Course overview
This course is built for adults who are blind or have low vision and who use a screen reader as their main way of using a computer or phone. No earlier AI experience is expected. Some learners may only be comfortable with email and basic web browsing when they start, and that is fine.
The course has two goals. The first goal is helping you build real, employable AI skills that you can put on a resume and use on the job. The second goal is helping you use AI for your own independence and personal growth, whether that means writing better emails, understanding a document faster, or getting a clear description of an image.
The course runs for 24 weeks. Each week teaches one skill set in depth and stands complete on its own, with everything you need for that week's material contained in that week's lesson. The weeks move from foundational understanding and hands-on tool mastery, through prompting and automation, into professional communication, and finally into marketing and content skills, ending with a capstone project.
How each week works
Every week of this course follows the same pattern, so you always know what to expect.
- Learning objectives. Each week opens with several objectives written in plain language, telling you exactly what you will be able to do by the end of the week.
- Lesson. Each week includes a full written lesson, written at roughly an eighth-grade reading level. Technical terms are defined the first time they appear.
- Keyboard-only exercises. Each week includes step-by-step exercises with clear screen reader instructions written to work no matter which screen reader you use.
- Portfolio project. Each week ends with a hands-on project you complete and keep. Over 24 weeks, these projects become a portfolio you can show to an employer.
- Weekly test. Each week has a test of exactly 50 questions, mixing multiple choice, true or false, and short answer questions. Every question can be answered from that week's own lesson. A score of 75 percent is a pass. A full answer key with a one-sentence explanation for every answer is provided.
Every file in this course, including this syllabus, is built to a strict accessibility standard: proper landmarks for your screen reader, a skip link as the very first stop when you press Tab, one main heading per page, a logical heading order with no skipped levels, data tables with properly scoped headers, full keyboard access with a visible focus indicator, and plain language throughout. No information is ever conveyed by color alone. Test forms use grouped, clearly labeled questions and answer choices.
Full 24-week list
| Week | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Building an AI Mindset |
| 2 | Claude |
| 3 | ChatGPT |
| 4 | Google Gemini |
| 5 | Microsoft Office Copilot and VS Code |
| 6 | Customer Service |
| 7 | Technical Support |
| 8 | Skills Most in Demand by Employers |
| 9 | Prompt Engineering Fundamentals |
| 10 | Advanced Prompting and Optimizing Results |
| 11 | Working Files: .md, .json, and .py |
| 12 | Skills and Reusable Instructions |
| 13 | Agents for Repetitive Tasks |
| 14 | Creating Professional Documents with AI |
| 15 | Editing and Publishing Documents |
| 16 | Professional Email |
| 17 | The AI-Powered Job Search |
| 18 | Public Relations |
| 19 | Marketing Fundamentals |
| 20 | Social Media |
| 21 | Advertising |
| 22 | Copywriting |
| 23 | Content Creation and Curation |
| 24 | Capstone and Final Assessment |
Week-by-week descriptions
Week 1: Building an AI Mindset
This week explains what artificial intelligence really is and is not, using plain language and no hype. You will see real examples of AI at work today, including in accessibility tools like image description and optical character recognition, and you will learn what AI does well and where it commonly fails, along with practical ways to check AI answers yourself using your screen reader.
Week 2: Claude
This week is a deep, hands-on tour of Claude's web and mobile apps using your screen reader, including Projects, artifacts, file uploads, and memory. You will practice moving through the entire interface using only your keyboard.
Week 3: ChatGPT
This week covers ChatGPT's interface with a screen reader, its different models, custom instructions, and voice mode as an accessibility feature. You will compare ChatGPT directly to Claude so you know when to reach for each one.
Week 4: Google Gemini
This week explores Gemini on the web and on mobile, along with its built-in connections to Gmail, Docs, and Drive. You will learn Gemini's screen reader workflow and see where it is stronger or weaker than Claude and ChatGPT.
