Online OW certification - an improvement?

[fisherdvm]

With the watering down of OW program, I wonder if you can improve it with online OW instruction. If a comprehensive and complete online OW curriculum is made, with alot of self directed drills, and videos, less time will be needed to be spent in class going over mundane topics, and more time will be spent with the student in the pool and OW.

I wonder if we should do away with the classroom sections all together, and spend more time in the water with the real equipments?

 

[plot]

They also told us to read our book and answer all the questions in the back before we started class... how many people actually did that?

Online classes might be able to replace a crappy classroom instructor, but I'd rather have a good classroom instructor that drills the importance of specific things into my head.

FYI, you can now take CPR and First Aid completely online... my buddy recently did it to get his divecon.

 

[Thalassamania]

IMHO, the best instruction is face to face. Everything else is a weaker substitute.

 

[fisherdvm]

They also told us to read our book and answer all the questions in the back before we started class... how many people actually did that?

Online classes might be able to replace a crappy classroom instructor, but I'd rather have a good classroom instructor that drills the importance of specific things into my head.

FYI, you can now take CPR and First Aid completely online... my buddy recently did it to get his divecon.

Yes, but it is not a true certified course. To get your validated certificate, you need a face to face session with an instructor.

You can get ACLS "e-certificate", on line too... But hospitals and medical facility will not accept this, unless you did a face to face practical to earn your true ACLS certificate.

Can't learn how to apply a tourniquet or a pressure bandage unless someone demonstrated it to you. Of course, some lousy CPR/FA instructors don't even know how to carry out these skills, thus you might as well learn from a good online course. A good first aid course should teach you how to apply a tourniquet on a severed limb. How to apply pressure bandage on an open wound. How to apply direct pressure on an arterial bleeder... These are skills you can only learn in person.

Otherwise, the military would not have a combat casualty course, they would just do it online.

 

[fisherdvm]

IMHO, the best instruction is face to face. Everything else is a weaker substitute.

True. But if you have only x amount of hours to teach your student, the time is more valuable in the water.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

On line OW instruction is just plain STUPID! We have our students read and complete knowledge reviews at home yes. If they come to class without them done then guess what? They are not ready for class and we have the option to reschedule at additional cost. The whole idea behind it is to give them the impetus to take some responsibility for their training. If they are not willing to put that little effort in I'd rather not even see them in the water. Also we put alot of extra info into our courses, I realize some do not.When I got my training bulletin about this I thought it was a stupid idea and a way for the agency to take more money out of the shop. Either that or force us to raise prices to make up for the lost revenue. The idea that the kr's can be done at home, whenever without any guidance, come into a shop take the final test, do some pool sessions without the extra info we give them and throw them into ow is full of crap. I can skim thru the book and pass any exam. It does not mean I get the benefit of the experience of the instructor and DM's who supply the little tips and info that makes it a safer and more enjoyable sport. In all of our academic sessions we are continuously reviewing material and how it relates to the new material. THis can't be done online. Personally if we have to do it to survive we most likely will but it sucks and the first time we get someone who supposedly passed all the online material but doesn't really know squat and has the referral form I'll send QA a complaint about the quality of their instruction. I'd rather piss them off than have a hurt or dead student. THis is where the quest for the almighty buck and getting as many into the water as possible is just plain idiotic. Many of the people who do this will probably have no business around water let alone in it. And the instructor determines how much time you need to do the course. Not the student. Want to rush it? go find another way to kill yourself.

 

[fisherdvm]

I know a family who is sending 2 of their kids to an "online University". The father got his bachelor degree the same way, so the 2 kids are doing it too. There is currently 2 "online" law school - but the JD is valid only in a few states.

I think there is a role for online education.... But you are right, nothing can replace face to face instruction from a good instructor.

 

[Walter]

With the watering down of OW program, I wonder if you can improve it with online OW instruction. If a comprehensive and complete online OW curriculum is made, with alot of self directed drills, and videos, less time will be needed to be spent in class going over mundane topics, and more time will be spent with the student in the pool and OW.

I wonder if we should do away with the classroom sections all together, and spend more time in the water with the real equipments?

On the face of it, it looks like a good idea, spend more time in the water working on skills. Not ideal, but if the instructor has only 20 hours to devote to a class an 10 of them are in a class room, that only leaves 10 for water work. Complete the class portion online, then you have 20 hours in the pool.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. What happens is those 10 hours are tossed away and while they're at it, they cut the pool time in half. This is what happened when video teaching started. Online is no different from video.

The best school is a log with a student on one end and a teacher on the other.

 

[plot]

I know a family who is sending 2 of their kids to an "online University". The father got his bachelor degree the same way, so the 2 kids are doing it too. There is currently 2 "online" law school - but the JD is valid only in a few states.

I think there is a role for online education.... But you are right, nothing can replace face to face instruction from a good instructor.

Online courses are awesome for continued education and certain classes that don't deal with your core curriculum in college (IE: Electives)... but outside of that, I just don't see how it's adequate.

 

[Thalassamania]

True. But if you have only x amount of hours to teach your student, the time is more valuable in the water.

That’s idiotic. I have as much time to teach a student as I want, anyone who wants to cut the time I feel is required can go to hell. If a student came to me with only x hours for me to teach, I’d access that student’s readiness to learn and if it were impractical I’d recommend that they take up something else that can really be taught in that time frame. Frankly, I can teach the critical lecture material in the same time frame or less than a video.