News

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2021 News

What's Here?

Catch up on recent, and past Adult Education News.

Our Office Will Be Closed For the Holidays

Our office will be closed beginning Thursday, December 23rd and returning Monday, January 3rd.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 12/20 and January 2022

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Learning More About Digital Navigation Services

As most everyone has been forced to connect digitally to people and services for everyday life over the last year and a half, it has become apparent what obstacles people face to do this successfully.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 12/13

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Open Educational Resources at EdTech Books

One of the challenges that educators face in their classrooms is finding good quality online content for teaching and learning at a reasonable price (if there is a cost).

EdTech Spending and the EdTech Genome Project

With so many software and equipment options that have come, been updated, and gone, as well as the never-ending training to keep teachers and staff current on how to use these tools, it has been a struggle to create and implement a strategy that makes sense and is cost effective.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 12/06

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Learn About the EdTech Integration Strategy Toolkit

The EdTech Integration Strategy Toolkit also provides guidance on how to develop learners' digital literacy when implementing these routines by providing sample questions teachers can ask that support direct instruction of digital skills.

Celebrate Computer Science Education Week 2021

December 6 to 12 is Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek), a time to highlight the importance of computer science education and encourage students to take an interest in computer science.

Our office will be closed in observance of Thanksgiving Day

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Weeks of 11/22 and 11/29

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 11/15

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Our office will be closed on Thursday November 11th in observance of Veterans Day

Loop for Adult Education and Workforce Development Professionals

Loop is a platform that matches professionals within a sector (e.g., adult and workforce learning) with similar interests for optional weekly one-on-one networking calls, and it conveniently runs right out of email inboxes.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 11/8

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Submit a Proposal for the Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2022

Building on the success of our first ever virtual conference earlier this year, TDLS will once again be virtual!

National Distance Learning Week 2021 Begins

National Distance Learning Week (NDLW), sponsored by the US Distance Learning Association (USDLA), is November 8 to 12.

Learn More About Apprenticeships

NAW is a nationwide celebration that gives businesses, communities, and educators the opportunity to showcase their apprenticeship programs and apprentices while providing valuable information to career seekers.

The Triple E Made Triple Easy!

Since the pandemic began over a year and a half ago, adult educators have been using technology non-stop in so many ways, but how do we know that our use of technology is effective for our learners?

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 11/1

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 10/25

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Celebrate Digital Citizenship Week 2021

October 18 to 22 is Digital Citizenship Week. Although the focus this week is on K-12 students and schools, this week presents many opportunities to think about how we should all be good digital citizens and how to encourage good online behavior when interacting with others, now and throughout the school year.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 10/18

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Learn More About the Digital Resilience in the American Workforce Initiative

Digital Resilience in the American Workforce (DRAW) is a new initiative from JFF (Jobs for the Future) and World Education, with support from The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), to better prepare adult education practitioners who support learners who struggle to fully engage in tasks that demand the use of digital technologies.

CALIFORNIA EDUCATORS: eAccessibility Course with David Berman

David Berman, a world-renowned expert and advisor on accessibility issues and solutions, is offering an online course for participants to better understand why and how to make learning materials accessible.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 10/11

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Some Benefits of Blended Learning

One of the silver linings of the last 18 months has been the opportunity for adult educators to get to know a wide variety of edtech tools that they might not have been familiar with before.

Digital Inclusion Week 2021 is Here!

Digital Inclusion Week is an annual event meant to bring attention to solutions addressing home internet access, personal devices, and local technology training and support programs, with the goal of closing the digital divide that exist in cities and local communities around the country.

Taking a Look at the Top Tools for Learning 2021

Since 2007, Jane Hart from the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies in the UK has been compiling an annual list of Top Tools for Learning from the results of an open survey.

Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2022 Call for Proposals is Now Open!

Building on the success of our first ever virtual conference earlier this year, TDLS will once again be virtual!

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 10/4

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 9/27

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 9/20

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Celebrate Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2021

First proposed by the National Center for Literacy (NCL) in the early 2010s, the National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week this year is September 19 to 25.

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is September 17

Each year on September 17, we celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day to commemorate the signing of the US Constitution on September 17, 1787.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 9/13

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Join the Building an EdTech Strategy Toolkit Course

As we settle back into more consistent models for instruction and learning, the Building an EdTech Strategy Toolkit (or BEST) course is designed to walk instructors through a thoughtful process of designing strategic and sustainable instructional routines that leverage edtech and are centered around the factors that most impact their learners.

