There is a unique course being offered over the summer, which will provide an opportunity to work on a Virtual Reality project in a special context: VR in Prison
Course Description:Join us to learn about prison while studying inside a prison! Honors 230B (5 cr., summer B term) is centered around a series of classes to be held at the Twin Rivers Unit of the Monroe Correctional Complex (about 45 minutes outside of Seattle, transportation provided); this is a medium-security prison unit for men. We will meet with a group of student-inmates, working on a series of projects based on topics developed by the men there. Topics will include Virtual Reality in the prison setting (we are collaborating with the UW’s Reality Lab on this); educational access (especially library access) in prison; and voting and other citizenship rights. We will be at the prison every Wednesday during B term, departing from the HUB around 11:00 am and arriving back at about 5:00 pm.
Students are required to submit information for clearance in order to enter the prison facility and they must sign the UW’s Acknowledgement of Risk form; all students must be over 18.
Please contact the instructor, Claudia Jensen (cjensen@uw.edu), for more information, add codes, or questions about accommodations (which may be limited). No auditors; due to the clearance requirements, we will not be able to enroll students after June 15.
The Reality Lab is working on developing VR apps for skills training & mental health for inmates. If you are interested in prison issues and how technology/education can help in this context, this may be a good course to take.