[AUDIO LOGO] ANNOUNCER: OTAN, Outreach and Technical Assistance Network. 

ANTHONY BURIK: So hi, everyone. Welcome to our OTAN webinar today. California Rural Agencies-- Make Your Technology Goals a Reality. My name is Anthony Burik. I am the coordinator for Distance Learning Projects here at OTAN. I'm joined by three of our subject matter experts Penny Pearson, Francisco Pinedo, and Kristi Reyes. 

And we are here to talk about a relatively new initiative at OTAN called the Rural Coaching Project. This is really kind of OTAN's one of the projects that we hope to better connect with rural agencies across the state. So we're going to talk today about our project, who we are, and all that. And also we want to hear from all of you and what's going on in your part of California, our very large state. 

So let's just kind of jump right in here. Here's our agenda for today. So we do want to just talk a little bit about OTAN, who we are, in case you're not familiar with OTAN. And then we will give you an introduction to the Rural Coaching Project. 

We're going to talk about OTAN resources and support. We have a long history of OTAN resources, projects, services, and all that. And so we'll talk about some of those, and how they might fit into some of your technology goals. 

We'll also talk about just the concept of coaching and provide some examples of what we might be able to do with your agency. Coaching for us is very different than training. Training tends to be very kind of short term, but in this case, we're looking for something more long term and building a relationship with you and your agency and your colleagues and your communities, and really being-- trying to figure out how we can best support you and your technology goals. 

At the end of the or towards the end of today, we'll talk about next steps. But we have a small group today, which is very nice. And we do encourage people to talk rather than typing and all that. So if we can hear from people today, that would be great as we go along. Very kind of informal, conversational-- that's really our goal today for the presentation. 

OK, so just a little bit about OTAN, in case you're not familiar with OTAN. So in California, in a California adult education, we have three state leadership projects that are meant to support adult education agencies around the state. And hopefully, you've heard of-- heard of all three of us, but we'll run down the list here. 

So we have CALPRO. CALPRO tends to focus on professional development in the classroom and in schools with teachers and administrators. CASAS is the agency that is doing our data collection, data assessments, data accountability, and all that. 

And OTAN-- we are OTAN. So OTAN-- we focus on technology training for adult educators around the state. We've been doing this for a while, now 35 years. I'm proud to report. And again, our goal is really to support agencies and their integration of technology in the classroom, in programs, in the school. 

So we are not a-- we're not a vendor. We're not here to sell you anything. Our goal is really to support you and your adult education program in the best ways possible. And we'll talk about the variety of ways that we might be able to do that and support you with your technology-related goals back at your agency. 

OK, so let's get started here with just kind of a short description of the project. So we recognize that OTAN-- the California is a very large state. There are all kinds of communities around the state-- urban communities, rural communities, suburban communities, and all that. But we want to be more intentional with working with agencies located in rural communities. 

So really our goal is to hear about the technology-related goals at your agency and in your community, and see if there are ways that we might be able to partner with you to support you in reaching those goals. We recognize that rural agencies are very different than urban agencies and suburban agencies-- not always the same capacity, not always the same number of personnel. 

Sometimes there are unique challenges in those communities. So we really want to be able to learn more about you and your communities, and really figure out with the technology goals that you have in mind how we might be able to support those. And it can be a big or-- as big of a support as you would like it to be. So we'll talk more about what that might look like. 

We know that California Adult Education agencies have all kinds of goals. Agencies are constantly reporting on those goals to the state, to the feds, and all that. But hopefully, you know, somewhere in the midst of all those goals that you are trying to achieve at your agency, some of them have to do with technology. 

And so that's really where our interest lies. We want to hear about what those goals are, what your plans are for reaching those goals, what are the components of those goals. And so that's really where we're looking to make a connection with you. 

One thing to know-- again, as I said, we are a state leadership project for adult education. So our coaching and training are free to agencies. Again, we're not trying to sell you anything. We don't have anything up our sleeves or all that. This training and coaching are free to agencies around the state. So just keep that in mind. 

I'm going to hand it over to Penny to talk a little bit more about the rural part of this project. So kind of-- 

PENNY PEARSON: So since we have such a small audience, I would like you to, if possible, go ahead and open up your microphones and just give me an idea of what is your conception or definition of rural, and if you think that your particular agency location is rural. And if so, why? 

DOMINIQUE: Hi. This is Dominique. [MUFFLED VOICE] Cesar Chavez High School is a charter school. And we have-- our sites are up and down California. We particularly focus on the farming communities. And even when we are in a larger area such as Bakersfield, our people are still rural. We're still pulling that farming population for the most part. 

PENNY PEARSON: Got you. 

SARAH: Hi, my name is Sarah. I'm from Modoc County. We have more cows than we have people. My town has a population of 3000, so I think we're pretty rural. We're surrounded by ranches and farmers and irrigation. And we are rural. 

PENNY PEARSON: Yes, I would agree with both of you that you probably fit into one of the many qualifiers for rural. I don't know if you've ever explored the USDA's websites? They have some really interesting tools there for classifying different parts of our communities as rural. I'm going to post the link in the chat and anyone can pick that up from the chat, and we'll post it when we post our resources for this session. 

But you might want to take a look at this Atlas. You can go into that map and you can poke around in there and kind of zoom in on your particular area and see how the federal government is looking at your area and classify it in these multiples of ways of classifying rural. And in some places it is by designation of industry or lack of industry. So you mentioned agriculture. So that is an industry that falls under those categories of rural areas. 

