The Case for Secure

Connectivity

Mobile Device and Internet Use

in Corrections Classrooms

This training was supported under the LINCS Regional Professional Development

Center for Adult Education, PR/Award Number V191B1100002, administered by the

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, U. S. Department of Education.

However, the contents do not necessarily represent the positions of policies of the

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education or the U.S. Department of Education,

and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

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Objectives

Present an overview of the state of recidivism and Correctional Education

Learn about federal activities supporting education technology in corrections

Discuss findings of the Education Technology in Corrections policy report

Examine U.S. and International examples of programs successfully implementing the use of education technology in correctional facilities

Identify possible next steps and projects on the horizon

An overview of incarceration rates and

the state of Correctional Education

Key Study Conclusion

The debate should no longer be about whether CE is—or is not—effective or cost-effective; rather, the debate should focus on where the gaps in our knowledge are and on opportunitiesto move the field forward

Please play Lois Davis video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49h3BKpK0us

What is the status of technology in CE?

Federal Initiatives Supporting the Use of Technology to Support Access to Educational Resources in Secure Classrooms

Growing Support for Technology in CE

White House technology convening

U.S. Department of Education Myth Busters on technology in CE

U.S. Department of Education Policy Brief on technology in CE

Increasing interest among states and facilities to adopt technology

Increasing International acceptance of secure access

White House Technology Workshop In April 2014 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy convened

workshop on technology in reentry

Goals:

To engage technology providers outside of CE and expand ideas

To produce “launchable” initiatives with support from the Executive Office

To identify nontraditional funding streams

To promote secure web-based technology initiatives

White House Technology Workshop (cont.)

Outcomes:

Identified a set of potential actionable initiatives

Virtual Campus

Skype-style communications initiative for incarcerated students and their families

Corrections Technology Resource Center

Corrections National Library

Secured participant commitment to continue the work of promoting technology access to support reentry

Demonstrated a strong sense of support from the White House; provided a directive to continue working on ways to provide web-based solutions in secure settings

Questions?

MythBusters on Technology in CE

Education Technology in Corrections – Policy Report

The report examines:

The current use of advanced technologies in correctional education

The benefits of providing technology access

The obstacles limiting its use

An overview of existing and emerging approaches, including the growth of the tablet market

Benefits of Technology in CE

Provides students with access to onlineassessments, college courses, and opportunities to improve computer/digital literacy skills

Equips instructors with online instructional tools and professional development resources

Provides staff with a system to collect,share, and analyze student data to improve programs

Bridging the Digital Divide

Increased use of and reliance on technology in:

Workplace

Education and Training

Everyday Life

Digital Literacy

Digital Citizenship

Obstacles

Security

Costs, including short- and long-term and direct and indirect expenses

Perceptions of policymakers, corrections officials, and the public

Despite these obstacles…

Despite Obstacles, Secure Approaches are Developing

Isolated local server: Moves Internet content to a facility’s LAN so that the documents can be made available to anyone—teachers and students—with access to the offline collection

A point-to-point secure line: Operates via a virtual circuit setup between the facility and a vendor

Restricted Internet connection: Has routers and firewalls on each end that permit only certain Internet content to come through the system

Mobile Device Vendors – Tablet Tech in CE

Union Supply Group

Keefe Corp.

Jpay (now owned by Securus)

IDS

Edovo (Jail Education Solutions)

Telmate

GTL

APDS

Secure Tablet Example

Questions?

