Online cert? Have you seen this one?

[Guba]

Yes, I know some agencies are making the classroom portion available via internet...but this seems to be something else.

Background--I visited a favorite website www.aquaplanet.com , a site that allows divers to upload their favorite clips. I found one clip that was essentially an ad (that usually doesn't happen) that blatantly promoted a website that allowed folks to "do their academic scuba work ahead of time in order not to waste valuable vacation time in a classroom."

I was intrigued and confused, so I visited the website www.scubalessonsonline.com. Sure enough, the website FAQ stated that a person could take the entire classroom course online and that all one would have to do is the pool work and checkout dives once he/she arrived at their dive destination. And the FAQ went on to say that their course would be honored BY ANY CERTIFICATION AGENCY! It did mention that instructors "might want to do an oral exam or have you take a test" but that you would most likely go "staight to the pool". Other outlandish statements were made such as "you can study with your whole family (kids and all) and get your "certification" together, but I'll let you check out the claims for yourself.

Now the question and the challenge: Question-Has anyone ever heard of such a thing before? Will instructors on cruise lines and in dive destinations REALLY honor these things? (I don't wany any of my family or friends to do it, of course, but I'm curious as to whether this is some kind of hoax or scam).

Challenge (and this is a big one)--can you answer the above question without saying anything derogatory about any specific certification agency and without promoting another? (That is the fastest way know to man to hijack a thread!)

I'm by no means "expert", but I've been in diving a while, and this whole scenario just sounds too flaky to be true. What do ya'll think?

 

[tpb31]

When I was looking around to sign my wife up for her cert, I did see quite a bit about the online coursework. I talked to a dive center also, they urge thier students to take the online course but then they will have to take a test before they are able to start thier pool sessions.

I opted to sign her up for the classroom session where I figured it would be easier for her to learn anyway.

 

[RoadRacer1978]

I'm not sure how I feel about this, bu it isn't that far from what is going on in some dive shops now. I'm not sure how they run their open water classes, but for the AOW class I was given the book and DVD ahead of time and expected to do all the studying and lessons on my own. We then had one class night to go over the reviews. Then it was to the lake for the dives. I don't see much difference in this type of self based studying and learning the material on the internet. It would be like a correspondence course. As long as you still have to do all your pool work and make your open water dives with certified instructors, I don't see the harm in learning the classroom work through a correspondence type course on the internet.

 

[Walter]

It's been around for a few years. I contacted them some time ago about their program. They were not able to convince me their program met YMCA standards. If they had ever tried to send me a referral, their students would have gone through the entire class, just like any other new student.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

PADI already has what they call eLearning where you do just that. All academic work, knowledge reviews, quizzes, tests etc are done on line. Then you go to the participating dive center, (independents are once again left out in the cold) take a "quick review" of the materials and hit the pool and open water. I personally don't think much of this approach. It takes the experience of the instructor out of the classroom and based on my experience that was a big part of the learning process. This approach by any agency also, to me anyway, promotes laziness on the part of some. We all know instructors/shops that cut corners. This is just another tool for them to bring in more money(not a bad thing in itself) by shortchanging the student of what could be valuable experience( could be a very bad thing). It also seems like a blatant attempt by the agency to bring in as much money as possible. And how about this- If all the instruction is to be done on line, why not just shorten the IDC and not require new instructors to learn how to teach the academics at all? Would save even more time and money and allow more people with, shall we say, intellectual challenges to become instructors. Can't read and write? No problem! All classwork is done on line, you just need to teach them to dive! Sorry for the rant. I just think this is a very bad idea that will result in alot more less than qualified divers in the water. I don't have time right now but I'd also be real leery of the any agency will honor this thing. Yeah right pay a few hundred bucks and find out in coz or Bonaire that the stuff is worth diddly.

 

[Garrobo]

I took my SDI course over the internet the same afternoon that I bought their workbook. What's the difference if you can pass the test? It means that you have either studied or memorized the questions and answer be it over the Internet or in front of a questioner in person. After the qualifying exam I went to the LDS and did an oral questioning by an instuctor, satisfied her and then on to the pool for a weekend and the next weekend to the open water. I've got 65 dives and am still alive so it must have worked.

 

[BidAndDive.com]

Convienence, convienence, convienence...that's all it is. I like the idea of a classroom myself, because if you don't get something you can ask a question and go over it. Then again, there's Scuba Board where you can ask a question and go over it. Whatever fits your lifestyle best...

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I really don't see a different in on-line learning versus in-class learning for OW per se. Your talking about 6th grade level material my (unnamed - you guess it) OW course and a really lame video, nothing technical. The instuctors interaction was administering the quizes, asking if there were any questions and explaining why some answers were wrong.

If you can demonstrate you have mastered the book material by passing the final exam BEFORE you get in the water, why should it matter where you learned the material.

Personally, I could care very little about the classroom skills of the instructor. I would want one who teaches in the water well, who critics rather than allow "good enough" and makes students practice, practice and practice some more.

 

[archman]

If an instructor doesn't want to accept e-course subscribers, he/she doesn't have to. It's a lot like taking referral divers.

 

[spectrum]

I have to believe that it's better than some studens get with local presentations.

I spoke to a family that did it a few weeks ago.

*The non graded chapter reviews needed to be perfect or you had to do them again until you got it 100% right. Then you could go to the next chapter.

*The final exam went to the sponsoring/referral instructor who reviewed the test including any incorrect answers with the student. They also have the opportunity to confirm that the student personally does know the stuff.

While I have no doubt that some instructors give a presentation that in more interactive, engaging and technically rich, there are others that in the words of George Burns in Oh, God! said "should stick to selling earth shoes". (or something like that) Like most of this stuff, what the student gets out of the program is what they put in.

Pete
EDIT: This was the experience of SDI students