Others it's basically purely on the number of people per square mile. And we have some areas of our state that-- you know, we have five people per square mile. And in others we've got 1,500 per square mile. So they look at those areas and how dense the population is. 

Other considerations are access to critical services such as health care, hospitals, and even in some cases, the ability to get to a good grocery store in order to be able to feed your family. These are all parts of what can make up some components of whether an agency is rural or not. And it also opens up the doors of finding additional funding resources through the federal government to help your agencies because you fall into those categories through the federal identification of rural. 

And there's the website. Just be aware that you can get lost down a rabbit hole pretty quickly, but it's a really nice way to be able to look at your area and use it in these ways that's on the slide of how can you use that information to support your agency goals, whether that's through your continuous improvement plan, whether it's through your three-year CAEP annual plan, or any other particular endeavors that you have to improve your community? Those maps can be very interesting. 

They also have the Economic Research Service analysis that you can look at. And again, you can get to it through that link I provided in the chat. But it does allow you another source of data, and you all know how we love data in Adult Ed, right? 

So it is a way that you can have additional tools in your arsenal to help explain your situation, to prove up your particular situation if you're looking for funding in certain ways. And then of course linking up to those potential additional grant programs outside of this federal and state monies that you get in California. If you're part of WIOA or not, you also have your state funding through CAEP. 

So it is a way for us to look at ourselves through different lenses. And then you can perhaps tease out of that ways that you can find additional resources to help do what you want to do within your organization. So with that, just keep that in mind. This is how we're looking at this project, and I'll turn it back over to Anthony to talk about how OTAN supports in these areas. 

SARAH: Can I insert something here? 

PENNY PEARSON: Absolutely, Sarah. Go ahead. 

SARAH: I use that graph because we applied for a USDA, Rural Business Development Grant to help fund a CDL program in my rural area because they have to drive two hours to go to a CDL school. So, yeah, that-- it says on the map with a pin eligible. 

PENNY PEARSON: Nice. It's nice to get that kind of feedback immediately. 

SARAH: OK. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Thank you, Sarah. Yeah, Francisco has his hand raised, but I also want to make sure we hear from Kim as well. 

KIM: Hi, Kim Walker from Hesperia Adult School. We are in a rural desert area. We are located off the 15 freeway in Southern California. We're San Bernardino County. If you've ever driven Los Angeles to Las Vegas, we're the top of the Cajon pass. You probably know us for in-n-out burger and the restroom stop. 

We have more tumbleweeds and dirt than we have and miles and acres than we probably do. Hesperia is probably one of the bigger cities. Victorville is right next to us too, but we're definitely rural desert. 

PENNY PEARSON: Great. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Great. Thank you, Kim. Francisco, you had your hand raised, did you? 

FRANCISCO PINEDO: Yes, just to piggyback a little bit what was mentioned with even with the CIP, CAEP but also recently when we did the WIOA reauthorization, we have to use a lot of data that comes from the US census and maps. So it's also a good way maybe for the next time when there's another WIOA application process. 

These are great resources to really use because it asks for a lot of demographic information, a lot of things like that. So this is a great also like for CIP, but also like for the WIOA reapplication that we just did about a year or two ago, or last year, I think. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Great. Thank you, Francisco. Yeah, to echo Penny and Francisco's point that there's a lot of data that's out there to look at. We certainly, you know, that's one of the things that we certainly can assist with. We know that, you know, our partners at CASAS are the data accountability specialists among the state leadership projects. 

But we-- there are a variety of things that OTAN is doing that involve data analysis. And so this is something that we might be able to assist or at least find the right people to talk to in your data analysis. Thanks for that. Thanks for that point about the data. 

OK, so let's talk some more about OTAN support. And again, in this rural coaching project, you know, the main goal is really to find ways to be able to support rural agencies as best we can. So, as I mentioned, OTAN has been around for about 35 years or so, and we do have a very long history of technology support. That support comes in a variety of ways, including face to face and virtual training. 

I know that-- you know, I'll just say as a city slicker here that it's really easy for me to get around the San Francisco Bay Area or the Sacramento area where OTAN is located or the LA-- you know, La Basin or San Diego. But I know that those of you out in rural communities don't always get visited by, you know, folks working in Sacramento or in other places. And so one of our goals is actually to make sure that we have a connection with you wherever you are in the state. 

So we are more than happy to come out and visit, site visit, kind of learn more about your communities. And along with that, face to face visit could also come some training as well. But we also have a long history of virtual training. So whether you're hosting an in-service or some sort of regional training or regional meetings, those are places where OTAN can appear to help out with training or other support. 

In terms of some of the long-term professional development that we have done over the years, currently, we actually have a two-year academy called the Digital Leadership Academy. The current cohort is actually finishing up this year. A new cohort will be starting in the fall, a two-year cohort. 

But before that, we actually ran a number of one year academies. TIMAC, which was our technology-- my gosh, Technology-- is something about mentoring-- 

PENNY PEARSON: Technology Integration Mentoring Academy. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Thank you. OK, what Penny said. OTAK was the Online Teaching Academy. I do remember that one because I participated in one of the OTAC cohorts. But this is really what our thinking is on the coaching is that we're thinking about more of a long--term relationship with the agency rather than just sort of a one and done training, which are valuable. 

But really, we think that to help you reach your goals, it's probably going to take a little bit more of a sustained effort. And so we, again, have a history of that longer term professional development and partnership with agencies that we're really thinking is going to be a part of this rural coaching project. 

But again, really we want to hear from you as to-- you know, what your timeline is, how much time you think you may need for your-- achieving your goals, whether it's short term, long term. We're really quite open to whatever the needs are at your particular agency. 

