Stimulating New Ideas In Tourism Teaching

Image: Alan Machin Work - Tourism As Education

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Growing student numbers, distance learning, the influence of the web, television and cinema presentation techniques, the power of graphics and crisp communication ..... modularity, pick-and-mix, learning style preferences, changing attention spans, student-driven ALT ..... lifelong learning; building knowledge from age 9 to 90 .....

This paper is about a work in progress; an experiment in developing ideas around a particular, underplayed idea - that tourism is a form of education and discovery. The experiment is a personal web site funded by the author. It is linked to Leeds Metropolitan University work and the Leeds Met's own web sites, but is a distinct project. The author has worked in education, tourism and the associated media since 1962.

Image: The web page's audience: travellers with an interest

The web site grew out of a wish to keep in touch with Leeds Metropolitan University Tourism Management alumni. It also aimed to make available to them and present-day students many of the photos taken by the author of course activities since it launching in 1992: all material can be downloaded free of charge.

It proved very popular. It became obvious that there was a way of adding ideas, comments and features connected with the author's teaching, and to make these available to a far wider audience. This would let people know of some of the activities of the Leeds course, and hopefully stimulate interest and discussion about modern tourism.

Image: Students and alumni graphic

The Leeds team keeps in touch with many alumni. I act as the primary channel for alumni information within the team and co-ordinate this with the University Alumni Office. Of around a thousand ex-students of the Tourism Management courses we have information about, and/or contact with, 15-20%. The web site Alumni News page contains 130 entries short or long about ex-students: see the page www.alanmachinwork.net/Alumni-News.

Apart from reunions (the biggest in 2003 attracted 73 participants) we have been able to draw on alumni contacts for talks, advice and help finding placements and permanent jobs. The alumni provided ten speakers for a future Careers Networking Day in April 2007 attended by nearly all level 2 and 3 students. Their reaction to hearing about approaches to student work and future careers was extremely positive.

Image: The Outdoor Classroom timeline

Leeds Met has moved to an online teaching support system which it calls X-Stream, having used standard WebCT in recent years. This has space limits and is confined to registered individuals. the author wanted to experiment in widening interest in ideas, and to attract people to our courses.

Image: Developing theory graphic

The author has published research papers, but wanted to reach a wider audience. After 19 years in the industry and education, it was believed that tourism is about more than just making money, but that it has a strong educational potential as in its early days. This work began in 1983 when working for local government amid the political cut-and-thrust of community life. The slides shown above have been just part of this re-examination of theory carried out as part of the teaching process.

Image: Malta residential ALT

Residential work has included Scarborough, Edinburgh, York, Bruges, Amsterdam and Malta with lectures, guided visits, primary research, and role-play. The above examples are from the Malta programme showing Leeds students meeting local guides-in-training; a marketing lecture; a hotel management and marketing visit; questionnaire research in progress; and a group singing a promotional jingle that they had had to compose. This material added to WebCT files for student use, and to www.alanmachinwork.net. Detailed daily reports and photos for the 2006 visit to Malta were added using an internet cafe on the island, and friends and family could track what the students were doing during the week itself.

Image: Interpretation media

An extract from the text in a posting on 'Interpretive Media' - 22 June 2007

"All of these media have to meet those general requirements. Some do so using the human voice or a recording of it - in the appropriate language and at the right level for the audience, old or young, specialist or not, to understand. Some are expensive to produce, others cost very little. Some - human beings and interactive computers - can handle questions. Many can incorporate pictures or video, or else be used in conjunction with another medium that can do so. A few can use sound effects - bird song or the noise of some ancient machine; and they might be able to use the recorded voice of someone who died many years before. It is tempting to give the job of production to a manager, curator or technician. It must be given to a specialist who knows how the visitor thinks, what they might know already on a particular subject, and who can author the right words along with sourcing the right pictures".

*** Text, photographs and graphics on these pages are by the author, except for the alumni pictures of Andy Grundy and family (p1, top left: Andy Grundy), Cath White (against Jet2.com logo: Leeds Met/Liz Farnhill) Karla Hawke in Cambodia (below Cath White photo: Karla Hawke), and Eanam Wharf exhibition in the last group of photos: Bulmer and Glennon)