The PLEIADES pilot project:
According to Farley & Doyle (2014), Portable Learning Environments for
Incarcerated Adult Distance Education Students (PLEIADES) is a distance
education program that provides incarcerated adults with access to
higher education through portable, technology-enhanced learning
environments. In 2012, the initiative operated during semesters 2 and 3
(see figure 1). The project used a version of USQ’s Study Desk that was
placed directly on the correctional center’s education server and did
not require Internet connectivity. To make SAM work, course materials
required to be integrated with the course rather than available through
the Equella repository at USQ. Incarcerated pupils could use the
correctional center computer lab to access SAM. The lab housed ten blade
PCs that were controlled by the server. Reading resources available on
eBook readers augmented the SAM contents. The eBook readers are expected
to meet certain security compliance standards for QCS. They couldn’t
connect to the Internet, had to have built-in batteries that couldn’t be
removed, and couldn’t have SD card slots.
The project team found Sony PRS350s that met these specifications. These
eBook readers were regarded obsolete even at the time of purchase. The
project “PLEIADES” was implemented at Southern Queensland Correctional
Complex (SQCC), an all-male, high-security correctional facility run by
Serco Asia Pacific, as a PLEIADES pilot project. SQCC is located near
the small township of Gatton and is approximately 45 minutes from USQ’s
Toowoomba campus.