An evaluation is informal if information about the online learning initiative is collected in an unstructured and non-deliberate manner. This type of evaluation can lead to an overall sense of whether the online learning was successful. It is also often easier to implement than a formal evaluation. However, because it is not structured nor implemented consistently to all participants, its results are not as valid and reliable as the results of a formal evaluation.
Here are some common ways to conduct an informal evaluation:
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You could gather evaluation information through informal feedback from participants. This could include soliciting email responses, anecdotal comments, and testimonials from participants. Sometimes compelling quotes can be gathered using this method that can in turn be used to great effect in promotional materials.
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You could informally evaluate your online learning by assessing its popularity. Is demand for your online learning continually increasing or is it getting ever more difficult to recruit and retain participants? One respondent to the GO research noted that their online training was so popular that their organization had sold the content of its online training to the federal government!
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Some organizations informally evaluate their online learning by assessing whether it was successful in a “real world” environment. For example, in the GO research, one organization had received a national award for its online learning initiative and another noted that a major national newspaper had written an extremely favourable article about its online course. Several GO research respondents also noted that they were self-sustaining not-for-profit organizations who had to offer their online training on a fee-for-service basis. Accordingly, if their courses were not excellent, people would simply not pay to attend.
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You could also informally evaluate the content of your online training with the help of either an advisory group or content readers. Advisory group members or content readers can be recruited from typical user groups and their feedback can greatly improve your online content.