Our office will be closed on Monday September 6th in observance of Labor Day

Our office will be closed on Monday September 6th in observance of Labor Day.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 9/6

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

New Observation Tool Available to Evaluate Remote Instruction

Now that adult educators have been working remotely with students for over a year, we want to make sure that the instruction provided electronically is as good as how it is provided in a face-to-face setting.

USA Learns Now on Phones!

Have you and your learners ever wished that USA Learns worked better on phones?

Read About Our Adult Education Students Succeed Honorees!

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 8/30

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Back-to-School Series: OTAN Video Presentations and YouTube Videos

This is the fifth and final in a series of news items that will provide information about essential features of OTAN for you to know as you and your colleagues begin the new school year.

Back-to-School Series: OTAN News Items and Social Media

This is the fourth in a series of news items that will provide information about essential features of OTAN for you to know as you and your colleagues begin the new school year.

Back-to-School Series: OTAN Teaching Tools and Resources

This is the third in a series of news items that will provide information about essential features of OTAN for you to know as you and your colleagues begin the new school year.

Back-to-School Series: Create (or Update) Your OTAN Account

This is the first in a series of news items that will provide information about essential features of OTAN for you to know as you and your colleagues begin the new school year.

Back-to-School Series: OTAN Trainings

This is the second in a series of news items that will provide information about essential features of OTAN for you to know as you and your colleagues begin the new school year.

Increasing Engagement and Student Persistence Through Distance- and Blended-Learning Models

You are invited to attend a webinar sponsored by COABE, Increasing Engagement and Student Persistence Through Distance- and Blended-Learning Models: What the Research Says and Which Practices Work, spotlighting the work of a number of California adult education agencies.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 8/23

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 8/16

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Consider Applying for the Ron Lee CATESOL Technology Award 2021

If you are an ESL teacher and a CATESOL member and have been using technology in innovative ways with your students, please consider applying for this award! The deadline to apply is September 1.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 8/9

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Federal Program Monitoring Adult Education Instrument - Live Q&A Coming Up

This interactive two-hour session on Monday, August 9 from 10:00am to 12:00pm provides participants with the opportunity to discuss topics covered in Part 1

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 8/2

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Moving Forward with Blended Learning

As we plan for a new school year, many adult educators are thinking about how to integrate blended learning.

Making Use of Free Virtual Labs

Virtual math and science labs filled an important hole left in the wake of shifting from in-person to online instruction during COVID.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 7/26

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

WorldEd’s Remote ESOL Project

Since December 2020, a team at OTAN partner World Education, Inc. and some expert ESOL consultants have been investigating promising remote adult ESL (or ESOL) practices and program models.

Watch (or Re-watch) Our OTAN Recorded Presentations!

Over the last year or so, OTAN has hosted numerous online presentations on a wide variety of technology-related topics, and you can watch (or re-watch) those presentations on our YouTube channel.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 7/19

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 7/12

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 7/5

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Our Office Will Be Closed In Observance of Independence Day.

Our office will be closed on Monday, July 5th in observance of Independence Day.

Welcome to the California EL Civics Exchange!

In partnership with CASAS and with the support of the Adult Education Office at the California Department of Education, OTAN is proud to announce the official opening of the California EL Civics Exchange.

Sharing Our Equity Resources

One of the ways that we at OTAN have been addressing the topic of equity is by participating in trainings organized by our employer, the Sacramento County Office of Education, on a variety of equity-related topics.

Steps for Successful Blended Learning

We know that adult education agencies are thinking about how to maintain an online component in their instructional programs as we return to our brick-and-mortar classrooms. The last 15 months have shown that there are students who thrive in the online learning environment and appreciate having online learning as an option because it fits into their busy adult lives with work, family, and other commitments, as well as helping them overcome barriers to learning like securing childcare and transportation.

Exploring the World Through Virtual Field Trips

Virtual field trips bring the content in a variety of classes to life, giving students and teachers the opportunity to learn more about a location, science, history, art, and other subjects firsthand.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 6/28

OTAN provides resources for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Resources to Help Identify the Best EdTech

As schools continue planning for the return to in-person instruction and services, one thing that adult educators are considering is what technology makes the most sense to invest in, in light of one-time COVID-19 funding opportunities that are still available.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 6/21

OTAN schedules online webinars for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 6/14

OTAN schedules online webinars for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 6/7

OTAN schedules online webinars for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 5/31

OTAN schedules online webinars for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Our office will be closed in observance of Memorial Day

Voxy EnGen® Grants Available Through the Write Her Future Institute

In partnership with Lancôme USA, ProLiteracy is providing free access to Voxy EnGen®, a personalized, mobile English language learning platform. Through the Write Her Future Institute, adult education programs can apply for free one-year Voxy EnGen® licenses for female English language learners.

