OTAN Digest - January 2023

Digest #23
January 2023

Message from the Director

Happy New Year!! Our team at OTAN has so many exciting things planned for you in 2023 and encourage you to join in on the fun.

• Registration for the hybrid Technology and Distance Learning Symposium (TDLS) is now open! Participants are welcome to engage with us in-person or virtually. Don't miss out on the new Thursday Bootcamps – dive a bit deeper into Canvas, Google, or Microsoft 365.

• The Students Succeed nominations opened January 2nd and will be open until April 1st. Adult Education staff are encouraged nominate a student who has experienced success because of participating in adult education.

• OTAN is working with vendors to offer curriculum pilots to the field. Supplement your classroom curriculum with Learning Upgrade, a Math, ESL/English, and Digital Skills App for everyone! The App has 1020 lessons and 22 courses to extend learning! In a separate offer, test the computer skills of your students with Northstar Digital Literacy, a widely recognized assessment offered by Literacy Minnesota. Look for additional offers from Newsela  and others! If you are interested in learning more about and possibly participating in any of these curriculum pilots, please complete this OTAN Curriculum Offers Interest Form.

• Jump on board with Canvas and commit to bringing the #1 Learning Management to your site! 100% of our California community colleges and higher education systems are using Canvas and our list of committed K-12 Adult School agencies is growing. Complete the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize your commitment! Email questions and completed MOUs to aecanvas@scoe.net.

• OTAN is working with ISTE and advisors to develop a Facilitator's Guide and optionally facilitated or self-paced course to engage with the California Adult Education Digital Learning Guidance that was published in September 2022. The new resources will be available in Summer 2023! Also, look for an updated look to the Guidance website to be released in January 2023.

• OTAN wants to work with you on custom professional development for your team. Training can be in-person or virtual. Dates are filling quickly so don't hesitate too long to reach out to OTAN at support@otan.us.

I look forward to connecting with each of you and hearing what wonderful things you have planned at your agency this year. Until then, stay true to your resolutions and Happy New Year!

-Renee Collins
Director, Adult Education

OTAN January and February Events

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 2022-2023 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!

• OTAN Session List

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!