Tasman Bedford

Staff perceptions of factors related to non-completion in higher education

Non‐completion of higher education is a growing concern and has prompted increasing research into its causes. This study aims to investigate academic staffs understanding of student retention and progression issues. Results from a questionnaire and interviews suggest that staff focus on student‐based factors related to non‐completion rather than on factors related to teaching practice and curriculum design.

Providing Simulated Online and Mobile Learning Experiences in a Prison Education Setting: Lessons Learned from the PLEIADES Pilot Project

This article reports on the preliminary findings, design criteria and lessons learned while developing and piloting an alternative to traditional print-based education delivery within a prison environment. PLEIADES Portable Learning Environments for Incarcerated Distance Education Students, was designed to provide incarcerated students with access to internet-independent secure digital and mobile technologies. An internet-independent version of Moodle was developed to complement course readings deployed on eReaders. The aim of the project was to increase access to and participation in higher education courses that are increasingly offered exclusively online. The article begins with an overview of the current provision of education within prison environments and introduces the rationale for commencing the project. The research findings of the project trial are discussed and the paper concludes with the lessons learned and implications for further research, development and implementation.

Taking ebook readers to prisons: a tale of two projects

This paper reports on a project that was first introduced to World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning attendees in 2012, the PLEIADES project (Portable Learning Environments for Incarcerated Adult Distance Education Students) and discusses how this project evolved into two separate projects; one each from the two technologies originally trialled. PLEIADES introduced a version of an internet-independent version of the Learning Management System (LMS) called Stand Alone Moodle (SAM) and eBook readers to incarcerated students in a correctional centre in Southern Queensland. The Triple ‘E’ Project (Empowerment, E-Learning and E-Readers) using eBook readers similar to those trialled in the PLEIADES project, were rolled out to a further four correctional centres. This paper explores the issues and challenges involved with deploying eBook readers to incarcerated students through the PLEIADES and Triple ‘E’ projects.