Development of Computer-Mediated Teaching Resources for Tourism Distance Education

ABSTRACT

This article presents a qualitative account of the development of computer-mediated tourism distance learning resources. A distance learning model was developed at the Centre for Tourism, University of Otago (New Zealand) in 1998-1999. The article reviews the development of this Internet-based learning resource explaining the design and development of Programme links (providing study information for students) and Paper links (course material and learning features). The design of course material is reviewed with emphasis given to consistency of presentation between papers. The template for course material is described and illustrated and the article concludes with an overview of important design considerations.     

Studies in Tourism and Hospitality Management

Abstract

Universities around the world are involved in dynamic change as they seek creative solutions in response to a number of educational and structural issues. To be effective, educational methodologies and technologies need to be anchored to the diverse material circumstances characterising different groups of learners. The challenge for universities offering programs of study in tourism and hospitality management is to provide avenues for learning which are reflective of the needs of industry and incorporate the technology now available. One of the more significant responses has centred on the development of educational programs for flexible learning.

This paper is an analytical reflection on the experience of redesigning and developing programs in tourism and hospitality to increase student access to a wide variety of stimulating learning resources and delivery media. In particular, it documents the process of developing, teaching and evaluating a subject entitled, “Asian Cultures in Tourism and Travel” within a three-year Bachelor of Business program that offers concentrations in Tourism, Travel, Hospitality and Leisure Management.     

Creating a Virtual Learning Community

Abstract

Global learning is critical to world-class hospitality and tourism programs. However, involvement in truly global learning communities has not until recently been available to most learners. The Internet has been the vehicle that has supported the creation of global learning communities. UW-Stout has maximized distance technologies to create learning opportunities for students around the world. This article summarizes the evolution of the Master's program, presents key aspects of the curriculum development, discusses technologies utilized to support the learning environment, and shares evaluation information. Lessons learned will also be shared to assist those beginning their journey into on-line learning in a global environment.     

Learning about the real-world in MICE education: The case of exhibition learning from Thailand

Abstract

The use of experiential learning in tourism and hospitality education is well-documented in literature. Experiential learning studies in this field may include, for example, internship experiences, field trip perceptions, conferences, and social events. However, there is still insufficient literature to understand students’ learning and their real-world experience in MICE education, especially in the exhibition sector. This study, therefore, addresses this gap by reporting the experiential learning of graduate students in an event course with the objectives to investigate student perceptions on academic learning experiences and the development of work-related skills by carrying out the exhibition project. Students are challenged to perform a complicated task as a real exhibition organizer, and to deal with other stakeholders of the exhibition industry (e.g., exhibition venue, exhibitors, contractors, and visitors). The experiential learning method is discussed through the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) process. The results indicate that students not only gained in-depth learning about the exhibition industry, but also developed important work skills (e.g., teamwork, planning, and coordinating skills). Moreover, classroom learning, industry visits, and real-world experience are found to be the important factors contributing to exhibition learning. The current study contributes to the limited exhibition learning literature and provides event educators new insights into the teaching and learning of exhibition-based projects in regard to how students plan, learn and carry out the exhibition event through the case of Thailand. Other similar courses may apply the learning processes and results of this study to develop effective experiential learning in MICE education.     

Experience care: efficacy of service-learning in fostering perspective transformation in tourism education

ABSTRACT

This article presents the findings of a study, which explores the benefits of a service-learning (SL) approach from the perspective of students. The SL approach employed in this study combines theoretical discourse in human relations and personal development with active engagement in community projects. We collected 61 reflective essays from undergraduate students at an Austrian university about their impressions of the lecture and of the two community service projects they participated in. The thematic analysis of the textual data revealed that the SL approach adopted in our course largely benefitted the students. Challenge, positive emotions, affiliation, and learning are the four key dimensions which characterise the students’ experiences. Amongst the learning outcomes reported by the students, SL facilitated self-awareness, self-confidence, self-esteem, stress-resistance, enhanced communication, and problem-solving skills. Despite some challenges, SL proves to be a promising experiential pedagogical approach, which, we argue, is highly relevant to tourism management students.     

