The evolution of scuba dive online's services.
Scuba Dive Online was created to keep student divers engaged and on track to becoming PADI Divers and Dive Professionals, while the world waited for travel restrictions to be lifted. Looking back on 2020, and reading some of our first blogs, we realized how much we have developed this past 2 years. As we started talking to our divers online, opportunities with our programming revealed themselves and our services developed. Scuba Dive Online have evolved. Here’s what we knew, what we learned and what we’ve solved.
What we knew......
1. We save you time!
Many of our divers, especially those wanting to become PADI Dive Professionals, were unable to travel to their chosen destination. So, we went to them! Now that restrictions have lifted in many countries, those divers who learned online with us are able to finish the in-water section of their courses, without having to spend any of their holiday in a classroom. By completing their eLearning and attending presentations, we saved them hours, even days, giving them more time underwater. For our instructor candidates, we doubled the number of online IDCs and offered different schedules according to their time zone. This helped to accommodate those with full time jobs and limited holiday time.
2. We add value to your learning experience!
Instead of merely purchasing a PADI eLearning course such as Open Water or Rescue. and completing it in their own time, Scuba Dive Online enhanced the student’s eLearning experience by adding free online presentations for all recreational and Divemaster courses. This better prepared students for when they were able dive. Moreover, meeting the Scuba Dive Online team humanised the digital experience and personalised the process.
3. We teach you better!
We are among the highest qualified and most experienced diving educators in the world! And we love diving! We consist of a team of award winning PADI Course Directors, each with over 20 years working full time in the professional diving industry. Who better to take students for their first breaths underwater, or mentor future PADI Dive Professionals? We love to share our past work experiences from resorts, retail centres, liveaboards and cruise ships to inform candidates how to dive in different environments.
What we learned....
1. Consistent in-water training is important to you.
PADI performance requirements are the same worldwide – much like your Starbuck’s coffee, which should taste the same in the UK as it does in Thailand. Therefore, wherever students decide to complete the in-water section of their dive course, the quality should be comparable. We have been asked how reliable the in-water training is elsewhere.
The Scuba Dive Online team have worked with many amazing dive educators around the world and have therefore chosen to associate only with Dive Centres they know and trust, giving students and professional candidates consistency in their training.
2. You’d like to meet us one day (as would we).
After attended online classes, many divers have connected so well with us that they have altered their travel plans to finish their in-water training alongside our Scuba Dive Online team on Koh Tao at Ban’s and Assava Diving Resorts. We’ve loved meeting our online friends in person and passing on our passion for diving, whether on a recreational or professional level.
3. Future dive travel is part of your plan.
Although some have decided to finish their courses in their home country, many have travelled with adventure in mind. With restrictions lifting and world travel becoming easier, our online learners are looking for somewhere exotic to complete their dives. We have listened and created comprehensive destinations packages.
What we solved....
1. We’ve partnered with the best Dive Centres across the globe.
The Scuba Dive Online team have lived and worked all over the world at some of the highest respected PADI dive centres. We want to pass this quality of dive education to our online learners. Therefore, by partnering with PADI Dive Centres we know and trust, we guarantee exceptional in-water training. We now have partner centres worldwide
2. We’ve extended our personal services to include in-water training.
As previously mentioned, we love diving! Even after more than 20 years of teaching, each of the Scuba Dive Online instructors can’t wait to dive in. When we started teaching online, we were not expecting so many of our elearners to join us in person, we therefore decided to further expand our packages to include in-water sessions with the team
3. We’ve created a Scuba Dive Online Club.
Our biggest surprise while teaching online was how connected we felt to our candidates. Initially, Scuba Dive Online was created to solve the problem of not being able to teach in person. We were unsure of whether this platform would work for diving courses. However, we very quickly realized that this is the future of teaching and created an exceptionally interactive way of engaging with our students and professional candidates. We found that with this interaction, came friendships that we didn’t anticipate. Digital learners from all over the world struck up friendships during classes, even arranging to meet in person. This is why we decided to start a Scuba Dive Online Club. The Club is more that just a social media group. Members will be able to take advantage of discounts, travel deals, club activities and competitions as well as staying in touch with us and each other.
This is only the beginning. If our goal to bring scuba diving to you, has evolved so much in just two years, think what the next two years could bring. We could be offering VR dives to all our students, teach professional level courses from Liveaboard boats in exotic oceans or come to teach you personally in your home country. Contact us to join the ride!