OTAN Digest - March 2023
Digest #25
March 2023
Message from the Director
March 6-10 is Open Education Week! How are you celebrating? OTAN has long been a proponent of open education resources (OER) in adult education as they are openly shared and free resources that teachers can adopt, customize, and use to augment learning.
CK-12 is an OER and OTAN partner. They offer premier free online interactive textbooks. CK-12 and OTAN have created a CK-12 Webpage that holds FlexBooks for CTE, ESL, ABE, and ASE, all with adults in mind.
Students have a digital assistant as they learn. FlexBooks® 2.0 are adaptive. You can add your own touch to every lesson! And you can even use their amazing platform to create your own FlexBook.
To learn more about how OER and CK-12 can enhance your program and save on your budget, participate in EdTech Center@ World Education’s Strategy Session on March 10 and hear from our own Neda Anasseri.
The EdTech Center @ World Education hosts monthly Strategy Sessions facilitated on Zoom and open to all! And don’t forget to bookmark the CA Adult Education Professional Development site for free OTAN training on OER and all things adult ed. I hope to see you in a training session soon!
-Renee Collins
Director, Adult Education
News
For Teachers
Students Succeed 2023 Nominations are Open!
Introduction to Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
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
March
Guidance From the Guidance: An Agency's Approach to the California Adult Education Digital Learning Guidance
by Francisco X. Pinedo Jr
It has been almost three years since our world changed along with most aspects of education. COVID 19 became a worldwide pandemic and our way of teaching and delivering instruction changed 180 degrees in a matter of days.
Check This Out!
Francisco Pinedo Jr. will be giving an OTAN Tech Talk on the Guidance Document on Friday, March 10th from 1-2:00 pm. Join us for an agency’s approach to using this document. https://caadultedtraining.org/OTAN/8?Type=23
OTAN Tech Talk - March 2023 - Guidance on the Guidance Document
February
Introduction to OERs
by Diana Vera-Alba
Open Educational Resources, or OERs, are openly licensed teaching and learning materials.
January
5 Tech Tools to Try With Adult Learners
by Yescenia Delgado Lorenzo
Try these five tech tools and notice adult learner engagement increase.
Spotlight On...
OTAN's Web Development Team
The Web Development Team recently redesigned OTAN’s website. A new feature of this redesign is the Upcoming Sessions page. This feature details OTAN sessions and enables the user to immediately register.
The Web Development team pictured here maintains this page as well as the entire OTAN website. (Left to right Jong Choi, Inna linnyk, Angela Steele, Justin Timko, Michael Pierce, and David Espinoza) Not pictured is Yolanda O’Shea.
OTAN March and April Events
| Date/Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Mar 1 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM |
Introducing Learners to Northstar Digital Literacy | Online - Zoom |
| Mon, Mar 6 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Canvas Grading and Feedback | Online - Zoom |
| Fri, Mar 10 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
OTAN Tech Talk: Guidance on the Guidance Document | Online - Zoom |
| Mon, Mar 13 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM |
Online Formative Assessment Tools ★ | El Rancho Adult Education Center Pico Rivera, CA |
| Mon, Mar 13 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Canvas Admin: SIS Imports | Online - Zoom |
| Mon, Mar 13 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM |
Online Formative Assessment Tools ★ | El Rancho Adult Education Center Pico Rivera, CA |
| Tue, Mar 14 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Advancing Canvas: Group Work and Collaboration | Online - Zoom |
| Wed, Mar 15 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
Advancing Canvas: Google Integration | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Mar 16 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM |
Q&A with a Canvas Expert - For Teachers | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Mar 16 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
Using ClassFlow in Adult Education Instruction | Online - Zoom |
| Fri, Mar 17 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Advancing Canvas: Student Experience | Online - Zoom |
| Mon, Mar 20 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM |
Canvas Admin: Review and Troubleshooting | Online - Zoom |
| Tue, Mar 21 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Advancing Canvas: Studio | Online - Zoom |
| Wed, Mar 22 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
Canvas New Quizzes and Item Banks | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Mar 23 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM |
Q&A with a Canvas Expert - For Administrators | Online - Zoom |
| Fri, Mar 24 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Canvas Home Pages | Online - Zoom |
| Mon, Mar 27 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Advancing Canvas: Accessibility (A11y) | Online - Zoom |
| Tue, Mar 28 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Canvas Curriculum Specific: World Languages | Online - Zoom |
| Wed, Mar 29 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
Canvas Assignments | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Mar 30 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM |
Advancing Canvas: Creating Mastery Paths | Online - Zoom |
| Thu, Apr 20 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
Spotlight on Simultaneous Instruction | 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 2023-2024 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!