By Christopher Zoukis One of the biggest obstacles we face in prison education programs these days, is the outpacing of technology in terms of both course content and equipment. Technological development has occurred at breakneck speed in the last ten years, yet instruction in those areas is largely absent in the bulk of penal institutions.…

By Chrstopher Zoukis News about the JPAY tablet seems to be making the rounds again, even hitting the BuzzFeed wire. The articles have been focused on the special tablets they’ve created to be used in the prison setting (see initial coverage here). We wrote about this important innovation in prison education some time ago, because…

Last year when changes to the GED programs were first announced, analysts predicted it would have a serious impact on the ability of prisoners to acquire their certificates. A year later, those predictions have proven accurate. Prison GED success rates have dropped dramatically, in some places up to 82% since the system switched over. To begin, the content…

By Jessica Guynn California inmates can earn cash making license plates for state residents. Soon they’ll be able to get paid for writing code. In a first for the country, prisoners at San Quentin State Prison are being considered for jobs as computer programmers. If everything goes as planned, they will work on projects for…

By Amadou Diallo The phone call Grace Bauer received from her son Corey, an inmate in Maryland’s Roxbury state prison, was one of desperation. An incident with other inmates the previous day made him fear that his life was in danger. “I had to call the prison and ask for help,” she recalled. Because her…

By Aimee Rawlins / 12newsnow.com Image courtesy theimpactengine.com Tablets and text messages. To the general public, they might seem standard, but for a prison system, they could be revolutionary. At least that’s what Philadelphia hopes. The city recently signed contracts with two startups to help educate inmates while in prison and keep them connected once…

Technology

From the streets to programming tweets

The JPay giveth, while the JPay taketh away.

When GEDs mean failure for prisoners

California Prisoners to Get Jobs as Programmers

With Prison Tablets, A Choice Between Rehabilitation and Profiteering

How Philadelphia's Prisons Are Embracing Technology