December 2020
Administrators' Digest
Volume 11, Number 7
December 2020
FROM THE DIRECTOR, RENEE COLLINS
Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is staying healthy and well and able to fully enjoy this season of lights, giving, and celebration. This is also the time of year to reflect on the year past and to make resolutions for the year ahead. I remember fondly New Year’s Eves sitting with my cousins, brother, and mom drinking cocoa and sharing our goals, while New Year’s TV specials helped us count down to the New Year. This year consider committing to one or more of the curricula offers available through OTAN. OTAN works to negotiate the best free or reduced-cost special offers for online curriculum licenses and professional development resources suggested by our OTAN Advisory Committee and adult educators in the field. For your teachers, there is a blended learning self-paced course and resources through ISTE SkillRise to upskill your team’s technology skills. More teacher and student licensing offers are coming soon. Bookmark the Curriculum Offers page and plan to take advantage of one of these offers soon. Whatever personal and professional resolutions you make for this next year, be sure to say them out loud as that’s sure to make them happen! Be safe and well!
Are you interested in training in scheduling an OTAN training for your staff? Please reach out to us at support@otan.us to learn how we can help with your training needs. We’ve now reinstated virtual face-to-face trainings!
NEWS YOU CAN USE
TDLS 2021 Call for Proposals is Now Open!
Plans are underway for OTAN's Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2021, scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 through Friday, March 5. The call for proposals has opened!
Achieve3000 / SPARK Curriculum Offer Now Available!
The Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) has a special offer for your agency!
Making the Transition at Santa Clara Adult Ed
We hope you will find this story from Santa Clara Adult Education as inspirational as we do and it will help you think about some of the possibilities for when (fingers crossed!) we return to in-person classes in 2021.
Making the Transition at Mt. Diablo Adult Ed
As we close out 2020 and look forward to 2021, we continue to acknowledge the amazing work that adult education agencies have done this year during an unprecedented time in our field.
Questions to Ask About Tech Integration in Your Classroom
With so many technology options available to us, we want to be intentional in selecting the right technology for any given activity or moment. A good way to go about doing this is to answer a number of questions about the tech tools you are considering using.
Celebrate Computer Science Education Week
December 7 to 13 was Computer Science Education Week, a time to highlight the importance of computer science education and encourage students to take an interest in computer science.
OTAN JANUARY EVENTS
| Date/Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, Jan 4 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM |
Google Drive, Apps, and Tools ★ | Online - Zoom |
| Mon, Jan 4 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM |
Moodle! Create an Online Course with Moodle ★ | Online - Zoom |
| Mon, Jan 4 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM |
Social Media for Adult Education ★ | Online - Zoom |
| Tue, Jan 5 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM |
Best Practices for High-Quality Online Instruction ★ | Online - Zoom |
| Tue, Jan 5 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM |
OTAN Office Hours | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Jan 7 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
OTAN Office Hours | Online - Zoom |
| Fri, Jan 8 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
OTAN Tech Talks | Online - Zoom |
| Tue, Jan 12 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM |
OTAN Office Hours | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Jan 14 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
OTAN Office Hours | Online - Zoom |
| Fri, Jan 15 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM |
Google Drive, Apps, and Tools ★ | Online - Zoom |
| Tue, Jan 19 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM |
OTAN Office Hours | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Jan 21 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
OTAN Office Hours | Online - Zoom |
| Tue, Jan 26 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM |
OTAN Office Hours | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Jan 28 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
OTAN Office Hours | Online - Zoom |
| Fri, Jan 29 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM |
OERs for Adult Education (series) | Online - Zoom |
OTAN training events are OPEN to Adult Education staff.
★ = CLOSED, In-Service Training
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - PLAN AHEAD!
Did you know OTAN provides FREE professional development workshops to help Adult Educators integrate technology?
Think about scheduling OTAN Professional Development in the 2020-2021 school year. With a wide variety of technology topics from which to choose, OTAN training staff will present for any WIOA-funded adult education program in California either online or face-to-face with a computer lab or devices connected to the Internet. (Note that face-to-face trainings will be scheduled when it is safe and OTAN staff are free to travel.)
All OTAN's workshops are provided at no cost!
Each session is hands-on - everyone will learn new skills related to technology or using technology that they can use in their adult education class or program. And all OTAN online or face-to-face workshops can be tailored to fit the needs of the requesting program. Select the links to see a list of the current online or face-to-face workshops and descriptions. If you don't see a workshop that is exactly what you need, contact OTAN - we'll work together to create a training that's best for you and your staff!
Need more information? Contact OTAN training staff anytime by phone at 916-228-2580 or by email at support@otan.us
To view workshops already scheduled, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar and search for workshops sponsored by OTAN. Don't miss out!