Padi Aow Question

[nh16]

Hi all,

I'd like to get my Advanced Open Water Cert this summer but I'm kind've confused about the process. So, I know that I can go to a local dive shop and do the course with them (class time and required dives)... However, if I were to do the online course from PADI, how would I get the dives approved? For example- could I go to a dive shop and say, "I want to do a navigation dive" and then the DM just signs something?? How would they know that I'm completing the necessary skills?

It also seems like it would likely be more expensive to do the online class and dives separately as opposed to doing it all out of a shop. So what's the point of doing the classwork online? I'm in North Central Fl, so I'd probably have to head elsewhere for most of the required adventure dives.

Anyways, just looking for some clarification.

Thanks!!

 

[Skulmoski]

I did my AOW on line. I completed the skills with a dive shop. Many dive shops will give a discount if you have completed and passed your e-learning. You should print out your e-learning evaluation and take it with you when you do the skills component. The instructor will review some of the theory to check that you (rather than someone else) took the test and have the required knowledge.

You then can do the skills component. Log the dives and skills you complete in your log book. The instructor will sign it which certifies you have successfully completed the required skills for the dive you completed under the instructor's supervision. You should then be able to go elsewhere for the other dives. Just make sure that your log book exactly reflects the skills you have completed. The instructor can provide you with the list of skills after your dive so you can accurately document the skills you have completed.

Good luck and have fun with the course.

GJS

 

[Oldbear]

If you do the eLearning portion of the AOW course or any PADI eLearning course you MUST select and link the course to a Dive Training Center during registration. So find you dive instructor before you sign up for your course.

When I took my AOW I did the eLearning while I was stationed in Iraq and then did my dives while on my vacation. I liked the online course as it covered several different diving topics. Later I learned these topics each have an associated Adventure Dive with it, e.g. Night Diver, Search & Recovery, Deep Diver, Wreck Diver, etc. The actual diving will consist of five Adventure Dives, Underwater Navigation and Deep Diver are required dives. The other three should be your choice, these are special to to you. I choose Night Diver, Fish ID, and Peak Performance.

The eLearning is not required but just a learning tool and option. I teach the AOW. Course with the student reading the book and doing the Knowledge Reviews for each of our chosen Adventure Dives.

Good luck and enjoy your course.

~Oldbear~

 

[jonhall]

If you do the eLearning portion of the AOW course or any PADI eLearning course you MUST select and link the course to a Dive Training Center during registration. So find you dive instructor before you sign up for your course.

Agree. Looked into it when I thought about getting AOW when traveling. Both dive ops I checked with told me that eLearning would eliminate the bookwork part of the course and we would only do the 5 required dives, but I determined it would have been slightly more expensive to do it that way. The benefit would have been not spending extra time studying/doing bookwork while on a vacation.

 

[nh16]

Agree. Looked into it when I thought about getting AOW when traveling. Both dive ops I checked with told me that eLearning would eliminate the bookwork part of the course and we would only do the 5 required dives, but I determined it would have been slightly more expensive to do it that way. The benefit would have been not spending extra time studying/doing bookwork while on a vacation.

Gotcha, since I'll be doing it in my hometown, I'm not quite as concerned about that. I'm planning a trip to Australia in the fall to do a liveaboard and originally contemplated doing the AOW on that trip, but it's been a few years since I've been diving so I figured I'd take the opportunity to get in the water a bit before the trip and knock out that cert this summer.

 

[nh16]

If you do the eLearning portion of the AOW course or any PADI eLearning course you MUST select and link the course to a Dive Training Center during registration. So find you dive instructor before you sign up for your course.

When I took my AOW I did the eLearning while I was stationed in Iraq and then did my dives while on my vacation. I liked the online course as it covered several different diving topics. Later I learned these topics each have an associated Adventure Dive with it, e.g. Night Diver, Search & Recovery, Deep Diver, Wreck Diver, etc. The actual diving will consist of five Adventure Dives, Underwater Navigation and Deep Diver are required dives. The other three should be your choice, these are special to to you. I choose Night Diver, Fish ID, and Peak Performance.

The eLearning is not required but just a learning tool and option. I teach the AOW. Course with the student reading the book and doing the Knowledge Reviews for each of our chosen Adventure Dives.

Good luck and enjoy your course.

~Oldbear~

That makes sense. Since I'm just doing it while at home, I guess it make sense to do it all as a class with my local shop. It does seem like it's less expensive that way.

 

[skwirl]

Your math may vary, but to me, it looks tough to justify the PADI e-Learning course. Looking on PADI's website, it costs $164.00 just for the "classroom (book) portion." Rainbow Reef in Key Largo does the entire AOW course including the book for $160 (before dive trip costs). I'm flying down and doing it with them soon.

From what I have seen watching people doing this course on past trips, the AOW bookwork is fairly minor and informal and is often done on the boat going between dive sites. Depending on how your LDS runs the course, you may not save any time at all doing PADI's e-Learning. You'll just end up paying more and you won't even have a physical book when you are done.

I did PADI e-Learning for NITROX and I really disliked their online system. I wish I had done the entire thing in person, and I'm the kind of person who vastly prefers doing things online rather than in person. Their e-Learning system was just THAT bad. It would have been cheaper to do entirely in person, too.

 

[billinwilliamston]

AOW is more about assessing and improving your skill and comfort in the water than it is about book work. Try to pick the dives you sign up for based on what you need work on, not based on what sounds fun. Deep and underwater nav are required. Unless you are a very unusual case, chose peak performance buoyancy as one of your other dives.

 

[nh16]

Your math may vary, but to me, it looks tough to justify the PADI e-Learning course. Looking on PADI's website, it costs $164.00 just for the "classroom (book) portion." Rainbow Reef in Key Largo does the entire AOW course including the book for $160 (before dive trip costs). I'm flying down and doing it with them soon.

Yeah, our LDS' AOW class is a little more expensive but it also includes the cost of one local dive (the following weekend is a trip to south fl to do the other skills)... I think it still works out to a better strategy than doing the online course.

AOW is more about assessing and improving your skill and comfort in the water than it is about book work.

Yeah that seems to be what folks are describing to me. Our LDS requires a PPB dive for the first class day, which is a good idea imo. The second weekend covers the other required skills.