Online Padi Course

[sea-nile]

I did the on-line course and have done the pool dives.
It does cost more. I now regret that I did it this way. I think that I would have liked the person to person instructor in the classroom much better. I do live far from the dive shop so I did it for convenience.
It wasn't quick which is what others have said. Each module takes maybe an hour. Then I went over everything again before the written test. I learned a lot, got 100% on the test, so it could be a good alternative if you have a busy schedule and live far from a class.
My dive manual is online rather than a hard copy, which is OK, I guess, but I think I'd prefer a hard copy.
If you are the kind of person who does everything on the computer, it is probably a good option.

 

[azscuba]

Hi Dive-aholic, I think all your points are valid, so let me explain my situation. Last spring I went on a Resort Course in Maui and had the time of my life. I knew then that I HAD to scuba dive. As a very busy mom of 4 with a busy husband, and no time to do anything for myself, I haven't had the chance to pursue my dream. In 3 weeks, I am going to MX on a gals trip, IE no kids, I can do whatever I want, it suddenly occurred to me this is my chance to do my certification. Like all moms, I do my best thinking when the kids are in bed or at school, so the online study would really suit me. Do you think 3 weeks is enough time to study and do my poolwork on the weekends?

 

[Lenmonster]

The only way to get your pool training done (IMO adequately) is to do it when, say, they have two sessions per week, as many courses do. It also depends, though, on the amount of time you need to be in the pool. I got my skills down pretty quickly, but many struggled. I know my wife, given her fears of mask clearing, wants to spread pool sessions out so she can practice between them.

You also potentially could, if you have a lot of time on the trip...do your eLearning, and then do all of your pool sessions and your OW checkout dives right in Mexico. I don't know where you are staying, but there are many good dive ops that would be able to do that for you. It's just that most people don't want to take a lot of their vacation time, especially if you are staying at an all-inclusive hotel or have other sightseeing plans, to do what they could have done at home.

I actually struggled with whether I should just do everything in Mexico (just did my checkout dives there last week). I decided I'd rather do the pool stuff here, and see how I did, knowing I could get more training in the pool if I needed in in Mexico. If I hadn't done that, I'd leave little room for error, plus I wouldn't have spent as much time with my family. I'm glad I did it the way I did.

If you are staying in Cancun, Ben at Mayan Aqua Dive is a great instructor, and he would help you do whatever you wanted to get your certification.

No matter what, in some ways, OW is already a rush. I don't think for some people there is a difference between doing everything over, say, a four day span is any different than having sessions a week apart.

 

[fisherdvm]

The problem I have with the PADI online course is that it's still the PADI course, which I feel is woefully inadequate in it's academic content. When I teach a PADI course I spend considerable time in the classroom filling in the gaps in knowledge that I think are there.

I am glad that you fill in the gaps. But for the uninformed student, they are often told to do SSI. Please do an objective reading of SSI's open water book, and you would see that PADI's program is superior. I enrolled my son in SSI, and having read through his book at least once .... PADI's book is much better.

Hopefully enough SSI instructors will read this, and that the SSI organization will improve their book.

 

[jpcpat]

AZ,

Welcome to the board, and congratulations on taking the time to do something you want to do. Please ignore the training bashers who predict a quick death for anyone who is not full cave certified. To dive in a cave, you need the kind of training they are describing. For diving the reefs of mexico, not so much.

The online learning option seems best suited for you as it's the most flexible timewise. In my experience, Elearners are often the best prepared academically. If anything is not clear at the end, you can ask your instructor before you start the pool work.

As for scheduling, I would suggest scheduling the pool sessions, then backing into the timing on the elearning. Some people bang it out in a weekend. With kids, I'd count on a week.

If you took a resort course and loved it, the pool work will be pretty straightforward. Enjoy it.

 

[oly5050user]

I did the on-line course and have done the pool dives.
It does cost more. I now regret that I did it this way. I think that I would have liked the person to person instructor in the classroom much better. I do live far from the dive shop so I did it for convenience.
It wasn't quick which is what others have said. Each module takes maybe an hour. Then I went over everything again before the written test. I learned a lot, got 100% on the test, so it could be a good alternative if you have a busy schedule and live far from a class.
My dive manual is online rather than a hard copy, which is OK, I guess, but I think I'd prefer a hard copy.
If you are the kind of person who does everything on the computer, it is probably a good option.

where did you not have a instructor person to person? Did they not do a presentation to review material? Did they not review knowledge reviews with you? did they do quiz and review with you? How about the final exam?You did have the instructor there at the pool I hope.Congrats on the test score ,shows that you truly applied yourself.But the fact that you say "would have likes to the person to person instructor in the classroom concerns me that someone(instr/facility)failed to do their job.

 

[DiverBizz]

E Learning is not for me. I love being in the classroom and having the book to refer to occasionally and asking the teacher about whatever chapter review question at the time of the class. YES, I cannot say anything about E Learning other than the few divers that I know who did the internet course did not appear to be lacking in skills or general knowledge.

 

[fisherdvm]

I think the nice thing about online classes is, you don't have to worry about a bad instructor who doesn't spend enough time. As you are the instructor, and can go at your own pace. I've been taking ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) renewal classes every 2 years for 20 years. When we started out, they were half day classes with drills done by 2 doctors. Then they were still at least 4 hours, but now taught by nurses and EMTs. Then I took an online class, and did fine. The last one I took, was in a class. It was barely a 1 hour class, was taught terribly, and I had to contact the AHA people, write to the director, and reported the instructor. ......

In medical school, we had really bad instructors for many classes. The one class I liked the best was our pharmacology course. It was self taught, and self tested!! Only the final was not self test. I did great, read tons of stuff out side of the course outline..... But others did terribly, and some of my colleagues had to retake the class (one flunked the final twice and repeated a year of med school). So self paced and self instruction is not for everyone.

You really can't appreciate the value of an online class until you've had a bad instructor. But, with a good instructor, you probably will learn much more than an online class.

 

[sea-nile]

OLY5050user:
The instructor was at the pool, of course, I was the first online student that they had and they said that I could come in for review anytime and even go back in the pool again before the OW dives. I didn't feel like I knew less than the other students. It is just that I am 48 and did not grow up learning on the computer. I just think that I would have preferred the classes in person.
I did take the final exam at the dive shop with the instructor present.

 

[neil]

Neil...Which specific academic issues do you have with PADI's course? I'm not a PADI apologist by any means, but it would definitely be helpful to us who are certified through them to know what we're missing.

There are many things I add. We've talked about this on the board before but I'll give you a few examples off the top of my head:

-Gas management, a perennial favorite here on SB.
-Comprehensive discussion on signs, symptoms and treatment of DCI. In fact, the words "gas embolism" do not appear in the PADI text.
-There's not anything about the history of dive tables and the differences between the ones that exist. I think this is important knowledge and deserves a few minutes of class time
-Tank markings in better detail; how regs work,
-More detailed physiology. The words "eustachian tube" do not appear in the PADI text.
There's plenty more.

Some will argue that some or all of this is unnecessary to know. I disagree, and truly believe that the informed diver will be the better diver.

Frankly, IMNSHO, if ALL you know about diving came from the PADI OW course, your knowledge has some serious gaps in it. I guess this can be said about other courses too, to some extent. You aren't going to learn everything there is to know about diving in ANY OW course.