Home Online Learning Formats in Tourism and Hospitality Higher Education
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Online Learning Formats in Tourism and Hospitality Higher Education

  • Anita Zehrer

    Prof. Dr. Anita Zehrer is Head of the MCI Family Business Center and Deputy Head of the MCI Academic Council. She is Adjunct Professor at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney and the University of Canberra. From 2007 to 2015 she was Deputy Head of the MCI Tourism Department. She serves as Vice-President of the German Association for Tourism Research, since 2014 she is Member of the Tourism Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Energy, Germany, since 2016 she is tourism expert at the Committee of Regions at the European Union.

    EMAIL logo
    and Markus Schuckert

    Ass.-Prof. Dr Markus Schuckert is Assistant Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM). His research interests cover contemporary strategic management and marketing issues in transport, hospitality and tourism. His journeys take him around the world to institutions in Europe, China, Taiwan, Korea, India, and North-America. He promotes an outcome based blended learning approach on-campus, e-learning classes as well as MOOCs and regularly publishes his research results.

Published/Copyright: November 28, 2016

Zusammenfassung

Die Wichtigkeit von eLearning hat aufgrund der Reichweite und Anwenderfreundlichkeit von digitalen Technologien stark zugenommen. Dies trifft auch auf den Bereich Tourismus zu. Allerdings sind digitale Lehr- und Lernformate, der damit verbundene Kompetenzerwerb, die Aktivitäten zur Verbesserung der Lernleistung sowie die Beurteilung des Lernergebnisses grundsätzlich vergleichbar mit traditionellen Lernformaten. Auch Onlineformate beginnen zuerst mit der Entwicklung des Curriculums und entscheiden dann über die geeigneten Technologien zur Wissensvermittlung – nicht umgekehrt. Diese Vorgehensweise garantiert die konstruktive Anpassung der Lernaktivitäten, -ergebnisse und -beurteilungen. Ähnlich wichtig, wie die Planung der Lehrveranstaltung, ist das Wissen um Technologien, Werkzeuge und digitaler Didaktik, die für eine Lehrveranstaltung, ein Modul oder ein Studienprogramm eingesetzt werden können.

Dieser Artikel nähert sich dem Thema auf der Basis mehrerer theoretischer Konzepte an - dem konstruktivistischen Lernmodell, sowie dem transformativen, experimentellen und authentischen Lernen, welche auf das Lernen online projiziert werden. Basierend auf den Lerntheorien wird daher untersucht, warum eLearning im Tourismus zunehmend wichtiger wird. In einem weiteren Schritt werden auf Basis des Wertekanons der Teaching Education Futures Initiative (TEFI) Online-Elemente im Curriculum sowie geeignete Technologien für die Lehre angewendet. Der Beitrag schließt mit Empfehlungen für Pädagogen und Praktiker.

Abstract

The importance of online teaching is increasing as digital technologies are expanding rapidly and it also has expanded into the realm of tourism and hospitality. However, online learning and teaching formats, the activities to facilitate learning outcomes as well as the learning outcomes themselves, and the assessment of these learning outcomes are in their core approach comparable with the traditional setting. First comes the development of the curriculum and second the appropriate technology to deliver the curriculum — never the other way around. This will ensure the constructive alignment of learning outcomes, activities and assessments. Equally important to planning is the understanding of the technology used to deliver a class, course, module or program. Here, digital literacy can be a challenge to both students and instructors.

This paper recognizes the necessary inherent theoretical pluralism when addressing online learning. The theoretical underpinnings of this paper draw from the constructivist learning model as applied to online learning, as well as transformative, experiential and authentic learning. Based on theoretical foundations, the paper will first examine why online teaching in tourism and hospitality continually becomes more important, to support this assertion. Secondly, applications to curriculum and appropriate technologies — using the Teaching Education Futures Initiative (TEFI) five value sets framework — will be explained. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are drawn for educators and practitioners.

About the authors

Anita Zehrer

Prof. Dr. Anita Zehrer is Head of the MCI Family Business Center and Deputy Head of the MCI Academic Council. She is Adjunct Professor at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney and the University of Canberra. From 2007 to 2015 she was Deputy Head of the MCI Tourism Department. She serves as Vice-President of the German Association for Tourism Research, since 2014 she is Member of the Tourism Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Energy, Germany, since 2016 she is tourism expert at the Committee of Regions at the European Union.