Week 5: Microsoft Office Copilot and VS Code
This week covers Microsoft's Copilot features inside Word, Excel, and Outlook, along with a first tour of VS Code, a free code editor with AI features. You will practice using AI-assisted tools inside familiar Office applications and take your first steps navigating a code editor with your screen reader.
Week 6: Customer Service
This week explores customer service as a career path: the industries that depend most on real human agents, how to research real pay and income potential, legitimate work-from-home opportunities and how to spot a scam, how AI phone and chat systems work today, and how to help local businesses set up AI customer service tools of their own.
Week 7: Technical Support
This week explores technical support as a career path: the industries that rely most on human technical support, how AI is changing first-contact triage while human judgment still matters, legitimate remote opportunities, and how to help local businesses set up AI-powered helpdesk systems.
Week 8: Skills Most in Demand by Employers
This week looks at which AI skills employers are hiring for right now, including prompt writing, AI-assisted writing, and automation. You will build a roadmap for how to describe these skills on your own resume.
Week 9: Prompt Engineering Fundamentals
This week teaches the building blocks of a good prompt: clear instructions, context, examples, and requested output format. You will practice asking AI tools specifically for accessible output, like plain text and clear headings.
Week 10: Advanced Prompting and Optimizing Results
This week goes further into system prompts, step-by-step reasoning requests, and giving the AI examples to follow before it answers. You will start building your own personal library of prompts you can reuse and adapt.
Week 11: Working Files: .md, .json, and .py
This week introduces three common file types: Markdown for documents and AI instructions, JSON for structured data, and Python for simple automation. You will read and edit each type with your screen reader in a code editor and a plain text editor.
Week 12: Skills and Reusable Instructions
This week teaches you to create instruction files and saved custom instructions so AI tools remember your standards automatically. You will build your own personal accessibility-first instruction set to reuse in future projects.
Week 13: Agents for Repetitive Tasks
This week explains what AI agents are and how scheduled automations and simple scripts work together. You will build a simple agent that completes one repetitive task for you from start to finish.
Week 14: Creating Professional Documents with AI
This week covers drafting reports, proposals, meeting minutes, and resumes with AI help. You will practice editing AI drafts critically so the final document still sounds like you.
Week 15: Editing and Publishing Documents
This week teaches how to produce accessible Word, PDF, and HTML documents, and how to check any AI-generated file for accessibility before you send it. You will learn the formats employers expect to receive.
Week 16: Professional Email
This week focuses on drafting emails, controlling tone, and replying to difficult messages with AI assistance. You will practice using AI inside Gmail and Outlook with your screen reader.
Week 17: The AI-Powered Job Search
This week covers tailoring resumes and cover letters, practicing interviews with AI role-play, and researching employers. You will also think through how and whether to disclose your disability, and how to present your AI skills as a real advantage.
Week 18: Public Relations
This week covers writing press releases and media pitches, and handling crisis communication with AI support. You will see how PR works for organizations, including nonprofits and advocacy groups.
Week 19: Marketing Fundamentals
This week introduces core marketing ideas: audiences, messaging, campaigns, and market research. You will practice using AI to help build a simple marketing plan.
Week 20: Social Media
This week looks at accessibility on each major social platform, writing posts with AI help, and creating alt text for images using AI image description. You will also learn basic scheduling and engagement strategy.
Week 21: Advertising
This week covers writing ad copy and headlines, testing variations, and understanding ad platform basics. You will also learn how to measure results and think about advertising ethically.
Week 22: Copywriting
This week focuses on persuasive writing for landing pages, product descriptions, and calls to action. You will practice editing AI-written copy so it sounds natural and like you, not like a machine.
Week 23: Content Creation and Curation
This week covers writing blogs, newsletters, and podcast scripts and show notes, plus curating streaming and media resources. You will learn how to repurpose one piece of content into many different formats.
Week 24: Capstone and Final Assessment
This final week has you complete one capstone project that combines tools, prompting, automation, and professional communication, such as a full job application package plus a small marketing campaign for a real or fictional organization. You will take a 50-question comprehensive final exam covering material from throughout the course, with 75 percent required to pass.