LipMOOC: A Modular Synthetic MOOC for Lipreading

For people with hearing impairments, lipreading is a crucial skill, as it bridges the gap between spoken language and understanding, improving the ability to communicate effectively. However, the creation of lipreading resources is pervasive and labor-intensive, leading to a scarcity of high-quality, structured, and widely accessible educational materials. To address this, we developed LipMOOC, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) tailored for lipreading education. Our approach leverages synthetically generated content, reducing the dependence on human-recorded videos and building an accessible and effective learning option. Using the state-of-the-art models, we created a comprehensive lipreading course and conducted a study to evaluate its effectiveness. We statistically proved that (1) Synthetic videos can replace human-recorded videos without affecting the learning outcomes, and (2) Learner performance on a structured course, i.e., LipMOOC, is much better than a standard course. A total of 120 participants with hearing impairment and no prior lipreading experience volunteered. These results highlight the potential of AI-driven content generation and scientific instructional design.