Technology in Prison Education.
As our world has become more technology dependent, education has followed suit. Teachers and students in traditional education settings use multiple technologies daily (computers, tablets, interactive whiteboards, cell phones, etc). Given the security restrictions around communication technology and the cost of new technologies, the dearth of technology in correctional education is understandable. However, I am left wondering how we can incorporate the same technologies people will encounter “outside” to the closed off world of prisons?
I think that prison educators are duty bound to use and teach technology in classrooms, especially since prison education is primarily about improving reintegration upon release. Whether students are preparing for re-entry into the job market or further education, technology is ubiquitous. At the very least they must be able to use word processing, spreadsheets, and web-browsing software on a variety of platforms.
Happily, the trend in prison education is towards incorporating technology and technology courses. Many programs use interactive whiteboards and e-readers in some classes and offer basic computer classes whenever possible. In general I find students to be wary of technology and lacking in basic computer skills. While unfettered internet access is not provided to incarcerated students, many jurisdictions are beginning to experiment with supervised limited-internet access for educational purposes. Institutions outside of Canada have implemented a number of initiatives occurring over multiple platforms (desktops, laptops, and tablets), for both supervised and unsupervised access.
The internet is mainly used to facilitate distance learning, which has moved from traditional paper-and-textbook-based courses to online courses. Facilitating access to online learning can open up a wide variety of courses and programs to students while they are incarcerated. Currently, if a student wants to self-fund university or college programs, they must organize friend or family support to find a program that still offers paper-based programs, arrange registration and payments, and wait for the traditional mail to arrive. If online learning was offered to incarcerated students, the time to arrange, apply and begin studies would be greatly diminished. Students would be able to seamlessly move their studies with them if they were transferred to another institution, and continue their studies upon release.
I think that prison educators are duty bound to use and teach technology in classrooms, especially since prison education is primarily about improving reintegration upon release. Whether students are preparing for re-entry into the job market or further education, technology is ubiquitous. At the very least they must be able to use word processing, spreadsheets, and web-browsing software on a variety of platforms.
Happily, the trend in prison education is towards incorporating technology and technology courses. Many programs use interactive whiteboards and e-readers in some classes and offer basic computer classes whenever possible. In general I find students to be wary of technology and lacking in basic computer skills. While unfettered internet access is not provided to incarcerated students, many jurisdictions are beginning to experiment with supervised limited-internet access for educational purposes. Institutions outside of Canada have implemented a number of initiatives occurring over multiple platforms (desktops, laptops, and tablets), for both supervised and unsupervised access.
The internet is mainly used to facilitate distance learning, which has moved from traditional paper-and-textbook-based courses to online courses. Facilitating access to online learning can open up a wide variety of courses and programs to students while they are incarcerated. Currently, if a student wants to self-fund university or college programs, they must organize friend or family support to find a program that still offers paper-based programs, arrange registration and payments, and wait for the traditional mail to arrive. If online learning was offered to incarcerated students, the time to arrange, apply and begin studies would be greatly diminished. Students would be able to seamlessly move their studies with them if they were transferred to another institution, and continue their studies upon release.