Wrote the PADI Nitrox exam today ...

[TMHeimer]

The eLearning courses are not intended for jumping around and learning ala carte. They are intended to be consumed from beginning to end, in order, and in totality. Yes, learning is best achieved when reinforced via repetition rather than covered just once. And even better when delivered so the student reads it, hears it, and sees it. The repetition in the courses is very much by design intended to deliver the best results possible.

It took a while, but I eventually noticed the pattern in which of my eLearning divers were prepared and knowledgeable, and easily passed the in store quiz, versus which divers struggle with the in store quiz and the material in general.
When a student figures out how to pencil whip the course - blowing through the videos - and ignoring the built-in remediation on incorrect answers to online quizzes and tests - focusing on minimum passing grades rather than mastery of the material - that is a student that is far more likely to be one of my problem children down the road.

I understand and that makes sense. I was always a good "studier" back in school and had like a 90+ average--though I really had little interest in anything other than basketball and clarinet. Scuba for me was a different sort of education--one where I knew understanding the stuff was important for safety.
So, can the e-learning student "rewind the tape" to go over something in question? Or must they re-view the whole thing? Or do they get to do the whole thing one time only? You see how much I know.....

 

[Manatee Diver]

So, can the e-learning student "rewind the tape" to go over something in question? Or must they re-view the whole thing? Or do they get to do the whole thing one time only? You see how much I know.....

Depends on the agency, but with PADI while you are taking the course you can go back as much as you want. But I believe you only have access to it for a year.

 

[drrich2]

Reading over this thread, I seem some themes that come up repeatedly in similar threads over time. In summary:

1.) The mainstream nitrox courses seem to work just fine for what most recreational divers need.
2.) At least those using computers and skipping the tables seem pretty easy.
3.) At times so easy some advocate for routine folding of the nitrox course into the basic OW course, though that runs the risk of overloading OW students, many of whom won't use nitrox. Try to teach too much at once, and content points start interfering with each other.
4.) For people who want more knowledge and/or to progress in ways that require more, I hear there's Advanced Nitrox, and there are other sources to learn.

Yet repeatedly, the nitrox course gets criticized for being too light on content (though for many it has sufficient content to meet their needs).

Some people want to know more, even outside of practical need. One poster in another thread was an Engineer, IIRC, and was like that. For some, it seems facing a body of knowledge is the mental equivalent of showing a mountain to a rock climber; some want to climb it because it's there. Some gain satisfaction from a deeper grasp of theory.

And some people just want to analyze their tank, see it's about 32%, log it, have their computer set on 32%, dive at the dive op. planned times, stay well above 110 feet deep and out of NDL limits, and enjoy their dives. That works for a lot of people.

Why should the latter group be forced through a more intellectually rigorous program that subjects them to greater adversity on the merit of potential benefits they won't use?

Perhaps instead of 'beefing up' the basic recreational nitrox courses, the focus should be on identifying which divers would be better served with more advanced content, what advantages that offers and how to get them.

Richard.

P.S.: When I took OW and later Nitrox courses, both used tables.

 

[JackD342]

I understand and that makes sense. I was always a good "studier" back in school and had like a 90+ average--though I really had little interest in anything other than basketball and clarinet. Scuba for me was a different sort of education--one where I knew understanding the stuff was important for safety.
So, can the e-learning student "rewind the tape" to go over something in question? Or must they re-view the whole thing? Or do they get to do the whole thing one time only? You see how much I know.....

You are able to click in and out of the different sections. The videos are discreet segments or clips, not just one long movie. The whole course is available up until you successfully complete the online final exam. (You have one year to complete.)
After completion, the student always has access to the course content, but in a different format. More like a PDF of the traditional printed book.
There is a bit of future state tension to somehow resolve. As more and more elements move online and people try to eliminate paper based, locations with minimal or totally lacking internet access have to fight to not be left behind.

