Notes on Distance Learning for Informal Settings — White Paper #3: Identifying and measuring success

This literature review is funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation #1713567 and prepared for Indiana University as part of a larger project entitled Data Visualization Literacy: Research and Tools that Advance Public Understanding of Scientific Data (Dr. Katy Börner, Principal Investigator). This white paper is one component of a larger review. The larger review consists of three white papers, the first of which explores definitions, the history of distance education, and the technologies used for distance education over time. The second white paper explores the best practice considerations most widely employed in distance education. The present document focuses on the use of and strategies for applied evaluation of distance education programs. Together, the series of white papers aims to identify key elements of distance education across contexts, as well as the transferability of these approaches to informal science learning institutions.