skip to main content
Join OTAN / Login

Leading adult education through support for and the effective application of technology.

About Us

Learn More About OTAN

Here is some information to orient you to our work at OTAN and the OTAN.us website.

Sections
Create (or Update) an Account | OTAN Professional Development | OTAN Teaching Tools and Resources | OTAN News Items and Social Media

Create (or Update) Your OTAN Account

We encourage all adult educators to create a membership account on the OTAN website. Creating an account is the easiest way to stay connected to the latest developments throughout the school year and it's free!

To create or update an OTAN account, first go to the OTAN website. Click on Join OTAN / Login at the top of the home page.

Screenshot of Join OTAN / Login on the OTAN website home page

On the next page, create your OTAN account by clicking on Register to complete a membership form, or enter your email address and password to log in and update your account. Use Forgot your password to reset your password. (If you have any issues creating or logging into your account, please email us at support@otan.us for assistance.)

Screenshot of Log In menu.

Whether you register for the first time or log in to your account, you can enter or update your contact and agency information on the membership form. One note – if you check yes to Professional Development Opportunities, you will receive email notices when there is an open training in your region, even if it is not at your agency.

Make sure to save your changes once you have entered all your information.

Once you create an account(or if you have an existing account), you can enter your email address and password at the Login page to log in and adjust your contact information and preferences at any time.

You're all set to stay in touch with OTAN! Look for email notices, OTAN Digests, and other communication throughout the school year. We look forward to staying in touch! (And encourage a colleague to create an OTAN account as well!)

OTAN Professional Development

OTAN offers professional development on a variety of educational technology topics in in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats throughout the school year. Our presentations, workshops, and conference sessions for adult educators and staff fit a wide variety of skill levels and can even be customized to meet the respective needs of a program or site. OTAN professional development is free for California adult educators and staff.

To learn more about OTAN professional development sessions, click on the Professional Development menu at the top of the OTAN website.

Screenshot of Professional Development drop down menu

Click on What's Here to learn more about the professional development that OTAN provides and review our What OTAN Offers and Titles and Topics pages for ideas for sessions to have at your agency.

Three of the PD activities that OTAN organizes may be of interest:

  • Our Rural Coaching Project provides specialized coaching and extended technical support to adult education agencies in sparsely populated areas of the state.
  • Our Technology and Digital Learning Symposium is an annual two-day hybrid conference designed to demonstrate effective ways of incorporating technology to enrich the learning experience, expand educational reach through a combination of in-person and online learning, and improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of adult education programs.
  • Our two-year Digital Leadership Academy assists agencies in meeting their technology integration, distance learning, or blended teaching goals.

Another way to learn about trainings from OTAN, CASAS, CALPRO, CAEP, and other agencies is to visit the California Adult Education Professional Development Training Calendar. Use your OTAN account email address (or create an account as a new user) to register for open trainings that are listed on the calendar.

You can also listen to previous webinar recordings on our Video Presentations webpage or our YouTube channel. The videos that are organized in the Video Presentations section of our website are fully remediated for accessibility, which means that each video has a searchable transcript, downloadable transcript files, and a file optimized for a screen reader. Make sure to scroll down the entire page to locate these features. These videos will also be listed on our YouTube channel; however, our YouTube videos are not fully remediated.

If you have questions about any workshop or would like to schedule a training, you can call our office at (916) 228-2580 or email us at support@otan.us. We update and add training titles throughout the year, so make sure to check the PD pages and Training Calendar regularly.

Please join us at an OTAN training (and invite your colleagues as well)! We look forward to seeing you face-to-face or online throughout the school year!

OTAN Teaching Tools and Resources

OTAN has a number of teaching tools and resources that teachers can utilize in their instruction. Here are some resources that you should consider throughout the school year (and click on the Resources menu at the top of the OTAN website to access):

Screenshot of Resources Menu

  • The California Adult Education Digital Learning Guidance is designed to identify, document, and disseminate practical information for adult educators to support effective implementation of digital learning within adult education.

  • Our Accessibility Resources webpage includes OTAN-developed resources as well as resources you can use to learn more about accessibility and create your own accessible content.

  • The OTAN Canvas project provides free access for California adult education agencies to the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) for in-person, blended, and distance learning.

  • Teaching with Technology is a resource that teachers can use to locate lesson plan topics and ideas that integrate specific websites and other tech tools based on the Triple E Framework and the WIPPEA lesson plan format. You can filter your search by program area, level, subject, and standards.

  • Web-Based Class Activities are monthly technology-based activities organized around instructional themes and topics as well as edtech tools, with ideas on how to get started and how to use them in the classroom.

  • 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 CTE program areas.

  • The Course Outline Builder is a web-based tool designed to help adult education agencies create clear, structured, and standards-aligned course outlines.

  • The Lesson Plan Builder is designed as a tool for adult educators to develop detailed lesson plans that follow the WIPPEA lesson plan format and the Triple E Framework that can also be shared with their peers.

  • The California EL Civics Exchange is a repository for original EL Civics instructional materials created by California WIOA EL Civics agencies. These materials can be used to teach EL Civics content to English language learners.

Finally, OTAN invites nominations of adult education learners who are successful as a result of the education received at California adult education agencies for the California Adult Education Students Succeed program. This is a great way to recognize the hard work that an outstanding student has completed in the pursuit of their personal, academic, and professional goals and aspirations. Visit the Adult Education Students Succeed website for more information. From the home page, you can read stories and watch videos from previous years by clicking on the Students tab. You can also explore stories from specific adult education agencies and programs by clicking on the Schools and Programs tabs. The nomination period will open at the start of January and remain open until early spring.

Please let us know if you have any questions about these teaching tools and resources. We look forward to providing you with additional resources throughout the school year!

OTAN News Items and Social Media

In addition to having an OTAN account and receiving periodic emails and communications from OTAN, two of the best ways to stay connected to OTAN throughout the school year are to follow our news items and subscribe to our social media sites. News items are posted on the home page of our website. We try to post information about OTAN events and services as well as issues of interest to the field regarding technology and tech integration.

Social Media logos. X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube

We are also active on social media. Social media is a great way to learn more about what OTAN is working on and contribute to your own professional development. Please follow or subscribe to one or more of our social media sites to stay connected:

You can also connect to our social media from the OTAN website. Click on the Stay Connected menu at the top of the OTAN website and select Social Media or look for the social media icons in the footer of the homepage.

OTAN has long utilized video to provide information and training, as well as highlight important activities in adult education. Moving forward, we hope to provide even more timely information for the field through video posted in two locations: in the Video Presentations section of our website (remediated for accessibility) and on our YouTube channel. We have organized our videos on our YouTube channel into playlists that mirror what you will find in the Video Presentations section. Current playlists include AI, Teaching and Working Online, Equity and Inclusion, Using Video, Digital Tools, Devices, and more! You can also watch recordings of our monthly OTAN Tech Talks, videos from our annual Technology and Digital Learning Symposium (or TDLS), and reports from our Digital Leadership Academy (or DLAC) teams.

Scroll To Top
Home | About Us | Contact Us | Locate Us | Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Sitemap

OTAN activities are funded by contract CN240137 from the Adult Education Office, in the Career & College Transition Division, California Department of Education, with funds provided through Federal P.L., 105-220, Section 223. However, OTAN content does not necessarily reflect the position of that department or the U.S. Department of Education.