Several years ago, a team of scientists from MIT and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell designed and deployed a first-of-its-kind web programming course for incarcerated individuals across multiple correctional facilities. The program, Brave Behind Bars, uses virtual classroom technology to deliver web design training to students behind prison walls. The program brought together men and women from gender-segregated facilities to learn fundamentals in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, helping them to create websites addressing social issues of their own choosing. The program is accredited through three collaborating universities: Georgetown University, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, and Washington County Community College. In a new open-access paper about the project, the team analyzed its impact: They used a multi-pronged approach, gathering insights through comprehensive surveys with participants from dichotomous and open-ended questions. The results painted a powerful...
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