Experience with elearning for PADI Rescue

[Dogbowl]

Does anyone have any experience with elearning for the PADI Rescue course? We’ve recently completed our DAN Basic Life Support and O2 Provider courses and the logical next step would be Rescue. The DAN Basic Life Support and O2 courses were done via elearning and we liked it so would like to do the Rescue elearning as well. We liked how we could read the online materials at our leisure, do the interactive knowledge reviews and complete the online portion, then go to the shop to do the practical skills. The DAN courses also provided an ebook for the materials covered so we can re-read something if we wanted to. I believe PADI elearning does not have this ebook feature (please correct me if I am wrong on this).

So I guess my questions are:

• Do you recommend doing Rescue via elearning?
• How many days does elearning shave off the course?

I understand elearning will probably cost more than the book/manual version (stupid PADI) but I think I might be willing to pay the extra if the PADI elearning is as well put together as the DAN materials, and to save us some days from sitting in a beautiful dive destination dive shop. We only dive in warm water destinations (right now) so think it best to take our Rescue course in the type of environment that we normally dive in.

 

[JBFG]

I completed it about a year ago so it still fresh in my mind.

I enjoyed it quite a bit as you can do it at your own pace. It took me about 5 day’s doing it about 1-2 hours daily.

I can learn a lot on my own and I had no problem at all. If you do it that way you will basically practice the skills in the water again. Your instructor should confirm that you have learn each part correctly before going “live”. I think the e learning saved me time. Had I done it in person, it was 5 week days (1 day per week) for about 4 hours a day.

 

[JBFG]

Oh I forgot to add, with the course you get the e-manual too. But my instructor also gave me a hard copy just in case. They also wanted me to buy the PADI crew pack so that I can have the pocket mask and the slate. I already had a pocket mask and I made my own slate by printing the padi E-learning one and laminated it. After that I just taped it to a regular slate. Crew pack not required.

 

[Dogbowl]

@racanichou , thanks for your insights!

 

[Diving Dubai]

Hi @Dogbowl

I can give you insights from both methods, as I've done a few elearning and a few books

Firstly, I don't think eLearning shaves anytime off a course, both methods (text book and elearning) are self study, and both require a knowledge exam to be taken on the course. With book, the instructor should go over it in class and explain incorrect answers in the Knowledge reviews elearning does do this as part of the process.

Really it depending on your preference. with elearning it's an interactive process with videos and a powerpoint side presentation, with a book, well you read..

Personally I prefer the book, I like to be able to make note, highlight and put markers in the text. You dont' get that with elearning

On the elearning from, I dislike the constant drone of the voices on the videos talking at me. I'm not from the US so I guess the accent grates a bit after a while.

With elearning, after a year, the course expires and you cannot access teh course text (or so I've found) with a book you can if you choose

A personal view: I think the e platforms have great possibilities, but they are not there yet. I've been disappointed seeing OW touch on the iPad for instance. But on the other hand the video's for the RDP for instance are quite good and better than the text.

Of course it all depend which method suits you and which you prefer

Hope that helps

 

[Bubblesong]

We did AOW while on vacationin Florida, and it was a lot of hours cut from vacation activities. So we did Rescue PADI online and just checkout dives in Bermuda while visiting on a cruise ship. The ship docks, then stays two nights, and we were diving each of three days, so we really had time for reviewing with instructor and then practicing skills in a warm pretty place.