KRISTI REYES: Hi, everyone. I'm Kristi Reyes, and I'm an ESL teacher. And I recognize Sarah's name. We've been in CALPRO offering together. And Kim, definitely I've driven by your area many, many times. I know that area very well. And welcome, Dominique. I don't think we have met before. 

But I'm a teacher. I'm on the ground. So I really know what both challenges and successes that teachers can have in integrating technology. And we would really love to work with you, but just a little bit about other OTAN resources. So you heard about some of our training and professional development, but you can go onto our website and just see the plethora of different offerings. 

So in addition to the extensive offerings of training and PD-- Professional Development, OTAN offers a wealth of materials on topics related to technology integration, as well as adult education. So if you visit the OTAN website-- and thank you, Anthony, put it in-- because if you just do a search for OTAN, you end up at NATO. It's funny. So make sure to put the otan.us, and you'll get there a little bit faster. 

So, for instance, if you visit our website, you'll see that there are, you know, plenty of curricula offers. There's curricula for teachers. So you refer your teachers there. They can learn about blended learning, which is a really hot topic these days. 

There is a self-paced course from Essential Education that teachers can enroll in for free and learn all about blended learning. There's another curriculum offer from ISTI, which is kind of a national actually international-- ISTI, international technology integration group, and they have a skill rise initiative. So teachers can go and learn about ways to leverage educational technology to upskill workers for careers. So I know that's our charge really to get our students on a career path and get them jobs that will pay a reasonable living. 

There are also access that you can have for free to web-based resources that are from NROC, another national organization that's really great. And those resources are really framed around encouraging, motivating, and helping our adult learners meet their educational goals. And those NROC resources and many others are also available to students through the curriculum offers. 

So other curricula available for free for students-- CK-12, Learn360, and classroom video on demand. We know that video is a great way to tap into some learners-- learning preferences. USA Learns has been around for years. It's a tried and true and favorite of many of us in ESL instruction. 

There's also Learning Upgrade, and we know that a lot of-- there is a big need in our society for people who are ready to work or enter a pathway into medical careers. So there's a curriculum for students on skills for the nursing assistant. So that's just curriculum. 

You can also visit the Teaching with Technology database. There are ready made lesson plans for all subject areas, and these lessons are based on the EEE framework, a framework for technology integration that OTAN has adopted. And the EEE, what that stands for is a way to effectively integrate technology to E-- Engage students, E-- Enhance instruction, and E-- Extend the learning beyond the classroom. 

Next, every month, OTAN publishes a web-based class activity article. It either features a technology tool or an andragogical approach to technology integration. There are also, if you are on the OTAN list and get these emails, you probably get to your email box regular OTAN digest that have updates and news about adult education and technology integration for adults and on the national scene as well. 

Finally, you know, if you have some time and you're just looking on YouTube, why don't you check out the OTAN YouTube channel? Because there you can find videos as well as on the website of conference presentations from the annual OTAN Tech and Distance Learning Symposium that was just held last month. It's held every month. And OTAN Tech Talks, which are usually monthly recorded talks on a specific topic, conference presentations, and more. So, Dominique, go ahead. You have a question. 

SARAH: I know that one of the things that our teachers really struggle with, because some of them are not so tech savvy, is teaching the computer skills that the students need so they can be successful in their cyber high courses, be successful-- we have adopted HMH. 

There's a lot of online pieces that our teachers have never seen. Our students are barely learning to type. So does OTAN have any sort of courseware that teachers could borrow to, you know, in terms of like, this is the progression for teaching students how to use computers? 

KRISTI REYES: Anthony, would you like to answer that? I know that we were partnering a bit with Northstar, but I'll let Anthony, he's the expert here, to answer that question. Great question. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Yeah, right. Northstar is one resource that comes to mind. Basically, Northstar has built a set of digital literacy assessments. So kind of one way that you could approach it would be to have the students and teachers and staff take those assessments to kind of figure out where are the deficiencies and then kind of base your instruction on what the students or teachers would need to do to build up their digital literacy skills. 

We actually currently are running a pilot, which is for a limited number of agencies to have kind of the full Northstar package as it were, available at that site. But with the coming-- with the coming fall, we're actually going to do some-- we're going to kind of open up that pilot to a new set of agencies. 

But anyone can go to the Northstar website-- and I see Penny just put the link there in the chat. Anyone can go to the Northstar website and take those assessments for free, and you'll get sort of like a basic score report that comes once you complete the assessment. 

You don't get to keep-- if you were like the official Northstar location, you would be able to-- go back to the record of assessments that students have completed or teachers have completed. But just on the public website, you can take the assessment and get a very basic score report. But the most important thing is to get back some results so that you can sort of tailor your instruction for folks depending on the skills that they need. 

And then just in general, like if we thought about it for a minute, we probably could put together a list of other sites that we've recommended over the years, for example, like GCF free learning. If you're familiar with that site, that's a really fantastic site that really starts with basic digital literacy skills all the way up to-- now, they have this AI basically-- sort of this AI training program. 

So Northstar-- Kim, if you go to the website directly and take the assessments on the website, those are free. Yes. If you become an official Northstar location, which means that you can actually offer the assessments at your location, at your agency, and students can earn certificates. 

So long as they pass those assessments, then that's what the cost. There's a cost that goes along with that. And that's what our pilot is currently set up to be. So we're basically covering the cost of those locations for a number of agencies around the state so that you get the full package for free. 

Like, I say, with that pilot, we're going to transition the current set of agencies out, and then we're going to open it up to a new set of agencies. We'll see who's interested in doing that around the state. So Penny has her hand raised too. 

