JPay's tablets allow inmates to download KA Lite educational videos and learn at their own pace, offering educational opportunities that previously were inaccessible
MIAMI, Feb. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Education is the key to reducing recidivism, but accessibility challenges have hindered widespread adoption of electronic education options in prisons. JPay is changing that. The company is proudly offering inmates access to KA Lite, an open-source offline software developed by Learning Equality that provides access to Khan Academy's educational content. Inmates can search thousands of instructional and educational videos provided by KA Lite through the JPay kiosk, and download the videos they want onto their JPay tablets – all for free. Having a direct pipeline into correctional facilities puts JPay in a uniquely optimal position to give inmates the tools that will equip them for success once released.
Offering free KA Lite videos is part of JPay's larger education initiative, led by Lantern, the JPay-built education platform that utilizes a Learning Management System to host facility-approved content, which is downloaded and consumed by inmates on their prison-grade tablets. JPay is committed to making education accessible to the entire incarcerated population, and with KA Lite's ability to bring the power of online learning to the offline world, more educational opportunities are being made available in prisons.
"We designed KA Lite for anyone who lacks access to high-quality educational resources, including inmates who might benefit the most from what we regard as a universal right," said Elizabeth Vu, Implementations Lead for Learning Equality.
More than 325,000 KA Lite videos have been downloaded in 50 facilities since JPay began offering the free educational videos, with more locations scheduled to adopt KA Lite throughout the year. Inmates can select which videos they'd like to watch and download the content onto their JPay tablets, allowing them to learn at their own pace, on their own time.
"As we expand access to educational content, the Georgia Offender Alternative Learning (G.O.A.L.) devices continue to improve the prospects for offenders to successfully reenter society," said Dr. Buster Evans, Assistant Commissioner of Inmate Services in Georgia. "We know that education is the foundation upon which these men and women can build their future, and the addition of this content can make that foundation even more solid."
"Our infrastructure creates access to thousands of inmates, and we're utilizing that connection to give them free education," said Ryan Shapiro, CEO of JPay. "KA Lite's unique offline model gives facilities the peace of mind of security, and provides inmates with educational resources that were previously inaccessible. The goal is to reduce recidivism; education can do that."
About JPay
JPay, a Securus Technologies Company, designs, builds and deploys its technology to prisons and jails across the country, establishing correspondence to help educate and rehabilitate offenders. Serving more than 1.9 million offenders and parolees in 34 states, JPay makes the corrections process more convenient for offenders and their loved ones, while modernizing processes and increasing intelligence capabilities for corrections facilities. Products include money transfer services, tablets, email and video communications, education, games, music and more.
About Learning Equality
Learning Equality is a nonprofit organization that builds tools to bring online learning resources to communities with limited, expensive, or no Internet bandwidth. KA Lite, its open-source offline-installable Khan Academy platform, has already been installed in over 160 countries, reaching an estimated 2.1 million learners, in contexts as varied as rural schools, orphanages, community centers, refugee camps, prisons, and homes. They are now building their second-generation platform, Kolibri, that will enable seamless authoring, peer-to-peer sharing, and engaging interaction with a broad range of locally relevant educational content, on any offline device.
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SOURCE JPay
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