Dive Brief:

• The same technologies that are disrupting the K-12 education market, such as virtual reality, can also have a significant impact on inmate education, according to a recent article in eSchool News.
• Citing a 2010 study listing poor past education experiences, not having enough support, lack of faith in the value of a GED, and lack of access to adequate materials and facilities as the greatest hindrances to better inmate education, the article makes the argument that technology can be used to bridge the gaps.
• Virtual reality can present inmates with "societal experiences" within the confines of their environments and help provide work experience and pathways to career and technical certifications.

Dive Insight:

If poor educational experiences, lack of support and lack of exposure to adequate educational materials and facilities are the biggest issues for inmates to overcome, the best solution to the inmate education problem is better investment in these areas on the front end, before one enters the criminal justice system.

However, for those who are already justice-involved, efforts to provide increased access to reading materials, career and technical training and more traditional college classes are all very important to help curb future recidivism. Touro College School of Osteopathic Medicine uses holograms to teach anatomy, and has found that for students in the bottom quintile of the class, they actually score better on assessments when using holographic models than cadavers and plastinated specimens. Their findings suggest there could be tangible benefits to using technological renderings over the real thing for some students, and for those whom traditional methods of education have failed, it may be a worthwhile examination.