DAVEE: A Deaf Accessible Virtual Environment for Education

Abstract

The post-graduate enrollment statistic for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) in Science, Technology, Math and Engineering (STEM) fields is very low compared to the hearing population. This drastically reduces DHH representation in the Information Technology (IT) workforce or academic research. DHH students generally use sign language interpreters to understand lecture materials but technically qualified interpreters are rare. These days, traditional in-person classes are being replaced with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). MOOCs improve access to materials, but hinder opportunities for collaboration which is vital for the DHH population. In this work, we propose DAVEE, a Virtual Reality (VR) classroom experience that facilitates live interpretation. During live sessions, DHH students can ask questions, receive feedback and have interactions with other students. The lectures and the interpretations can also be recorded for offline viewing.