E-learning survey results for students who are deaf or hard of hearing revealed major challenges with communication access, accommodations, captioning, assistive technology, and accessibility during virtual classes. The survey shows that remote learning created new barriers for many DHH students.

Overview of the E-Learning Survey Results

Key Survey Findings

• 49% of teachers reported access/accommodation challenges
• 58% of students reported that FM/DM systems were less effective online
• 50% said captioning was less effective during virtual learning
• 95% of students who met online with DHH peers viewed the experience positively

In each section, the e-learning survey questions will be listed with links to the actual Excel spreadsheet results. The average response time was 55 minutes, yielding a wealth of information.

Open-Ended Survey Questions for Teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing

1. Have you seen academic or linguistic setbacks for your students during this time?

   See data from 553 responses | PDF

• Yes, reduced verbal language output. Families are not always consistently using the FM system or even putting a hearing aid on; thus, speech has become “slushy.”
• Yes, my younger students especially. And some parents are just trying to survive economically and cannot devote much focus/time to their child’s education.

2. Have you seen any positive impacts for students, their family members, or their teachers during this crisis time?

   See data from 555 responses | PDF

• Yes! Parents are much more engaged and invested in the learning process and in what their child is doing.
• One teacher who was notorious for ignoring me has included me in more than the entire school year.
• We are forced to communicate more with families. Our DHH team is connecting at least weekly and working together. We created a social group for students to connect with each other virtually. We are also connecting with DHH educators from around the entire state.

3. Do you feel you have been able to meet your students’ needs during this time?

   See data from 580 responses | PDF

• The majority of them, yes, but some parents or students are not attending scheduled sessions and sometimes will not respond to emails/texts/phone calls. And it is often extremely difficult to keep young children engaged over Zoom.
• I feel like my signing Deaf students have done better than my non-signing, HOH kids in the mainstream. Teachers have been combining sections into Zoom classes of 50-60 kids, and it is a nightmare for HOH students to follow that kind of discussion if the teacher doesn’t have good classroom management in their virtual room.  

4. Please list some resources you have found to be helpful to you in transitioning to providing online or remote education services.

   See data from 519 responses | PDF

• Our technology department has done great training on topics such as Zoom, Screencastify, Google Hangouts, Google Meet, and Google Slides for lessons. Our department of education has weekly live sessions for topics and collaboration.
• I use Zoom for live sessions and Loom for recorded video lessons. I use Avepm.com, Teachyourmonstertoread.com, signschool.com, and Epic.com as virtual app platforms to track progress on some students.

5. What resources or materials would you have liked to have had available as you transitioned to providing online or remote education services (resources or materials you have not yet found)?

   See data from 455 responses | PDF

• Deaf education materials tied to a story. I find that if I can read a story and work my goals off of the story, I engage my younger ones better remotely.
• A “how-to” guide on how to most effectively work with children with hearing loss virtually.

6. What skills, tools, consultation, or service delivery techniques have you learned during COVID-19 teaching that you will continue to use in the future with your students?

See data from 481 responses | PDF

• I hope to continue using technology more during sessions to familiarize my students with it in case something like this ever happens again. I’ve used class apps before for announcements and such, but hardly any of my families would join. I hope that changes in the future.
• I love the virtual Zoom meetings…. I think our TOD team will be continuing to use these into the future.  We are all spread out all over the place, so it has been so nice to actually SEE them on a weekly basis.

7. Is there anything else you would like to share about your experiences teaching students with hearing loss during COVID-19?

See data from 371 responses | PDF

• It is so much more exhausting to sit in front of a computer all day than to work with kids in person. I love my hands on game materials… but even when school opens, I might not be able to use my materials as they could be germ spreaders.
• Being that I am also hard of hearing, the stress and anxiety has compounded 1000x with anything to do with providing remote learning.
• I hope that the highest powers in education recognize the need for ALL Media to be captioned ALL THE TIME – all published media and all media created by teachers, regardless if they have a child with hearing loss in their classroom. A one-size-fits-all policy-  everything must be captioned, period. We have parents that have hearing loss with children who do not have hearing loss. Parents are struggling to access the materials to support their children. It’s not equitable at all, and as an Itinerant, nobody cares what I say or what the IEP says.

