AOW vs e-learning AOW

[Sean Walberg]

PADI standards for the OW course requires OW students to watch the DVD. Some shops handle this by showing the video in class, some loan their students a copy for use during the class, and some sell every one of their students a copy of the DVD. Of course the shop makes more money with the last option. Whether it was bundled with the class or not... you paid extra for it somehow.

Aha, that clears it up. 8 of us took our OW together through scouts and did all the studying/watching as a group prior to traveling to the camp. The "classroom" with the instructor then ended up being a quick review of the slides followed by the tests. (I know they were thorough as another group that started a few days after us wasn't as well prepared and ended up taking way more time in class to finish)

This helped a lot, thanks!

 

[HantsDiver]

I've been doing some light research into taking my PADI AOW and I see most dive shops include the book in the base fee but also encourage you to take e-learning at an additional charge. Is the e-learning then redundant?

For my OW I was given a book and a DVD, the latter I didn't find terribly helpful. No idea if we paid extra for it as it was the only option.

I can happily learn from a book and don't look forward to online videos. So it would seem I don't need e-learning?

They get a kickback for doing so. When I was an 'active' instructor I'd rather people didn't do this. Talking about things and going through stuff with people not only makes them learn a bit more, but it is also a nice way to get to know people more. You are losing the social element of it.

The 'book work' doesn't have to be boring and a waste of time. It can be sitting in the bar area in the late afternoon with a beer. It's a great chance to be social.

Don't do it. Save the money and I'll give you some recommendations of great diving books to buy on Amazon.

For certain courses, there is a bit more theory. But I'm still not a fan of e-learning if I'm honest. I think it removes not only the social aspect, but also the ability for an instructor to explain things which are not in the course material. People who teach diving should be more than happy to talk about it. They should be more than happy to sit and talk about what they love for as long as required.

 

[cpace]

OP here,

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will purchase the AOW book locally instead of e-learning. A little studying ahead of time will free up some of our vacation time.

 

[TMHeimer]

OP here,

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will purchase the AOW book locally instead of e-learning. A little studying ahead of time will free up some of our vacation time.

Good idea. I always studied the Hell out of manuals before a course and at times got ticked off with time wasted because of those who didn't--ie., back in the old days taking Nitrox when time had to be spent on Air tables. But as stated, there isn't a whole lot of class time anyway with AOW.