the platform will appear on our CEA webiste at that time.  Future CEA conferences will feature a lot more about technology. 

I want to thank Heather for being such as leader in technology and helping to lead corrections out of the dark ages into a more promising time.  John Linton has been our champion at the US Department of Education and has brought the Departments of Justice and Labor along as well.  Since I am a bit older than John I will take the liberty to affirm that old correctional dogs can learn new tricks. Some of us are watching and learning from the young kids like Brian Walsh.

 

The news that Corrections education is looking toward the future with the use of tablets in the classroom is very exciting indeed.  Since most educational companies are developing resources for tablet use and leaving the world of CD ROMs behind, it will bring our correctional facilities up to par with the regular education classrooms in the outside world. Our incarcerated students, especially youthful offenders, who may already have classroom experience with tablets, would have a smoother transition back into a regular classroom if there is a continuum of the technology level. Successful reentry into the outside world depends upon how we have equipped our incarcerated students with the education, technology skills, and life skills necessary to become productive members of society.

This is great news. I think the use of tablet devices in corrections has great potential to add benefit by providing new and additional educational offerings, providing younger offenders a technology they are familiar with, and also provide a rather cost effective way to utilize technology.

Do you know what kind of materials are going to be available on tablets? Are there going to be collections of resources that instructors can pick and choose from, and then incorporate into the classrooms? Are there going to be packages of materials that are purchased and loaded on the tablets? I think I read that some of the tablet vendors are offering music, video and other non-education resources on tablets.

Do you have any information on how the programs in Kansas, Ohio, and Michigan are going to use tablets? Are they going to be used only in the classroom? Do you know if the tablets are working in a wireless network, or are the materials loaded on the tablet?

One big question is what kind of support will be necessary for instructors using tablets in their programs, both technical support to ensure the technology works and professional development support?

The short answer to this question is that there are currently a handful of tablet developers/vendors in the corrections market and that there are just as many ways of purposing and distributing those tablets.  Several of them -- JPay, Union Supply and Keefe Corporation, for example -- are commissary providers who are expanding their available commissary items to include tablets.  Some, like Union Supply and JPay, already have electronics in the market.  I know Union has mp3 players, radios and televisions among other things, available for inmates and their families to purchase.  I believe that their education tablets, loaded with educational content (for use in classrooms or libraries), are only available for purchase by the facility.  Please visit www.unionsupplygroup.com for more specific information.

I have just begun to learn about JPay's foray into providing tablets for educational use.  JPay currently is a more tech-focused commissary company, offering secure messaging, music and other media services on a pre-loaded 8GB mini-tablet.  They are, I believe, developing a connected tablet for use in correctional classrooms.    You can learn more about their offerings at www.jpay.com.

I know less about Keefe Corp. and IDS, which are other players in this arena.  Keefe has long been held the "giant" of commissary providers, but has been slowest to embrace technology offerings.  They explored tablet tech for several years, but I don't know what, if anything, has come of that exploration. IDS is somewhat of a wildcard in this market and I don't know much about them at all except that they will soon have eReaders in California prisons.

APDS Corp. is the only primarily education focused company currently in the tablet market.  They were founded by a former education leader at Scholastic and have developed a device agnostic platform delivered through a 7" tablets.  The platform is driven by best-in-class educational apps and offerings as well as a video communication and messaging service called, respectively, APDS video and Gatetime. While APDS markets a particular tablet to showcase their platform, it can ostensibly be delivered on any Android compatible device, such as a ChromeBook or Galaxy tablet.  They are also the only company that utilizes a secure 3G/4G dedicated Verizon line to deliver their services, instead of relying on a broadband connection.  This has proven very secure and effective. You can learn more about APDS at www.apdscorporate.com. 

