The world has learned how to do business, get an education, and socialize online in recently years. Specific to learning, our team of highly qualified dive professionals is well aware of the potential and perceived difficulties surrounding online tuition. Here are the top 5 hurdles and how we get over them.
1. Distraction – Let’s be honest, it’s hard to keep the cat from walking across your laptop in the middle of a video conference call! Avoiding distraction while online is both the learner’s and the educator’s responsibility. For students in our classes, we ask that (if possible) cameras stay turned on and notifications stay turned off. Appropriately timed screen breaks and multiple shorter presentations to avoid information overload is a cornerstone to our teaching style. We avoid the classic ‘death-by-PowerPoint’ approach to slideshows and will often call participants out by name to help answer questions. Of course, each student needs to get into their own personal study routine and be well rested before learning, but if you forget this, we’ll be there to remind you.
2. Motivation – How many times have you bought a gym membership with great intentions and not been motivated to use it fully? My favourite definition of the word motivation is that it is “process that initiates goal-oriented behaviour”. This is why our online workshops are packed with short, mid, and long-term goals. In fact, the PADI system of diver education demands that we start with goals (or objectives) and that we visit them throughout our teaching presentations. When you learn online with us, we set the goalposts frequently so you can score big!
3. Interaction – The journey of learning is a shared process. We learn best from others both directly and indirectly. The Scuba Dive Online team uses virtual classrooms, interactive whiteboards, and frequent digital quick quizzes. This way, you will learn directly from answers supplied by your student colleagues and indirectly by observing their behaviour. Arguably, interaction and engagement with an audience can be strengthened if new technologies and digital tools are used properly.
4. Falling behind – Everyone learns at their own pace. One of the advantages of PADI eLearning, is that you are in control of your program and can do as much or a little preparation you want prior to our online classes. All the tools (books, exams, videos etc) are available in your digital ‘crew pack’ and the courses are not time-based but rather performance-based. In other words, you can spend as much time as you want repeating exercises until you have a strong grasp on the information being delivered. In our personalized virtual workshops you won’t need to dig deep to stay awake because we make sure you’re on-point. If not, we’ll simply set up additional presentations just for you!
5. Relatedness – While Scuba Dive Online has not been set up as a dating service, it would be nice to get to know the people on your course who all share a similar interest – scuba diving. One of the best things about learning to dive is the community you are introduced to during (and likely long-after) your course. It might surprise you, but our online groups have experienced the same sense of connectivity to the team, as have our classic learners. Our online classmates have been known to meet up with each other for dive trips, additional dive courses and exciting underwater excursion. Remember you’ll automatically be part of the Scuba Dive Online Club when you complete you course, so we’re bound to cross paths again at a future dive destination.
So, does online learning have its difficulties? Yes, but we’ve been able to turn the potential negatives into positives. In terms of student success rates, the proof is in the pudding that online learning can be effective. The results from our entry-level student course completions and the Instructor Development Course results from professional candidates are impressive – 100% pass! We look forward to welcoming you to your next online diving program!