A reflexive journey through curriculum space(s)

ABSTRACT

Tourism education has the power to transform how students see and think about tourism and, ultimately, how they act within and for tourism. Yet students are likely to have different outcomes depending on the curriculum space(s) they journey through. In this article, I present a Reflective Topical Autobiography that explores the ways in which my praxis has been shaped and moulded by tourism education. Drawing on my experiences of journeying through three different curriculum spaces, I will illustrate the dynamic relationship that exists between the curriculum, pedagogy and learning. In doing so, I aim to further elucidate the benefits associated with values-based teaching and learning.     

Story and moral development in tourism education

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this reflective, conceptual, and narrative article is to illuminate the promise of story in nurturing moral development, specifically in relation to nature and cultural difference, in and through tourism education. Representing both a reflection on and extension of Zachary’s experience in a graduate level course on Indigenous Knowledges taught primarily through stories, the paper traces how story enabled Zachary to shift into, or sense, new onto-epistemological perspectives relating to nature and begin to question his assumptions, privilege, and responsibilities. We focus in on the story of Mutandum – a narrative of transformation and connection – written by Zachary, which was constructed to represent his relationship to learning during the graduate course. In telling this story, and situating and reflecting on the narrative contexts within which it was crafted, we show the enabling promise of story as a moral pedagogical and epistemological tool. We argue that learning through story has much to offer tourism curricula, especially those focused on preparing values-engaged students with the competencies to take on the multitude of ethical issues in tourism and effectively navigate the moral encounters that arise in our tourism worlds.     

Teaching Global Tourism Geography Using the Internet

Abstract

A paradigmatic shift is taking place from using technology as a presentation tool to integrating technology as a processing center of interactive teaching and learning unconstrained by time and place. This research was conducted as a case study in enhancing a travel and tourism class, Global Tourism Geography, by applying the new technological paradigm, especially the Internet. A survey of students in the class was conducted and yielded a favorable response to the incorporation of the Internet. However, it was concluded that the most effective instruction resulted from the combination of the Internet with other instructional delivery methods.     

Bridging the Divide Between Theory and Practice

Abstract

Experiential learning approaches such as role-play have been found to be valuable methods of bridging the divide between academic knowledge and practical skills, a problem often cited in tourism and hospitality management education. Such approaches have been found to contribute towards deeper learning by enhancing students' interest, motivation, participation, knowledge and skill development. This paper reports on the implementation of an experiential learning approach designed to encourage and facilitate deeper learning approaches, with the contributing aims of providing students with a more interesting learning experience and a broader set of skills for future employment.     

Bringing a politics of hope to the tourism classroom: exploring an integrated curriculum design through a creative and reflexive methodology

ABSTRACT

The university classroom as it has traditionally been structured is ill-equipped to prepare the creative, problem-solving, socially engaged, and ?exible young adults that today’s employers demand. Hierarchical approaches to university education dominate, and students frequently fail to make the connections between what they are learning and real-world scenarios. In this paper, we present an Integrated Curriculum Design (ICD) project initiated by three professors at varying stages of their careers in two tourism classes in a Canadian University. While much of the scholarship on ICD to date has focused on its bene?cial aspects for students, here we employ Critical Analytic Practice (CAP) in order to critically re?ect on our own pedagogic values, questions, and learning as we experienced them over the course of this project. Through our creatively re?ective writings, we better understand how ICD has positively impacted our own ability to co-design and co-deliver meaningful learning experiences in the tourism classroom. Our research makes three contributions to: the limited scholarship on ICD in tourism, the limited scholarship focused on re?exivity in tourism pedagogical scholarship and we draw attention to the use of CAP as an innovative way to represent data in tourism in order to broaden our audience and impact.     

Terrorism Effects on Travel Arrangements and Tourism Practices

Abstract

In light of the unprecedented terrorist assaults on September 11, 2001, this research attempts to assess their underlying impacts on travel arrangements and business practices. A questionnaire reflecting the objectives of the study is developed accordingly. To gather the empirical data, this research draws samples from an academic community consisting of faculty, staff, and students. This study first reveals that the level of perceived risk differs among the respondents; students tend to be risk-takers while faculty and staff could be considered as risk-averters. In large, respondents agree that the recovery of airline business will take at least a year. As for travel arrangements, participating in leisure activities around government buildings notably decreases. Regarding tourism practices, it indicates that both governments and businesses have taken rightful measurements against future terrorist movements. Critical marketing implications along with suggestions for future research are discussed in the conclusion section.     

