PADI eBusiness - Atomic Online - 800 Pound Gorilla in the Room

[PhilEllis]

I don’t understand the reasoning for this..............I don’t understand the need for these “e-learning” sessions. It just seems to be that PADI is trying to be inventive and aiming to re-invent themselves somewhat for the new IT generation... .

I would REALLY like to offer my opinion as to why PADI is making this particular move at this particular time. While it is true that the upcoming generation might prefer to do homestudy on the internet, while is it equally true that PADI can exercise better quality control over the home study process, and while it is equally true that PADI can gain control over the important releases and medical froms with eLearning......I think the REAL reason is much more importatant to this industry.

EVERYONE in the dive industry will readily admit that, as an industry, we have failed miserably in converting all of the interest in scuba diving over to actual certifications and the creation of life-long scuba divers. Like any industry, relative volume and new demographic entries into the sport is essential. Without industry growth, EVERY current and future diver suffers. If you go to Google, Ask, Yahoo!, or any search engine and search for "scuba diving", the PADI website will get almost top search engine performance. The number of unique visitors to the PADI site is extremely high. The amount of apparent interest in scuba diving is extremely high. Yet, few of these people make the actual move to become scuba divers. For a number of years, PADI assumed that one possible reason was the delay in joining a class a the local dive center due to student numbers. They launched the "Your Dive Training Starts Today" several years ago in an attempt to eliminate the wait time, which allowed potential divers to "cool" their interest. Unfortunately, while this program was a good idea, most dive centers simply could not "start now" with a potential new student.

I think PADI is reasoning that if they offer an IMMEDIATE opportunity for a potential new student to "start now", by offering immediate sign-up on their website, they may be able to accelerate the movement from "interested" to "becoming a diver" quite substantially. If they are correct, this will help this industry in ways we can hardly estimate. It certainly helped SDI/TDI when they began their e-study program. Unfortunately, that organization has only a sprinkling of the interested divers tuning into their website. With the traffic PADI generates on the www.padi.com website, they may be able to convert considerable interest into real diving. This would be a great thing.

You know, I don't remember them ever mentioning that in their DEMA presentations. Had they done so, the reaction might have been MUCH better from the dive center owners that heard that presentation. Anyway, just my opinion.

Phil Ellis

 

[Scared Silly]

Here is something related to gray market internet sales that is certainly going to be interesting to watch:

http://www.divenewswire.com/NewsITems.aspx?newsID=8367

A friend does IP law - doing cease and desist orders are fun especially because if it goes to court the loser pays all the bills so it gets expesive really fast.

 

[Swan1172]

Here is something related to gray market internet sales that is certainly going to be interesting to watch:

http://www.divenewswire.com/NewsITems.aspx?newsID=8367

A friend does IP law - doing cease and desist orders are fun especially because if it goes to court the loser pays all the bills so it gets expesive really fast.

Interesting article, but it seems to me that the better way to fight this war is on the supply side. I think the real way to fight gray market sales is by having the manufacturers track the equipment they sell by serial number. Then all the manufacturer would need to do is buy a piece of their own equipment from a gray market retailer like Leisure World, track the serial number back to the dealer that the equipment was originally shipped to, and revoke that dealer's status as an authorized retailer. However, I don't think some of the manufacturers want to do that, as to them, a sale is a sale, regardless of whether it is being made by an authorized retailer or on the gray market.

 

[mdb]

Interesting article, but it seems to me that the better way to fight this war is on the supply side. I think the real way to fight gray market sales is by having the manufacturers track the equipment they sell by serial number. Then all the manufacturer would need to do is buy a piece of their own equipment from a gray market retailer like Leisure World, track the serial number back to the dealer that the equipment was originally shipped to, and revoke that dealer's status as an authorized retailer. However, I don't think some of the manufacturers want to do that, as to them, a sale is a sale, regardless of whether it is being made by an authorized retailer or on the gray market.

All the manufacturers and distributors know how their products are getting to the "gray" market. Some do it direct and just do not admit it. Others wink as a big dealer does a tranship. Some use a "shell" company so they can say we do not ship to XXXX. Some authorized stores hide behind other names, etc.

