Small Private Offline Courses in Prison Erasmus Project

Project Title

Small Private Offline Courses in Prison

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

>> 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.

Project Website

https://www.univ-montp3.fr/fr/international/coop%C3%A9ration-internationale/projets-europ%C3%A9ens-et-internationaux/projet-spoc

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 74375,55 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITE PAUL-VALERY MONTPELLIER3 & Country: FR

Project Partners

• CENTRUL PENTRU PROMOVAREA INVATARII PERMANENTE TIMISOARA ASOCIATIA
• ANTIGONE ONLUS
• Casa Circondariale di Benevento