Tablets and iPads at SHTM!

At the School of Hotel & Tourism Management (SHTM) this semester we took a new direction for HTM 2315 Principles of Food Service Production.  We wanted to teach on a more interactive level with newer technologies such as Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.  The class operates with one mass lecture taught via notebook and iPad. For iPad usage we use a variety of applications and iBooks along with the Blackboard App: Bb Mobile Learn. From the App we have access to all the core class materials and they are easily presentable within our classroom at SHTM. The students are engaged because they get to see that the iPad can be used for more than games, videos and pictures.

In our laboratory tutorials we are using the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the kitchen for recording Food Safety and Sanitation information.  Previously we were using a paper form to record the information, but with the tablet we have eliminated paper and are having students use the touch screen table to get real-time information about our production day.

The student’s educational benefit from this can be described in 3 ways:

1. Introduction to available technologies used in education
2. Hands-on training and interactive learning
3. Helping educators interact on the same wave length as Generation Y.

With our student base becoming more technologically enabled, so too must our educational teaching platform progress to match what our students are looking for in an advanced education.

Article by:

Mr.Watson Baldwin

Instructor, SHTM