OTAN Digest June 2026
Spotlight On...
From Vision to Reality: Celebrating the 2024-2026 DLAC Cohort
This May marked a bittersweet milestone as the 2024-2026 Digital Leadership Academy (DLAC) cohort gathered for its final in-person meeting. Over the past two years, teams from nine agencies have worked tirelessly to bridge the digital divide, and this final session was a powerful celebration of their persistence. Between the sharing of digital successes and the tears shed as coaches and staff said their goodbyes, one thing was clear: these leaders have fundamentally changed their agencies.
Highlights of DLAC Projects:
Burbank Adult School: Successfully pioneered a new online ESL program, securing student laptops and launching two thriving online classes.
Fontana Adult School: Transformed campus communication by launching Microsoft Teams schoolwide, providing teachers and students with a unified hub for assignments and collaboration.
Greystone Adult School (CDCR): Broke new ground in correctional education by laying the foundation to roll out the Canvas LMS to teachers serving students at Folsom State Prison.
Jefferson Adult School: Strengthened online courses through improved onboarding, remote testing, and CTE partnerships..
Long Beach School for Adults: Embedded digital literacy directly into the ESL curriculum, developed a technology workshop series, and expanded accessibility through an ESL Open Lab and multilingual orientation videos.
Silicon Valley Adult Education: Developed Canvas home page templates and provided bite-sized Canvas professional development for staff.
Porterville Adult School: Scaled Northstar Digital Literacy across CTE, ABE, HSD, and ESL programs and launched a dedicated Computer Technology class.
Proteus, Inc.: Modernized infrastructure by distributing hardware to all academic classes and establishing onsite rooms for proctored HiSET/GED and CASAS eTesting.
San Diego College of Continuing Education: Created a series of videos to provide digital literacy support for both students and faculty.
Join the Next Wave of Innovators
Are you ready to lead digital transformation at your agency? Applications are now open for the 2026-2028 DLAC Cohort! This two-year journey offers coaching, hands-on training, and a statewide network of support.
Learn more and apply today: 2026-2028 DLAC Cohort
2024-2026 Digital Leadership Academy
New Free Math Curriculum "ANDE" Launches to Support California Adult Educators
New AI Course – Delivered via Text Message by the Department of Labor
Explore Google’s Newest AI Tool "Career Dreamer” in Your Classroom
Student Success Story
Meet Henry Velasco
“I’ve never felt so motivated to learn and actually enjoy coming to school for the first time since I was in junior high. The adult school makes me feel comfortable about asking questions in class and about my credits. My teachers play a huge factor in ensuring I’m getting my work done and focusing on my future after I get my diploma.” — Henry Velasco
A 2025 California Adult Education Students Succeed Nominee
Despite facing overwhelming personal hardships—including homelessness, living without running water, coming from a single-parent home with an incarcerated parent, and navigating life as a special needs student diagnosed with autism—Henry Velasco has maintained a remarkable 3.85 GPA. Nominated for his resilience in 2019, Henry balanced a 30-hour work week to support his family with rent and bills while attending adult school full-time. Beyond his academic achievements, he has become an empathetic leader and volunteer within his school community, inspiring his peers by personifying the school’s motto, "Enter to learn, depart to serve." Henry credits his success to the supportive environment at Lynwood Community Adult School and his dedicated teachers, who helped him map out an accelerated path to his high school diploma and his ultimate goal of attending college.
Featured Tech Tool – Citizenly
What is Citizenly?
Citizenly is a 100% free and ad-free study platform designed to help immigrant learners prepare for the U.S. Civics test with confidence. Recognizing that language and pacing can be major barriers for older adults and language learners, Citizenly provides all 128 official USCIS questions with high-quality audio support across 10 languages (including Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Hmong, Russian, and English). It features interactive practice tests, digital flashcards, and an eligibility checker, allowing students to study at a pace that respects their time without hidden fees or required subscriptions.
Classroom Integration Ideas
- ESL (English as a Second Language): Use the dual-language support for scaffolded learning. Beginner students can use their native language to master the civic concepts, while intermediate/advanced students can use the English audio and text to build vocabulary, reading, and listening comprehension.
- ABE (Adult Basic Education) & HSE (High School Equivalency): Citizenly serves as an excellent, bite-sized supplement for U.S. history and government units. Use the practice tests for quick, gamified warm-ups or exit tickets to reinforce concepts like the Constitution, the branches of government, and historical milestones.
- CTE (Career Technical Education): Citizenly can be integrated into digital literacy modules. Students can explore the tool to practice navigating online educational resources, while simultaneously learning about the civic structures that govern their local industries.
Get Started: Learn more here: https://citizenly.app/
Monthly, SMEs write an article about technology and how it correlates with teaching and learning. These articles become companions of each OTAN Tech Talk. Have something to share? OTAN welcomes an article or Tech Talk from any adult educator in California.
June
A Teacher’s Guide to Building Apps with Gemini Canvas
By Susan Gaer, OTAN Subject Matter Expert
For adult educators in the ESL (English as a Second Language) space, the challenge has always been engagement. Adult learners juggle jobs, families and often trauma, making traditional learning difficult. Enter Gemini Canvas, a specialized workspace within Gemini designed for "vibe coding."
May
Ignite Your Instruction: Turning Data into Classroom Magic with AI!
By Susan Coulter, OTAN Subject Matter Expert
Unlock the hidden potential in your assessment data and transform the way you teach! Imagine turning spreadsheets and test results into a customized, high-impact lesson plan in a matter of seconds. By pairing your expertise with Artificial Intelligence (AI), you can instantly create vibrant practice materials tailored to the unique needs of your adult learners. Let data drive the heavy lifting so you can focus on what you do best: inspiring and mentoring your students.
