Digital Literacy Strategies to Prepare Incarcerated Students for Education and Work

How digital foundations can strengthen reentry in a connected world

In today’s technology-driven world, digital literacy isn’t just a skill—it’s a lifeline. For individuals who are incarcerated, the ability to effectively use digital tools can mean the difference between returning to the community prepared or being left even further behind. As research shows, digital skills acquisition is critical for navigating all phases of reentry,^[1] including applying for and performing on the job, enrolling and participating in education and training, accessing government and social services, and communicating with friends and family.^[2]

In our applied research, RTI International and Ithaka S+R have demonstrated that providing quality access to technology in prisons and jails is a key step in preparing individuals who are incarcerated for life after release. It is, therefore, essential that administrators and instructors are provided with adequate resources, professional development opportunities, and the necessary infrastructure to intentionally integrate technology into education and training programs in corrections.

Navigating digital postsecondary learning environments

Recent research conducted by Ithaka S+R on partnerships between college campuses and reentry organizations supporting formerly incarcerated students shows that teaching digital skills and providing access to technology are critical challenges shared by both college programs and community organizations. Both groups struggle to help their students and clients navigate increasingly digital learning and service environments.

Today, most essential communication and services on college campuses are mediated through technology—even for in-person courses. Yet many incarcerated students enrolled in postsecondary education programs have little or no opportunity to develop these skills, due to limited digital access inside.

Consequences of exclusion from campus services

This lack of access means that incarcerated students are often excluded from key on-campus services, such as financial aid, academic advising, and tutoring. Staff and program administrators are often forced to develop workarounds to replicate these services. This also strains resources: leaving staff to provide services they are not trained to deliver, and to provide multiple types of student support simultaneously, which further complicates data collection and tracking.

Collaborative solutions supporting digital reentry

Innovative collaborations and creative solutions are being developed and deployed to address some of these barriers as reentry issues, such as ongoing joint-projects like the digital skills mentorship program supported by Loyola Rayburn, and comprehensive reentry simulations that demonstrate the complexity of reentry to college faculty and staff and state policymakers.

Strategies for teaching digital literacy skills

Research demonstrates that digital literacy skills must be cohesively integrated into curricula across instructional levels and programs to provide individuals with adequate opportunities and support to build and apply digital skills in various contexts.

Evidence-based instructional strategies from the DRAW study

Contextualization is a key strategy for teaching digital literacy, as identified in Digital Resilience in the American Workforce (DRAW): Findings from a National Landscape Scan on Adult Digital Literacy Instruction. Other instructional strategies identified by the DRAW landscape scan range from providing opportunities for learners to practice digital skills in authentic real-world settings to building on learners’ prior digital literacy knowledge and skills and promoting peer learning and mentoring.

Applying digital literacy strategies in correctional education

These strategies can also be applied in education and training programs offered in correctional facilities. Through RTI’s and Ithaka S+R’s work, we have gathered examples of how programs are teaching digital literacy skills in prison and jail settings. In 2024-25, RTI provided technical assistance to six states on developing an educational technology ecosystem for correctional education (funded by the US Department of Education). State teams—composed of state corrections education administrators, state technology coordinators, facility education supervisors, and instructors—took steps to establish an educational technology infrastructure strategy and/or select instructional strategies for using technology.

Case example: building digital literacy in Kansas Corrections

For example, a team from the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) envisioned building learners’ proficiency with various technology platforms and software applications to ensure a seamless transition from correctional environments to social and work settings.

As a first step, the state developed a digital literacy course outline focused on building basic computer skills and leveraging existing DOC tools, such as its learning management system (Blackboard) and an open source text book. KDOC then piloted the course with a small cohort of individuals interested in building their digital skills before they released and revised the course based on learner feedback. KDOC next plans to embed the digital literacy curriculum into existing programming, with the goals of making this course available statewide and supporting individuals as they transition back into a world regulated by technology.

Steps to strengthen digital literacy for learners who are incarcerated

Education and training programs offered in prisons and jails are essential for equipping learners with the digital literacy and skills needed to prepare for and navigate all phases of the reentry process. Learners in corrections often have varying levels of exposure to and comfort with technology, shaped by factors such as age, background, level of education completed, and length of time incarcerated. To help learners strengthen their digital literacy, state agency staff and facility administrators and instructors should:

1. Provide regular access to technology tools that have been vetted against pre-established selection criteria to ensure alignment with students’ learning goals. Ensure students are prepared to use the technology tools by integrating digital instruction across education and training programs and providing other opportunities for those who need more support, such as using digital tools outside of the classroom and/or offline resources to build digital literacy.
2. Integrate digital literacy instruction with other content areas and across education programs. In accordance with the evidence base, digital literacy instruction should be emphasized at all education levels and contextualized with academic and workforce content. This includes incorporating work-based learning and project-based learning activities so that learners can apply digital skills as they collaborate to complete real-world tasks and learn from their peers.
3. Provide training to build instructors’ and other staff digital literacy skills. Instructors, in particular, need to both be familiar with the technology they will be teaching with and trained in effective instructional strategies for using technology in the classroom. Other staff, such as correctional officers, housing unit supervisors, and facility administrators, may also be called on to support technology use inside and outside of classrooms and should be trained on various education technology tools and build the digital literacy skills to use them.

Additional research is needed on digital literacy instruction for justice-impacted learners

Despite the promising examples and strategies described above, gaps remain in the research based on how best to increase capacity of education programs in prisons and jails to integrate digital skills into curricula across education levels and program types. For example:

• Which evidence-based practices used in the community for developing digital literacy skills could be adopted and scaled by corrections and their education partners?
• What specific support and/or training do program administrators and instructors need on strategies for integrating digital literacy?
• How can correctional education programs keep pace with rapid changes in technology and prepare learners to do the same?
• How can increased access to technology in prisons and jails, combined with in-person support, both scale access to needed services and help individuals build digital literacy skills?

Building stronger digital literacy strategies with evidence-based research

We believe that additional research and evaluation could help to identify and document effective, holistic, and seamless strategies for building digital literacy across adult education, career and technical education, postsecondary education, and reentry programs. This in turn could inform development of enhanced tools and resources for integrating digital literacy into existing instructional programs.

Key takeaways

• Digital literacy is foundational for education, employment, and reentry success. Incarcerated learners need meaningful opportunities to build and apply digital skills to navigate postsecondary education, the workforce, and essential services after release.
• Access alone isn’t enough: intentional instruction and integration matter. Effective digital literacy development requires thoughtfully embedding technology into curricula, contextualizing skills within real-world tasks, and supporting learners across education and training programs.
• Educators and systems need support to scale digital literacy effectively. Training for instructors, adequate infrastructure, and evidence-based strategies are critical to sustaining digital learning environments and preparing justice-impacted learners for a connected world.

Endnotes

[1] Tenesha Robinson provides a good overview of how the obstacles intersect in “Digital Divide Experienced by Formerly Incarcerated Individuals and Its Effect on Their Reintegration into Society.” And in “Enhancing Reentry Support Programs Through Digital Literacy Integration,” Gautam, Gandhi, and Sendejo note that the increasingly complex technological systems that mediate and moderate nearly all aspects of contemporary life—from education, to work, to financial interactions and state services— make them crucial for reentry success.

[2] Reisdorf and DeCook have published two pieces on the topic: “The Digital Technologies of Rehabilitation and Reentry” and “Locked Up and Left Out: Formerly Incarcerated People in the Context of Digital Inclusion.”