PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
revised May 17, 2017

Taking initial coursework to become a vision professional is not enough to become or remain an effective vision professional. Part of professional practice is to remain a lifelong learner and stay current with developments in the field of visual impairments and also stay on top of current trends. This includes engaging in ongoing professional development to expand and develop your professional knowledge and skills. 

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Professional Development Activities 

If you don't work at a school for the blind or in a larger city with a large VI program, it can be difficult to find professional development opportunities specific to teaching students with visual impairments.The following is a list of activities to help you continue to develop your professional skills and knowledge:

• Attend local, state, regional and/or international conferences on the unique needs of students who are blind or visually impaired. 
• Become a member of a professional organization such as the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Division on Visual Impairments of the Council for Exceptional Children. Membership to AERBVI includes an electronic subscription to the  Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness.
• Subscribe to professional list-serves on the internet to interact with colleagues.
• Participate in workshops or webinars to maintain proficiency in braille and technology updates as well as to stay current on best practice.  Perkins School for the Blind offers Perkins eLearning. 
• Ongoing research of best practice and strategies through the internet, professional resource books, and professional journals.
• Even if you can't attend a live conference or webinar, you can sometimes access the PowerPoint presentations that were presented which can provide you with some details and links to resources. I have uploaded copies of my PowerPoint Presentations from conference workshops that you may access on the Presentations page.

AER Chapters 

​Even if you are not a member of AER, you can still attend meetings and conferences. Visit their webpages to view online resources and sometimes even handouts and PowerPoints from conferences.

• Alabama Chapter 
• Arizona Chapter
• Arkansas Chapter
• Colorado
• DC-Maryland
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana​
• Kentucky

• ​Michigan
• Missouri
• New Jersey
• New York​
• North Carolina
• Northeast 
• Northern California
• Northern Rockies 
• Ohio

• ​Oregon
• Pennsylvania/ Delaware
• Puerto Rico
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Pacific Northwest 
• Wisconsin

     I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way." ​ ~Franklin P. Jones

FREE VI Program Templates

Become a member for FREE to access the Printable VI Program Templates  to support your district's vision program. Simply click on Log In|Register in the navigation bar at the top of the page and follow the directions to register and create your password. ​

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Post a Job 

Due to the nationwide shortage of vision professionals, it can be challenging to locate personnel. Announce a job vacancy on the Job Exchange of Teaching Students with Visual Impairments, an online listing of jobs specific to the visual impairment field.

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