Professional Development

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
updated June 12, 2025
Completing your initial coursework is only the beginning. To be an effective and impactful teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI) or an Orientation and Mobility (O&M) specialist, you must be a lifelong learner. Engaging in ongoing professional development ensures that you stay informed about advances in instructional strategies, technology, legislation, and service delivery models, while also empowering you to mentor others and advocate for your students. ​​

Why Professional Development Matters

  • Stay current with best practices in braille, assistive technology, and specialized instruction.​
  • Enhance your instructional toolkit with strategies you can share with IEP teams, families, and administrators.
  • Network and collaborate with fellow professionals nationwide and globally.
  • Strengthen leadership and advocacy skills to elevate the field and improve student outcomes.
  • Earn professional development credits (e.g., ACVREP) needed for certification renewal.

Professional Development Activities 

If you work in a setting where you are the only VI professional, it may take extra effort to find vision-specific training. These ideas will help you stay connected and continue growing:
Attend Conferences
  • Local, state, regional, and international conferences focused on blindness and visual impairments (e.g., AER International Conference, state AER chapters, Getting in Touch with Literacy, CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, etc.).
  • Look for events offered by:
    • APH (American Printing House for the Blind)
    • TSBVI (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired)
    • Perkins School for the Blind
    • Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Join Professional Organizations Engage Online
  • Subscribe to listservs and email groups like AERNet, Paths to Literacy, or VI-TVI Listservs.
  • Follow professional blogs and websites focused on VI education and assistive technology.
Take Online Courses & Webinars
  • APH Hive – Free online learning modules on a variety of VI topics.
  • Perkins eLearning – Courses, webinars, and video libraries.
  • Paths to Technology – Focused on assistive tech for students with visual impairments.
  • TSBVI Outreach – Workshops, conferences, webinars, and downloadable training materials.
  • Consumer organizations like ACB, NFB, and AFB also offer sessions on accessibility and advocacy.
  • Vision vendors (e.g., HumanWare, Freedom Scientific) often host training on new tools.
Read Widely
  • Subscribe to the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB).
  • Read professional books on instructional strategies, ECC, and emerging tech.
  • Access archived conference handouts and presentation slides, even if you couldn’t attend.
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." ​-Mahatma Gandhi

On Demand Recordings

The following are available for individual purchase ($25/each) or as part of the All Access Membership ($100/year)
  1. Foundations of Teaching the ECC in Age of Virtual Instruction & Social Distancing
  2. Strategies & Activities for Working with Students with Severe & Profound Disabilities (SIDPID)
  3. Strategies & Activities for Working with Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities (MIMO)
  4. Job Tasks for Job, Career, and Life
  5. Itinerant Teaching Tips & Strategies
  6. Accommodations for Individuals with Visual Impairments
  7. Strategies & Activities for Students Following the Standard Course of Study
  8. Using Themes to Teach the ECC
  9. Accessible Content for Individuals who are Blind or Visually Impaired
  10. Strategies & Tips for Conducting a FVLMA
  11. Developing SMARTER Goals 
  12. Strategies for Selecting the Right AT ​
  13. Tips for Being a "Physically Fit" TVI"
  14. The Art of Teaching the ECC
  15. Activities to Teach the ECC
  16. Determining Service Intensity Using the VISSIT
"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

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