April
Effective HyFlex Teaching Strategies for Adult Education
By Audrey Dierdorff, OTAN Subject Matter Expert
In the evolving landscape of adult education, the HyFlex (Hybrid-Flexible) model has emerged as a powerful instructional approach to meet the diverse needs of learners. By combining face-to-face and online learning, HyFlex empowers students to choose their mode of attendance—whether in-person, online synchronously, or online asynchronously—for each class session. For educators, the challenge lies in adapting curriculum and lesson plans to ensure that every student, regardless of their location, has equivalent access to high-quality instruction and learning outcomes.
Voices from the Field
What approaches or tools have you found most effective for delivering digital learning within a secure or correctional environment?
“We use Chromebooks and Nucleos tablets to provide digital content and instruction in the correctional environment. Chromebooks allow us to whitelist approved curriculum from Edmentum (HSD), Aztec (GED), Burlington (ESL), and iCEV (Workforce Prep), giving students access to videos, quizzes, and activities. Because Chromebooks are used in classroom settings with credentialed teachers, student access to digital learning is limited to the hours they are scheduled for class, usually about six hours per week. For learners to make meaningful progress toward literacy, math, GED, or diploma goals, more time with content is needed.
Nucleos tablets help close that gap by removing the classroom time barrier. Students can now attend class, work with teachers, and continue coursework from their housing units. This year, we expanded the number of tablets and housing units with access. Students check out a tablet from the correctional officer on duty, log in, and see only approved curriculum. Each session is recorded, which helps verify who is completing the work and prevents cheating, an issue with paper-based assignments in the past.”
- Amy Lloyd | Assistant Principal | Placer School for Adults
Read more about selecting digital tools in Chapter 4 of the updated Digital Learning Guidance.
Canvas Summit
It is not too late to register for the Canvas Summit taking place on June 5th! Register Here.
If you are reading this after the event has passed, we encourage you to reach out to OTAN to schedule Canvas training, or to host the next Canvas one-day summit at AECanvas@scoe.net
Message from the Director
As OTAN closes another remarkable program year, I am proud to celebrate the innovation, leadership, and collaboration in digital technology that continue to define California adult education.
One of OTAN’s greatest accomplishments this spring was the graduation of 30 leaders from the fifth cohort of the Digital Leadership Academy (DLAC). Agencies congregated mid-May to share creative approaches to technology integration, instructional improvement, and learner success. We look forward to welcoming the next cohort, with applications open through August 10.
This spring, the Technology and Digital Leadership Symposium (TDLS) brought together 359 participants—266 in person and 93 online—to explore emerging technologies and instructional innovation. The energy and enthusiasm generated at the event have already built excitement for TDLS 2027, which will be held March 5–6 at the Torrance Adult School – Levy Education Center.
After 18 months of development, OTAN completed a major update to the Digital Learning Guidance, including a new chapter on artificial intelligence and an extensive suite of implementation resources. Podcasts, videos, an online course, facilitator guides, slide decks, and reader guides will be released this summer in time for back-to-school professional learning days.
The Adult Education History Project also reached important milestones, completing seven oral history interviews, four written chapters, and four short films documenting two decades of California adult education. A soft launch of the California Adult Ed History videos will take place at the CASAS Summer Institute. Check the website soon for the latest updates.
OTAN's Canvas community continues to grow, now supporting 76 agencies and more than 18,000 licenses statewide. Following the success of the inaugural Canvas Summit, we look forward to hosting our second summit on June 5 at Del Valle Education Center and expanding to multiple summits each year.
We are also excited to launch the new Course Outline Builder, a shareable online tool that helps agencies develop CDE-aligned course outlines more efficiently.
Together, these accomplishments reflect the creativity, dedication, and forward-thinking spirit of our work with practitioners in California. As always, I invite you to reach out to OTAN for all your technology needs. Thank you for being part of this journey.
-Renee Collins
Director, Adult Education
OTAN June and July Events
| Date/Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, June 1 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM |
Overview of OTAN’s Self-Paced Accessibility Course | OTAN Online |
| Wednesday, June 3 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM |
Creating Videos Using PowerPoint | OTAN Online |
| Thursday, June 4 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM |
Purposeful Professional Development for Adult Ed Digital Leadership | OTAN Online |
| Thursday, June 4 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM |
Using Northstar to Develop Digital Literacy Skills | OTAN Online |
| Friday, June 5 08:30 AM - 03:30 PM |
OTAN Regional Bay Area Canvas Summit ★ | Del Valle Education Center |
| Tuesday, June 9 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM |
Crafting Narratives: Gemini Storybook for Adult Education | OTAN Online |
| Friday, June 12 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM |
OTAN Tech Talk June 2026: Building Apps with Gemini Canvas | OTAN Online |
| Monday, June 29 08:30 AM - 11:30 AM |
Gemini for Educators: Saving Time with Integrated AI Tools at Whittier Adult School ★ | This session is a closed inservice for Whittier Adult School. |
| Monday, June 29 12:30 PM - 03:30 PM |
NotebookLM at Whittier Adult School ★ | This session is a closed inservice for Whittier Adult School. |
| Tuesday, June 30 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM |
Digital Learning Guidance Course: Harnessing the Power of Online Education | Online Self-Directed Course |
| Tuesday, June 30 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM |
Mastering Technology Integration through the Triple E Framework | 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 2025-2026 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!