In what is believed to be a New Zealand first, Otago Polytechnic cookery tutors have filmed their own cookery lessons - ranging from baking a pavlova to butchering a pig - and made them available for free on the Internet.
Now with more than 75,000 hits on the video sharing website YouTube, such technology could become as commonplace as a spatula in the polytechnic's kitchen, cookery programme manager Tony Heptinstall said.
Conducting a survey in 2005 on students' learning needs, the tutors decided to explore the technology when they discovered the majority of students preferred to learn by visual and audio methods, rather than the traditional reading and writing.
"That did not surprise us. Cooking is a hands-on skill," he said.
"The conventional method is to read the recipe, but if that isn't your preferred learning style it may make learning that much harder."
In an effort to cater for the students' learning needs, the tutors began using a digital camera in 2007 to take photos of cooking lessons, and later progressed to moving images.
Filming for students who had missed lessons due to sickness or work commitments, the tutors recognised the potential of the technology, with an increasing number of students requesting to watch the two-minute videos.
Uploading the clips to the polytechnic's own website, the tutors decided to put all 70 videos on to YouTube this year, with students able to download lessons direct to their iPods, other portable mp4 video file players, or computers.
"This means they can take the classroom everywhere they go," he said.
Receiving a $5000 grant for innovation in teaching, the cookery department bought a computer and a digital video camera to begin their project.
In a New Zealand first, the polytechnic has leased 16 iPods for next year's first-year students for a six-month trial.
So far clips have been viewed more than 75,000 times, Mr Heptinstall said.
They range from a two-minute black forest gateau lesson to an 11-minute demonstration on butchering a pig.
Tutors had received inquiries from people from all over the world, with requests for recipes flooding their email inboxes.
Chef tutor Steve Ellwood said the lessons were not a replacement for the classroom, as students still needed to taste and smell their culinary creations - and most importantly, they needed to attend their classes.
