A closer look at what a survey is (and is not)

A closer look at what a survey is (and is not)

Surveys on Edovo are your go-to tool for hearing directly from learners. They're not about transferring knowledge. They're about receiving it.


Your cheat sheet for this article

  • A survey is a set of questions designed to gather insight—not deliver instruction.

  • It’s built in the Edovo Editor by the Edovo team.

  • Learners submit answers—but don’t get feedback or grades.

  • You’re not teaching, quizzing, or assessing. You’re listening.


So, what is a survey?

With pricing starting at $10,000, Edovo offers comprehensive survey administration and distribution to a national incarcerated audience, enabling Content Partners to safely, effectively, and anonymously, through de-identified responses, gather qualitative and quantitative data from incarcerated people. 

A survey is the Edovo version of a comment card—with purpose. It’s a structured, secure way to hear from learners across facilities, with no right or wrong answers and no educational content attached.

Think of it as:

  • A structured tool for collecting Learner feedback, opinions, or experiences

  • A tool for collecting responses—not teaching information

  • A set of questions with no right or wrong answers

  • Uploaded and structured through the Edovo Editor or created directly by the Edovo team

  • A secure, internal tool that works entirely within the Edovo platform

  • A useful method for understanding learner needs or measuring outcomes

  • Optional to complete—intended to give Learners a voice

Oh, and it’s optional. Learners don’t have to complete surveys—they choose to participate. (Which makes every response that much more powerful.)

The Survey Administration and Distribution Fee includes:

Standard Survey Administration and Distribution 
  • Review and consultation for refinement of Content Partner’s survey

  • Edovo creation of survey within the Edovo Platform

  • Content Publishing Fee, which includes distribution and publication of the survey to the Content Partner’s designated correctional facilities where Edovo operates, pending secondary approval if required by an external IRB (subject to the Content Partner)

  • CSV of data (learner responses).


Extended Survey Administration and Distribution 

If the survey build and/or management for distribution requires an excessive amount of work, as determined by Edovo acting reasonably, Edovo will charge additional fees on a time spent basis at an hourly rate of $[125.00].

When should I use a survey?

Surveys are especially helpful for:

  • Pre-course diagnostics
    “What do learners already know?”

  • Program impact checks
    “What changed after this experience?”

  • Ongoing feedback collection
    “What should we build next? What’s missing?”

  • Research & validation
    “How do incarcerated people across the country feel about ___?”

Examples  

  • Grow with Google: Digital Skills Pre-Survey
    Learners share tech experience before starting digital literacy lessons

  • The Marshall Project: Civic Engagement Survey
    A nationwide initiative to gather political perspectives from incarcerated individuals

  • Ear Hustle Listener Feedback Survey
    Captures engagement with podcast content and contributes to future episodes

  • LinkedIn Learning Job Interest Survey
    Helps shape upcoming career-focused offerings for returning citizens


What it’s not:

Let’s clear up a few common mix-ups:

  • A learning experience—surveys don’t teach, explain, or assess

  • A course or interactive resource—they aren’t built with objectives or content delivery

  • A place for feedback loops or two-way messaging (Learners submit answers, but don’t receive direct replies)

  • A formal evaluation—surveys can’t be used to measure skill mastery

  • It’s definitely not a Google Form or SurveyMonkey clone—remember, no internet

How do I get the results and what can I see? 


When you purchase a survey, you will receive a CSV export that includes the following data:

  • Unique starts and completions of each of your published content items

  • Unique learners engaging with any of your content by correctional facility

  • Total hours spent by learners

  • Cumulative hours spent by facility

  • Total learners engaged

  • Average quiz scores

  • Course engagement by lesson

  • Course ratings & reviews by learner

  • Filter data results by correctional facility and/or date ranges

  • De-identified learner responses


TL;DR

Surveys on Edovo are how you listen, not teach.
You’re not building curriculum—you’re asking questions and inviting insight.
Use them to learn what your learners need, think, or want more of.
Build them in the Edovo Editor, get them live, and prepare to be surprised (in a good way).



Want help creating your survey?
Email
content@edovo.org, we’re happy to build it with you.