 

[scubaaaronh]

I decided to go back to school a couple years ago and get another BA in networking and network security. I was totally and completely opposed to online classes. I heard years ago when online classes were just starting out that they are a blow off class. I finally had to take one as it was the only way i was able to take it was online so i could get done when i wanted to. I took the first class and it was the HARDEST class i have ever taken . I have taken many more online classe and not had a blow off class to date all were very challenging and i felt i learned a lot. If they set the class up correctly it should be a good class. As far as communication we had a message board that we could post questions in a public area where all other students could see it or with a click of a button it was private between just the student and the instructor. There was a real person at the other end to answer your questions. I really think that if it is done right than it will be a good informative class that students will gain more out of than a classrome setting. Another thing is there isn't the distractions as in a regular classroom. When i got online to do my classes i closed the door to the computer room and worked on what was required that night. Also as far as contact in a traditional setting you have limited time with an instructor. Online they are avaiable everyday for your questions.

 

[Azza]

Thanks for asking.

There are many ways to interact with questions, depending upon how the course is set up. Email is an option, and so is the telephone or an instant message session. There are other ways as well.

An online course has a software frame in which it sits. There are several versions available on the market today into which course content can be placed, but my guess is that PADI will develop a proprietary system of its own, as some other online course providers do. (I could be wrong, though--they could use an existing "platform" like eCollege, BlackBoard, Desire2Learn, Angel, Moodle, etc.) Whatever they do, this frame includes all the ways that the student and teacher--or student and student--can interact. It includes items like a whiteboard, in which the student and teacher could work together, as if they were standing at a chalk board together. The student could do table problems while the teacher watched and made comments, for example. Depending upon the system used, this white board could include full audio, so the two could talk aloud as they worked by hooking a microphone to the computer. With a web cam, they could see each other.

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Hey thanks for the response Boulderjohn. I appreciate the time you took to answer my question.

But armed with this knowledge I now ask, even more so, whats the point. Sure for distance learning this sounds great. Kids living in the outback can now e-learn from home instead of boarding school in the city but I see no point for someone to potentially sit 2 miles up the road from a LDS having a PADI staffer teaching him. Why not sit in the classroom for crying out loud?

PADI are really underestimating the importance of the bonding and trust process that the instructor and students start to acheive in the early stages of teaching.

This is a train wreck I can see happening in slow motion. Of course it will be great for padi and lds business...for a while...but the damage it will leave will be beyond salvage.

 

[Thalassamania]

But armed with this knowledge I now ask, even more so, whats the point.

Diving instructors in India. "Your class ready to start right now, I am. Visa or Mastercharge?"

 

[Azza]

Diving instructors in India. "Your class ready to start right now, I am. Visa or Mastercharge?"

 

[cerich]

?

PADI are really underestimating the importance of the bonding and trust process that the instructor and students start to acheive in the early stages of teaching.

This is a train wreck I can see happening in slow motion. Of course it will be great for padi and lds business...for a while...but the damage it will leave will be beyond salvage.

Shorter Courses have already hurt equipment sales for the LDS MUCH more than the Internet has, it also has reduced the amount of post certification participation in actually diving.
The instructor has been absent from the early stages of teaching for at least 8 years now, it's just the "old school" instructors that didn't allow it to happen.
Reagrdless the uneducated consumer doesn't see the additional benefit from a longer course, after all they get the same card. From that perspective why would anybody take a longer course? Can't blame the students and I can understand when we try to "sell" them something longer/more expensive it just doesn't make sense to most of them, we are percieved as "not with the times" or just greedy...

So we have short and cheap, no growth, drop out divers and a hurting industry.

The best/worst part is the Internet is the easiest aspect of the dive industry "issues" to fix, it can be done overnight and would be except there is extra money to be made by some of the "approaches" used to "deal" with the Internet and business is business, there to make money this quarter, not worry about the industry.

 

[Swan1172]

All the manufacturers and distributors know how their products are getting to the "gray" market. Some do it direct and just do not admit it. Others wink as a big dealer does a tranship. Some use a "shell" company so they can say we do not ship to XXXX. Some authorized stores hide behind other names, etc.

That is kind of what I suspected. You see the same thing in the electronics market. So, to the manufacturers, it is not really that big of a concern, because if it was, they would be doing something about it. They really don't care about how the dollars roll in as much as they do about keeping the dollars rolling in.