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.