# The Effectiveness of an Authentic E-Learning Environment for Deaf Learners
## 4 E-Learning Design and Implementation  
Authentic e-learning refers to creating engagement between learners and involving them in the learning process. Authentic concepts to design e-learning by integrating technology tools increase deaf learners' interest by supporting their emotions and behavior when the learning is in sign language and respecting their culture [36]. It is also another important factor, the availability of teaching materials in sign language in e-learning settings for engagement with online courses. Adopting multimedia to create and design a communication platform increases the effectiveness of e-learning readiness and the technological ability of deaf learners. The authentic e-learning model was developed according to nine principles of the authentic learning approach [9] to increase the effectiveness of e-learning by adopting the important factors that were mentioned before. The model (Figure 1) aims to increase motivation and communication around an authentic theme in an online environment and also improve the digital knowledge of participants.  
Thus, e-learning was designed through Google Sites based on an authentic subject (see Figure 2). The study adopted supermarket items to teach the target vocabulary in sign language form. Each supermarket stand was designed to be easily accessible to the product and to show the tutorial page. The vocabulary size was one hundred words, including vegetables, fruits, proteins, and dairy products. A video recording in sign language was used to demonstrate each topic on the tutorial pages (BSL dataset: [[https://www.signbsl.com/](https://www.signbsl.com/)]([https://www.signbsl.com/](https://www.signbsl.com/)) (accessed on 20 January 2025)). In an e-learning environment that was clickable and allowed the learners to access the recorded videos in BSL, the written vocabulary and pictures for each item were supplied. After receiving instructional materials based on the principles of authentic learning, the self-paced learning was completed in three months. Online tools like dictionaries and currency calculators were also made available in e-learning environments. A Facebook group is used for communication and material sharing, and learners can freely view each other's GSL, TSL, and BSL recorded videos. At the beginning of the learning process, the students received basic technology instruction, which included how to use Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Padlet. Each week, learners watched videos in BSL e-tutorials, and at the end of each month, they discussed what they had learned. The synchronous meeting sessions on the learning process, problem-solving, and answering the questions that happened through Google Meet, and their positive and negative sights during learning and using the tasks were recorded.  
Figure 1: The developed model of e-learning for deaf learners.  
The current study used technology tools to design authentic tasks that were carefully prepared according to the characteristics of authentic activities [2], which focus on deaf adult learners' ability to learn a foreign sign language while also using technology. Therefore, we designed a fictional scenario for the learning theme and design of the task (ex: Figure 3). The scenario was about a financial officer checking the supermarket prices, comparing them, and preparing a report for the Minister of Finance. To locate the supermarkets, the Padlet program was used, where the learners could pin and comment on their opinions about the supermarkets located. The final product was recorded videos in BSL embedded into PowerPoint. Additionally, technology tools such as Google PowerPoint and Word  
Figure 2: Parts of e-learning.  
have been used to design subtasks where learners could share their information about the production's quality and price.