Emily Olander

CIED 1003
Using Mullins Library to Find Articles
Review of: Designing Online Courses to Promote Student Retention
(Beth Dietz-Uhler, Amy Fisher, Andrea Han, September 2007)
The rate of retention in face-to-face higher education courses ranges between 80%-90%,
whereas, the retention rate in online higher education classes is only between 25%-75%. The
authors define retention as the number of students who start the course and remain in the
course until its completion. There is a wide range of reasons for low retention in online courses
including, personal reasons, ranging from marriage to career commitments, lack of academic
stimulation and lack of a sense of camaraderie with other students. Due to the wide variety of
reasons contributing to the lack of retention, the process of raising retention rates for online
courses is difficult. A recent model of retention for online courses focuses on three variables:
personal, institutional, and circumstantial variables. With the goal of retention in mind, the
authors developed online courses using the Quality Matters standards. To meet Quality Matters
standards, a course is reviewed on the following eight general standards: course overview and
introduction, learning objectives, assessment and measurement, resources and materials, learner
interaction, course technology, learner support, and accessibility. In addition to these eight
general standards, there are 40 specific standards between the eight categories.
The course overview and introduction standard is met when detailed information is
present in the syllabus and expectations are clear for communication between the instructor and
student and expectations for the course are clear. The learning objectives standard is met when
learning objectives are clearly defined and measurable. The assessment and measurement
standard is met when students have strategies to measure their learning progress of the stated
course objectives. For a course to meet the resource and materials standard, the course must
include comprehensive learning materials to accomplish the learning objectives of the course.
The learner interaction standard is met when purposeful interactions occur on the instructor-tostudent level and student-to-student level. The standard for course technology is met when the
technology for the course promotes interaction between students and enhances the learning
experience. Technical, academic, and student support are all required to meet the standard for
learner support. Finally, the standard of accessibility is met when the course is accessible to all
students, regardless of disabilities.
URL: http://0-search.ebscohost.com.library.uark.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=tfh&AN=27736474&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Extra Credit Review of: Interactive Communication With the Public: Qualitative Exploration of

the Use of Social Media by Food and Health Organizations

(Liran Christine Shan, MSc, MSc, Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos, PhD,, ine Regan, PhD, Aoife
De Brn, PhD, Julie Barnett, PhD, Patrick Wall, MB BAO BCh, MVB, MBA, MRCVS, ine
McConnon, PhD, November 2015)
In the past, communication between the public and authorities in the food and health
industry has had a one-way path. Messages have been communicated in a pyramidal fashion,
trickling from the top down. Transitioning to a two-way method of communication would allow
for the experts to know the level of knowledge the public truly possesses. Social media has
provided those in the food safety industry with a new opportunity to communicate with the
public without relying on one-way communication. The authors of this article conducted a study
investigating two-way communication between the public and those in the food and health
industry, aiming to see how social media has impacted their interaction.
For the study, the researchers interviewed those that are in direct contact with the public
within their organization, groups that work with food safety and health topics. Five organizations
were selected and two to four members were interviewed. The interviews showed that all
organizations utilized at least three social media networks, most commonly Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube. From the data, the following five themes, regarding using social media for twoway communication were drawn: a gradual shift toward social media- based queries and
complaints, challenges and limitations of using social media to deal with queries and complaints,
benefits of using social media in query and complaint services, content redesign driven by social
media use and using social media to learn more about consumers. The findings are clear that
social media has changed the way food and health organizations interact and has opened to door
to more opportunities to dyadic communication.
URL: http://0-dx.doi.org.library.uark.edu/10.1016/j.jneb.2014.09.004