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Catch up on recent, and past Adult Education News.

Adult Learner Variability Network

When working with any person, especially adults, an educator must first understand what impacts our students for them to fully engage in school. While we may empathize with obstacles which impact our students, we may not know how to strategically support them...until ALVN. The Adult Learner Variability Network (ALVN) offers classroom strategies, research and resources for particular Adult Learner Factors.

Understanding and Countering Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Schools

This article written by Rachael Fugardi, Jaci Jones, Caleb Kieffer, and Alon Milwicki from the Learning for Justice website presents facts about both Islamophobia and Antisemitism. With the conflict occurring in the Middle East, the rise in both is also taking place in our schools. The purpose of sharing this article is to “nurture...interest in understanding and engaging with what is happening in and beyond [our] communities... And we must do so in ways that reject biogtry.”

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of April 22

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar. Schedule your Professional Development with OTAN today. OTAN can customize to suit your agency’s needs. For more ideas consult What OTAN Offers webpage.

The English Learner Family Toolkit

The U.S. Educational system can be difficult to navigate especially for people new to it. This helpful resource for educators, administrators, school staff, community organizations and families assist with learning about the educational system. Downloadable in four languages, English, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish, this toolkit is organized into six chapters with five sections. Chapter topics include:

Beyond the Box Applied to Adult Education

“Education has been shown to reduce recidivism by 48 percent.” This report was first published in 2016 and again with an updated version in April 2023, making educators aware of what “formerly incarcerated students face both during the admissions process and while enrolled” in higher education. Upon inspection, the recommendations in this report tailored to higher education also apply to our adult education agencies. This article intends to relay some pertinent information about things to consider when a formerly incarcerated adult enrolls in our programs.

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of April 15

3 Essential ChatGPT Prompting Skills for ESL Teachers

While many people fear that A.I. “undermines the quality of education and allows students to cheat their way through assignments,” this technology, if used correctly, can also enhance many learning experiences. A.I. can assist language teachers with ideas about simulating conversations, role playing, and creating interactive stories. This article summarizes three additional ways AI can benefit the ESL student.

Ventura County Digital Upskilling Training Program

Ventura County developed this Digital Upskilling Training program “to increase the digital skills of job seekers, current workers, and small business operators within their county.” Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin developed this project idea and secured $5 million in state general funding for this pilot project. Recently, the county’s goal is to make it replicable

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of April 8

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar. Interested in participating in Canvas with OTAN? Sign-ups and renewals occurring now! Drop-in Canvas Administrator trainings: No need to register access schedule here.

Adult Education Week April 7th – April 13th

Each year, adult education agencies across California promote their programs and the great work being done by their students and staff during Adult Education Week. This year, Adult Education Week will be April 7th to 13th. There are many ways to communicate the important work your agency is doing to serve your community.

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of April 1 (no fooling!)

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of March 25

OTAN Canvas Happenings this Spring

New or Renewing OTAN Canvas Licenses? OTAN is happy to announce some positive changes to how we process Canvas Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs). The Canvas 2024-25 MOU is now designated as evergreen, meaning, once processed, it will remain in effect for five years or until either your AGENCY or OTAN opts not to renew it.

Blended Learning in the Math Classroom

Many of us grew up with the traditional math model. It was a Traditional One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Math. Each class followed this lesson structure: 1. Homework check or warm up problem 2. Whole Class Mini-lesson 3. Independent Practice and Review

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of March 18

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar.

Assistive & Accessible Technology

Webpage: Assistive & Accessible Technology This webpage explores the differences between assistive and accessible technology. To summarize: Assistive technology is a piece of software or hardware designed to perform a specific task. These are some examples:

The Three Es for Your AI Learning Strategy: Equity, Ethics, and Educators

There is much to talk about when it comes to Artificial Intelligence in not just our society, but in Education. With this new technology, there’s a “growing demand for AI literacy” which has increased opportunities for “equitable, evidence-based, innovative solutions in digital skills education, teacher professional development and ... implementation.”

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of March 11

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar.

What Does It Mean to Belong?

This article written by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey explores perspectives about belonging. Standard thinking among adult educators is the relationship building which must occur before academics can truly begin. As we know, the adult learner votes with their feet. Attendance is one measurement of whether a student feels like they belong in your classroom. Some educators also report the difficulty of working with a leader who does not connect or offer a sense of continued belonging. Stanford researcher Geoffrey Cohen (2022) defines belonging as the following: “Belonging is the feeling that we’re part of a larger group that values, respects, and cares for us – and to which we feel we have something to contribute.”

10 simple steps to creating a content calendar for your brand

It’s challenging to understand what is effective to and not to post. Many people who are new to posting consider the 10 simple steps presented in this infographic by Giraffe Social.

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of March 4

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar. Nominations accepted until March 15 for the California Students Succeed Awards #CAESS

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of February 26

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of February 19

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar. OTAN will be closed Monday, February 19 to commemorate President George Washington’s birthday. Nominations accepted until March 15 for the California Students Succeed Awards #CAESS Deadline to register for Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2024 #TDLS2024 is February 23.

How AI Reduces the World to Stereotypes

This compelling article written by Victoria Turk on October 10, 2023, highlights that “bias occurs in many algorithms and AI systems- from sexist to racist search results to facial recognition systems that perform worse on Black faces.“ Bloomberg analyzed 5000 generative AI faces and found “images associated with higher-paying job titles featured people with lighter skin tones, and that results for most professional roles were male-dominated.” The article further demonstrates how AI prompts diminishes and flattens representation of a broad spectrum of people from several different countries.

