E-learning is a burden for the deaf and hard of hearing

Abstract

When considering deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) population, research recognizes that fatigue due to communication challenges and multi-focal attention allocation is a significant concern. Given the putative heightened demands of distance learning on deaf and hard of hearing students, we investigate how an online environment might differently affect deaf and hard of hearing participants, compared to hearing participants, Portuguese Sign Language (PSL) users and non-users. Our findings show that the deaf and hard of hearing group present higher values in the post-task fatigue rates with significant differences from the hearing group (non-PSL users). Furthermore, our results revealed an association between post-task fatigue rates and lower performance scores for the deaf and hard of hearing group, and the gap is significantly bigger when compared with the hearing group (non-PSL users). We also found evidence for high levels of post-task fatigue and lower performance scores in the hearing group PSL users. These novel data contribute to the discussion concerning of the pros and cons of digital migration and help redesign more accessible and equitable methodologies and approaches, especially in the DHH educational field, ultimately supporting policymakers in redefining optimal learning strategies.

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