Importance and Measurement of Entrepreneurial Quality and Processes in Tourism

ABSTRACT

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate the tourism industry in Europe. In the European Union, 94.4% of the accommodation and food sector has been classified as small businesses employing nine or less employees. In central and southern Europe for example, the average establishment size of hotels is 37 beds in 1998 (Hubertus, 2000, Weiermair and Peters, 2002). Due to the fact that small businesses are characterized by a preponderance of owner manager influence (Gagnon et al., 2000), entrepreneurial processes in tourism should be considered as one of the major fields of tourism research.

The behaviour of the owner manager moulds all factors that are relevant for the service delivery process (service quality, processes, structure, corporate culture, innovation management, etc.). The entrepreneur converts detected opportunities into marketable improvements and innovations and his perception and information processing mechanisms influence his actions.

Given the scant literature on entrepreneurial processes and decision making in tourism (but see Leghorél et al., 2000), the authors have developed an experimental design to form the conceptual foundation of enquiry into entrepreneurial processes. In particular, we postulate entrepreneurial quality to be measured not only by output, but by taking into account the structure, availability and use of information in the respective economic environment (Cooper et al., 1995, Magee, 1998).

While social sciences substantially contribute to entrepreneurial studies, their theoretical constructs are rather conceptional and sometimes difficult to link with economic reality (Swedberg, 2000). In some areas however these studies show considerable deficits. Economic theory for example neglects the psychological aspects of entrepreneurial behaviour. The psychology of entrepreneurs thus requires closer attention.

The entrepreneur's cognitive procedures have an influence on the design of the service delivery process. Psychological aspects of the entrepreneur particularly have an impact on information search and the detection of new opportunities as well as the realization of information and ideas. This paper thus investigates the market-related behaviour of entrepreneurs and the implementation of their ideas. The process of information acquisition is in the middle of attention.

The paper starts with a short overview on the role of cognition and affection in service processes. It is argued that tourism research should not be limited to analyzing entrepreneurs' personality structures but has to focus on the information handling and decision making behaviour of entrepreneurs. The second part hence provides a literature review of entrepreneurial processes, in general, and entrepreneurial behaviour, in particular, with the aim to construct a model of the entrepreneurial process (Koh, 1996, Wall, 2001). Our specific research agenda includes, as a special feature, information search and information usage behaviour of entrepreneurs in tourism as well as perception of and reaction to changes in the respective economic environment. Open research questions can be derived and will be the starting point for the main part of the paper, namely the experimental design. The aim of experimental methods is to exclude as many external variables as possible and thus to gather valid data on entrepreneurial processes and the respective independent variables which influence entrepreneurs' activities and decisions. The authors conclude with recommendations for future tourism research agendas.     

Implementation of a Course Management System

ABSTRACT

This article describes the implementation of a course management system in a university hotel and tourism management school. The results of a small-scale evaluation are presented. To help teachers consider the pedagogical aspects of using such systems to provide supplementary opportunities to on-campus students, ten techniques based upon the views of students are presented.     

Collaborative Approach to Multimedia Courseware Design and Development

Abstract

This paper reports on a collaborative multimedia project between the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management and the College of Education at the University of Houston. The conceptual framework that supports this approach is based on action learning theory and constructivist philosophy. Graduate students in the instructional technology program in the College of Education worked in collaborative design teams with a client, a faculty member from the College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, to design and develop four modules of Internet-based courseware for an actual instructional context in an undergraduate class in human resource management. The course instructor from the College of Education served as a facilitator and project manager. Data was gathered from both the students and the client-faculty member through a variety of methods that included pre- and post-course surveys, participant interviews, journals, and observations. Students expressed satisfaction with working on an actual project with a real client and noted that the skills learned through the collaborative process were frequently used after the course in job-related situations. In the beginning of the development period, there was some confusion and uncertainty about individual and team roles as well as expectations about the client-faculty member feedback and participation. Team building skills were noted as a needed addition to the curriculum. At the end of the development phase, both the students and the client-faculty member expressed a strong satisfaction with the process of combining both technical skills and practice in an authentic context.     

