New online certification courses - Good or bad?

[Sinbad Scuba]

I tend to agree that most of the errors are related to the instructor and pool/open water sessions. I assure you that my students have buddy check, buddy concept, giant stride, etc... emphasized at all times. That does not mean they all get it. Most do and I work hard with the others. Diving under the careful eye of a dive master or instructor is quite different than doing it the first time by oneself. Another thought, the boat you were on should have briefed the importance of BWRAF, good buddy checks, checking each diver before they go into the water. It seems the consensus is it had nothing to do with the online learning portion.

 

[TMHeimer]

Another thought, the boat you were on should have briefed the importance of BWRAF, good buddy checks, checking each diver before they go into the water. It seems the consensus is it had nothing to do with the online learning portion.

Absolutely. Another recent thread discussed the fact that on a large % (who knows what?) of boats this doesn't happen. I know I've rarely experienced it.

 

[Jax]

Why would boats be briefing the importance of buddy checks, etc.? I don't understand . . .

I thought the boat was a water taxi to a location, and just owed a site brief and conditions if known, and what the recall procedures were.

 

[gypsyjim]

The discussion that I posted was sparked by a series of discussions this last week or so, on the quality of training in general, and the overall effect of the internet on the LDS. The words were not mine, but simply my understanding of what my friend and mentor was saying about his experiences.

My impression was that the agency in question had promoted the online classroom packages to their LDS reps, as something the lds would actually handle, meeting students, and following their progress, while also having a chance to market their services and gear, but in reality what they have been getting are "students" who have done everything online, and never once set foot inside an LDS till they show up for their tests, and pool work. I think the anger against the online class room has a lot deeper roots than just the online classes, themselves, going more into the very survival of the local LDS's in many regions in a struggling economy. Especially in areas where diving is extremely seasonal, simply testing and even teaching is not going to pay to keep the lights on.

Even after 40+years, running the shop and teaching, his profession is still a hard business to survive in, let alone prosper. I have heard various versions of his complaints from other shop owners before, and I was trying to add his words to this discussion.

 

[Rhenry]

The new reality today is most in school today are more electronically inclined than ever. I went back to school and was amazed at how the new university system is run. Just the simple task of registration in online, class scheduling, books and other required reading, some presentations, tests and quizzes are all online. If you are not computer savvy and understand how the online world runs you will fail.
Having the academic portion online is not going to have any effect more or less on the outcome. It is all up to the student, some just memorize the book or the high points, some can pick out the salient parts of the material. In the end, it comes down to the big show, the confined water part of the training. This is the last stop and this is the part of the program where the instructor has to be the final QA part of the program. In the end it is the person who teaches the life skills in the underwater world that should be held accountable and responsible for the end product.
I will say this, my instructor was very good, he would not let anything go by unless he was 100% confident you knew what you were doing. I had a few skills that I had to do over and over again until i got it right the first time. Even with that, i still have to think about what i am doing and i practice those skills every time o go in the water. I like that part of the dive, it gets me in the right mindset for the rest of the dive and it remindds me of what could go wrong and what to do about it. This was instilled in me by me instructor, he was the one who made me the diver i am today.