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Category Archives: PADI eLearning
PADI eLearning and the Digital Classroom – getting started webinar
Join the PADI Regional Manager team for this exciting insight into what PADI eLearning can do for your business.
You’ll learn:
- How to implement PADI eLearning in your business for profit
- The top 5 mistakes that PADI Centres make when implementing PADI eLearning
- How to integrate PADI eLearning with social media to drive your business into the 21st century
- How to make money from eLearning referrals, then keep making money when the diver is back home
- The ‘secret ways’ that industry leaders engage their eLearning students, increasing continuing education and equipment sales
Click the link to register for this Webinar: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/496088872
PADI Divemaster Online
What does it cover?
PADI Divemaster Online is the first professional level within the PADI System of diver education and allows you to work as a training assistant on PADI courses and programs, supervise certified divers during pleasure diving experiences, and conduct some PADI programs independently. Becoming a PADI Divemaster consists of the following segments: knowledge development, practical application and the Divemaster final exam.
The online portion of the course, PADI Divemaster Online, covers nine topics that prepare you for the practical sessions needed to complete the Divemaster course. Through PADI’s eLearning® system and practical segments of the Divemaster course, you become well prepared to work as a PADI Divemaster.
What are the prerequisites for PADI Divemaster Online?
Prior to enrolling in PADI Divemaster Online, you must be at least 18 years old, have a current medical attesting to your diving fitness signed by a physician within the previous 12 months, and be a certified PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and PADI Rescue or hold qualifying certifications from another dive training organization. You must also have completed a Emergency First Response (EFR) Primary and Secondary Care course (or other sanctioned first aid and CPR course) within the past 24 months and be able to prove that you have completed at least 40 dives (60 before being able to complete the Divemaster course with experience of deep dives, night dives and underwater navigation).
If you have any questions as to whether you meet the necessary prerequisites, please contact your PADI Retailer or Resort.
How does it work?
After enrolling, PADI’s eLearning system presents you with interactive presentations that include videos, audio, graphics and reading. Short quizzes let you gauge your progress and review and correct anything you might happen to miss. This lets you move through the program efficiently and at your own pace.
What does it cost?
The eLearning portion of the course is $200 (US) nonrefundable. Your PADI Retailer or Resort will charge you for the practical application portion of the course.
Other costs – There is a separate application fee due to PADI that needs to be submitted with the Divemaster application once the course is successfully completed.
Materials – The PADI Divemaster Online program will provide you with perpetual access to an ebook version of the PADI Divemaster manual, a required material. However, to complete the PADI Divemaster course, you also need a current PADI Instructor Manual, both the Table RDP and eRDPML, The Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving, and a set of the PADI Divemaster slates. There are other required materials and equipment, some of which you already have. Your PADI Retailer or Resort will guide and counsel you on what you need, and will make suggestions to help you prepare for a valuable course experience.
Contact the PADI Retailer or Resort where you will complete the practical segments of the course to discuss total courses costs, equipment, materials and logistical requirements.
What else is required to become a PADI Divemaster?
Once you successfully complete Divemaster Online, you will need to successfully complete several practical assessments, workshops and other assignments with your PADI Instructor. You will also need to complete the Divemaster Final Exam as well as meet the professionalism criteria.
How long do you have to complete the eLearning course?
The eLearning segment of the course is available for one year from the time of course registration. Though you must finish the online portion of the course within that time frame, you will have perpetual access to the ebook version of the PADI Divemaster manual
How do you document that you’ve completed the eLearning segment?
Once you finish the eLearning portion of the course, your dive center is notified that you have completed it and that you are ready for the practical phase of the program. At the end of the eLearning program, you can print out your eRecord and bring a copy of it with you to your selected PADI Retailer or Resort.
What’s New with Enriched Air & How Can I Teach This New Programme?
In 2010 PADI released a new set of instructor and student materials for use during the Enriched Air Diver course. In line with PADI’s teaching philosophy these materials ensure your students can learn through an educationally valid system, at their own pace, and using the most up to date information available.
These materials include some exciting new developments relating to the way you can offer this course, and the information that your students learn. This article explains these changes and how you can incorporate them into your new courses.
Why change?
The PADI Enriched Air Diver course has traditionally been based around the use of dedicated 32% and 36% RDP tables, as well as oxygen exposure tables and equivalent air depth tables. In recent years the diving industry has seen a huge increase in the use of personal dive computers by divers to track their dive profile and no-decompression limits. Increasingly divers are using these computers to plan all aspects of their dives – this is also reflected in recent additions to the PADI Open Water Diver course, which can now be taught using computers instead of an RDP / eRDPml. In line with this development, PADI is now allowing divers to be taught to use computers to plan their enriched air dives, rather than tables. This approach better reflects the realities of modern diving techniques. The PADI Enriched Air Diver knowledge development section is also now available online, providing greater flexibility for students, and a wider potential market for dive centres and instructors.
What are the new materials?
The updated materials comprise:
Enriched Air Diver Instructor Guide (version 2.0) product 70244
Enriched Air Diver crewpack (with computer simulator card) product: 70480
Enriched Air Diver exam product 70122
The materials, along with the Enriched Air Diver DVD (product 70870) are required in order to be able to teach the new outline.
Has the way I conduct the course changed?
The overall approach to the course remains the same. Students will complete home study (either through eLearning, or through their student manuals). This learning is now additionally complemented by the computer simulator – an online component they can access using the information in their crew pack.