PENNY PEARSON: I think, too, another good thing to recall with Northstar is that when you become a member, and you can do that through-- when you do that through OTAN as part of the pilot or as you explore it. And if you decide to become a member yourself, that's fine. But they also provide a whole set of curriculum to help teachers teach those digital skills that align to the assessments on Northstar. 

So the assessments aren't meant to teach anything. They're meant to assess. But once you get into it-- and if you use it with your students, they do provide a lot of resources to help teachers teach the concepts that they're being-- the students are being assessed on. 

ANTHONY BURIK: And yeah, thank you, penny. And Dominique, like I said, if you gave us like-- maybe like 5 or 10 minutes, we probably could come up with a pretty long list of sites that we would recommend. I remember Francisco-- Francisco has a lot of great just typing programs that he always falls back on type-- I think typing.com is one. I think there's another good one out there. I can't remember what it's called, but yeah. 

And again, this is something, you know, think about this in the context of this project where we would sort of come into the agency kind of assess the situation, what's the need on the student side, what's the need on the staff side. And then think about, you know, what are some of the ways that we could tackle some of those gaps in the digital skills and just sort of basic computer skills. We could craft a plan with you to think-- and think about what that would look like and how we could help you implement that. 

KRISTI REYES: All right. Well, thank you so much for the information. It is difficult because we are a one-teacher-per-site system and our population moves in and out constantly. So I'm trying to-- sometimes trying to do something where someone comes to us doesn't work, but having resources is definitely beneficial. So I appreciate it. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Sure, yeah. And I'll say too, you know, again, I know for me personally, you know, I don't have much of a sense as to the, you know, what a rural-- what a typical rural adult education agency looks like. But thank you for telling me that there's only one teacher there. So that's very-- very different than my experience in adult education. But really, that's our goal is, you know, to hear from you, hear about what is the situation at your agency. 

One of the nice things about our work here at OTAN is that we also are connected to other organizations and agencies around the country. And so we really-- we also are looking to draw on the experience that we hear about in other states and other localities. How are other organizations closing these gaps. 

And so we're always on the lookout for other ideas that are going on across the country or wherever they may be with some of our colleagues who we know across the country. So yeah, we're here to learn as well and really find ways that we can bring some of that knowledge from the outside into YOUR local situation. 

OK. I think the next slide-- I think, Francisco, you were going to talk about this one. 

FRANCISCO PINEDO: Yes. And just to piggyback a little bit what was mentioned. Also Northstar does have a Spanish assessment, Spanish lesson. So they used to have it, then they kind of got rid of it and then it just came back. So for like my population, that's a lot of Spanish speaking students. We do use Northstar where they would self-assess and then they could do the whole certification in Spanish, which is great. 

So more of the resources from the OTAN site is the OTAN website again is rich in materials to use for free. Kristi was just talking about that. And I see Dominique says 87% ELL. Yeah, that sounds about right. 

So that will-- and I guess for that just some of the basic things that we could be teaching the students is like how to-- if it's either through a mouse or through the trackpad, how to go next, how to go back. So those seem to be some of the things that if I teach them in the classroom, they're able to do the Northstar digital assessment pretty much on their own with just minimal guidance from us. 

Also the Digital Learning Guidance. So that one is a great resource that is on the OTAN website. Excuse me, the Digital Learning Guidance is a great living document that came out pretty much from what happened four years ago where we all went digital, you know, from one to another, and how to incorporate different types of teachings in our classroom. 

We are used to brick and mortar teaching, what I call. Now we have so many options. We have the hybrid option. We have the HyFlex option, and we still have the traditional face to face option. But with this one here, with the Digital Learning Guidance, it really talks about other types of ways to reach our students. 

For example, in my agency, persistence was a bit of a problem prior to COVID. During covid, we got great persistence and we started realizing that it's because of the use of technology. And even now our class that is a HyFlex has 45 students enrolled with about 24 in-person and the others online or combination of. So we're able to reach more students instead of just limiting because of seat space in the classroom. 

So that's really helping with our persistence because if they can't come to class, they can connect on Zoom and watch the class and participate in the class, not just watch it, but be part of it. So the Learning Guidance document-- Digital Learning Guidance document is a great resource where it will share a lot of expertise, again, from the state, national level, different organizations. And again, it's a great document, and it's really broken down by chapters that you could review one chapter standalone or the whole document. 

The Canvas is also available to adult education agencies, which we'll talk about Canvas in just a bit. But this is great as well. Some agencies do pay a lot of money for their canvases-- Canvas site. And through OTAN, we are able to offer Canvas for our agencies that serve through OTAN as-- at Soledad, we do have our own Canvas domain Soledadas.instructor.com. So the students log in to the ESL advanced class or our new ELL pathway program. So we have that available as well. 

Accessibility resources. Accessible is something that if you haven't really had it on your forefront, you should because it's something that's coming down, you know, from the state level, making sure that everything that we produce and we publish is accessible and is compliant, which is something that I really like about Canvas because it right away tells you if you're being accessible or not. 

Just making sure that we reach all of our students with special needs and all of our students who have any type of disability, that way, they will still be able to participate fully. Yes, Dominique Soledad, California, Monterey County. 

KIM: Oh, yeah, we had a site there, but we ended up closing it down. 

FRANCISCO PINEDO: Correct. OK, yeah. So with accessibility, again, we use a lot of-- there's a lot of tools for accessibility. We use Microsoft 365. I know also Google has its own way of accessibility to Google Sheets. I'm not much-- don't really use a lot Google, but I do use Microsoft, and it's great. 

