The eLearning thing has been fairly controversial among LDSs because it puts them in direct competition with the agency which is supposed to represent them. The concept is great, but LDSs would prefer it if PADI didn't sell directly to students since it screws with their course pricing. Currently, the eLearning fee is higher than the cost of any OW crew pack, but around here the LDSs can't drop their prices by this amount since their costs haven't changed (and instructors are already close to minimum wage). Students end up paying more when they opt for eLearning, which probably explains why we haven't seen a lot of it.
The main advantage of eLearning is that it draws in students who might otherwise not think of coming in to a dive shop to sign up for a course. As far as time savings and flexibility, that's questionable since they still need to accommodate the LDS's pool and ocean schedule. For nitrox I can definitely see the advantage since there's no pool or ocean time involved, although right now the eLearning version is priced way higher than the regular crew pack so there's no real advantage unless you absolutely can't accommodate a LDS's classroom session. I'm kind of surprised PADI started with OW and AOW instead of the non-diving specialties.
I've never had an eLearning student, but I agree with vinegarbiscuit that the class time allows students to interact with each other and with the instructor. People ask a ton of questions during these sessions, and since we require students to prepare on their own anyway, these sessions are casual and social rather than structured lectures. I can see why people might want to avoid a classroom session if they thought it was just going to be a boring lecture, but when they sign up for eLearning, they don't know this.
The main advantage of eLearning is that it draws in students who might otherwise not think of coming in to a dive shop to sign up for a course. As far as time savings and flexibility, that's questionable since they still need to accommodate the LDS's pool and ocean schedule. For nitrox I can definitely see the advantage since there's no pool or ocean time involved, although right now the eLearning version is priced way higher than the regular crew pack so there's no real advantage unless you absolutely can't accommodate a LDS's classroom session. I'm kind of surprised PADI started with OW and AOW instead of the non-diving specialties.
I've never had an eLearning student, but I agree with vinegarbiscuit that the class time allows students to interact with each other and with the instructor. People ask a ton of questions during these sessions, and since we require students to prepare on their own anyway, these sessions are casual and social rather than structured lectures. I can see why people might want to avoid a classroom session if they thought it was just going to be a boring lecture, but when they sign up for eLearning, they don't know this.