OTAN Digest

Digest #10
November 2021

Message From The Director

The CAEP Summit 2021 has just wrapped up and my brain is swimming with new information and wonderings. In his welcome address, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond encouraged us to "build back better" as we reimagine California adult education. What exactly does that mean? In my mind, it requires us to reflect on lessons learned over the past 18 months and adopt the best of those lessons into our new way of doing business. It challenges us to adopt unique learning options that remove barriers for students and allow them to reach their educational and career goals. In a Summit session I attended, the presenter boldly claimed, "Distance learning is here to stay." This one statement sets a vision for what could be. Adult students benefit from in-person learning options, but what more can be accomplished when we provide, as a norm, flexibility through blended and hyflex options? As a student-centered entity, we need to listen and act on what our adult students say works for them.

What is the best course of action in training, teaching, and learning? How do we remain nimble? These are some topics that will be explored November 8-12 during National Distance Learning Week 2021. The US Distance Learning Association is offering a free, virtual weeklong conference that invites attendees to generate a greater appreciation for distance learning, discuss current issues and emerging trends, and highlight best practices.

OTAN is ready to reimagine adult education and to build back better with you and your teams. Reach out to us at support@otan.us to let us know how we can help with your training and learning needs.

-Renee Collins

Spotlight On...

OTAN Curriculum Offers!

Curriculum Offers are free or reduced-cost special offers for online curriculum licenses and professional development resources that OTAN has negotiated on behalf of the state. The curriculum offers cover ESL, ABE, ASE, and HSE program areas, as well as resources for online teaching. We invite you to visit the Curriculum Offers page on the OTAN website. (Curriculum Offers are generally available to those California adult educators who work at WIOA-funded agencies, but contact us with your questions.)

Here are some of the Curriculum Offers you can take advantage of:

• Essential Education Blended Learning course - OTAN is offering a self-paced Blended Learning course from Essential Education that covers topics such as, What is Blended Learning, Choosing a Model, and Teaching and Assessment Tools.
• CK-12 - The CK-12 Foundation and OTAN have partnered to create an Adult Education space on the CK-12 platform. Materials, including customizable FlexBooks®, interactives, and adaptive practice, are available in ABE and ASE, with more to come.
• Learn360 - Teachers and students can access more than 148,000 multimedia resources—including high-quality full-length videos, video clips, images, audio files, articles, activities, worksheets, interactives, and more—on any Internet-enabled device, anytime, anywhere.
• The NROC Project - The NROC Project partners with educators to create open and low-cost courses and tools designed to improve how college and career readiness is approached and supported.

If you would like more information about our Curriculum Offers, please contact us at support@otan.us or call us at 916-228-2580.

Stay connected to OTAN! OTAN is here to serve our adult education colleagues throughout California!

OTAN November And December Events

OTAN training events are OPEN to Adult Education staff.
★ = CLOSED, In-Service Training

Professional Development

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!