Open-Ended e-Learning Survey Questions for Students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing

1. What I liked best about the experience of learning online:

See data from 264 responses | PDF

• It is more self-paced, and the work is easier.
• Not being exhausted every day from the noisy chaos in school.
• I can communicate with others in a cool way. I’m learning different techniques for meeting online.

2. What I disliked the most about the experience of learning online:

See data from 264 responses | PDF

• If there are too many people in the group, then things start to get lagging.
• Being more left out and alone than in school.
• Some students’ microphones are harder to hear than others. Sometimes, the captions are not correct and accurate.

3. I think online learning would work better for me if:

See data from 260 responses | PDF

• Everything was captioned; regular teachers would remember that I can’t keep up or hear everything, and I can’t hear when I can’t see them. Maybe with more training, they could get the hang of it.
• Someone would sit down and teach it to me, and show me slowly step by step, and by not having a flood of work
• I like it better. I’m afraid to go back to school if we have to wear masks because I won’t be able to speechread. Even if my teachers wear masks where I can see their faces, I won’t be able to see my peers’ faces. It will be terrible.

Lessons Learned From E-Learning Survey Results for Students With Hearing Loss

• Captions matter
• Recorded lessons help
• Teacher visibility is important
• Online peer connection can benefit students
• Accessibility requires planning
• Specialized instruction remains essential

Frequently Asked Questions About E-Learning Survey Results

What did the e-learning survey reveal about students with hearing loss?
The national survey of 481 respondents revealed that virtual education settings created widespread communication access barriers. The most significant finding was that 49% of responding teachers disagreed or strongly disagreed that their students were able to access remote education equally to their typically hearing peers.

Why were online accommodations less effective during virtual learning?
According to the survey data, standard school accommodations broke down when transitioned to home computer systems. Specifically, 58% of students using FM/DM hearing assistance technology reported it was not as effective as when used at school, 50% stated that virtual captioning was less effective, and 36% indicated that remote interpreter services suffered in quality.

What challenges did teachers report during e-learning?
Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TODHH) reported that much of their designated instructional time was consumed by troubleshooting remote access technology rather than focusing on students’ core IEP goals. They also noted severe roadblocks with student engagement and a lack of at-home support for consistently managing physical hearing devices.

What did students with hearing loss dislike most about online learning?
Student responses highlighted several distinct visual and auditory barriers that increased their daily isolation:

• Audio Lag & Distortion: Group discussions became impossible to follow when too many microphones were active or lagging.
• Inaccurate Captioning: Automated speech-to-text tools frequently garble technical lesson vocabulary.
• Loss of Speechreading Cues: Teachers who didn’t pin their video or who wore physical face covers completely eliminated vital visual lipreading options.

Were there any positive outcomes identified in the e-learning survey results?
Yes. The survey highlighted several unexpected benefits that can improve future hybrid education:

• Recorded Lessons: Students appreciated being able to rewatch recordings asynchronously to catch missed speech sounds and process information at their own pace.
• Acoustic Comfort: Several students noted they liked not being physically exhausted by the constant “noisy chaos” of a standard public school building.
• Virtual Peer Connection: Of the students who met online with other DHH peers, 95% rated the experience as “awesome” or “okay,” proving virtual spaces are highly effective for deaf social-emotional development.

How can schools improve online learning accessibility based on this data?
The survey results offer a clear roadmap for educational teams:

1. Prioritize Universal Captions: Ensure all live and recorded video content includes high-accuracy captioning formats.
2. Optimize Voice Inputs: Mandate that instructors use external head- or body-worn microphones to provide a direct audio stream to student devices.
3. Address Executive Functioning Gaps: Provide structured, slow, step-by-step training for independent work assignments to support students with language-learning gaps.

Additional Resources:
E-Learning
E-Learning Coronavirus
E-Learning Coronavirus COVID-19
10 Low-Tech Ideas for Virtual Instruction
Access & Advocacy in an e-Learning World
Creating the Least Restrictive Online Learning Environments
Supporting Students Who Are Deaf Plus

Originally published: July 2020
Last update: June 2026