OTAN Digest
Digest #6
June 2021
Message From The Director
The most widely attended national adult education conference in June is the CASAS Summer Institute. While there won't be evening trips to Old Town or networking poolside with colleagues due to the virtual format, CASAS can be relied upon to provide high quality, engaging trainings, workshops, and panels in the areas of curriculum management, assessment, and evaluation systems. OTAN will present and launch, together with CASAS, a new website at Summer Institute that will be of great interest to administrators and EL Civics/IELCE teachers alike, the EL Civics Exchange. This website will house accessible materials that aid in the implementation and delivery of instructional activities that integrate civics education content with ESL instruction, including EL Civics 231 and 243 funded civic objectives.
EL Civics was first introduced to California adult education agencies in the early 2000's. While individual agencies have done a good job of developing and sharing resources, the EL Civics Exchange is the first state-level online warehouse for this work. EL Civics teachers will be invited to submit accessible materials to the website. OTAN's Tech Talks in July and August, the second Fridays of the month, will focus on submitting materials for the EL Civics Exchange and will review Creative Commons licensing and accessibility. If you miss the El Civics Exchange workshop, the recording of the presentation will be available for six months via the CASAS Summer Institute's Whova app or through the CASAS website. I encourage you to engage with this website and start sharing! Access the EL Civics Exchange at elcivics.otan.us.
OTAN's team of trainers and subject matter experts are ready to assist you with accessing and sharing materials on the EL Civics Exchange and meeting all your school's technology needs. Reach out by phone or email at 916-228-2580 and support@otan.us. Be safe and well as you start your summer!
-Renee Collins
Are you looking for a way to integrate technology in your classes? Visit Teaching with Technology on the OTAN website and start searching for ESL, ABE, ASE, and even CTE lesson ideas today!
Web-Based Class Activities
June
Canvas Commons Easy as 1, 2, 3
by Francisco Pinedo
Canvas is a web-based learning management system (or LMS for short) that is used in many schools, including community colleges and higher education institutions. Like other LMS, Canvas allows instructors to manage digital learning with a platform for teachers to create and add content, including lessons and assessments.
May
Google Extensions for Teachers
by Ryan de la Vega
As wonderful as Google is, it can't always do everything. Lucky for us there are third parties who create add–ons and extensions to fill those gaps.
Spotlight On...
Video Presentations!
OTAN has long utilized video to provide information and training on a wide variety of topics and highlight important events in adult education. Please consider subscribing to the OTAN YouTube channel to stay connected to the latest OTAN developments. You can connect to our channel (and all our social media sites) from the OTAN website. Click on the Stay Connected Menu on the top of the otan.us website and select Social Media or look for the social media icons on the bottom footer of the homepage.
Over the last few months, we have been adding fully accessible videos to the Video Presentations webpage on the OTAN website. Take a look at the wide variety of videos that we have available. We have the videos divided into the following playlists:
- TDLS 2021 – These videos are from sessions at this year's Technology and Distance Learning Symposium.
- OTAN Tech Talks – These videos are from our monthly Tech Talks, meant to provide a short overview of a tech tool or topic.
- Digital Leadership Academy – These videos from our DLAC agencies are overviews of the work completed by the agencies in the first year of this two-year academy.
- Other playlists include Teaching and Working Online, Digital Resources, and Learning Management Systems.
Stay connected to OTAN! We're here to help with video ideas and more!
OTAN JUNE EVENTS
| Date/Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Jul 9 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
OTAN Tech Talks - Licensing and Copyright | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Jul 22 8:30 AM - 11:30 PM |
Google: Sites ★ | Online - Zoom |
| Fri, Aug 13 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
OTAN Tech Talks - Creating Accessible Documents | Online - Zoom |
| Wed, Aug 18 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM |
Device/OS: Chromebooks for Adult Education ★ | 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 2021-2022 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!
- OTAN Online Workshops
- OTAN Face-to-Face Workshops (tailored for the virtual environment!)
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!