Students’ Perceptions of the Usefulness of a Virtual Simulation in Post-Secondary Hospitality Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Advances in learning technologies provide educators with opportunities to shift the learning environment to more interactive and student-centered learning environments (Scott & Hannafin, 2000 Scott, B. and Hannafin, R. 2000. How teachers and parents view classroom learning environments: An exploratory study. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32: 401–417. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). In theory, by developing technology-based learning environments, students can be stimulated into becoming more active learners. This study explores students' perceived usefulness of an Internet-based hospitality simulation to develop competencies and improve course performance. It was hypothesized in this study that students will have a positive perception of the simulation's usefulness. Data were collected from students who participated in an online hospitality simulation as part of their course requirement. Participants in the current research were from seven different hospitality programs where the course instructor required students to participate in an online virtual hospitality business simulation. Results of the study found that students' perceived usefulness of the simulation experience was positive.