OTAN Digest - May 2025
Digest #51
May 2025
Spotlight On...
OTAN Canvas Project Webpage Update
This improved site offers an organized view of OTAN Canvas resources. Based on recommendations from you, accordion style buttons allow for educator learning choices & quick access to explore. Depending upon your learning stage, there is an entry point for you to discover. We still have some of our recordings going through our Accessibility process and will be added once done. We look forward to hearing from you! Please contact aecanvas@scoe.net for any questions you may have about Canvas.
4 Apps that Empower Adult Learners
Are your slides too cute? 3 Presentation Tips that Center Student Understanding
Understanding the Roles and Responsibilities of the Department of Education
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Using Padlet to Engage Students and Build Community in CTE Classrooms
Written by Yecsenia Castro, OTAN SME
Teachers in Career and Technical Education (CTE) play a significant role in preparing students for real-world careers by providing hands-on learning. One powerful tool to enhance student engagement and foster a strong classroom community is Padlet. Padlet is a digital bulletin board that allows students and teachers to collaborate, share resources, and engage in interactive discussions.
I have worked as a CTE Teacher for over 10 years, and I am always trying to find fun and exciting ways to engage my students and have them do different activities, so they do not get bored. In my search to find a collaborative digital tool that I can use with my students I found Padlet, and I have fallen in love with the different ways it can be used in the CTE classroom
- Interactive Brainstorming and Idea Sharing
- Digital Portfolios and Project Showcases
- Resource Sharing and Collaboration
- Student Reflection and Career Exploration
- Engaging Exit Tickets
- Live Discussions and Virtual Collaboration
What does AI mean for Older Adults?
The Guidebook: AI for Older Adults provides easy reading in a printable format to understand the basics about Artficial Intelligence. This version correlates with the interests of seniors and keeps content concise and graphically consistent for easy comprehension. Senior Planet also offers a somewhat easily comprehensible Infographic about AI to share.
Monthly, SMEs write an article about technology and how it correlates with teaching and learning. These articles become companions of each OTAN Tech Talk. While OTAN welcomes an article or Tech Talk from any adult educator in California, our SMEs without fail consistently write about the most innovative ideas for adult education classrooms.
May
AI in the AE class, Oh mAI!
By Francisco Xavier Pinedo, Jr. OTAN Subject Matter Expert
While traditional digital tools have been valuable resources for adult education students pursuing ESL, HSD, or HSE goals, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) represents a shift in educational support.
April
Ways to Engage Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) for All Learners
By Elisia Doonan, OTAN Subject Matter Expert
This article explores the importance of engaging socially and emotionally for all learners with a focus on SEL lessons threaded into adult education.
March
Google Sheets: Clear Visuals for Tracking Student Success
By Christina Hyatt, OTAN Subject Matter Expert
Using Google Sheets in a shared drive helps teachers and staff track student progress quickly and easily. It combines relevant student data in one place, including work completed, CASAS scores, and graduation progress.
Resources for educators to ensure deaf people can fully access their learning experience.
- Share My lesson Deaf Awareness Teaching Resources: Collection of lessons to broaden knowledge about Deaf culture.
- Movies and TV shows with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Characters: filterable selection to engage hearing students with Deaf students while still recognizing Deaf student experiences.
- Deaf Awareness: 9 Ways to Communicate: downloadable infographic with simple ways for hearing people to communicate effectively with Deaf people, without knowing sign language.
OTAN’s Accessibility Resources
National Deaf Center NDC Accommodations 101 Resources to ensure deaf people are able to fully access the experiences and activities offered.
11 Awesome Accessibility Resources for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People List of organizations with a focus on Accessibility and specifically deaf and hard of hearing people.
Message from the Director
We’re just days away from seeing many of you at the CCAE State Conference in Fresno—get ready to rock and roll! Word has it, a few of our OTAN trainers might even show off some smooth moves on the dance floor!
At OTAN, we’re excited to continue supporting California adult education agencies through our robust Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) resources. Canvas offers a flexible and accessible platform for delivering instruction in person, online, or in hybrid formats. With mobile and assistive technology compatibility, students can engage with coursework anytime, anywhere.
On May 9, OTAN will host its first free, hands-on Canvas Summit at the Sacramento County Office of Education for adult education consortia instructors, administrators, and support personnel in northern California and the capital region. We hope this will serve as a model for many more regional Canvas Summits across the state in the near future.
Our newly updated OTAN Canvas hub includes a wide range of resources: professional development workshops (from beginner to advanced), openly licensed course shells created by educators, custom templates, a Canvas Training Video Library, and so much more.
If you’re still deciding whether Canvas is right for your program or consortium, OTAN can help you take the next step. We’re here to support the transition from adult schools to community colleges by streamlining the learning experience with Canvas—a platform already widely used across California education systems. Best of all, Canvas licenses for adult education agencies are covered by OTAN. Start by submitting an Interest Form today.
Discover how Canvas can elevate your instructional delivery. Visit the OTAN Canvas page or contact us at support@otan.us to learn more or schedule a training session.
-Renee Collins
Director, Adult Education
OTAN May and June Events
| Date/Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, May 5 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM |
Putting English to Work in Canvas | OTAN Online |
| Tuesday, May 6 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM |
Mastering Rubrics in Canvas | OTAN Online |
| Wednesday, May 7 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM |
Canvas ePortfolios for CTE | OTAN Online |
| Friday, May 9 08:00 AM - 04:30 PM |
OTAN Canvas Regional Summit ★ | Sacramento County Office of Education |
| Monday, May 12 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM |
Canvas Discussions | OTAN Online |
| Tuesday, May 13 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM |
Aligning and Tracking Outcomes in Canvas | OTAN Online |
| Friday, May 16 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM |
Canvas Basics for Mt. Diablo Adult Education ★ | This session is an inservice for Mt. Diablo Adult Education staff only. |
| Tuesday, May 20 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM |
Canvas Rich Content Editor - AI Tool | OTAN Online |
| Friday, May 23 09:00 AM - 11:10 AM |
Microsoft and Canvas Accessibility for North Orange Continuing Education | This session is an inservice for North Orange Continuing Education staff only. |
| Sunday, June 29 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM |
Digital Learning Guidance Course: Harnessing the Power of Online Education | Online Self-Directed Course |
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 2024-2025 school year. With a wide variety of technology topics from which to choose, OTAN training staff can provide in-person workshops or presentations at any approved California adult education agency or professional development event, either online or face-to-face with a computer lab or devices connected to the Internet.
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!