Abstract
The worldwide pandemic situation created by the COVID-19 disease confronted the education systems of all countries with the most unpredictable challenge ever, a pedagogical revolution that required the transition from traditional and conservative education of auditors to distance education formats. The new front was clear, in a few days the entire education community had to adapt to the new environment, developing and creating new plans to provide teaching through different electronic platforms and software. As the tourism sector is one of the main sources of sustainable development, the role of higher education systems in this sector is to prepare human resources able to proactively respond to all the challenges created during the pandemic circumstances and post-pandemic circumstances. This chapter based on semi-systematic literature review discusses distance education in tourism as an inevitable alternative to education due to the pandemic conditions in terms of providing an appropriate preparation of human resources in tourism to properly face the new reality.
TopBackground
The outbreak created after the COVID-19 was defined as pandemic by the World Health Organization at the beginning of March 2020 led the entire world to a huge crisis. It began as a health crisis, but caused a domino effect in the economy, society, and global relations including this way the tourism sector. Tourism education role in preparing the key frontline players capable to cope with the recovery period in the tourism sector is exceptionally essential due to the fact that the tourism sector is one of the most probable sectors to be exposed to disaster and crises according researches (Pforr & Hosie, 2008). Tourism education is part of the large tourism ecosystem, this way all the changes affecting the businesses and activities of tourism sector will impact tourism education. By the other side also tourism education impacts the other actors of the co-system to cope with the new changes (Séraphin & Yallop, 2020) as cited by (Tiwari, Séraphin, & Chowdhary, 2020). Two obstacles and simultaneously two objections were presented to the tourism education: (1) to transmit and share the contemporary knowledge required by the new industrial requirements and (2) to ensure that the link between students and lecturers was the appropriate one through the distance learning connection to enable the knowledge sharing process occur accordingly.
Most of the scholars (Chigeza & Halbert, 2014) (Adams, Randall, & Traustadóttir, 2015) have classified face to face learning as a traditional format of learning based on the fact that has the longest history as a learning format compared with the other modern formats (online learning and blended learning); it’s characterized by a physical classroom were are present all the participants and interact under the learning frame. Also other authors (Robert, Borokhovski, Schmid, & Tamim, 2014) argue that face to face learning is different from blended learning even when computers and educational technologies are used in class.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Digital Illiteracy: A lack of ability and skills to create, evaluate, learn, and find information on online media and digital platforms through the usage of technology.
Online Pedagogy: A teaching philosophy, approach or strategy that facilitates and enables the delivery of online education in an online learning environment using technology and digital mediums of communication.
Blended Learning: A method of education delivery that enables students to learn simultaneously through the combination of face to face learning and online mediums.
Digital skills: A set of skills, tools, and knowledge necessary to use networks, digital devices and different applications on online mediums that facilitate the management of information according to specific requirements of working environment, learning environment, and problems solving situations.
Game-Based E-Learning: An e-learning form applied in virtual classrooms that requires the virtual engagements of the students, programmed in a game based scenario that requires analytics of the practical situations and tests the ability of students to make decisions based on the situation created.
E-Learning: A method of education delivery that enables students to learn through the usage of different online mediums by incorporating digital skills, digital platforms, and technology.
Learning Management Systems: Are information systems incorporated in a specific software that unable the delivery, documentation, administration of courses and learning programs in HE institutions.
Virtual Learning: A learning experience under the framework of online learning environments and virtual spaces (teacher and learners physically separated) by using technology, information technology and online platforms.
Personalized Learning: Refers to a definite approach of education learning and delivery that is oriented to fulfill specific needs at an individual level according to preferences and needs of students enabling them to manage learning according their own requirements.
Penta-Helix Model: A multidimensional model derived analogically from other studies used to help the understanding of stakeholder approach in managing the new challenges in tourism education due to COVID-19.