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

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Just a waste of money!
This is likely too late for you...

By seven years, it would seem.

---------- Post added February 9th, 2015 at 08:55 AM ----------

This is the total opposite of my experience, the OW elearning was excellent, especially the new version, the site worked fine, payment went through fine, I had a query and got a fast and helpful response from PADI EMEA in London. Any dive shop is fully aware of elearning and should NOT charge you the full price for OW or AOW courses...

There needs to be some clarity around this statement, because whether or not a shop should "charge you the full price" really depends on how their course is priced in the first place.

If a shop's "full price" includes books and materials then they should not include those costs for elearners. However, many shops will price their courses assuming "home learning" whether book or online, and even list the cost of materials separately. If they do this, then the cost for "the course" might not change for e-learners.

Frankly - I'd never advise anyone to go to "elearning" directly to sign up for a course. Go to - or call - the shop and make sure you understand what you're signing up for, what's included, and what's not.
 
Calling is exactly what I did, but having said that I can't recall any shop whose site I have browsed NOT knocking off the cost of elearning for OW and AOW, same as referrals where people have done the pool dives before doing the open water dives elsewhere. The pricing mechanism seems pretty clear to me...
 
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If a shop's "full price" includes books and materials then they should not include those costs for elearners. However, many shops will price their courses assuming "home learning" whether book or online, and even list the cost of materials separately. If they do this, then the cost for "the course" might not change for e-learners...
.

Keep in mind that the OW or AOW Manual would be the only item not included in an eLearner Crew Pack. In our case, the student who comes to us to complete his/her eLearning experience still has to purchase the balance of the Crew Pack we use - Log book, SMB, etc. The price for the eLearner's Crew Pack is included with the balance of the instruction the shop provides.

Our price for eLearning is not that much less than then the "classic" class and pool. It's not meant to be cheaper, it's meant to be a convenience for the student. Sometimes convenience has a price.
 
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But it is less, otherwise you would be asking the student to pay twice for the same material just in different formats. In an ideal world the student would buy the crew pack with book and be given free access to the material online. Doesn't SSI do this?

Having said all that I'm currently about to order an AOW crew pack...with the book! :wink:
 
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https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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