New Resource for Exploring Primary Sources

Many adult educators are familiar with the website iCivics for information and resources on citizenship and civics education. There is now a new mini-resource on the iCivics website called Exploring Primary Sources which serves as a resource hub for innovative primary source products, accessible professional development, and more.

Diving Deeper into the Digital Divide

For all of us in adult education, working online with our students and colleagues over the past year has been challenging in so many ways.

Congratulations to Our Adult Education Students Succeed Honorees!

Each year, the California Adult Education Students Succeed program recognizes the hard work that adult education students have completed in the pursuit of their personal, academic, and professional goals and aspirations. OTAN is happy to share the results from the many nominations submitted this year for recognition of the wonderful accomplishments by students during their time in adult education programs across the state.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 5/24

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 5/17

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Emergency Broadband Benefit Begins Today!

This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, virtual classrooms, critical healthcare services, and much more.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 5/10

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 5/3

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Introducing the Personal and Workplace Success Skills Library

The Personal and Workplace Success Skills Library is a collection of resources to guide the integration of personal and workplace success skills into curriculum and instruction, advising and coaching, assessment, and program design.

How to Approach Hybrid Teaching

One of the most important questions in the quest to reopen our adult education programs and welcome students, staff, and the community back into our physical spaces is what our classroom instruction is going to look like moving forward.

Using Technology to Improve Teaching

One possibility is using technology to review classroom teaching and provide instructional coaching, as well as thinking about how to integrate video into teacher professional development.

Getting Adult Educators Excited About Using Technology

Some teachers have fully embraced virtual teaching and learning, while others are still struggling and view the technology with anxiety, trepidation, and frustration.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 4/26

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Adult Schools Celebrate Adult Education Week!

During California Adult Education Week from April 19 to 23, adult schools across the state plan events to celebrate the work being done at their locations and the success of their adult students who have overcome difficulties to achieve their goals and dreams.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 4/19

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators - Week of 4/12

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators - Week of 4/5

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Adult Education Resources Now Available at CK-12

We're happy to announce that CK-12 has partnered with OTAN to make high quality content available on the CK-12 platform to support adult learning.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 3/29

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 3/22

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Emergency Broadband Benefit is Coming Soon!

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) recently announced the creation of the Emergency Broadband Benefit program to help households struggling to pay for internet service during the pandemic.

Still Time to Nominate a Deserving Student for the Adult Education Students Succeed Program

The nomination period for the 2021 Adult Education Students Succeed Program is open.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 3/15

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 3/8

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 3/1

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 2/22

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Our office will be closed on Monday, February 22nd in observance of Washington's Birthday

Getting Creative with Video

Video is a powerful tool to use in the adult education classroom.

Add Asynchronous Video to Your Online Teaching Repertoire

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 2/15

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Our office will be closed on Monday, February 15th in observance of Lincoln's Birthday

Learn More About Digital Promise's Adult Learner Model

We know that our schools are full of students who are different from one another, who bring different experiences and abilities with them to class. However, in our efforts to reach all learners, we often fall short and end up only reaching a small number of students by teaching to the middle.

Keeping Everyone Safe on the Internet

February 9 is Safer Internet Day, a worldwide recognition of the need to actively safeguard children and adults when they spend time on the Internet.

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 2/8

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

OTAN's Technology and Distance Learning Symposium Coming Soon!

Registration for OTAN's annual Technology and Distance Learning Symposium (TDLS), which will take place online from March 3 to 5, is open!

Upcoming OTAN Activities to Support Adult Educators – Week of 2/1

OTAN has scheduled a number of online webinars and Office Hours for our adult education colleagues who are teaching and supporting their learners remotely.

Resources to Share on the COVID-19 Vaccine

As vaccinations roll out across California and the country, we encourage you to take a look at these Coronavirus Adult Literacy Resources from the Georgia State University College of Education and Human Development to share with your students, staff, and community members.

Learn More at the (Virtual) EL Civics Conference 2020-2021

Our colleagues at CASAS have taken the EL Civics Conference online this year!

Learn More About ISTE's SkillRise

According to the SkillRise website, SkillRise helps organizations empower adult learning with educational technology by providing resources that support the planning, implementation, and sustainability of edtech solutions to prepare workers for the careers of today and tomorrow.

Resources for the Continuous Improvement Plan

The California Department of Education (CDE) has integrated three previously separate deliverables required from Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) funded agencies into a new deliverable called the Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP).