Discussing Industry and Educational Trends with Mandeep Singh

It was a beautiful early morning in the Kootenays when I sat down at my living room table to have a video chat with my classmate Mandeep Singh. My coffee was hot, Mandeep's smile was bright, and we were ready to catch up. Coincidentally, we both work in the hospitality sector; while I focus on food and beverage, Mandeep works primarily in the hotel branch of hospitality, in addition to being an online instructor for Selkirk College. 

We quickly noticed that the trends in both our sectors of hospitality shared a commonality, touchless technology. While much of the tech has been around for years, the widely growing use of features like “QR codes,” had grown exponentially with many of the businesses opting to adopt it. Why now do you ask? Two words, global pandemic.   

We both agree that since March 2020, our industry has been hit hard, and the necessity to find new ways to accommodate and do business became crucial. We both agree that the benefits of adopting the use of touchless techs have provided our industry with the means to continue to operate and even found this trend to help many aspects of our business operate smoothly and with expedience. We both agree that the biggest downside is the loss of the individualized touch that the face-to-face experience brings, as such limiting the ability to offer our clients and guests upgrades on their purchases. 

 

This was the second time Mandeep and I met to chat, many of what we spoke about echoed in this second meeting, however, we now have topics to share regarding our teaching theories and practices. Mandeep, currently teaching an online course at Selkirk College here in Nelson, was pleased to express that learning teaching theory has helped him transform some of his teaching styles and began to incorporate these newly discovered methods into his own classroom. He mentioned learning about better ways to support self-directed learning, and the concept of student-centered learning with practices like the reverse classroom. 

 

We agree that our industry is changing rapidly and agree that we are both undergoing a self-transformative process; marveling that learning never stops! 

 

 

 

You can visit Mandeep's Blog by clicking here