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CAIT's iPathways Program Collaborates on Federal Best Practices

July 25, 2018

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MACOMB, IL – The Center for the Application of Information Technology's (CAIT) active support of Western Illinois University's goal to enrich academic excellence through its mission-driven public service and outreach has been again recognized at a national level for the i-Pathways Project.

In July, the i-Pathways team was invited to participate in the Federal Bureau of Prison's initiative to develop a request for proposal to deploy technology inclusive instruction for their adult education classes at over 122 facilities across the country. Additionally, an i-Pathways representative will attend a national meeting, IDEAL Consortium, to demonstrate Illinois' leadership in distance learning initiatives. Participation by invitation at these events reflects the excellence of the i-Pathways project. 

The Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington D.C invited subject matter experts to attend their Industry Day as they gathered information on best-practices in technology driven instruction. The two-day meetings brought experts from around the country to share information on best practices for technology implementation and security, curriculum expectations, and professional development expectations for staff. The i-Pathways project, a high school equivalency, was invited due to their successes in Illinois.

According to Rich Stempinski, from the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), over the past two years, the IDOC has ranked first in the nation among all correctional facilities on the GED with a success rate of 94 percent.

"Our success is due, primarily, to the i-Pathways curriculum and the hybrid instructional approach the IDOC utilizes," said Stempinski.

Joe Ryner and Kathy Olesen-Tracey, both of WIU, represented CAIT and i-Pathways at the Industry Day.  

"CAIT being asked to participate as a subject matter expert in this session demonstrates the recognition of our i-Pathways product as a high-quality curriculum deployment application," said CAIT Director Paul Sweet. 

Tracey will also represent Illinois, CAIT, and i-Pathways at the IDEAL Consortium's annual institute. The mission of the IDEAL Consortium is to provide technical assistance to states as they establish quality distance learning programs for adult learners.

i-Pathways' presence at the institute is twofold. First, i-Pathways will share best-practices for leading the sixth most populous state in the United States through innovative and cost effective professional development relating to online learning ,as well as learn from other states and IDEAL Consortium's experts. 

CAIT's vision is to positively impact the lives of their learners by providing a meaningful learning experience through leading edge technology. i-Pathways is one of multiple CAIT projects that aligns with WIU's core value of social responsibility. 

For more information about the i-Pathways program, visit i-pathways.org or cait.org.



Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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