Just a quick update from the professional development team here at Blue Season Bali. Taka and Tom are just one week away from leaving for Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia for the 2010 PADI Course Director Training Course. We are proud to have them continue their careers with us as they move up to the highest level of recreational diving- PADI Course Director.
Tom and Taka are no strangers to the world of instructor development, having staffed more than 20 IDCs for Blue Season Bali. Their progression to the level of Course Director marks a great turn in the programs here. Blue Season Bali will become the only IDC/CDC Center in Bali with more than one full-time course director- and we’ll have three. Another great benefit is that Taka will be the only Japanese CD in the region, supporting our growing Japanese IDC market. Further to that, Tom West will join Jonathan Cross as the only two native English-speaking course directors on the island.
The addition of two course directors to our team in 2010 is great support for the expanded 4-week PADI IDC programs we are running. Due to the scheduling of the 10 PADI Instructor Examinations in Bali for 2010, it pretty much means that we are running IDC components full time, back to back, every day, until December 9th. I think the boys will be due for some time off at that point!
We welcome all our dedicated blog readers to come and visit us on your next trip to Bali, check out our facilities, and meet our team. Just drop us a line and we’ll be happy to show you around the stunning underwater seascapes around Bali!
We are pleased to inform all our readers that we have been received recognized for our conservation efforts in 2009 by being awarded the 2009 Project AWARE Environmental Achievement Award.
This fantastic award is given to the world’s top ECO dive centers which meet the requirements set forth for Project AWARE’s Environmental Achievement Award and who lead by example through their efforts to conserve aquatic environments through education, advocacy and action. Blue Season Bali’s ran a variety of activities in 2009, including fundraising, Coral Watch, coral farming, AWARE kids programs, beach & underwater cleanups and the all-new inclusion of Go-ECO Master Scuba Diver courses in our divemaster internship programs.
In 2010, Blue Season Bali’s commitment to the marine environment continues with the launch of our all new, industry-exclusive Project AWARE workshop as part of the region’s only 4-week PADI IDC program. This workshop helps equip new instructors with the skills and knowledge they will need to affect change in their local environment by organizing certain types of Project AWARE activities. The Project AWARE workshop pays particular focus to Coral Watch, Beach & Underwater Cleanups, the placement of mooring buoys, and reef restoration projects.
This program was written by Blue Season Bali’s senior instructor development staff with the aim to inspire and equip all of our graduating instructors with the information and ability to go out and carry our mission to the next level by establishing environmental programs in all the places they will work around the world. The success of our job placement programs means we have a special opportunity to help spread this message to the next generation of dive instructors- and their future students!
From all of us here at Blue Season Bali, we wish you all a clean and green 2010.
Today marks the second time we have run our all new (and industry-exclusive!) website builder during Blue Season Bali’s 4-week IDC program. It is a great opportunity to teach our candidates the value of marketing themselves effectively as a dive professional. As any dive center owner will tell you, it’s not just your skills as an instructor which make you employable; it’s often the skills you have outside of diving which make the difference.
Being an effective marketer in this industry starts with one simple step: marketing yourself. What better way to stand out from the dozens of other applicants than by having your own website and .com domain? Couple this with the professional CV clinic we ran yesterday, and you’re really off to a good start.
Blue Season Bali will be conducting this great new workshop during all 10 four-week IDC programs throughout 2010. With programs spread out throughout the year, there are many opportunities to take advantage of this great learning experience. All you need to do is contact us today and we’ll give you all the information you need to join the IDC program here at Bali’s finest Career Development Center- Blue Season Bali.
The skills outlined here are the basis of your demonstration-quality skills as a PADI instructor or PADI Divemaster. It is important to learn and develop your ability to demonstrate skills correctly, slowly and with exaggerated movement so that students can easily learn these complex motor skills.
The standard philosophy is that there is no one right way to perform a certain skill. This is true. One hallmark of a talented instructor is the ability to demonstrate various methods which will help students through difficulties and assist them in meeting performance requirements.
Personally, I present very few skills the same way to different students. I try to identify what I think will be the easiest method for my students and present that method first. Hey, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. That is why it is important to have additional variations you can fall back on as a good instructor.
We invite you to comment on these skills descriptions, ask questions and generally participate in the development of what we hope will become a valuable resource for new professionals and working instructors alike. Similarly, our professional development team is always available to answer direct inquiries through email. If you do have any questions, please feel free to post them here or send us a private message. We’re always happy to help.
Buddy BreathingPlease note that Buddy Breathing is removed from the PADI Curriculum as of June, 2010. It’s replacement in the 20 Basic Scuba Skills is covered next – the Alternate Air Source Ascent.
Instructor and DM with empty BCDs
Position DM in front of you and students to your left
Get DM’s attention by shaking BCD
Signal “Out of Gas” and “Buddy Breathe”
Remove regulator mouthpiece down, point out bubbles, and hold with your left hand while DM grabs his regulator hose and signals off two breaths.
As DM begins to pass his primary, grab his right wrist with your left hand- you can now release your primary from your right hand.
Insert DM’s primary reg into your mouth and exaggerate clearing by signaling with your right hand
Point out your left hand’s “one-two” signal with your right hand
As reg goes back to DM, place his left hand on your right shoulder strap
Exaggerate contact with his left bcd shoulder strap with your right hand
You are now in position
Elevate LPI and occasionally simulate release of expanding air
Continue exaggerating clearing, breathing and signals