If the students are using a manual, they will complete one knowledge review. You will mark their knowledge review and go through their answers with them, covering any areas that they may not have fully understood. They will then sit the final exam. If students have completed the eLearning option they will provide you with their e-record and they do not need to complete any further theory elements.
Students then need to complete the practical elements of the course. This includes gas analysis, completing fill logs and planning dives through dive simulations. It is not a requirement for your students to complete any dives, however you may wish to offer them as an additional benefit to your program. Once students have completed all the theory and practical elements, they can be certified as PADI Enriched Air Divers.
How do I teach with these different tools?
Students completing the PADI Enriched Air Diver course will have several tools available to them to help them learn to plan their dives. The computer simulator is an online component that students receive a web link and password for as part of their crew pack. They can use this simulator to practise the techniques involved in planning dives using a computer; they will do this during their home learning. Please note that the simulator is not a dive computer and is not intended for planning real life dives.
During the course students will use a dive computer – this could either be their own computer or a school computer if you have one for hire. If the computer is EANX compatible you can show them how to set it up for the correct mix, how to plan the dive and how to review it afterwards. Your students can complete the course using air only computers if necessary, and the instructor guide includes specific instructions on how to do this. In these circumstances there are limits to the maximum allowable oxygen content in the mix that they dive with and the depth that they can go to. You will need to ensure that there is an enriched air compatible computer available for them to practise setting up and dive planning on, however.
What are the benefits for me?
The PADI Enriched Air Diver course has always been a popular specialty. With the new flexibility offered, even more students will be able to enrol into your program. The use of dive computers ensures the course is relevant to the type of diving your students are conducting and that the course has practical value to them. It also highlights the importance of dive computers to those who do not already own them, and consequently will have a positive impact on your equipment sales.
Can I keep using tables?
The Enriched Air RDP tables are still in production at this time – they are available as part of a crewpack (product 61044) or individually. You may teach students the computer option and then provide them with additional tables and instruction afterwards if you wish. Please note that in this instance you would follow all the standards for the computer-based enriched air program, including the knowledge review and the final exam. The use of tables would be entirely supplementary. You are still able to offer the table-only version of the course if required, using the previous versions of the instructor and student materials.
You can purchase these new materials from your local distributor or via the online shopping cart on the PADI Pro website. Please continue to read your training bulletins for updates on future changes to the PADI Enriched Air Diver course.
If you have any questions regarding the use of these materials, please contact the Training Department at training@padi.co.uk or on+44 (0) 117 300 7343
Underwater Photography Course Online – for Divers or Snorkelers
PADI’s Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty is Now Online
course price – $120
Anyone – divers or snorkelers – can enroll in PADI’s newest eLearning course: Digital Underwater Photo Course online (aka DUP online). Certification has two levels:
- Level One certification is followed by a single training session in a pool, confined water or open water. It covers the basics of digital underwater photography, as well as gear assembly and care.
- Level Two certification requires the level one training described above plus a second training session in open water. Additional material covered in level two includes: composing a photo, file formats, how to achieve good color in your images, and other topics.
As with PADI’s other eLearning courses, students affiliate with a PADI Dive Center or Resort during registration. Alternately, students can receive an “Access Pass” code issued by their instructor. After finishing the knowledge development online, the student completes the digital photography workflow workshop and in-water training for certification.
What’s Different in the Online Course Versus the Book?
The crux of the course is basically the same. It continues to be an introduction to shooting underwater images using a common point-and-shoot style camera. I tell students,
“You’ve basically got two choices: learn all of this the hard way and end up with ugly photos of fish butts and backscatter – or take this class which is a shortcut to shooting underwater images you’ll want to show off to friends and family.”
The online course content has been updated and modernized (remember: we first developed DUP in 2005). It includes a bit of information about shooting underwater video and includes a “how to shoot underwater video tutorial.” As revision schedules allow, the DUP Manual will be revised to incorporate the online content changes.
Stores Are Automatically Set Up to Offer This New Course
- how to opt out
Stores who do not have a DUP instructor can remove DUP from their online course offerings. Here’s how:
- Log on to padimembers.com as the store
- Click on the Course Offering Selector Tool under the PADI eLearning header.
- Un-check Digital Underwater Photo
- Save Changes
What Physical Materials are Required?
Students are required to own the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer White Balance Slate (product no. 69231) to complete Level Two DUP training.
Please review the 2nd Quarter 2010 training bulletin for additional information on teaching the Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty. The 2Q training bulletin will be posted to the Pros Site shortly and will also appear in the back of the 2nd quarter Undersea Journal.
Here is a link to a popular article we published in 2008 – Tips for Teaching the Digital Underwater Photography Specialty from Seattle Instructor Ken Pfau.
Want to take a peek at the new course?
PADI stores and Instructors who’ve previously purchased an Access Pass can preview DUP online (or any of our other eLearning courses). Here’s how:
- Visit elearning.padi.com
- Click on User Maintanence
- Next – click on Preview Course Sections
- Choose DUP online from the drop down menu
Diver Aquisition Tip #3 – Boost Sales With PADI eLearning
The latest information regarding PADI eLearning has been prepared for you to download and keep as reference. Find out what new eLearning programmes will be arriving in 2010, along with information on how to harness PADI eLearnign to increase your certifications and sales.
Diver Aquisition Tip #3 – Fact Sheet (right click – save as)
