A new assignment gave me new grading life! Instead of a final paper, I gave students the option of creating a podcast episode or vlog on a topic of their choosing related to tourism, travel, and hospitality as an industry.
I had fun grading and even found that I began to just listen to the projects as an interested listener as opposed to a rubric-minded red-pen-handed teacher.
With ample opportunities to practice their writing already, I made space for another creative vehicle they could use to showcase their understanding and learning. The assignment still met our learning objectives; it required research, critically analyzing a topic, organizing the material for an audience, and presenting.
The podcast/vlog assignment infused our class with a creative outlet and encouraged students to find/learn/use technology as a tool. They had to really think about their audience and universal design/accessibility in their content creation (adding captions).
Students really got into the project. Some created b-roll for their backgrounds and others created show graphics for their new podcast. A few said how much fun they had and discovered a passion for podcasting. One said she might even keep adding episodes to her show. Students can add this project to electronic portfolios and share their work more broadly. Here are the details I gave them. Feel free to adapt it to your needs.
Assignment Details
You will take one aspect of the TTH industry you’d like to investigate further. Or you can present a sales presentation on a property or destination. Or you can interview someone working in the TTH industry.
You will present your findings and discoveries as a podcast or vlog (video blog) of 5-8 minutes, complete with script so it can be universal design and captioned. This should be your own original work and can be included in your e-portfolio. And if it's a show-stopper, we could place it on the department's YouTube or Comm Speaks podcast (with your permission - and permission of any of your guests).
Industry-specific podcasts for ideas and inspiration: https://www.allintheindustry.com/ or https://www.slicktalkthepodcast.com/podcast
Here's a list of 15 best travel podcasts: https://discoverpods.com/travel-podcasts/
Ideas (you can use one of these or come up with something that interests you):
- Investigate further a type of tourism
- Dive into one of the Elizabeth Becker's destinations and give a "where are they now" update
- Analyze your own town's tourism efforts
- Take a topic from our OER and see how another country compares to Canada
- How to be a responsible tourist
- The future of a piece of the travel/tourism industry
- Interview someone who works in the industry
You can use free podcasting tools or in Canvas, head to Studio. You can make a vlog with screen-in-screen, or you can tell it audio-only. Consume a few vlogs or podcasts to get a feel for the medium. Work from a script or at least an outline of what you want to talk about. If you don't, you might wander and your listener will get lost. Practicing just a little will help you estimate your time. 5-8 mins. flies once you get going.
Here are some great tips about planning an episode of a podcast (or vlog): https://improvepodcast.com/9-key-tips-on-how-to-plan-podcast-episodes/
- Introduce yourself and your topic to your audience.
- Talk about your topic and what you want to share with the listener.
- Orally cite sources like ... "the number of tourists increased 10 fold according to an article in The New York Times."
- Make your points.
- Use conversational language.
- Have an exit strategy. You don't want the awkward "um, bye" (that I do on my weekly welcome videos!) Thank your listeners and if you have a regular show, invite them to the next one.
Topics to Avoid - please steer away from these kinds of ideas because I want you to take a larger, industry look.
-My Trip to ____________
-Top X things to do in _________
TURN IN: You'll turn in both the vlog/podcast (upload or a link) and your script that could be used to caption it.