We use it to publish everything from, for example, our flyers to what we-- presentations and making sure color contrast and all those-- so that's something great that has taken a while to learn, but it's great for our students because if we publish it, it has to be accessible. 

Our own conference. Again, the Technology and Distance Learning Symposium, which next year will be in Long Beach, March 2025. This past year, last month, as it was mentioned, was at Fremont Adult School, March 1st and 2nd. It's a great, great workshop. 

This year was-- the topic was-- the buzz was AI. And we-- I feel that my colleagues who went and other people that went to the conference are still talking about what they learned there. And a lot of the sessions that will be coming up at future conferences that I've kind of seen there, including a lot of resources that were offered at TDLS. And for the cost, you can't beat it. 

Recognizing Student Success learners-- so the Student Success learners that-- we submitted, I believe, two or three here this year from Soledad, where we want to recognize our student learners-- of their achievements. And this is a great way to promote your agency as well, but also is highlighting the successes of students. 

Especially-- for example, I'll be doing a board presentation next month to commemorate-- well, this month-- I'm sorry-- to commemorate adult Education Week. So I'm going to be using-- sharing examples. We have one for Soledad, which is a an older student success from about five, six, seven years ago. But hopefully, we're going to have more. 

And this is a good way where we could highlight what we do so our stakeholders know that it's just not learning the ABCs and sight words, but we're learning job skills. We're learning technology. You're learning life skills. That way, they could see the high value of it. And a lot of our students end up working in the district. So it kind of-- and two of our success stories for this year is the situation where they went through our Adult Ed program, and now they're actually employed through the school district, Soledad school district. 

Newsletters, special articles, and more-- again, there's newsletters for teachers, for administrators. I'm signed up to both since I am admin, but also still in the classroom, and-- related and then still in the classroom. And it's a great way to get information, get a lot of resources. 

Also, on the OTAN website, the news articles change frequently, and they're great articles. I mean, remember the ones on AI look like, bam, one-- and then another, then another. And all three of them were great. Everything's archived, of course, but the newsletters are great. They have, also, a lot of information. 

And this one here on the administrative support-- again, we were talking a lot about how OTAN provides the reporting backbone for agencies like the online application reporting website that we're all going to be going into by the end of this month to submit our CIP. and it's all housed-- pretty much, it provides the backbone for the agencies. 

OTAN has done a wonderful job doing a training, earlier on-- I believe in the fall-- on completing the CIP and doing the SMART goals. So I really suggest, as we're approaching the deadline at the end of the month, to really maybe watch it again, like I did, to make sure that my SMART goals do align to what is being expected. Anthony? 

ANTHONY BURIK: Yeah. Thanks, Francisco. And I was actually just going to put in the chat-- so I know that-- so because OTAN is federally funded and very closely aligned with the WIOA-- the Workforce and Investment Opportunity Act-- we tend to work with a lot of WIOA agencies around the state. 

But we realize that not everybody is WIOA funded. Some folks are state funded, CAE funded, some folks are a mix of wheel funding and CAE funding. There's also private funding, grant funding that's in the mix. 

So we really are open to working with adult agencies across the state, no matter the funding structure of that particular agency. And then the oar site that Francisco was talking about actually specifically refers to WIOA agencies. But we know that, again, that tends to be a lot of folks across the state. 

So as agencies are completing the CIPs, the continuous improvement plans, and other kinds of documentation and deliverables, there might be an opportunity for OTAN to help with some of that support as well. 

We also-- I mentioned the three state leadership projects. We also do try to partner with the other projects whenever we can. We'll just point out one of the projects where there's been a partnership with CASAS. This is the EL Civics Exchange. 

We know that agencies that have been involved with EL Civics, which is part of ESL-- those agencies have been at it for a long time. They're always kind of looking around for resources that they might be able to borrow from other agencies to use with their students in their classrooms. 

So we've set up this digital exchange to allow for the exchange of those materials. Anyone can come to the EL Civics exchange, take a look at the materials that are there, download them for free. If you have resources at your agency that you would like to share with other agencies, which I think is fantastic, you can go ahead and create an account at the exchange and share those resources with your colleagues around the state. 

So again, we're really-- yeah, we're really looking to support the field as best we can, whether that's through OTAN work or our work with other state leadership projects or with the Adult Education Office. So any and all ways that we can support really is our goal. 

So I'm going to talk about this one just a little bit. So actually, before I do that, let me just take a pause. Any questions about any of the resources that we presented so far before we jump into the coaching element here? Any other questions about any resources that you've heard about? 

OK, we will continue, then, here. So again, through the rural coaching project, we're really looking at a different model from what we have traditionally done, which is a lot of professional development training. Our coaching-- we do have coaching that shows up in other things that OTAN does. And so we really see the value of coaching and really establishing that relationship between OTAN and the agency and really thinking about how we can support, through a coaching model, the goals that you want to achieve. 

So again, we're really hoping to make this a partnership with the agency, really hear about what your needs are, what are the things that you're struggling with, what are the things that your community is struggling with or other players in your community-- what they're struggling with-- and how we might be able to use technology to address some of those issues. 

And again, we're very open to what that partnership-- what that relationship looks like. We really want to be as supportive as possible. We don't want to come in and be intrusive or heavy-handed or anything like that. We really want your agency to take the lead. And really, we want to support you in the best ways that we can. 

And really, the goal is-- like I said earlier, you know, there are a lot of goals that you probably have on your plate at the agency. And so when it comes to those goals that involve technology, we really want to be able to support you. 