A SkillRise Resource Collection: An ISTE Initiative

With technology constantly changing work and commerce, to thrive in this digital era, “all adults need to develop the digital competencies needed in today’s workplace.” SkillRise’s mission is to empower Adult Learners and Workforce Organizations. Take a minute to investigate some of their robust materials and resources listed below.

Designing Technology for Adult Learners

Educators realize the extent to which technology can assist with “personalized pathways for learners with special needs and mixed profiles.” Yet, online learning requires self-regulation and discipline. “Adult learners will achieve the most when using digital learning tools if they have additional support and scaffolding.” Research indicates five principles for instructional creators to consider when designing for the adult basic learner.

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of February 12

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar. OTAN will be closed Monday, February 12 to commemorate President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Nominations accepted until March 15 for the California Students Succeed Awards #CAESS Deadline to register for Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2024 #TDLS2024 is February 23.

OTAN will be closed to commemorate President Lincoln's Birthday

OTAN is closed today, February 12th, in remembrance of the heroic President Lincoln. OTAN will reopen February 13th.

The Upshot for Marketers as Social Media Platforms Evolve in 2024

Tips for making the most of social media marketing trends across seven key platforms. If you are the social marketing “guru” for your agency, read on for some updated 2024 trends summarized below. Click here for the full article.

Understanding Teacher Engagement in Blended Learning Environments

The direct relationship between a highly engaged student is a highly engaged teacher. “When teacher engagement dips, it has a negative effect on student engagement. When teacher engagement is high, it positively impacts both student engagement and academic achievement.” It makes sense this is true. Student engagement is “a highly researched topic in education,” in contrast, there is far less research about teacher engagement. This OTAN news item summarizes Dr. Catlin Tucker’s e-book Understanding Teacher Engagement in Blended Learning Environments External Link Icon opens in new window or tab, so leaders can best lead an engaged educator & support staff. This e-book has reflection questions which can easily be adopted into a staff meeting or discussion.

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of February 5

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar. TDLS'24 Registration now open! Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2024 is an annual conference featuring engaging, interactive presentations and vibrant discussions. Join us! California Adult Education Students Succeed CAESS Nomination is open today until March 15, 2024. Nominate the deserving student in your classroom.

Advocating for Digital Equity

The Transforming Immigrant Digital Equity (TIDE) has “designed and piloted an ecosystem model for equitable English language learning and digital resilience,” for immigrants and refugees advocating efforts around the Digital Equity Act of 2021. For there to be an equitable digital resilience ecosystem with people learning English as an additional language, “we must center the experiences...of adult immigrants and refugees,” and recognize them not only as “recipients of services, but also co-designers, subject matter experts, community advocates, and .... agents of change.”

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of January 29

National Educational Technology Plan

The U.S. Department of Education released the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP): A Call to Action for Closing the Digital Access, Design and Use Divides. First released in 2000, the plan has been updated multiple times. While past NETPs have “largely served as surveys of the state of the field,” this one focuses on three key divides which include:

The California Digital Equity Plan Draft is Now Available

The California Department of Technology (CDT) has released the state's draft Digital Equity Plan. CDT has developed an HTML version of the draft California Digital Equity Plan to be available in over 100 languages and compatible with assistive technology.

Upcoming OTAN Activities Week of January 22

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Calendar.

5 Key Policy Considerations for Regulating AI in Classrooms

With new AI tools emerging daily, it is difficult to grapple with how these tools impact the classroom and faculty office. Both the U.S. Department of Education and California's Learning With AI, Learning About AI have published AI guidance for schools which consider equity and privacy issues to name a few.

4 Lessons from California's Teaching with AI Guidance

California and Oregon first released statewide guidelines for teaching and learning with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Katherine Goyette, Computer Science Coordinator for the California Department of Education and co-author of The Complete EdTech Coach: An Organic Approach to Supporting Digital Learning, helped write this guidance, titled Learning With AI, Learning About AI.

Upcoming OTAN Activities Week of January 15

Monday, January 15 OTAN will be closed to celebrate the life of a Great American Civil Rights Leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. TDLS'24 Registration now open! Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2024 is an annual conference featuring engaging, interactive presentations and vibrant discussions. Join us!

King's Birthday

Today, we celebrate the life of a great American, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. OTAN’s office is closed today, January 15, 2024, to honor his birthday.

What Great Principals Really Do

It’s difficult to quantify the impact of a principal on students, instructors, support staff and the entire school community. However, it is common sense that a leader can influence how often a student or teacher is absent or “how likely an instructor is to” work in that school another year. This linked research study transudes the impact of effective principals and “what makes them different.” Summarized below are a few key ideas.

3 Ways to Support an Effective Digital Learning Environment

Nudging classrooms forward is technology. Whether it the first chalkboard to the whiteboard to Smart Boards. “With the emergence of AI Chatbots like ChatGPT,” there is an increased anxiety about “technology use in the classroom.” With each new tool, there is a teacher distraction with every new introduction.

ASCD's Most Popular Blog Posts of 2023

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Most Popular Blog Posts of 2023 If you didn’t have a moment to catch up on your educational blog posts in 2023, this article links and summarizes the top 10 in one place.

Upcoming OTAN Activities - Week of January 8

For up-to-date upcoming professional development from OTAN and others, visit the California Adult Education Professional Develoment Calendar TDLS '24 Registration now open! Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2024 is an annual conference featuring engaging, interactive presentations and vibrant discussions. Join us!