I'll let program personnel in Kansas, Ohio, Michigan -- and elsewhere -- address the question of how those programs, pilot and otherwise, are going. Lastly, I believe for the most part that companies are providing their own training and tech support, or are working with facility IT personnel to ensure proper use and service when necessary. Hope this info helps and that others more in-the-know will chime in!

The content on the Union tablet includes GED 2014, ABE, ESL, financial literacy, reentry and other areas.  The tablet has been used in ABE/GED as well as college classrooms.  I am personally involved with the teachers at Montgomery County Correctional Facility, a jail in Maryland where we have 30 tablets being used.  Ohio and Michigan have recently purchased their tablets and they will be deployed soon.

There are materials which can be purchased such as Essential Education's GED, TASC and HiSet books, ESL by Langvid and a problem-solving reentry book by CEA.  But the tablet is also filled with over a hundred "freebies" from Khan Academy and other sources.   Please check out the CEA website www.ceanational.org for more specifics and a downloadable brochure.   The JPay tablet will have all these materials and more within a few months. It will interact with the cloud.  CEA is working with various publishers to make their materials available electronically. We are talking with ProLiteracy, for example, to make their publications available.  Videos, pdfs and ebooks all run on the tablets.  Interactive college level courses will also be available.   The possibilities are endless and weare working with agencies to put on their own proprietary material as well. 

Hi all,

Thanks for the great discussion. Some of you may be familiar with Learner Web, a web-based learning platform designed for adult learners. The Learner Web has been incorporated into a variety of projects to support adults and has been implemented by a variety of partners in a diverse array of settings. At least two of these settings are secure correctional facilities: The Onondaga County Justice Center and the Orleans Parish Prison.

The Onondaga County Justice Center has a computer lab within the facility. Select individuals are allowed access to Learner Web via the internet in this lab and provided with tutor support. They use learning plans designed to help improve family literacy and improve the learner's ability to support their child's learning. The Southern Central Tier Regional Adult Education Network, led by James Matt, produced an excellent video that has testimony from corrections staff and participants in the Learner Web program there. I will see if I can get permission to post and share the video.

In New Orleans, Leo Hayden, Director of the Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) ReEntry Program, incorporated a self-paced, tutor-facilitated digital literacy training program into his reentry program. This was done as part of Learner Web's Digital Literacy Partnership, a three year Broadband Technology Opportunities Program project that focused on digital literacy acquisition in hard to serve adults. OPP had great success in implementing this program and Mr. Hayden saw great value in providing participants the opportunity to catch up with what has been going on the outside. Mr. Hayden gave a presentation with Dr. Jill Castek (the leader of the LLTR research group that developed and continues to operate Learner Web) at the most recent COABE conference. You can view a recording of that presentation here.

We at LLTR and in the Learner Web network see great potential for web-based technology to provide a bridge for adult learners reentering from a period of incarceration. We would love to be part of a project that developed digital skills, holistic support and educational opportunities in a pre-release setting  and allowed for continued uninterrupted access to these support materials during transition and after release. It would provide a valuable continuity and help stretch limited resources.

Security concerns are real but they are manageable as our two partners have proven. Much credit is due to the Sheriff's in these two locations for being forward thinking and being open to understanding that technology inside has great potential to reduce recidivism. 

Thank you.

Drew Pizzolato, Learner Web project manager

Hello Drew,

This is fantastic!  It almost sounds like a virtual campus-esque set up, or maybe similar to the Smart Horizons online High School out of Florida? I will definitely be looking at the additional information regarding the Orleans Parish Prison Reentry program you provide.  I was about to ask from where Learner Web is based, but I just clicked on the link above and I see you are out of Portland U.  I believe Steve Reder was a founder or director at one time?  I've spoken with Steve on several occasions, but not for a while now.  It sounds like you are fulfilling the founding vision of providing regional web-based support for adult learners.  I'm looking forward to learning more. Thank you once again for sharing this information.