I think Francisco mentioned the SMART goal setting process that's a part of the CIP And we like that-- we do like that model. We think that that's a really good way to map out goals, think about the goal in all its complexity, break it down into parts, and then, you know, set up a timeline, think about where OTAN might be able to plug into that process. And again, you know, what resources can we bring to bear to help you achieve those goals? 

And again, those goals could be big goals. They could be small goals. But if they involve technology in any way, we really feel like-- that we can provide some support, some guidance on achieving those goals. So that's really the plan. 

You're actually seeing the entire rural coaching project team here. So myself, Penny, Kristi, and Francisco. We have a lot of expertise, a lot of things that we have been involved with over the years. And so we're also trying to match one of the coaches up with the particular goal that you're trying to reach. 

So even though we're nicely spread across the state-- Penny up in Northern California, Francisco in Central California, and Kristi in Southern California, we're very open to meeting you wherever you are, and really, depending on the goal that you have in mind, matching up the coach with the achievement of that goal, based on their background and, and knowledge and all that. 

All right. So I'm to turn it over to Penny and Kristi and Francisco just to talk about some examples that we think might be good, might be good examples of what we would be able to bring to the process here. So, Penny. 

PENNY PEARSON: Thank you, Anthony. I think the pandemic has really shown us the versatility and the ability and the nimbleness of adult education in order to provide services to students in literally a matter of a week, and by doing so, using technology to help meet that goal. But for those that are in highly rural areas or they're in areas that are not well served by broadband or other fast internet service providers, we're really trying to help find ways for learners to be able to participate in learning, even though they may be far-flung from your particular agency. 

So OTAN has gone out and done the research to finding different ways and different pieces of technology that can be provided to students to learn at home. And this is not necessarily dependent upon a internet connection. There are tools available that allow students to work at home, have full access to what appears to be the internet, but it's a very localized for them, and they can complete their work and turn it back into teachers for evaluation. 

A lot of times, that work is followed up by simple check-ins or a phone call in order to ensure that those students continue to learn. I have always been very much an advocate of using open educational resources, or OERs. With those particular technologies, they can be kind of married together and made available to learners at a very, very low cost to the agencies and no cost to learners. 

We've been exploring-- Anthony had gone to the recent COABE which is the Coalition on Adult Basic Education conference, back in Tennessee, right, Anthony? Was it back in Tennessee? And my home state is Alaska. And I found-- he sent me a link to how the Bering Straits area of Alaska-- think Nome, Iditarod Sled Dog Race, that area out there-- are using Starlink, which if you haven't heard of it-- they're basically individual, small footprint, internet connections, satellite uplink, downlink for data. 

And this organization was able to use some of those grants from the USDA-- they have some broadband initiatives as well-- and from the Department of Education to get a significant chunk of money in order to provide these types of resources in very far-flung villages in Alaska. It is not connected by infrastructure. You get there by airplane, snowmachine, or sled dog, in the wintertime. 

So using those types of pieces of technology where they've been implemented in other places, where the population per square mile is one person-- they can be very effective for reaching that agency that you might have that's stuck in a pocket on the other side of the ridge or something, and they need internet connection. And it's a great resource to be able to fall on. Oh, Dominique, I love it. You have Starlink at home. That's terrific. 

DOMINIQUE: I'm using it now. 

PENNY PEARSON: Are you? That's awesome. I'm one of those that I've been exploring it more and more because I'm not real happy with my provider, especially during these things, because I keep getting messages that my internet connection is unstable. 

DOMINIQUE: Well, to give you an idea, I'm watching this. And at the same time, my husband can be streaming TV. My mother-in-law can be streaming TV. And I very seldom have a slowdown. 

PENNY PEARSON: That's awesome. See, this is-- yeah. 

DOMINIQUE: [INTERPOSING VOICES] we can't get-- service is down all the time. And I keep telling our tech people, get Starlink. 

PENNY PEARSON: Yeah. Get Starlink. And there are ways. Like I said, this agency in Alaska got money, grants from different organizations within the federal government, and also, the state of Alaska supported it as well. And I can see that as we in California are looking at identifying these digital black holes where it's really difficult to get that connectivity where something like Starlink could really bridge that gap at a low cost. 

Hey, you could use this for a small community and have a community center that everybody can go there and use it. You could teach classes there, or they can just come and have a lab and work on their work. 

So, Kim, I can't answer that question right off hand because I think the way that the organization in Alaska did it-- they were an educational, LEA. And they were able to get it because they, individually, as an organization applied for that grant. I don't know about individuals, per se. But it's certainly something that we can look into because I think that that would be great if they could do that. It might be too high of a cost for an individual, even low income-- 

DOMINIQUE: Yeah. your buy-in is about $600. At least it was a couple of years ago when we got it. 

PENNY PEARSON: Right. And when you look at that over the long term, that pencils out pretty well, but that upfront cost can be pretty steep. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Penny, if I may-- so I'm not sure how up to speed everybody is on the digital equity plan process that's been going on around the country. All 50 states and all the territories have submitted a digital equity plan to the federal government. I think California's went in at the beginning of this year. 

But basically, there is a lot of money coming from the federal government for a variety of digital equity issues, including broadband and connectivity and all that. So there's a real opportunity here. This is something that OTAN is going to-- we're closely keeping tabs on this and thinking about when the money comes and how it comes to the state, how agencies and communities might be able to tap into some of that funding. 

The Alaska folks-- basically, what they did was, through the grant funding, their priority was to purchase the hardware and basically give it out for free to-- the hardware-- to the community-- to families and folks in the variety of places in that Bering Strait region, both on the continental side-- continental Alaska as well as the outlying islands. I mean, it's really just an incredible story. 

