Case Study: Irish Deaf Society expands access to Deaf education with D2L Brightspace

Irish Deaf Society reaches 2,172 learners with D2L Brightspace

The Irish Deaf Society, Ireland's only Deaf-led provider of further education in Irish Sign Language (ISL), faced significant barriers to scaling its accessible education. Their in-person model in Dublin limited national reach, while manual administration and communication in written English, a second language for many educators, created inefficiencies. They partnered with D2L to implement its Brightspace platform to overcome geographic restrictions, support learners in their first language, and reduce administrative workload.

D2L's Brightspace provided a flexible, highly visual digital learning environment built around accessibility. The solution centralized course management, enabled widespread use of ISL video resources, and automated learner communication and support through tools like Intelligent Agents. This allowed the Irish Deaf Society to expand access to over 2,172 learners across all Irish counties and internationally, achieve 90% learner satisfaction with navigation, and cut internal verification processes from weeks to hours.

Irish Deaf Society