Why Do Some New Hospitality College Grads Lack Management Skills?

Abstract

Practicing hospitality managers have been anecdotally heard to denigrate the management training provided by institutions of higher learning. This may be valid commentary, as graduates of hospitality management programs may possess merely an abstract conception of theoretical constructs lacking the competence to synthesize them into managerial practice.

In this article, the author posits a model to describe a learning process that may be applied to the education of hospitality and tourism students in academic courses related to the practice of management in organizations. The premise of the model is found in the academic disciplines of science and philosophy as they relate to management and learning theories. The author concludes the article with examples to support the application of the model in practical settings.     

Tourism Education and the Internet

Abstract

Using the Internet in the teaching and learning environment assists tourism students in achieving two criteria increasingly being expected by employers. These are an understanding of the applications of the Internet to the industry, and a set of operational Internet skills.

In this paper the benefits and challenges of integrating the Internet into the teaching and learning environment are discussed. In addition, the results of a small-scale survey of tourism academics are reported.     

An environmental social marketing intervention in cultural heritage tourism: a realist evaluation

ABSTRACT

Following Pawson and Tilley's principles of realist evaluation and the context–mechanism–outcome (CMO) framework, this paper conducts a process evaluation of an environmental social marketing intervention in a heritage tourism organisation. Social marketing and employee environmental interventions have received relatively scant attention in tourism. Additionally, prior literature mostly focused on the evaluation of intervention outcomes (i.e. how far the intervention produces precise targeted outcomes) and ignores the importance of process evaluation (i.e. identifying what works, for whom, under which circumstances and how, plus issues of intervention maintenance). This paper fills this literature gap using realist evaluation theory and academic perspectives, as well as via the reflections of practitioners involved in intervention design and delivery. Findings suggest that a good understanding of the tourism and organisational context (regarding the dimensions of structure, culture, agency and relations) and the use of tailored, action-focused mechanisms (for each context dimension) are critical to achieving transformational outcomes in environmental interventions in cultural heritage organisations. Based on these findings, it is concluded that the CMO is a useful framework for assessing environmental social marketing interventions in tourism (both for heritage and other tourism organisations). Implications for tourism practice and further research directions are also discussed.     

Technology by Degrees

Abstract

This paper examines the implications of teaching a “stand alone” information technology unit to undergraduate students in a Bachelor of Business in Tourism degree program. The subject (unit) is an elective unit and is offered in the students' second and third years of study. While the debate rages as to the perspicacity of teaching technology as an independent unit, rather than incorporating technology theory and practice into other subjects as necessary, we have made the decision to run such a unit in the independent form. The subject has only recently been adopted and 2000 was its second year of offering. Curriculum was created through liaison and discussion between several staff at the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management in an attempt to link topics and themes to other subjects across the degree program. The case study explores issues relating to curriculum, extent to which the Internet is used within the subject, as well as staff and student perceptions of the course. Outcomes from evaluation and feedback suggest that Internet-as-resource rather than Internet-as-core provides the most flexible and student-centered learning approach. Students found the unit useful in terms of prospective employment and in broadening their general knowledge of technology in tourism and hospitality.     

The environment‐community symbiosis: A case for collaborative tourism planning

This article advances the proposition that sustainable tourism can be achieved through recognition that the public and private sector, the host communities and the natural environment are interdependent stakeholders in a complex tourism ‘domain’, where no single individual, agency or group can resolve strategic tourism issues by acting alone. The planning and management of this domain for the purpose of achieving sustainability requires moving away from traditional approaches towards dynamic collaboration among the stakeholders of the tourism development and planning domain. Collaboration provides a flexible process which evolves over time, enabling stakeholders to disseminate and manage problems or issues on an interactive basis. It offers an attractive alternative to adversarial problem solving methods in tourism planning and management, when inter or multi‐sectoral participation is required. The paper commences with a discussion of the shortfalls of traditional tourism planning processes and models, followed by an overview of collaboration ‘theory’. Examples are given which illustrate collaborative approaches in several mountain resort areas. An exploratory case study of tourism development and planning issues in the mountain community of Canmore, Alberta (Canada) is then presented, leading to a discussion and conclusion regarding the theoretical and practical applications of collaboration toward achieving sustainable tourism.