But in time, yes, families and individuals will be picking up the monthly fees, but their goal was really to deploy the hardware for free across the region. 

So that might be something that we look at in the coming months when this digital equity money comes available to the state. There is a lot of focus, in that plan, on connectivity, especially in rural communities. So yeah, I think there's some opportunities here. And like I say, hopefully OTAN get kind of involved in that and think about how we might come up with some ideas and some models for-- if we want to get involved in Starlink or in other products that are out there, what that might look like. Penny, did you have anything else to say about that? 

PENNY PEARSON: I don't think so. There are other devices that can be talked about that are-- have less of an upfront cost than Starlink. Some of them include something called a RACHEL device, which is basically a hub system that allows you to download all kinds of materials on it, whether they're open educational resources or your teacher created resources. 

There's another one called a Raspberry Pi that works on the same principle that-- it's just its own mini little wireless broadcast point. And you could take it into a classroom. I had some people up in a northern county that were taking a RACHEL device-- and I'll post a link here in the chat-- and they were taking it into a barn where all of the guys are trying to learn mechanics. And they were sitting around on hay bales, but they had access through their phones to get to the content and the materials that the teacher was providing. 

And so it's just a way-- just thinking about, what are some of these other tools that may be possible, if you know that you have different pockets of potential learners that you need to serve, it doesn't have to be a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom. There could be other ways of getting to them, even with these small devices that can contain the content that you need for them to meet their learning goals. So those are three of them that are possible. 

ANTHONY BURIK: And Dominique? Yeah. 

DOMINIQUE: So we have, as a partner-- FIELD is our umbrella as our parent umbrella-- parent organization. And part of-- our thing is we have the Conservation Corps. Our students go out on-- on, I forget the stripes? Nope, that's not correct. Anyway-- spikes that's it. They go on spikes. And so they're gone for a week up in the mountains, and there's no connectivity. So this RACHEL device-- is that something that their HMH digital book could be downloaded onto? 

PENNY PEARSON: Absolutely, absolutely. And what's really nice about this RACHEL device-- I'll go, and-- like I said, I'll post the link-- is that you can use content that they've created that are open educational resources so they can have Ted Talks on this device, so they could go and watch Ted Talks on their off time. You can put in a full Moodle server on this thing and take it up into the boonies while they're on their strikes-- or strike-- whatever you called it-- was there. 

DOMINIQUE: Spikes. 

PENNY PEARSON: Spikes. There you go. So it is incredibly versatile. It is power-dependent, meaning you either have to have a place to recharge, so plug it into the truck or something at the end of the day or whatever. 

And it's a great way to have a confined-- defined space, virtually, for them to be able to get to their learning materials without having any other-- even mobile network connectivity-- you don't have to have that. It's just a local wireless network that's got gigabytes and gigabytes-- hundreds of gigabytes of data-- of materials on that device. And I'll post the link and you can explore what's available, and we're happy to answer any other questions you might have. 

DOMINIQUE: Thank you. That is amazing. That could be such a game changer for our program. 

PENNY PEARSON: Absolutely. I'll find it for you. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Great. All right, thank you, Penny. Kristi and Francisco, just wanted to talk a few minutes here about maybe some Canvas options as well? 

KRISTI REYES: Sure. So Anthony and I have-- I mean, sorry, Anthony, Francisco, and I have worked together at a conference. But we are both trained in using Canvas. I've been using Canvas since 2015, when the community colleges across California adopted Canvas as their learning management system. 

And I do not live in a rural area, but my students really, really appreciate not having to travel long distances four days a week for class. We can free up some of the teacher talk class time with them doing a lot of their work independently in Canvas. Of course, it does take a very motivated student to follow through with that. 

But OTAN provides Canvas to all schools for a very low cost. And then folks like us-- Francisco and I can come and give you training from 0 to more advanced users of Canvas. So we provide that and provide examples of how we're using that with our students as well. Francisco, do you want to say anything? 

FRANCISCO PINEDO: Sure. And then also, as a bullet point, too, says that there are courses that are already pre-made by other teachers there. They're available through the Adult Ed Campus Commons. So we have used that in Soledad. We started using Canvas at Soledad Adult School prior to the pandemic. So I'm thinking the '18, '19, school year or the '19, '20 in the fall. 

And that's what we did. We pulled in resources from Santa Ana city college, their ESL modules that they have-- their whole curriculum. And it was great. I mean, I pulled out some things, I added some other things. So that was how I started using it. 

Now I've created my own for my classes and for our new halfway path-- ELL Pathway class that we got funding for. That one right there is-- also, we use OER as a textbook, and then also built the Canvas site around that OER textbook that-- the students are going to start using in the classes starting on Monday. 

So it is wonderful. It's very well-organized if you have it well organized, it does take a little bit of onboarding for the students. So they would have to-- I would say usually spend maybe a whole entire class session, like at the beginning of the semester, just going in on reviewing Canvas and how to connect, how to log on, how it's structured. 

But it is wonderful. There's a lot of great resources. And again, it's at a very low cost, Extremely low cost compared to other things that our district pays. 

And it's great because the students-- if they are not in class, they would have the lesson. They could do it any time. They could get some of the experience as if they were in class without being in class. During COVID, one of the classes that we had used Canvas with originally, I was able to upload my mini lessons, broke them down into small chunks, and then the student would see the lesson. They had the student book, the workbook. Then they would do that on their own. And then they would either upload an image or whatnot so that I could see it. 

