Illuminating The Spa Industry Through Online Continuing Education
As I push the door open and enter the darkened space, the aroma of
Lavender and Eucalyptus greets me; I pause, and inhale deeply. I am calmer. The soothing sounds of Enya are playing in the background along with the trickling of water from the fountain. My path is illuminated with candles. As I walk, I think how fortunate I am to be working in the spa industry. The reality of being at work does not hit me until I enter my office and in the harsh light, I see my desk. It is a desk like any other busy person’s desk, weighted with piles of papers and messages in strategic places. It is a desk only the owner could navigate.
Lately, I am feeling stale, unable to muster the same enthusiasm my job demands. My employees can sense that I am not ‘on my game’. I know I need some classes to put some new ideas into play. I would love to have a place to talk to other spa directors, share ideas, and brainstorm. However, I barely can fulfill my obligations now. What choices do I have for continuing education? I can wait for my professional association’s yearly meeting or seek other industry conferences. Although, aside from the financial costs it also means a weekend away from my family. I can take an independent study course through a professional organization, or I can research, independently.
Imagine the option of taking an online continuing education course with your colleagues. Imagine communicating at your convenience, with colleagues any where in the world and learning first hand what works in their spas and what does not. Imagine creating a community of learners, which support each other in finding solutions to workplace problems, resources for treatments and equipment, and maybe making a new online friend to share your success and failures. Online continuing education provides these exciting opportunities.
When spa professionals come together whether for an online class, or in the workplace, their natural inclination is to help each other. People working together to help people creates social capital, which is a community resource. A basic factor in creating social capital is trust. When individuals are closer socially, both trust & trustworthiness rise (Glaeser, Laibson, Scheinkman, Soutter 2000). Trust begins when a person does what they say they will do. It is that simple. As we begin to trust each other and build community, we also build social capital. We have all been involved in creating social capital in our civic groups, neighborhoods, churches, and workplace. Social capital is created through cooperative activities.
Martha, the director of Spa Z prided herself on her creative holiday promotions, but this Mother’s Day was different, with lasts year’s sales flat, Martha wondered ‘have I lost my touch?’ Exasperated, she decided to seek the help of professionals, and called a staff meeting. She was almost finished explaining the problem when Susan chimed in ‘I have a great idea; a drive up gift certificate station in the parking lot. It was a big success at my last spa.’ Susan took the initiative and trained her colleagues on how to sell drive up gift certificates. A schedule was created and enthusiastically, everyone put on sunscreen and took a parking lot shift. At the end of the day, a tired but happy, Spa Z staff had sold a record number of Mother’s Day gift certificates. In addition, felt great about supporting each other in accomplishing their goal.
The Best Treatment: Is online education the end all and be all?
In traditional spa continuing education, students are face to face with the instructor and most often touch the products and sometimes-other classmates. We are a tactical group of learners. Spa professionals have a special gift; we touch our clients with the intention of helping them to relax. How can this ‘touchy-feely’ group learn from online courses?
As with all good things, online education has its limitations. What it cannot do obviously, is take the place of treatment or equipment-based courses, where it is necessary for the spa professional to see, touch and learn. Online education is better suited to teach theory based classes. Subjects that lend themselves to an online environment include product knowledge, business and management courses, ingredients, cosmetic chemistry, or diseases of the skin. Another interesting fact is that in traditional courses we are not encouraged to talk to our colleagues while in class, but in an online course we are not only encouraged, we are required to converse, and collaborate with our classmates because that is how we learn. Online, experienced colleagues can provide tremendous support and resources.
A typical spa professional travels to national meetings to learn new products and techniques, and Stephanie was a typical spa professional. She loved learning. The completion in the spa business was growing and her clients were very well informed.
There was a tremendous pressure to stay current. At a national meeting, Stephanie was taking notes feverously and becoming excited about trying the new body wrap when she returned to her spa in Arizonia. Upon returning, she looked questionably at her notes, which by this time had a coat of essential oils on them. Hummm, she was not sure at this point, if there were any contraindications. She called the company to speak to the instructor. XYZ Company’s receptionist told Stephanie, the instructor of her class lived in NY and was very difficult to reach. Upon hearing this Stephanie wondered how she would get her questions answered. How would your work be supported if you could email your online classmates with your dilemma and receive instant answers?
