The level of difficulty, or ease as the case may be for online classes over traditional ones is a matter for the individual student to judge for himself or herself. Certainly online classes may seem easier given the fact that it is relatively free of certain restrictions set by a brick-and-mortar classroom education such as space, time and location. As with most things however, there are trade-offs as well as attendant responsibilities for the degree of “freedom” that an online class may afford a student.

Before you start taking an online class, you must assess yourself and your readiness to go this route of learning. In an online class, you track your own progress, go through the lectures and discussions at your pace, submit papers and assignments, take exams and even choose the proctor to monitor your exam, all according to your chosen schedule as well. Since most online classes are asynchronous, you need to be well motivated and committed to see it through. Given the autonomy in deciding your schedule and going through the lectures at your convenient time with minimal supervision, the student must be able to muster enough self-discipline so he or she won’t lose steam and quit midway through the degree. While it might be more convenient to be taking the online course in the comfort of one’s home, certainly distractions are present within the household environment that would be stealing your attention and thus create challenges for finishing a lecture, an assignment or an exam even.

Much like traditional schools, there are definitely other resources that are also made available to online students, such as virtual libraries, videos, links to web sites for research information and so forth. Online instructors are also available for consultation, and may be reached easily via e-mail. Sometimes though online instructors find it a challenge to translate traditional discussions into the online format and that can be a factor for misunderstanding within the class, as well as contributing to the perceived level of difficulty in certain types of classes.

If however you are the type who needs a regular pace and more external motivation and face-to-face interaction with your peers and your instructors then traditional classes might be more suitable for you. In some studies comparing online classes and traditional classes as well, students perceive instruction in traditional classes as better than in online classes – perhaps an attribute of the social interaction afforded by the physical setting.

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