Teacher Digest

Digest #122
December 2020

News

News items from earlier this year as you start the new school year!

TDLS 2021 Call for Proposals is Now Open!

Plans are underway for OTAN's Technology and Distance Learning Symposium 2021, scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 through Friday, March 5. The call for proposals has opened!

Achieve3000 / SPARK Curriculum Offer Now Available!

The Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) has a special offer for your agency!

Making the Transition at Santa Clara Adult Ed

We hope you will find this story from Santa Clara Adult Education as inspirational as we do and it will help you think about some of the possibilities for when (fingers crossed!) we return to in-person classes in 2021.

Making the Transition at Mt. Diablo Adult Ed

As we close out 2020 and look forward to 2021, we continue to acknowledge the amazing work that adult education agencies have done this year during an unprecedented time in our field.

Questions to Ask About Tech Integration in Your Classroom

With so many technology options available to us, we want to be intentional in selecting the right technology for any given activity or moment. A good way to go about doing this is to answer a number of questions about the tech tools you are considering using.

Celebrate Computer Science Education Week

December 7 to 13 was Computer Science Education Week, a time to highlight the importance of computer science education and encourage students to take an interest in computer science.

Spotlight On...

Interactive Tech Tools from the Director, Renee Collins!

It's the time of year for celebration! Given that many of us are working remotely and meeting with our students virtually, celebrating may look very different this year. This is a great time to invite our students to share about music, stories, traditions, dress, food, and more in their cultures. How are you doing that virtually? I'm sure we could have a great discussion on this topic. However, if you're feeling stumped or need fresh ideas, consider checking out some interactive tech tools that OTAN has shared with the field via their COVID-19 Field Page and the OTAN Resource Guide. Use PowerPoint or Google Slides for presentations, Flippity for creating games for the season, Loom or Screencastify to develop short student videos, and Padlet to capture information between students in one place. Many of these tools have instructional videos created by OTAN staff or subject matter experts designed to help you easily implement them with your students. And, remember OTAN Office Hours are scheduled weekly to help teachers with individual tech questions and support. Take advantage of this online community and resource. Happy learning and Happy Holidays! Stay safe and well.

And please contact OTAN for your technology training needs at any time this year! Email us at support@otan.us or call us at 916-228-2580.

OTAN JANUARY 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

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!