Anatomy of an Online Course
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Traditional methods of delivering knowledge no longer seem adequate to satisfy the educational needs of today’s workforce’ (Rudestam & Schoenholtz-Read 2002). In traditional education, the instructor has the knowledge and gives it to the students sometimes acting as a ’sage on the stage’. In online education, the instructor becomes the ‘guide on the side’ and facilitates the knowledge. Each student comes to class with a unique knowledge base, and the online environment facilitates sharing that knowledge and constructing new knowledge from the experience. The learning becomes engaging and meaningful to the student because the student interacts with the material as well as other classmates. How valuable would this educational option be to a busy spa professional?
An online class is not like any other class you have taken. There is not set times to be ‘in class.’ A student can log on & off the class site at their convenience. This type of class is called asynchronous (not synchronized). A typical course site looks similar to a web site. To view a typical course go to www.capella.com A typical online class offers many different opportunities to chat with your colleagues, and to work independently or collaboratively. An online class provides a unique classroom experience because each student is interacting with experienced industry professionals in addition to a qualified instructor. Interaction is encouraged, through the interaction friendships are built, and knowledge is exchanged.
One of the most interesting by products of an online class is the relationships (community) that develop between the class members. As students interact with each other in class and group activities, trust and friendship are built, and community of experts is formed. Any spa manager who has struggled with an employee issue or any other management issue will rejoice in knowing that a class of spa experts is available to support them. And that expertise is just a click away!
Through group interactions, members acquire subject matter concerning the issues that brought the group together as well as an understanding of how their interactions contribute to building a sense of collective self and the ability of that self to act (Imel & Stein 2003). This community willingly supports its members through its expertise in the field. Social capital can be conceptualized as a community resource that builds from group members’ acquired knowledge, from the networks established through cooperative activity that might include situations designed to promote learning, and from identity resources developed from engaging in social activity such as trust, increased competence, or developing voice ( Balatti & Falk, 2002). Groups are often unaware of the role of learning plays in their organizations. An example of this might be; participating on a committee for a professional organization and realizing the need to learn how to present your findings in power point.
A Refreshing New Perspective
The opportunity to take continuing education online is in its infancy in the spa industry. Although the spa industry does provide a variety of online resources through professional organizations and magazines, very little, is offered as an online course with a qualified spa professional as the instructor.
As the body of knowledge in the spa industry increases through scientific research and new technology, it becomes more difficult to stay ‘on the cutting’ edge. We are challenged to continue to upgrade our education to succeed. Online education in the spa industry, would offer a wonderful solution to continuing our education on our computer, after the kids have gone to bed, and we have watched the latest installment of Desperate Housewives. Imagine communicating with your colleagues while in your P.J.’s, a mask on your face, and sipping herbal tea. Now that is the way to go to class! If this kind of education option seems exciting and has the ability to fill your needs, let your voices be heard. Change begins when the traditional way of educating lifelong learners is no longer adequate to meet the demands of the workforce.
Resources
Balatti, J., & Falk, I. (2002). Socioeconomic contributions of adult learning to community: A social capital perspective. Adult Education Quarterly, 62, 281-298.
Glaeser, E., Laibson, D., Scheinkman, J., Soutler, C. (2000). Measuring Trust. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 2000. Retrieved April 11, 2006 from www.Ingenta.com
Imel, S., Stein, D., (2003). Self awareness of learning that occurs in community. Paper presented at 2003 Midwest Research to Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing and Community Education. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from http://www.alumni-osu.org/midwest/midwest/%20papers/Imel%20&%20Stein–Done.pdf
Rudenstam, K., Schoenholtz-Read, J .(2002). Overview: The Coming of Age
Of Adult Online Education. In K. Rudenstam and J. Schoenhotz-Read (Eds.),
Handbook of Online Learning (pp.3-28). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Productions, Inc.