 

[TMHeimer]

You are able to click in and out of the different sections. The videos are discreet segments or clips, not just one long movie. The whole course is available up until you successfully complete the online final exam. (You have one year to complete.)
After completion, the student always has access to the course content, but in a different format. More like a PDF of the traditional printed book.
There is a bit of future state tension to somehow resolve. As more and more elements move online and people try to eliminate paper based, locations with minimal or totally lacking internet access have to fight to not be left behind.

Thanks. You answered my next question which was Do you have access to all the info. after you complete the course or one year is elapsed? So, it's as good as a written manual.

I agree with drrich2 on Nitrox course content. I know more about nitrox than I'll probably ever use. That could be said for most courses I've taken.

 

[BlueTrin]

PADI was "wordy" before the advent of e learning. Lots of explanations of stuff you may think of as just logical. But, better that way than the other.
I re-read daily a page of a manual(s) from all my PADI courses and skip over all the obvious stuff.
Fill me in-- Can you not just watch the obvious stuff once then go to stuff you don't understand and replay that at your convenience? Sorry for my ignorance.

So for most of slides I would skip the second one that repeat the first, but because it is a video you are never 100% sure you didn’t miss anything as there is no transcript.

I would rather have the slides being an exact transcript of what the voice over says. This would allow me to go at my own pace.

I think it is because the e-learning is a direct ‘copy’ of what would be played if you were studying at the dive school in a room, rather than a different media adapted to phones/tablets.

For me the paper version of the material is better as I can learn at my own pace.

It is a minor complaint though: I agree that PADI material is very clear and is perfect to teach a large range of people. Young and older and most of them will be recreational divers who just want (for example) to use Nitrox and some of them do not want to be bothered with too much theory.

 

[Alan Browne]

That's because, as a general rule, if you say something only once, only a minority of the audience will actually remember what was said.

So,
is a recipe for failure

Love the Allo! Allo! reference. But please find a clip with garter-belts and stockings next time!

 

[Alan Browne]

I learned the most valuable lesson on my first Nitrox dive. Here was the sequence of events.

1) At shop pick up tanks, analyze ans label them 31% and my initials
2) At shop Set computer (Zoop) to 31%
3) Load gear, drive to boat (30 minutes), load gear onto boat.
4) Gear up on boat - making sure I have my labeled & initialed tank and computer still set to 31% - during cruise to diesite
5) Do a giant stride of boat

6) in mid air computer goes "BEEP"

7) Check computer it has reset to AIR 21%!

8) Since the max depth at the site will be below 1.4 PPO (I did the calculation ahead of time) continue dive while cursing computer. Buttons too small to adjust while wearing gloves

9) Get back home and read in the depths of the Zoop manual "Manually entered values for oxygen percentage are retained for about two hours after the setting if a dive series has not started."

The lesson to always set my percentage just before the dive has stuck!

When I was diving in Roatan, the Nitrox bottles were delivered on-boat and the captain had an analyzer that the divers used to check their mix.

I have the Zoop Novo (that I bought off of one of the divers (his backup) on that resort stay).

From the manual: "NOTE: If the oxygen content of a mix is set to 22% or above, the setting value remains until changed. It does not automatically revert back to 21%."

 

[dmaziuk]

3.) At times so easy some advocate for routine folding of the nitrox course into the basic OW course, though that runs the risk of overloading OW students ...

I can check the book when I get home, but I'm fairly certain my PADI OW book says "less nitrogen = more NDL" and "oxtox", and has everything you need to know to figure out your MOD. The ones who may get overloaded are the ones who don't read the material in the first place.

 

[Marie13]

For SDI eLearning -

You can't skip around. You have to get 100% on a chapter quiz before you can go on to the next chapter. The final exam is part of the eLearning, not done separately at the shop.

If you want to go back and review after you've finished, you can skip around however you like.

I took my OW and Nitrox classes more than 2 years ago. I did eLearning for both. I still have access to them.