PADI e-learning...how good is it?

[jviehe]

Hi I am thinking about taking the padi e-learng coarse on line. I work 1 full time job and 2 part time jobs and I am on the fire dept so time is the issue. Is the E-learng a good way to go. How do experianced divers feel about it.

Having taught the classroom portion plenty of times, elearning is exactly the same except you dont have to listen to someone lecture for 4 hours. You can still talk to an instructor if you dont get something, but the concepts are pretty basic. The material is designed for a 10 year old to understand.

 

[oly5050user]

Having taught the classroom portion plenty of times, elearning is exactly the same except you dont have to listen to someone lecture for 4 hours. You can still talk to an instructor if you dont get something, but the concepts are pretty basic. The material is designed for a 10 year old to understand.

Thats pretty much on how I feel about this method..To be honest about it ,when elearning first came out I was not too fond of it...Recently I had an 11 yo girl complete elearning at home and then came to class with her parents,both of whom are certified.
I did an abbreviated version of my presentations,highlighted key points for her, and she aced every quiz.On her final exam she got something in the high 90's-96% if I remember correctly.She did all pool work here and then went to the islands..I even got a phone call from the instr at the island destination telling me how well she did..
I now look at elearning as a choice for the student to use instead of traditional paper text and dvd video..Same material just presented in a different format.

 

[kmrEMTPRN]

I did the e-learning recently... OW certified on 9/22. I honestly had the same problem as you. I work as an RN full time and medic part time and mostly work nights (which is when the classroom portion was to be held). I had done 2 discovery dives prior to this. I found the e-learning a really good tool/resource. There are multiple formats within the program to help with your style of learning (video, written and spoken for each slide). There are also videos at the end of each section that prep you for your confined water dives. I highly recommend watching the videos. It's one thing to read about waht you are going to do, but to see it...

I honestly would do it all over again if I had to. It took me about 3 days to complete over a weekend and I was certified about 2 weeks later after the dives. Another benefit I find is that you have 1 year to go back to the e-learning. It has already been good for me to review some topics during my OW dives and then AOW course that I've now completed.

Good luck!

 

[Colliam7]

Is the E-learng a good way to go. How do experianced divers feel about it.

Several instructors have voiced similar opinions. I was 'concerned' when I first heard about it, thinking that the traditional face-to-face instruction offered a substantially greater opportunity for interaction and learning. So far, working through my second 8-student class of eLearners right now, I don't see a deficit in their preparartion, and actually see a gain. But, THEY love it. I have several students who have come to the initial pool seession with a lot of good questions, reflecting both an understanding of the content and a curiosity possibly inspired by it. I spent a long time as a university faculty member, thinking that my lectures were, of course, inspriing, informative, educational, and uniquely enlightening. What I ultimately found is that the real/best learning came out of seminars, where I started with a written case study, let the students discuss it, and I said very little, other than ask some questions to guide the discussion at times. I am finding I can do the same with diving students who have come through eLearning. They are actually BETTER prepared than the students who go through the traditional academic course (and show up for the session having not read the material or done the Knowledge Reviews). I am at a point where I personally seek new information from the web (and get frustrated when I can't find it). Then, armed with information I seek out opportunities to turn that information into knowledge by filtering it through actual experience, often with an instructor as a guide. I have come to think that eLearning does just that.

 

[Thalassamania]

My university experience mirrors yours. Seminars are much more effective for a motivated student than a traditional lecture is (face it, lectures were originally designed to transfer material from the professor's notebook to the students' back before Gutenberg). Our solution was to split our lecture time into a formal lecture and less formal "recitation" period that was more seminar-like. I can see where e-learning could be substituted for the formal lecture period, but more often than not it is simply a substitute for all academic preparation.

 

[k ellis]

I have not done a whole lot of research on it but from what I understand it simply cost a little more in the long run. The LDS that will teach you will have to make enough to profit from it. When I looked into it they quoted about 150 dollars more then if I just took the classes in the LDS all the way through.

What ever you decide to do there is nothing difficult about diving. They make the class enjoyable and relaxing in most cases I have witnessed

 

[Walter]

I don't see the big deal. Most PADI classes are taught by a CD, you'll get the same training online. It's the same as most other PADI classes. Bottom line, it's just a PADI class. If you just want a c-card, go for it. If you want quality training, look for a quality instructor and schedule time for a quality class. There are no short cuts to good training.

 

[Fairfax22032]

IMO it is unrealistic to think that e-learning is all that you need before jumping in the pool and moving on to the OW dives. This method suits my learning style well and I had 1:1 attention from an instructor when I got my c-card in Cancun last month. As pointed out in an earlier post, the PADI OW course is written at a pretty basic level and you really don't need to have an in depth understanding of physics and human physiology to grasp the concepts. The key is having an instructor who effectively bridges the didactic and practical skills - this is what helps to create a safe and confident diver.

I realize that individualized instruction is not the norm, but even in a class of 6-8 the instructor should be taking the time to ensure that students don't simply demonstrate skills on a checklist.

 

[Thalassamania]

... I realize that individualized instruction is not the norm, but even in a class of 6-8 the instructor should be taking the time to ensure that students don't simply demonstrate skills on a checklist.

But that's the reality (at last as I observe) today.

 

[askdjasd]

I did the PADI e-learning, funny thing is at my local dive shop I was the only student to do it Online.

The course itself is great, I downloaded the Padi videos on a torrent, but didnt need them.
Any questions I had about what I was learning, my dive shopped helped me figure it out over the phone.
The confined dives were a breeze as with the ocean dives.

I get told that I'm one of the better divers... but I dont think it's cause of E-learning, it's cause I have a passion about the ocean.... being super mature and responsible help too!