Examples from the Field

Northwest Consortium for Open Resources in Special Circumstances

Oregon Youth Authority

International Examples:

New Zealand – E-Learning Solution

United Kingdom – Virtual Campus

Australia – PrisonPC

Northwest Consortium for Open Resources in Special Circumstances:

Expanding Possibilities, Sharing Solutions

www.nwspecialcircumstances.org

The Northwest Consortium for Open Resources in Special Circumstances was formed to serve the public by:

Promoting the use of open resources including creative commons licensed, shareable, or low-cost technology solutions in special circumstances like prisons, juvenile facilities, jails, remote schools, community centers, and reservations

Connecting people seeking assistance with their technology challenge to people who have developed innovative solutions

Broadcasting the innovative work of Northwest educators and others through various media including web, social media, conferences, and workshops

Expanding the use of technology in prison education and in other circumstances

Oregon Youth Authority

Oregon Youth Authority:

Google ChromeBooks

Rachel Server -- Khan Academy, Wikipedia, Project Guttenburg -- http://worldpossible.org/rachel/

RaspberryPi -- Ebon Upton and the Raspberry Pi Foundation created the $35 mini-PC to inspire students to learn computer science and enable tinkerers to dream up wild projects without breaking the bank

Please play Oregon YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umtY6CdLNgk

New Zealand’s E-Learning Solution

New Zealand has 18 prisons and incarcerates approximately 8,500 individuals

Released E-Learning Solution in 2012 to support:

broader strategies of creating lasting educational and employment change,

better public value,

better outcomes for confined youths,

better community outcomes, and

reduced recidivism

New Zealand E-Learning Solution

the E-Learning Solution provides access to educational and vocational skill-building resources and programs

Students take part in education and job training programs previously unavailable to them

Online E-Learning pilot classes focus on basic education skill-building and digital literacy training

United Kingdom Virtual Campus

U.K. has 138 prisons and incarcerated approximately 85,000 individuals

The Virtual Campus (VC) was developed by prison service manager Mark Taylor in 2007

Funding came from several government ministers and design support from several software and hardware companies (i.e., CISCO, XA Solutions, and others)

Given Ministerial sign off in 2010 and deployed across England and Wales

United Kingdom Virtual Campus

The VC is designed to:

enhance classroom educational opportunities,

diversify and individualize student learning,

increase job readiness and job placement, and

engage hard-to-reach students struggling in traditional classroom settings

In dedicated classrooms, students can access:

their current courses,

other secondary and postsecondary e-learning courses, and

a resume builder program

Australia’s PrisonPC

Australia has 106 prisons and incarcerated approximately 33,000 individuals

Prisons are overcrowded and recidivism rates top out at nearly 60%

PrisonPC is a private provider contracting with Australia’s state governments to deploy a secure, web-based education program

Australia’s PrisonPC

PrisonPC delivers:

educational programming in basic literacy and numeracy,

digital literacy skill building for vocational training and job search practice

other life skills and postsecondary coursework as identified on a state-specific basis

Spreading the Word

What can we do to advance the use of technology in our secure classrooms?

Share information

Join LINCS or another listserve and/or Community of Practice

Attend Webinars

Listen to podcasts

Post articles and other new research to social media

Ask questions of policy and decision makers

Implement one small piece on your own

Questions?

Resources / Contact Information Heather Erwin

319.621.5738 heather.claussen@hotmail.com

Education Technology in Corrections report (forthcoming in July)

For more info contact Michelle Tolbert (mtolbert@rti.org)

Reentry Myth Buster on Education Technology in Juvenile Facilities http://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/reentry-council-mythbuster-IT-juveniles.pdf

Reentry Myth Buster on Information Technology Access http://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/reentry-council-mythbuster-IT-adults.pdf

Northwest Consortium website http://nwspecialcircumstances.org/

National Education Technology Plan http://tech.ed.gov/netp/

Resources / Contact Information Heather Erwin

319.621.5738 heather.claussen@hotmail.com

National Education Technology Plan for Adult Education http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ImplicationsNTEP_AdultEd.pdf

How Effective is Correctional Education, and Where Do We Go from Here? http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR564.html

In Brief: Lois M. Davis on Correctional Education

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49h3BKpK0us

Raspberry Pi -- https://www.raspberrypi.org/

Rachel Server -- http://worldpossible.org/rachel/