At the end of our trainings, we pass around a paper evaluation form.

The data we get from the forms are then manually entered into another database, thus opening to human error.

So I want to create some kind of online location to have students enter their course evaluations at a website. But here's the rub: the best time to do a class evaluation is immediately after the class while the info is still fresh in their mind. If we go to an online eval for students to fill in at some point after the class, I'm afraid they won't be as accurate.

So I need to find a way to do evaluations electronically, at the end of class, and have a high return ratio.

Help! Any thoughts?

Step back for a moment -- why are you capturing level one feedback in a database? There is no historic value in this level of evaluation. It's difficult enough to get *anything* meaningful from this type of evaluation -- focus on getting meaningful feedback rather than on how to save it for some unknown reason in a a database.

Depending on what information you capture, and how you access it (good knowledge management practices), you can get good information this way. Consider a question "was the detail level too detailed, just right, not detailed enough?". With enough data points you should be able to decide whether or not the participants liked the level of detail. OTOH, this may or may not lead to helping you meet the educational objectives.

For capturing the data, use a "bubble form". You know, fill in the dots with a number two pencil and all that. The readers (sometimes called optical mark readers) can be had on eBay or other sources.

Nospeekada,

Upfront...if the reason you are compelled to seek a sledgehammer solution is driven by others' quest for data...good luck.

On the other hand, think about why you need feedback and how do you plan to use it. I can't tell you what you should do but can let you know how my clients look at level one feedback.

In short....all they want to know (both during and at the conclusion) of a learning event are two things:

How are we doing in relationship to the outcomes introduced at the outset?

What can we do (you and me) to make this a better experience for you?

To get at that feedback they include 5 minutes of plus/delta discussion at the end of each day. The next day begins with a review of the feedback and what, if any, adjustments and upgrades they can expect to see.

A more detailed feedback opportunity is provided (written) at end of event.

But the purpose is the same...take the pulse of the target population, see if your methods and media are appropriate to the group, look for improvement opportunites. And, rather than make a change after one round of feedback...we like to sit on it (fix the obvious of course)...look for trends...work with developers...make adjustments...try them out...check against feedback.

Level 1 is a local and perishable tool...not a strategic tool.

Along entropy's line of "what my clients want":
- If there are multiple instructors teaching a particular course, do the participants strongly prefer one or more over others?
- Do some departments, companies, etc. have a common opionion of the course (e.g. do people from department x find the material too basic while those from y find it too advanced?)?
- In written comments, is there a common theme about materials to be added, removed, reduced, enhanced and so forth?
- Are there facility issues?

There are more, but these are pretty major ones. In these cases, the evals provide both tactical and strategic data, at least to some extent. IMHO, a lot of the value of evaluations and the data analysis depends on what data you collect. Too often people just collect "how did you feel" data. While that is traditional level 1 stuff, other information about, say, content and facilities, helps to improve the experience in the long run.