Al Yardley told me that a good teacher needs to be a good student. You are always preparing. It's almost impossible to keep all the key commands in your head.
Computer students often experience anxiety--thinking they need to know everything right now and be perfect. That's not how learning works. Instructors also experience anxiety, especially when a situation stumps them. At that point you say,"I don't know the answer, but I will find out."
Studying for the ZoomText and JAWS certification exams definitely prepares a person to be a better informed instructor. Taking an exam is free. You are given one hour and over 80 multiple choice and true / false questions. Purchasing certification is $99.00 and your name is entered on the Freedom Scientific website.
This year I gained more confidence with the products and services. Freedom Scientific offers live and archived training webinars that I find very helpful. For example, the other day, a participant asked for steps in navigating captchas. YES! Those captchas can be a bear. I've requested those steps because my students will benefit.
Studying for these exams also meant developing good study notes that I can load onto my Victor Stream for review.
Now to dive into the scary world of braille displays and Android gestures. Notes. I will take lots of notes and review. Baby steps... like that movie, "What About Bob?"
It never ends.
