Progress

The wiki is progressing as are our teaching resources. We have employed a new tour guiding lecturer - Nicky Snoyink. Nicky has a strong practical background in tour guiding and is a managing director of her own company "Travel Logistics". Maybe you would like to put in a posting about yourself Nicky?

I have set up another blog (Wordpress) to run alongside our tour guiding specialty which begins next semester. In the first instance it will be used so that lecturer's can get used to writing, editing and updating a blog and also for students who have missed a class and want to know where to find resources. You might say it will be operating in the same way as the announcement board in Blackboard.

Leigh and I are meeting weekly for 3hrs. This has worked well for me especially when it comes to using the wiki, getting ideas from him and letting him see the administration work that goes behind developing and running a programme simultaneously.

Resources

Am gathering resources for the Tour Guide specialty. One of our team members, Kevin Flaherty alerted me to a new article on Campbell Live, looking at tourism impacts, carbon credits etc. So have enquired with TV3 as to how we can have access to this video (without having to buy it) Have requested they place it on YouTube so we can use it as a classroom resource. It would be ideal viewing for our Diploma in International Tourism students, initially and then for use in the Diploma for Applied Travel and Tourism. Will wait to hear what feedback we get.

We are in the process of interviewing for a tour guide lecturer. The applicants are of the highest quality and it will be a tough decision. More on that after a successful appointment.

Am in the final stages of working with Karen (our tour guide from Queenstown) who is helping provide us with general information for the industry.

http://www.tv3.co.nz/VideoBrowseAll/CampbellLive/tabid/367/articleID/28774/Default.aspx#video?src=email

Plugging On

Things have been moving quickly on the development front - with the final section (Tour Guiding) of the programme core beginning this week with new resources in place and team members contributing to these with further resources - great. All work is being placed on a shared folder for easy access.

We are presently seeking a person with recent or present tour guiding experience to teach the tour guiding specialty (elective) which begins next semester. Looks as though there are some good candidates out there.

I am meeting with Dion Hyde from Hospitality tomorrow with the hope of future collaboration between our schools (Applied Business and Hospitality). More dedicated time will now be put to development with the hope that seven of the specialties will be completed by January 2008: tour guiding, travel operations, conference and events, adventure tourism, reception services, flight and cruise and tourism enterprises. This will leave tourism enterprises, wholesale travel, sustainable tourism for development in the first half of 2008 available in the second semester. Its going to be busy.