Supporting students in prison – Centre for Open Learning of Mathematics, Science, Computing and Technology (COLMSCT) Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC ), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC ). Val Hancock COLMSCT Associate Teaching Fellow or big business? cottage industry

Action research Research Student interviews Prison education staff interviews Prison Tutors forum Action Prison Tutor Support wiki M150 Trial Research Statistics Tutor questionnaires

Prison Tutor Support wiki Alternative Approaches Solutions for overcoming problems due to lack of internet access in prison Advice & Guidance Practical advice for tutors who have students in prison Prisons Guidance on the facilities and requirements of individual prisons

Alternative approaches Course news  Alert prison education staff by , phone or post Web references  Offline versions of web pages ed or on CD  Printed pages Internet searches  Mediated search by OU library, tutor or prison staff  Alternative sources e.g. books, DVD encyclopedias Videos & podcasts  Offline versions ed or on CD  Transcripts ed or on CD Collaborative tools  Offline tutor group (or dummy) forum/wiki/blog  Offline responses Download assignment  as attachment  Print and post Computer Marked Assignments  Post paper OCR form Assignment submission  to electronic submission system  Paper submission Course website  Download to prison intranet running generic Moodle Course Component  Alternative approach

EDO framework – a proportional response Categorise activities requiring internet access E ssential  students will fail the course if the activity cannot be carried out D esirable  students can pass the course if the activity cannot be carried out but their overall grade is likely to be affected O ptional  many students outside prison will not engage with the activity

Trial Getting started TMA00 M150 course website General support Useful forums Useful sites General Advice TMA01 Question 1 (i) (b) Question 1 (i) (f) TMA02 Question 2 (v) Question 3 (i) Question 3 (iii) Specific Advice M150: Data Computing & Information 2009J 9 students 7 tutors 7 prisons

Tutor questionnaires (2008J) All 7 tutors completed the questionnaire No student had access to the internet Assignment submission –Electronically: 5 students –Paper: 1 student –Mix: 1 student (TMA01 on paper) All the tutors would be happy to have another student in prison Comments: s to Learning centre staff and material sent were passed on with minimal delay. Access to the podcasts was difficult - in the end I downloaded them to a CD and then had to post it to the LC, as I wasn't allowed to take the CD into the prison myself. It is important for the tutor to know initially what the student can and can't access

Statistics (2008J) 9 students registered 2 withdrew before the course started 1 did not complete the course 6 passed the course

Tutor questionnaires (2009B) 6 out of 8 tutors completed the questionnaire 1 student had access to the internet Assignment submission –Electronically: 5 students –Paper: 4 students –Mix: 1 student (TMA05 on paper) 4 tutors would be happy to have another student in prison Comments: A great deal of extra work for tutors above the normal expected workload Education depatment seemed reluctant to dowload materials and submit TMAs via the internet System for supplying course materials from web should be provided directly by OU, i experienced far too may problems and didn't know if any of it got to student... communication with the education officer was difficult - extreme reluctance to reply to s. Material I sent was passed onto the student but nobody was prepared to download anything apart from TMAs. [He] was fed up with the course and his inability to contact me directly and decided to give up. Not the best experience - but I would still do it again!

Statistics (2009B) 11 students registered 1 withdrew before the course started 1 withdrew part way through the course 1 did not complete the course 8 passed the course

Discussion Should support for OU students in prison continue as a cottage industry? Or should it become big business by transferring the onus for support to Walton Hall? What do we mean by ‘accessibility’? Is the EDO framework useful? Are there other learning design applications for the framework?

Handouts Advice for ALs who have an M150 student in prison –Getting started –TMA specific Forum discussion Offline web pages EDO framework

Further information Alternative approaches to online activities for prisoners and others without access to the Internet (COLMSCT project): eId=48a eId=48a Prison Tutor Support wiki: Val Hancock: