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Empowering Adult Learners Through "The Change Agent" Publication & New Inclusive Series
Posted on 10/15/2026
OTAN is excited to feature The Change Agent, an online national publication written by and for adult learners. The Change Agent offers authentic, high-interest reading material that highlights diverse student voices while promoting standards-based skill development across Adult Basic Education (ABE), English Language Acquisition (ELA/ESL), High School Equivalency (HSE), and workforce preparation programs.
What’s New on The Change Agent?
- New Issue: Issue 68 – Making Home Adult learners explore the multifaceted concept of "Home," sharing personal stories and insights on displacement, belonging, community, and housing stability.
- Featured Series: Disabilities and Learning Differences Co-published with Essential Education, this ongoing series gives adult students a platform to write about their direct experiences with disabilities and neurodiversity at home, in school, at work, and within their communities.
- Enhanced Accessibility Options: The Change Agent incorporates features like Adobe Liquid Mode compatibility for effortless mobile reading, along with digital accessibility enhancements (aligned with WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines) to ensure all learners can engage seamlessly with site resources.
Whether you are looking to integrate authentic student writing into your digital classroom, build contextualized civics lessons, or foster inclusive learning spaces, The Change Agent provides ready-to-use content designed specifically for the adult education field.
How Can Adult Educators Use This Resource?
For Classroom Teachers & Instructors
- Contextualized Reading & Writing Lessons: Use student-authored stories as authentic reading passages for ELA/ESL and ABE classes. Have students practice reading comprehension, analyze vocabulary in context, or respond to writing prompts inspired by their peers.
- Promoting Digital Literacy & Accessibility: Have students access articles on smartphones using Adobe Liquid Mode to practice navigating digital text, adjusting font sizes, and utilizing text-to-speech tools.
- Inclusive Class Discussions: Use the Disabilities and Learning Differences series to open supportive dialogues about learning accommodations, self-advocacy, and neurodiversity in educational and workplace settings.
For Instructional Coaches & Curriculum Developers
- Standards-Aligned Unit Planning: Pair Change Agent articles with OTAN’s Lesson Plan Builder or the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) to design units centered on real-world issues like housing, labor, and community advocacy.
- Student Publishing Opportunities: Use the publication's open calls for articles as a practical capstone project. Encourage adult learners to write, edit, and submit their own stories for potential publication in upcoming issues.
- Do you have great writers in your classroom? Adult learners can submit articles to be published in The Change Agent. The call for articles will be in February 2027.
- Please sign up for The Change Agent's newsletter to keep up with news and events.
- Students whose pieces are accepted will receive a $50 gift card.
Ready to subscribe?
- Subscribe to The Change Agent for just $30 per year and bring powerful student writing into your classroom. PLUS all your students log in for FREE.
- Each online issue explores topics highly relevant to students’ lives and communities. Along with each issue, you get a wealth of teacher resources (see sample pages here).
- Get access to audio articles (see a sample here), PDFs of all the back issues, and many “extras,” including some articles in Google Slides (see a sample here).