Markus Schuckert

Ass.-Prof. Dr Markus Schuckert is Assistant Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM). His research interests cover contemporary strategic management and marketing issues in transport, hospitality and tourism. His journeys take him around the world to institutions in Europe, China, Taiwan, Korea, India, and North-America. He promotes an outcome based blended learning approach on-campus, e-learning classes as well as MOOCs and regularly publishes his research results.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Eurasia-Pacific UNINET for providing financial support. Project number 21/2015

References

Bair, D. E., Bair, M. A. (2011). Paradoxes of online teaching. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5 (2), pp. 1-15.10.20429/ijsotl.2011.050210Search in Google Scholar

Betts, K., Edgell Sr, D. L. (2013). Online education and workforce development: ten strategies to meet current and emerging workforce needs in global travel and tourism. Journal of Tourism & Hospitality, 2 (1), pp. 1-9.Search in Google Scholar

Bostock, J., Taylor, L. (2014). Using Turnitin as a Formative Assessment Tool to Support Academic Writing. SOLSTICE/CLT Conference, 5th and 6th June 2014, Edge Hill University.Search in Google Scholar

Buhalis, D., Law, R. (2008). Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of eTourism research. Tourism management, 29(4), pp. 609-623.10.1016/j.tourman.2008.01.005Search in Google Scholar

Cantoni, L., Kalbaska, N., Inversini, A. (2009). E-learning in tourism and hospitality: a map’. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 8 (2), pp. 148-156.10.3794/johlste.82.263Search in Google Scholar

Crawford-Ferre, H. G., Wiest, L. R. (2012). Effective online instruction in higher education. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 13 (1), pp.11-14.Search in Google Scholar

Daniel, J. S. (2012). Making Sense of MOOCs: Musings in a Maze of Myth, Paradox and Possibility. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, Accessed online (October 12 2015) from http://jime.open.ac.uk/articles/10.5334/2012-18/10.5334/2012-18Search in Google Scholar

Dede, C. (1996). The evolution of distance education: Emerging technologies and distributed learning. American Journal of Distance Education, 10(2), pp. 4-36.10.1080/08923649609526919Search in Google Scholar

Guthrie, K. L., McCracken, H. (2010). Reflective pedagogy: making meaning in experiential based online courses. The Journal of Educators Online, 7 (2), pp. 1-21.10.9743/JEO.2010.2.2Search in Google Scholar

Halupa, C, Bollgier, D. U. (2013). Student perceptions on the utilization of formative feedback in the online environment. International Journal of Online Pedagogy and Course Design, 3 (2), pp. 59-76.10.4018/ijopcd.2013040104Search in Google Scholar

Hamann, K., Pollock, P. H., Wilson, B. M. (2012). Assessing student perceptions of the benefits of discussions in small-group, large-class, and online learning contexts. College Teaching, 60 (2), pp. 65-75.10.1080/87567555.2011.633407Search in Google Scholar

Harden, N. (2013). A higher-ed bubble even bigger than student loans. Accessed online (July 23 2015) from http://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/11/a-higher-ed-bubble-even-bigger-than-student-loans.htmlSearch in Google Scholar

Hatcher, J. A., Bringle, R. G., Muthiah, R. (2004). Designing effective reflection: What matters to service-learning? Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning, 11(1), pp. 38-46.Search in Google Scholar

Hepburn, M.A., Herrington, A., Herrington, J. (2007). Authentic mobile learning in higher education. Paper presented at AARE 2007 International Educational Research Conference, June 13–14, in Fremantle, Australia.Search in Google Scholar

Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., Oliver, R. (2010). A guide to authentic e-learning. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9780203864265Search in Google Scholar

Hogan, R., Nimmer, N. (2013). Increasing access to effective education across Oceania. International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies, 8 (1), pp. 17-31.10.4018/jwltt.2013010102Search in Google Scholar

Huynh, M. Q., Umesh, U. N., Valacich, J. S. (2003). E-learning as an emerging entrepreneurial enterprise in universities and firms. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 12(1), p. 3.10.17705/1CAIS.01203Search in Google Scholar

Jacobs, P. (2013). The challenges of online courses for the instructor. Research in Higher Education Journal, 21, pp. 1-18.Search in Google Scholar

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T. (2009). An educational psychology success story: social interdependence theory and cooperative learning. Educational Researcher, 38 (5), pp. 365-379.10.3102/0013189X09339057Search in Google Scholar

Kaye, B. K., Johnson, T. J. (2002). Online and in the know: Uses and gratifications of the web for political information. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 46(1), pp. 54-71.10.1207/s15506878jobem4601_4Search in Google Scholar

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice Hall.Search in Google Scholar

Lasry, N., Mazur, E., Watkins, J. (2008). Peer instruction: From Harvard to the two-year college. American Journal of Physics, 76(11), pp. 1066-1069.10.1119/1.2978182Search in Google Scholar

