PADI Direction

[Argonaut]

PADI are often criticised for making diving available to the masses, and many think that this sport should be restricted to club members, and especially those with beards and Arran pullovers.
Well PADI have now produced eLearning … do your open water on-line
https://www.padi.com/padi/elearning/covers.htm

What a great move, there must be loads of people out there who want to be able to have a PADI badge on their suitcase, or impress their friends by wearing a PADI polo shirt or baseball cap and look macho in the local bar.

People will soon no longer need to get wet at all, and let’s be honest there must be many potential customers (sorry I meant divers) out there who are put off diving only by the thought of going underwater.

They will soon be able to become divers without getting wet – which must be seen as a logical development of PADI specialities, following on from the recent “PADI Full Face Mask Speciality”, which everybody was asking for, it was so much more of a priority than other courses.

Having already been able to obtain the coveted Advanced accolade by such courses as land based “equipment specialist”, we eagerly look forward to the 2 day “putting your fins on” speciality, and soon to follow “advanced dive bag packing”

There will future benefits as PADI adopts more technology, by the successful partnering with software games industry we shall soon see the Virtual Diver and Advanced Virtual Diver courses.
Some feel that the Advanced Virtual Diver may be too onerous in expecting participants to undertake a total of 5 extra 30min long virtual dives, may be too much, with the possible risk of MCS (monitor concentration syndrome)

Instructors will benefit by being able to sell all these extra courses –
Virtual Dive Master and Master Scuba Divert Virtual Trainer will be among the first.
With the options to be able to increase the income potential if they add the Virtual Diver – LapTop speciality to the standard desk top version.

There will be PADI junior VD, and PADI bubblemaker VD and due to increased capability of ultrasound, parents will be able to get their expected through the pre-natal VD course on-line.

PADI … you know it makes sense

[lottie]

Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't tell whether part of what you said is sarcasm (at its best, of course - I'm renowned for my sarcastic sense of humour!)

I know know how this figures into the broad schema of the OW, but with the elearning part - doesn't that take the fun out of why you wanted to go diving in the first place ... to get wet????

Lottie

[acelockco]

The all mighty $ rears it's ugly head.

[Quero]

Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't tell whether part of what you said is sarcasm (at its best, of course - I'm renowned for my sarcastic sense of humour!)

I know know how this figures into the broad schema of the OW, but with the elearning part - doesn't that take the fun out of why you wanted to go diving in the first place ... to get wet????

Lottie

Lottie, don't believe what Argonaut says about getting certified without getting wet! I'm not a huge fan of the e-learning trend because I think we instructors give students a bit more when we explain the materials in our own words in a face-to-face setting, but in fact the e-learning model only takes the place of the classroom stuff--the powerpoint lectures, the quizzes, etc.

The part where the dive student gets wet stays the same.

[Quero]

The all mighty $ rears it's ugly head.

Why do you say that? Would you expect your local university or college to offer free courses just because they're online? (And do you think your own paycheck is ugly or a thing of beauty?)

Distance education via the internet has been going on for quite some time, and scuba is just now making an entry into that mode of learning. It's not just PADI either. In fact, I think SDI is a bit ahead of the rest.

[Quero]

PADI are often criticised for making diving available to the masses, and many think that this sport should be restricted to club members, and especially those with beards and Arran pullovers.
Well PADI have now produced eLearning … do your open water on-line
https://www.padi.com/padi/elearning/covers.htm

What a great move, there must be loads of people out there who want to be able to have a PADI badge on their suitcase, or impress their friends by wearing a PADI polo shirt or baseball cap and look macho in the local bar.

People will soon no longer need to get wet at all, and let’s be honest there must be many potential customers (sorry I meant divers) out there who are put off diving only by the thought of going underwater.

They will soon be able to become divers without getting wet – which must be seen as a logical development of PADI specialities, following on from the recent “PADI Full Face Mask Speciality”, which everybody was asking for, it was so much more of a priority than other courses.

Having already been able to obtain the coveted Advanced accolade by such courses as land based “equipment specialist”, we eagerly look forward to the 2 day “putting your fins on” speciality, and soon to follow “advanced dive bag packing”

There will future benefits as PADI adopts more technology, by the successful partnering with software games industry we shall soon see the Virtual Diver and Advanced Virtual Diver courses.
Some feel that the Advanced Virtual Diver may be too onerous in expecting participants to undertake a total of 5 extra 30min long virtual dives, may be too much, with the possible risk of MCS (monitor concentration syndrome)

Instructors will benefit by being able to sell all these extra courses –
Virtual Dive Master and Master Scuba Divert Virtual Trainer will be among the first.
With the options to be able to increase the income potential if they add the Virtual Diver – LapTop speciality to the standard desk top version.

There will be PADI junior VD, and PADI bubblemaker VD and due to increased capability of ultrasound, parents will be able to get their expected through the pre-natal VD course on-line.

PADI … you know it makes sense

Your first posting is this rant..... you sound like a troll to me!

[acelockco]

Why do you say that? Would you expect your local university or college to offer free courses just because they're online? (And do you think your own paycheck is ugly or a thing of beauty?)

Distance education via the internet has been going on for quite some time, and scuba is just now making an entry into that mode of learning. It's not just PADI either. In fact, I think SDI is a bit ahead of the rest.

Well, the bottom line is $ because they now want to cut out the middle man (instructor). They want everyone to get their online training. I feel that the training is very lacking to begin with, and this only makes it worse in my opinion. It is not about the course being free at all, but more about dive instructors not getting paid! They spent a lot of their hard earned money to become scuba instructors, to have the carpet pulled out from under them.

As far as my paycheck, I work for myself and my paycheck is good as the money I make came from helping others.
It is nothing against PADI in anyway, it is just showing how the world is. I miss the good old days when you would learn from your teacher, not the book and a video or the internet.

[hbh2oguard]

I guess Queros feather's got ruffled...too bad

OW is already a joke because even the non swimmer can become certified so putting it on the net will make it just that much better

Yea more divers that have no clue what they are doing

[Argonaut]

Your first posting is this rant..... you sound like a troll to me!

It's called humour ....

[Quero]

I guess Queros feather's got ruffled...too bad

Not really a case of ruffled feathers. I just have precious little patience for hyperbole and sweeping statements spouted by people who set themselves up as speaking with authority when they actually have the facts wrong. (I've been told by the OP that it's called "humour" and I guess it is pretty funny to see him make himself look like a git. ROFL)

As I said, I'm not a huge fan of e-learning (probably because I have a personal preference to do my own learning in a face-to-face setting), and I agree that it can hurt independent instructors or those who (like me) work for schools that are not PADI shops and don't qualify for e-learning. But OTOH I can see that scuba instruction, like all other coursework, is moving in that direction. If it's possible to do some of the work for an MBA online, why not scuba? The information that students need to assimilate isn't *that* complicated.

Actually, some of my students come to me as referrals, and I'd just as soon have them do the knowledge development via e-learning before they show up here in Thailand as have them search around for a shop in their town to do face-to-face classroom work with (and possibly simply sit through hours of powerpoint lectures anyway).

I'll still get a chance to talk things over with my e-learning referral students before it's time to get in the water, because, in fact, e-learning does NOT mean (as the OP asserted) that a diver can get certified without even getting wet.

Anyway, Rick, welcome to the board, and I hope your subsequent postings actually contribute to discussions rather than just trying to stir things up.