An effectively trained workforce is essential for effective correctional services, but training can be costly. It is natural to identify the major costs of training as the salaries and expenses of trainers, training materials and equipment, and training facilities. However, the reality is that the major cost of training is the participation costs of trainees. For example, when 30 correctional officers spend the day a training academy with a trainer, the direct indirect salary and replacement costs for the 30 trainees is a much greater expense than the salary expenses of the trainer. In a typical correctional agency, an 80-hour training program represents four percent of an officer's annual work time.

Over many years, correctional managers have searched for ways to reduce training costs without compromising on quality. Distance learning is one approach which allows interaction between trainers and trainees without requiring them to be in the same place. In recent times, this

has involved television with a training session broadcast to trainees in multiple locations. When it involves live broadcasts, the approach does reduce transportation and related costs, but it does not address the significant costs of covering the employees' work responsibilities. When it involves videotapes, the approach lacks interaction between instructor and trainee.

Two services are widely used by colleges and universities.

Recently, colleges and universities have explored the use of the Internet to capture the benefits of distance learning while overcoming some of its drawbacks. A goal has been to provide instruction from a distance to multiple locations at multiple times. Two major products are

being used by hundreds of colleges and universities for thousands of courses. Each vendor provides tutorials and interactive demonstrations available on the Internet. They are: CourseInfo.

The basic concept behind both WebCT and CourseInfo is to provide each course or course section with instruction and support via an Internet site. When students enroll in a course they receive individual passwords which provide them access to the site's resources, including many items from traditional training: reading lists and reading material and maybe video or audio presentations. However, there are additional resources specific to the Internet such as: computer- based discussion groups (in chat room or bulletin board formats), quizzes and tests; and presentation forums. It is not necessary for the instructor and the student to be online at the same time. In addition, both services provide the instruction with course management information such as automated grading of quizzes and tutorials, feedback on student performance on tutorials and quizzes, and counts of learning activities attempted and/or completed by each student.

These approaches allow for the flexibility inherent in distance learning, but provide considerably more interactivity than previous models. On-line there may even be more opportunity for asking questions and participating in discussions than in traditional classrooms constricted by time and location.

Internet-based approaches are not appropriate for all training requirements.

Internet approaches are not well-suited for all training requirements. Though more costly to deliver, on-location training may be essential for hands-on training in physical tactics, equipment use, or procedure implementation (such as conducting cell searches). Furthermore, when there is a question of certification, there may be a need for the trainee to be assessed in person for identity verification.

However, a considerable amount of correctional training involves presentation of concepts, definitions, and processes. Multimedia presentations over the Internet, accompanied by interactive and automatically scored tutorials and assessment exercises, can provide this sort of training efficiently. Once trainees pass appropriate online assessments, they can complete their validation tests in person and undergo hands-on training in person at a training facility. Trainees still have to spend time learning the material presented via the Internet. However, an agency can assign them to cover positions with significant "down time" in which they can be working on the computer at the same time that they are "on-call" in case their services are needed.

Internet-based programs could make better use of trainee time.

The following example illustrates the potential for Internet distance learning to make better use of a trainee's time. If a 40-hour training program includes 20 hours of instruction in concepts, definitions and processes, a traditional approach would require each trainee to spend 40 hours in the program in addition to travel time. The television-based approach might save travel time and expense, but there remains the 40 hours per trainee of participation time. Using Internet approaches in conjunction with traditional methods could cut costs, improve performance, and reduce travel, in the following way:

• The 20 hours of instruction concepts, definitions, and processes, could be conducted using an interactive Internet-based technology such as WebCT or CourseInfo.

• The trainees would participate in their 20 hours of training while assigned to designated "training participation posts, " which would be posts with workloads that predictably decline during some time periods, such as late at night in a corridor. The 20 hours of online participation time would take place during times of reduced activity at the designated post. Such posts would have to have computer terminals with Internet access, and the trainees could participate in the online activities without leaving the post, remaining available to respond to any work requirements that develop. A special advantage for a correctional facility is that the identity of the participating trainee could be reasonably assured because the trainee would be assigned to a specific post with a specific terminal.

• Each trainee would be required to continue to work with the online activities until he or she passes the automatically rated quizzes and tutorials at a satisfactory level. At that point, the trainee would be scheduled for interactive and physical training activities at an appropriate training site. While there, the trainee could also complete the test that validates the learning from the Web-based exercises.

• The effect, for the correctional agency, would be to avoid the cost of 20 hours training participation time, since the trainee would be effectively doing two activities at once - staffing the post and participating in the training.

An important practical question involves the difference between Internet-based distance learning and traditional correspondence instruction, where a student is provided a notebook of readings, assignments, and activities to complete. Arguably, using a traditional correspondence approach could achieve the same savings and convenience. However, I think that the Internet-based packages offer significant advantages, including a wider range of instruction media (such as video), automated assessment and student feedback, the potential for interaction with other students and the instructor, and the convenience of having all of the materials accessible from a web site.

Both services can deliver the course from the vendor's computer.

Both WebCT and CourseInfo only offer demonstrations and tutorials of their software for evaluation on the Internet, but they also offer the ability to purchase use of the systems including installation, operation, and maintenance by the vendor. In this way, the correctional agency does not have to install and operate the software. They also offer licenses to authorize installation of the software on an agency server. Of course, the content remains the responsibility of the agency.Both services permit free trial courses so that instructors can experiment with the service.

Internet-based training may provide a means for correctional agencies to reduce the costs of training, while improving convenience for trainees. Internet-based training may also provide a way to actually expand training activities, by breaking out of traditional delivery limitationsof classroom-based instruction. Greater use of automatically-graded tutorials and quizzes may also enhance trainee comprehension of concepts, definitions, and processes which must be learned before more sophisticated interactive and hands-on training activities can take place.