OTAN Digest
Digest #3
March 2021
Message From The Director
March has been an exciting month for OTAN. OTAN's first virtual TDLS had a registration of over 800 and an average attendance of 432 participants per concurrent session block. The immensely popular Tech Slam included 153 participants in a "triple-F" (fast, fun, furious) whip-around activity sharing new tech tools and resources learned during the three-day symposium. The enthusiasm for learning was contagious. Thank you to all our presenters, hosts, partners, and participants for your support and active engagement.
The learning opportunities haven't slowed down since TDLS. OTAN has opened a new Accessibility Resources page on its website. Visitors to the page can learn why accessibility is so important and how to build accessible webpages and documents. OTAN Coordinator Penny Pearson also discusses Considerations for Adult Education Teachers in a recorded presentation. More and more programs are requiring that materials be fully accessible and meet Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) and the Accessibility Resources page is a great place to start for administrators and teachers.
As always, I invite you to stay engaged with OTAN to meet all your ed tech, distance, and blended learning needs! Be safe and well!
-Renee Collins
News
For Teachers
Still Time to Nominate a Deserving Student for the Adult Education Students Succeed Program
Add Asynchronous Video to Your Online Teaching Repertoire
For Administrators
Emergency Broadband Benefit is Coming Soon!
Resources for the Continuous Improvement Plan
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
WizerMe
by Stephanie Thomas
Imagine a free website where you can create beautiful augmented worksheets for your students in minutes using an intuitive, easy-to-use dashboard. Now imagine you get access to thousands of worksheets created by instructors across all levels and subject matter. Too good to be true? Nope. WizerMe is an online worksheet creator.
February
Liquid Syllabus
by Diana Vera-Alba
A Liquid Syllabus is an accessible, mobile-responsive, equity-minded website that includes a friendly introduction video and course information written in welcoming, student-centered language.
Spotlight On...
Adult Ed Courses!
One of the services that OTAN provides to the California adult education field is hosting and providing support for our Moodle learning management system (LMS) site. We use our Moodle site, which is adultedcourses.org External Link Icon opens in new window or tab, to list California Adult Education Courses for use by teachers and learners at WIOA-funded agencies in the state. OTAN has both developed and procured a number of online courses which can be administered and adapted to meet the needs of learners. An educator can also request an empty course shell to build their own online course.
The first step is to create an account at the website. (When you are ready to offer the online course to your students, they will also need to create accounts to enroll and participate in the course.) Once you have your account set up, we recommend reviewing the following categories on the website to get started:
- OTAN Developed Courses External Link Icon opens in new window or tab - These are courses developed by OTAN Subject Matter Experts.
- Other Shared Courses External Link Icon opens in new window or tab - These are courses from other adult education agencies that OTAN believes are beneficial to California adult education teachers.
- EL Civics Courses External Link Icon opens in new window or tab - These are courses specific to ESL EL Civics.
In these categories, you are viewing samples of the courses. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the course for your account, then complete the form in the sample course to request a copy. (If you don't work at a WIOA-funded agency, you can still view the sample course for ideas and resources for your own online course.) If you would like more information about our Moodle site, please contact us at support@otan.us External Link Icon opens in new window or tab or call us at 916-228-2580.
Stay connected to OTAN! We're here to help with online course ideas and more!
OTAN MARCH AND APRIL 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 2020-2021 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 External Link Icon opens in new window or tab and search for workshops sponsored by OTAN. Don't miss out!