The proposal of an innovative programme to develop digital skills (Small Private Offline Courses) for inmates and their trainers is the core of this project. The aim is (1) to improve and promote the use of digital tools for educational purposes in prison at any level of study, (2) to develop content for digital courses at every level of study adapted to the prison context. In this context, there are two restrictions: the absence of Internet in the prisons of the partner countries and also in most of the European member countries. Many northern European countries are innovating by conducting "niche" experiments made possible by a prison system with low incarceration rates. In the case of partner countries, our analysis of needs (see Annex) shows sporadic experiences such as the TRIO or Telledidattica projects for Italy. In France, we consider the Cyberbase Justice project, which aimed to provide multi-speed access to a limited Internet. In Romania, there is no experience in digital learning in prison but the CPIP creates digital materials to inform and train prison trainers. Benevento prison (CCB) offers computer for initiation workshops. In France, similar initiatives exist with workshops offered by associations like CLIP or GENEPI to learn how to use the Internet and other digital tools. This type of training has proved to be essential for good preparation to life after prison. However, disconnection generates difficulties for inmates as it is nowadays essential for professional purposes as well as in everyday life. The project will be structured as follows: - There will be a first phase aiming at collecting data on the use of digital practices in prison (elaboration of a State of the Art and 2 thematic cartographies). - A second phase will aim at elaborating a "template" digital programme adapted to prison context. This phase will be constituted by 2 transnational training activities aiming at training a target group of trainers in digital pedagogic engineering adapted to the prison context. - A third phase will be a test phase for the implementation of this new form of training adapted to the prison context. A target-group of imates, selected at the beginning of the project, will experiment the training path elaborated by the trainers in the second phase of the project. The test will be followed by an evaluation. One part of the evaluation will focus on the monitoring and quality approach of the project. The other part will follow an ethnographic approach focused on the educational innovation process, from the analysis of needs to the stabilized use of digital tools. A long-term aim is to replicate the experimentation at a larger scale in other penitentiary institutions in Europe. Another long-term aim is to establish a research framework to standardize the production of European teaching corpuses adapted to the prison context. Moreover, it is necessary to stimulate a dialogue between researchers, "direct" observers of prison life, prison trainers and prison administration. Furthermore, the consortium wants to share its expertise of penitentiary system in order to promote the development of Internet in prison. In fact, we think that this project could be a solid base to participate in debates on Internet in prison.
>> PARTNERSHIP SPOC in prison started in September 2018 and ended in August 2021. This project was carried on by a consortium of 4 partner organizations working in the field of education, of digital pedagogy and/or prison: University Paul-Valery Montpellier 3 (UPVM), the Center for the promotion of lifelong learning (CPIP), Antigone and the Italian prison of Benevento (CCB). Mrs. Veronique Béguet, from the UNESCO Chair of Applied Research for Education in Prison joined the project as an advisory member. She was contacted by the consortium and asked to provide her feedback on the digital training modules produced in the framework of the project. >> CONTEXT Two major constraints make digital training in prison very complex: limited access to the internet and very few training in digital engineering opportunities offered to trainers working in prison. Several northern European countries run innovative experimentations in prisons where the environment is more “open”. According to our analysis, some projects have been developed in Italy, such as the TRIO or Telledidattica projects. In France, the CyberBases Justice project allows detainees to access several websites thanks to a very secured access to the internet. In Romania, no significant experiment has been run so far but our partner, CPIP, creates digital media to inform and train the trainers working in prison. The prison of Benevento (CCB) organizes workshops introducing computer sciences to detainees. In France, the association “le Clip” offers similar training so that the prisoners learn how to use the internet and other digital material. This kind of training facilitates the rehabilitation of detainees in the society. However, the lack of internet access in prison remains a great obstacle. >> OBJECTIVES The SPOC in prison project has been designed as an innovative program which objectives were to: - promote the use of digital tools for educational purposes in prison - develop digital content adapted to the prison context >> ACTIVITIES The project consists of three consecutive phases: - a study phase during which partners collected information on digital uses in prison - a production phase during which two training sessions have been organized for trainers in prison and one example of a digital training path has been created; - a test phase during which the digital modules have been tested by inmates in real conditions and evaluated >> PARTICIPANTS - 18 trainers working in prison - 6 inmates from the Prison of Benevento, Italy >> OUTCOMES The implementation of the above activities led to the achievement of the following results: - A state of the art report on on the development of digital skills and teaching in the custodial setting in Europe - A database of European projects and initiatives offering digital training in prison - A training kit to help trainers create digital modules for digital learning in prison - An example of digital training path adapted to the prison context, made of 4 modules: - Module 1: Humanum, introduction to digital humnities - Module 2: Greta Thunberg - Module 3: The link between language and digital - Module 4: The little Prince >> IMPACT The project enabled partners to exchange their experience, to create and test together digital modules in prison. The project enabled partners to broaden their knowledge about learning/teaching in prison using digital tools. The pilot group of inmates has been offered an access to digital training modules. They have tested new tools elaborated specifically for the prison context. The Italian and Romanian trainers involved in the project are now able to manipulate innovative tools to offer adapted training modules in prison.