-- Heather

Heather and others,

Learner web is used through carefully-monitored, live, real-time access Internet these two jails. In the Syracuse, New York jail, for example, they use software that monitors every inmate's screen in real time. If Drew gets access to the video he mentioned, you will be able to see how this works.

You are right, Heather, that Learner Web was created by Steve Reder and, until recently, he directed the project. I have also been a consultant Implementation Advisor and, more recently, Research Advisor to Learner Web.

Those who are interested will find more information about Learner Web at http://learnerweb.org

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

Hi Heather,

Yes, Learner Web was developed by a team led by Steve Reder here at Portland State University. It grew out of the findings of the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning

I hope you get a chance to watch and listen to the recording of Mr. Hayden at COABE. He is a very compelling speaker and makes a great case for using technology in secure facilities.

I'm not yet familiar with Smart Horizons. You're right on target about Learner Web when you say it's about providing regional web-based support of adult learners. I would add that we are trying to improve the ability to customize shared materials. Also that we see Learner Web as a tool for cross-organizational coordination to wrap services around learners.

Thanks for facilitating a great discussion!

Drew

Thanks Drew -- I'm very much looking forward to learning about what's new since last I spoke with Steve.  This seems like an extraordinary tool!  I'll definitely take a look at Mr. Hayden at COABE, I was disappointed not to be there this year, and hope to reach out to him as well as to learn more from you.  Thanks again for the great info.

Heather, you did a very concise and clear overview of the tablet and platform market in correctional education.  Let me add a little more detail about what CEA is doing with a tablet and an agnostic platform with an explanation of why.  CEA is the only national professional association for educators in correctional settings.  As such we really need to be open to all education publishers,material and software providers and trainers.  We are also a strong advocate for teacher-centered instruction and appreciate technology as a supplement to effective teaching, not as a stand-alone or a substitute  for teachers.   If CEA excludes any teachers or vendors we would no longer be a professional teacher association.

JPay is a premier prison technology company.  They provide telephone, financial and other services to inmates and their families.  JPay provides these services in 48 states in one way or another.  They currently have 50,000 handheld devices in use by inmates in a number of states These devices connect to networks and kiosks in these institutions.

CEA and JPay signed a contract to develop a cloud-based learning management system with a 10" tablet for use by any education program interested in offering digital education to the their students.

Educators will be able load their coursework at work (if they have internet access) or from home and push it to any of their student tablets.  Students will then be able to download coursework to their tablets from a kiosk or from a secure wireless network in their facility.  They will have access to selected sites and video or print materials.   They will be able to type and save work for their teachers. Tablets will be used in classrooms or living areas, depending on security policies of the institution.  JPay and CEA are seriously following up on recommendations from the May White House meeting on technology for correctional education at which a recommendation was made to develop an agnostic platform open to everyone.  This will allow CEA to work ith all educational software and print providers, colleges and technology companies.

JPay came to CEA with a pledge to make correctional education one of its companies top priorities.  Profit is not their focus, so costs will be kept at reasonable levels.  JPay and CEA are building the cloud and the best tablet possible. We have a five year joint commitment with CEA as their exclusive content selector.  JPay and CEA have been meeting since late June and will have specifics out to the field within a week or two.  CEA and JPay will make a public announcement to the correctional and educational worlds  The goal is to have the cloud and tablets operational by the end of the year.

If anyone has any suggestions or would like to be involved please contact me at ssteurer@ceanational.org.

Hello All and thank you for a fantastic discussion!!  It is obvious to me that there is much interest in this topic as well as in many tangential topics extending from it.  Thank you to our esteemed guests -- John Linton, Michelle Tolbert and Brian Walsh.  These leaders in correctional education should be considered powerful resources, advisors and educators as the use of technology in secure classrooms pushes forward.  Thanks also to all of you who joined in the discussion to make it so interesting and informative.

Let's keep this conversation flowing in an effort to learn and share even more of the discoveries and innovations of which we've had a glimpse these past couple of weeks!

-- Heather