But it's a great, great, great opportunity. And I really do encourage agencies to sign up for this-- for this project-- the Canvas project. Again, you have your-- it's a very well-- pre-built already, so it's pre-manufactured. So you just have to go in-- I don't want to say, pre-manufactured. But you just go in, and you tweak things up, add things, and it's ready to go. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Yeah, thanks, Francisco. And one of the things, too, that we like is being able to make the Canvas resources available offline as well. So we know that sometimes-- because of the connectivity issues that we've talked about, that students also need an offline option in case-- because of those connectivity issues. So Canvas is a good resource that way. 

But yeah, we're sort of all in on Canvas here at OTAN. So any kind of training that we can provide either at the beginning level or at the intermediate levels, as Kristi was talking about-- that's certainly something that we can provide. So Dominique, do you have a question? 

DOMINIQUE: So we've been using Canvas since the pandemic. I love it. But I did not know that you could use it offline. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Yeah. Yeah, we don't talk about that much-- 

[LAUGHTER] 

--only because-- 

DOMINIQUE: It's that bad? 

ANTHONY BURIK: Well, no, no, no, no, no. Just to say that Kristi was saying the training that she and Francisco have provided, and other OTAN trainers have provided, has been very much focused on blended or hybrid models where-- and they tend to be sort of synchronous, meaning, you know, you have some of the students there at the school. You have some of the students who are online, who are connecting to the class. And then students, independently can work, you know, on their own after class asynchronously and all that. 

But there is an offline Canvas option. Again, it's not something that we've looked too closely at. But we certainly can look at it in the context of-- as an option that you might need for your students and for your teachers as well, and provide some more information and guidance on how to set that up. So, yes, there is [INTERPOSING VOICES]. 

DOMINIQUE: That would be great, considering how often Greenfield loses power. 

ANTHONY BURIK: [LAUGHS] Exactly. 

DOMINIQUE: Francisco knows that one, I'm sure. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Yes. Yeah, right. You don't want to be-- right. You don't want to be online in the middle of a big project or whatever, and then all of a sudden, power goes out and all that. Yeah, you want to be able to be productive in your schoolwork. And so having offline as an option would be great. Oh-- and there you go. Penny, I think, posted something in the chat right there. 

So I think we're at the end of our time here. So first of all, we just want to say thank you so much for coming and hearing about our project. Like I say, usually people-- the folks that we've spoken with so far about our project need some time to think about what this might look like in your context, at your agency, in your community. Maybe there are some other people at your agency you need to talk with about this. 

But again, we're very flexible in when we might be able to work with you, partner with you, depending on what your goals are, things like that. 

So if you want to-- so if you want to use a little technology, you can use your mobile device to scan that QR code on the right-hand side. I also put the bitly link in the very bottom there if you also-- if you're having trouble scanning that QR code. So bit.ly/OTANRuralCoaching. 

This is a very simple form to basically just indicate your interest in working with us on the rural coaching project. So if you need some time to, again, confer with colleagues or think about what this might look like back at your agency. We are also open to just having a follow-up conversation with you just to hear about what's going on at your agency. I'm sure-- the multitude of things that you're working on. But what are maybe one or two things where we might be able to partner with you and support you to reach those goals. 

So if you want to go ahead and fill out that form, you also-- you can email OTAN. Penny, would you mind putting that in the chat-- support@OTAN.us? You can always just reach out to us, give us a call, email us for follow-up. 

But again, like I say, we're open to initial conversations, brainstorming with you, looking at doing sort of a landscape survey, what's going on at your agency, in your community and seeing where we might be able to help support you in any ways that we can. 

So I think our last slide here is-- the last couple of slides here-- first of all, I'm so excited to hear, Dominique, that you're using Starlink. This is really fantastic. When I heard about this-- and I'm like, oh, my gosh, everybody needs to know about this. 

And then Dominique is like, oh, yeah, I have this Starlink device right on my roof, right up top, so I'm already using it. So that's great to hear. And that's a great example some of the work that we can partner with you back in your community. OK. Otherwise-- 

KIM: I have a quick resource to share. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Yeah, Kim, thanks. 

KIM: Our local San Bernardino County Human Services Department on Main and-- Main and Ninth. They actually have a little booth set up outside for those that are applying for low-income cell phones, low-income Wi-Fi hotspots. And so, literally, we drive by there-- we can see people out there every single day. 

So you might want to touch base with some of those-- either workforce development or your Human Services Department in your County and see if there's a provider that can provide low-cost hotspots or phone devices to your participants. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Yeah. Thank you, Kim. 

PENNY PEARSON: That's awesome. 

ANTHONY BURIK: Yeah. I was in the meeting where we were talking about this. I don't remember what the meeting was. But yeah, I think there are a lot of those folks across the state that are in communities or in regions, that are doing the kind of work that you were just talking about. 

It's hard to get a sense, though, across the state, who all these people are, because they tend to show up-- they show up in Hesperia or they show up in Fresno or they show up in Bakersfield. And so they're not across the state, necessarily. They just tend to be sort of region by region. So I think, we're trying to get a handle on who some of these folks are, but that's really valuable information. Yeah. 

KIM: Yeah, they were are literally in the parking lot, partnered with the San Bernardino County Social Services Department. 

ANTHONY BURIK: OK. Good to know. Thank you. Kim, did you have any other questions or anything before we wrap up here? 

KIM: I think that's it for me. Thank you. 

ANTHONY BURIK: OK, great. So again, thanks, everyone, for attending. And we look forward to working with you possibly in the future. 

PENNY PEARSON: Thank you, everyone.