Evaluation and distance education: Five steps

Evaluation procedures are becoming of critical interest to trainers and teachers who are adopting e-learning or distance education (Peak & Berge, 2006). As new distance education systems are being planned and implemented, there is considerable concern that the time and effort required to move to distance delivery of instruction produces a valuable educational experience; thus, evaluation is regularly a part of plans to move from traditional face-to-face instruction to distance education. Kirkpatrick’s (1998) evaluation approach with its four levels of evaluation, supplemented by Phillips’ (1996) fifth evaluation level—return on investment (ROI)—seems to be the preferred approach of many trainers, and some educators. Kirkpatrick’s evaluation approach has been traditionally used to evaluate classroom training and teaching, especially in the private, government, and military sectors. It is a straightforward approach that produces usable information for the trainer. The four levels of the approach are designed to obtain answers to commonly asked questions about training: Did they like it? Did they learn it? Will they use it? Will it matter? LEVEL 1: REACTIONS (DID THEY LIKE IT)