[Trainer-Talk] Remote assistive technology training

[Christopher Murphy]

Good evening,
	This thread hasn't been responded to in quite a while. I had looked into the blind professionals network. They only offer volunteer remote training and hope to eventually have the ability to pay staff. I am in search of remote training still and haven't found the right fit yet. This as you said would be the best option for me however I would prefer in person but remote training would serve me well I think.




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Christopher Murphy
Email:
cjohnmurph at gmail.com

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-----Original Message-----
From: Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of skylar covich via Trainer-Talk
Sent: Friday, May 1, 2026 5:36 PM
To: trainer-talk at nfbnet.org
Cc: skylar covich <covich7 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Trainer-Talk] Remote assistive technology training

Hi, I'm new to this list, but I have been around NFB and the assistive technology field for a while. I was reminded about the list because of this week's virtual career fair. I live in Santa Barbara, California, and was lead Technology Instructor at the Braille Institute before that position was cut last year. I have done a variety of part time work since, including working with a few assistive tech clients through a local agency that is a vendor for California Department of Rehab, and a few remote private clients.
Even my local agency does a lot of remote training now; I actually just did my first in person home visit recently, which I enjoyed, but remote work is going to be more sustainable most of the time in my area.

I am trying to revive a thread from last month about remote assistive technology training; not sure if this message will do that or create a new thread. I am currently looking in to becoming a California Department of Rehab vendor, and also seeking more remote private clients, either through my own new company or as a contractor for other companies. Someone mentioned the Blind Professionals Network as a potential source for work at the career fair, but they've got a lot of broken links on their web site, so I'm curious if anyone has updated information about how they are doing.
I do not have a certification, and am leaning toward avoiding that at this time.

While I am happy to do more traditional training on JAWS, Voice Over, braille products, etc. I am most passionate about teaching new AI tools; not just image description, but also research and document generation. I completely understand this can lead to people taking too many shortcuts, which for students and those new to vision loss, can particularly mean they don't learn core fundamental skills. Yet these tools have lots of workplace applications that may open up a lane for me in the field especially with state vocational agencies, and I also find that people who struggle with assistive tech are motivated by opportunities to do more tasks independently. I also have used AI tools a lot for more complex tasks like invoice generation and job applications, and have enjoyed sharing that with clients.

Thanks for reading this, and I'm happy to connect about these ideas.
Skylar

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Skylar J. Covich, Ph.D., Political Science Vice President of the Board of Directors, Xavier Society for the Blind Member of Santa Barbara Access Advisory Committee Freelance assistive technology trainer, AI advisor and public policy researcher _______________________________________________
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