Nitrox and other academic lessons online

[Peter Guy]

WebMonkey -- Is it appropriate to assume you believe people can NOT learn academics in anything except with the assistance of a "live instructor?" So people can't learn from books, from video, from audio, etc. BECAUSE there is no "live instructor" with whom they need to interact?

Or can people learn academics from books but just not online?

 

[Web Monkey]

WebMonkey -- Is it appropriate to assume you believe people can NOT learn academics in anything except with the assistance of a "live instructor?" So people can't learn from books, from video, from audio, etc. BECAUSE there is no "live instructor" with whom they need to interact?

Or can people learn academics from books but just not online?

It is appropriate to assume that a good human instructor makes a better teacher than a computer does.

Terry

 

[boulderjohn]

I wrote:

May I suggest that before you go on with this much further, you take a little bit of time to learn how online education works? Your posts indicate that you are guessing, and you are guessing incorrectly.

You wrote:

Conversational Synthetic Intelligence (which is what is required in order to replace a human teacher) does not currently exist. Until it does, online learning will not be a suitable replacement for human teachers.

I'm certain that it will happen, but I'm also certain that it has not happened yet. I know this because there are substantial prizes available for doing this and they have not yet been claimed.

This is called the straw man fallacy. You are attacking an argument that you can defeat rather than one the one you are actually facing. I told you twice that online education does not work the way you think it does, but you keep attacking your mistaken concept.

I wrote:

All over the nation thousands and thousands of students are receiving part or all of their education online. Thousands of people earn diplomas and degrees every year in fully online programs. Michigan law now requires high school students to take at least one online class before they graduate. The acclaimed International Baccalaureate programme has started an online version. People succeed with outstanding scores on AP exams after learning online.

As for the PADI OW class, I myself have not dealt directly with it at this time, but I know many instructors who have. We in fact had a discussion about this in our shop recently, with those who have had students who went through it reporting that every one, without exception, has come to the them fully and completely prepared academically.

You seem to be saying that it is not possible because you are a software engineer and know it can't happen.

I am not clear on your point. Are you saying these things are not really happening?

You wrote:

Yes.

Conversational Synthetic Intelligence (which is what is required in order to replace a human teacher) does not currently exist. Until it does, online learning will not be a suitable replacement for human teachers.

I did not ask you about artificial intelligence, which has nothing to do with online education as it is being done now. I very clearly asked you if the thousands of examples of successful online education each year were not in fact happening.

Are you actually saying they are not happening, or did you not understand the question?

If you are saying they are not in fact happening, can you explain how this massive fraud is being perpetrated?

• Is the College Board giving online students higher scores than they deserve on the AP exams in order to fool the public into thinking that their education was effective?
• Are the online public elementary and high school programs getting similarly fraudulent scores on state exams?
• IS PADI secretly giving online students face to face instruction to create the illusion that their successful mastery of the academics was achieved online?

Just how is it that this massive illusion of success is being carried out?

 

[Teamcasa]

It is appropriate to assume that a good human instructor makes a better teacher than a computer does.

Terry

The result is 100% dependant on the student, instructor relationship.

 

[PhilEllis]

Children, children................

It is simply a different way to present training materials. I know nothing about how the PADI Enriched Air eLearning course will be offered, but I can PROMISE you this......

The students will still identify a PADI dealer as the primary instructor. The students will still face some sort of "verification" exam. The students will still have to enlist the services of a PADI instructor for the practical portions of the enriched air instruction process. I would serious doubt if PADI eliminated or changed ANY of the practical standards as this course material moves from printed books to online delivery.

Any other argument is a straw man.

Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com

 

[deepstops]

Finally, the voice of reason......

 

[ScubaTodd77]

After reading through this thread, I've decided that I will take the Advanced OW and Nitrox courses online. If I need more info I'll just post the topic here on ScubaBoard or call an instructor. I also plan to continue diving with buddies who have more experience than I. I've learned a lot just from diving with DM's and guided dives. I'll buy the Advanced Open Water book to have for future reference too.:mooner:

 

[redacted]

After reading through this thread, I've decided that I will take the Advanced OW and Nitrox courses online. If I need more info I'll just post the topic here on ScubaBoard or call an instructor. I also plan to continue diving with buddies who have more experience than I. I've learned a lot just from diving with DM's and guided dives. I'll buy the Advanced Open Water book to have for future reference too.:mooner:

As long as you have no need for an AOW C-card, that may work out just fine for you.

 

[paddler3d]

A lot of stuff on here, but I don't think I found one thing from someone who has taken and online course!

I did my Nitrox through the SDI Online program. They teach you to use your computer and not tables. With that said, the course took me an hour to do. It was informative and well done. If you didn't pass a section, you had to redo that section.

When I was done, my LDS was notified. I called them to set up a time and they told when ever. I showed up. The taught me how to calibrate the analyzer and analyze a tank, and made me analyze a couple of tanks. They also instructed me on how to use their tools to calculated MOD at whatever PPO2 I wanted. They also then spent some time with me telling what to expect in my travels.

I'm currently and DM Candidate for the same shop and they do the SDI OW online. We meet the folks at the pool and they begin to learn how to dive. Academically they are fine. From talking with the students, they liked doing it online. The big reason seems to be they could do it at their own pace and when it was convenient for their schedule.

To a lot of the folks that seem to think online education is stupid, or useless, maybe the expression, 'you can't teach an OLD dog new tricks, has some relevance.

If you can't learn using a computer then don't, but don't discourage folks from learning online that may be just fine learning via a computer.

 

[Web Monkey]

I did my Nitrox through the SDI Online program. They teach you to use your computer and not tables.

Do you need a computer to take the class? Do they still teach all the math, or just tell you to watch the computer?

When I was done, my LDS was notified. I called them to set up a time and they told when ever. I showed up. The taught me how to calibrate the analyzer and analyze a tank, and made me analyze a couple of tanks. They also instructed me on how to use their tools to calculated MOD at whatever PPO2 I wanted.

Was "tools" a calculator or computer program (or something else?)

Terry