1 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-BASED EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE ECO-TOURISM KATIA PASSERINI ( Presenter) Department of Management Science School of Business and Public Management The George Washington University Washington D.C. 20052 Tel. (202) 994 7375 Fax (202) 994 4930 Email: [email protected]MARK STARIK Department of Strategic Management and Public Policy The George Washington University Washington DC 20052 Tel. (202) 994 5621 Fax (202) 994 8113 Email: [email protected]Partnership and Leadership: Building Alliances for a Sustainable Future November 15-18, 1998 Seventh International Conference of Greening of Industry Network Rome
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-BASED EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES
FOR SUSTAINABLE ECO-TOURISM
KATIA PASSERINI ( Presenter)
Department of Management Science School of Business and Public Management
The George Washington University Washington D.C. 20052
Partnership and Leadership: Building Alliances for a Sustainable FutureNovember 15-18, 1998 Seventh International Conference of Greening of Industry Network Rome
Presentation graphics; Multimedia (CAI/CBT); Hypertext/ Web inform.;
Knowledge is
OBJECTIVE Abstractions Personally Experienced
OBJECTIVE
Combination [A] & [B]= Multimedia, Presentation Graphics, Hypertext, Web for Information & Simulation software, Virtual Reality, Learning Networks with LEARNER & INSTRUCTOR control.
The inclusion of technology in the table expands the applications of multiple
models for the attainment of educational objectives. If the main target of the education
program is to provide control to the learner over the learning activity, simulation
software, virtual reality and learning networks enable the attainment of that objective.
TECHNOLOGY
TEC
HN
OLO
GY
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They also enable the re-creation of a highly realistic situation in which the learner
personally experiences the content of instruction and creates his own knowledge. The
sociocultural approach that uses the technology described increases the possibilities to
reach the stated objectives. From this integration table, it can be inferred that the
combination of presentation graphics, multimedia and hypertext with simulation software
and virtual reality applications favor knowledge creation by the learner. Since simulation
is strongest in learner-controlled instruction with high reality context when applied in a
sociocultural model, its application in the cognitive information processing model tends
to increase realism and the experiential nature of knowledge acquisition. Conversely, the
combination [A] can be applied in the opposite dimension [B] to promote the attainment
of the same results also in teacher-centered instruction. Therefore, the use of these
technologies can remove the boundaries between the identified models of learning and
can allow bigger manipulation of the objective and outcomes of instruction.
This has consequences in several learning contexts and holds particular promise
for environmental education. By looking at the potential for virtual reality applications to
simulate personal experience, a new concept of travel can be portrayed, whether it is
achieved through learner or instructor control. The high realism of the simulated context
can propose itself as a possible substitute to visiting natural areas. Community
Information Centers (CICs) could include entertainment areas in which tri-dimensional
videos and virtual resorts reconstruct the desired destination and provide a simulated (but
almost real) experience. The feeling of visiting could be recreated without damage to the
natural or social environments. CICs could charge fees to devote to conservation
purposes. Traveling constraints that vary from job, family and work commitments, lack
of time and money, and other physical constraints (such as age or disabilities) could all
find a surrogate and satisfactory alternative to actual visiting via virtual trips. People
unable to travel might benefit the most from this type of technology-based travel.
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Defenders of environmental preservation will benefit as well if it is agreed that the really
sustainable way to protect the environment is decreasing tourism rather than promoting it.
Unfortunately, the idea of "killing the goose that lays the golden egg'' (the
metaphor for stopping the flow of tourism to the areas that are economically benefiting
from it), is a very controversial one. Those who profit from travel money are not willing
to stop these flows, nor are the authorities of the benefiting countries. The other deterrent
to this diffusion is the fact that multimedia and virtual reality development costs are very
high and few entrepreneurs are willing to invest resources without a substantial guarantee
of positive monetary returns. If access to endangered areas were to be prohibited and
virtual travel remained the only alternative to visiting, the income generated from these
applications could indeed bring significant financial gains. With the aging of the
population and increasing environmental deterioration, the idea of virtual travel should be
further explored in any case.
In the short-term, before the shift of the travel paradigm to virtual tourism is
brought about by environmental degradation, environmental awareness apparently needs
to be raised through less expensive instruments. The numerous Internet sites that promote
environmental protection through providing information on protection initiatives are
already working in that direction. After having seen the potential behavioral effects of
using other types of media to deliver the sustainability message, stakeholders, academic
institutions, public authorities, and the private sector apparently need to promote the use
of technology at all educational levels. Educating to preserve the environment can be the
first step to protection. More adventurous applications can follow when the protection of
ecosystems becomes a widely held value. In the short-run, this message can be spread
with traditional technologies, but the lasting effects, in the long-run, will be brought
about only by the goal of transformation by using the appropriate applications.
On the other hand, there are many opportunities for education waiting to be
developed. Some of these opportunities include:
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1. use of Web technologies for creating sites of ecological interests and conducting environmental Web-conferencing activities;
2. use of listservs and newsgroups for discussing environmental protection initiatives;
3. use of presentation graphics to better deliver environmental information in the classroom or in training programs;
4. use of multimedia applications to promote self-paced instruction on ecological issues;
5. use of GroupWare communication and decision support systems (DSS) to brainstorm on environmental strategy implementation;
6. use of distance learning to advance the emergence of a global environmental society; and, finally,
7. use of virtual reality replace travel with some forms of virtual travel.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
This paper reviewed the assumptions of learning theories and combined them
with specific technologies to analyze the effect of information technology as a function of
a specific model of learning and a specific learning situation. It applied these theories to
environmental education which was viewed as a necessary starting point for raising
awareness on environmental problems and educating tourists. By looking at the
expansionary effects of the use of different types of technology on educational objectives,
it suggested an educational strategy that incorporates various technologies to promote
higher levels of cognition and achieve longer-term attitudinal changes in travelers.
Although the use of virtual reality is limited by the lack of investment in producing
expensive software applications, expansion of virtual reality and multimedia software
may be the closest, and most sustainable, answer to eco-tourism problems.
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