Law, R., Jogaratnam, G. (2005). A study of hotel information technology applications. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 17(2), pp. 170-180.10.1108/09596110510582369Search in Google Scholar

Lee, S., Tsai, C. (2011). Students’ perceptions of collaboration, self-regulated learning, and information seeking in the context of Internet-based learning and traditional learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, pp. 905-914.10.1016/j.chb.2010.11.016Search in Google Scholar

Lomine, L. L. (2002). On-line learning and teaching in the hospitality, leisure, sports and tourism: Myths, opportunities and challenges. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sports and Tourism Education, 1(1), pp. 43-49.10.3794/johlste.11.13Search in Google Scholar

Lonn, S., Teasley, S. D. (2009). Saving time or innovating practice: Investigating perceptions and uses of Learning Management Systems. Computers & Education, 53(3), pp. 686-694.10.1016/j.compedu.2009.04.008Search in Google Scholar

Martin, D., McEvoy, B. (2003). Business simulations: a balanced approach to tourism education. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 15(6), pp. 336-339.10.1108/09596110310488195Search in Google Scholar

Martin, F. G. (2012). Will massive open online courses change how we teach?. Communications of the ACM, 55(8), pp. 26-28.10.1145/2240236.2240246Search in Google Scholar

McInnerney, J. M., Roberts, T. S. (2004). Online learning: Social interaction and the creation of a sense of community. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 7(3), pp. 73-81.Search in Google Scholar

McKeever, L. (2006). Online plagiarism detection services—saviour or scourge?. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(2), pp. 155-165.10.1080/02602930500262460Search in Google Scholar

Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: theory to practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 74, pp. 5-12.10.1002/ace.7401Search in Google Scholar

Mezirow, J. (2003). Transformative learning as discourse. Journal of Transformative Education, 1 (1), pp. 58-63.10.1177/1541344603252172Search in Google Scholar

Murphy, E., Rodriguez-Manzanares, M. A., Barbour, M. (2011). Asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: perspectives of Canadian high school distance education teachers. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42 (4), pp. 583-591.10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01112.xSearch in Google Scholar

Schell, G. P., Janicki, T. J. (2012). Online course pedagogy and the constructivist learning model. Journal of the Southern Association for Information Systems, 1, pp. 26-36.10.3998/jsais.11880084.0001.104Search in Google Scholar

Sedlak, C. A., et al. (2003). Critical thinking in students’ service-learning experiences. College Teaching, 51 (3), pp. 99-103.10.1080/87567550309596420Search in Google Scholar

Sheldon, P., Fesenmaier, D. R. (2009). A Values-Based Framework for Tourism Education: Building the Capacity to Lead. White Paper. Accessed online (July 23 2015) from http://quovadis.wu-wien.ac.at/drupal/files/White%20Paper %20May22_0.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

Sheldon, P., Fesenmaier D.R., Tribe, J. (2011). The Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI): Activating Change in Tourism Education. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 11(1), pp. 2-23.10.1080/15313220.2011.548728Search in Google Scholar

Sife, A., Lwoga, E., Sanga, C. (2007). New technologies for teaching and learning: Challenges for higher learning institutions in developing countries. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 3(2).Search in Google Scholar

Sigala, M. (2002). The evolution of internet pedagogy: benefits for tourism and hospitality education. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 1 (2), pp. 29-45.10.3794/johlste.12.4Search in Google Scholar

So, H. J., Brush, T. A. (2008). Student perceptions of collaborative learning, social presence and satisfaction in a blended learning environment: Relationships and critical factors. Computers & Education, 51(1), pp. 318-336.10.1016/j.compedu.2007.05.009Search in Google Scholar

Spalding, E., Wilson, A. (2002). Demystifying reflection: a study of pedagogical strategies that encourage reflective journal writing. Teachers College Record, 104 (7), pp. 1393-1421.10.1177/016146810210400704Search in Google Scholar

Tallent-Runnels et al. (2006). Teaching courses online: A review of the research. Review of educational research, 76(1), pp. 93-135.10.3102/00346543076001093Search in Google Scholar

Teo, T. (2009). Modelling technology acceptance in education: A study of pre-service teachers. Computers & Education, 52(2), pp. 302-312.10.1016/j.compedu.2008.08.006Search in Google Scholar

Zehrer, A., Lichtmannegger, S. (2008). The internationalization of tourism education – the case of MCI. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education 20 (1), pp. 45-51.10.1080/10963758.2008.10696912Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2016-11-28
Published in Print: 2016-5-24

© 2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Downloaded on 25.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/tw-2016-0006/html
Scroll to top button