Teenagers use their computers or phones to communicate with each other, play video games, watch shows, and to complete homework. In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, some schools have begun offering online classes for students to learn at home. More schools should start online classes for students because it helps remove distractions from students that are serious about learning and it helps students become independent learners.

A school district can be very large. Although some students can walk to school, many students are required to get up early in the morning to be in time for a bus to bring them to school. Students would be able to get more sleep and be more prepared for their school day if this commute time could be eliminated. Online classes, or classes taught by video conferencing, allow students to arrive in their classroom simply by connecting their computer or turning on the T.V. This screen directly connecting the student and teacher also helps remove and possible distractions from the classroom. If the heating breaks in a school building and students didn't bring a jacket, they may be cold for the entire day and not learn as well. But if the heating in the home of a student breaks, they can just go to the closet, grab a sweater, and continue learning as if nothing was the matter.

Although online classes remove some distractions, they have the ability to cause many more. Because of the lack of supervision that online teaching inherently receives, many students could be tempted to use their computer or cell phone for purposes other than learning. A student could also just choose to remain in bed at home, or they may fall asleep during a lesson due to the comforts of their own home. If this happens, it is also more difficult for a student to catch up to an online class compared with a class taught at a school. It is harder for the student to communicate directly with a teacher.

To avoid these potential issues, online students need to be responsible for their own learning. Online classes help students become more responsible by giving students more time to take care of themselves. Besides online classes providing more time to sleep, online students can complete small chores at home, such as laundry or running the dishwasher, while they are listening to a lesson. In fact, some students prefer to move around of do something while learning instead of sitting down and watching the teacher for thirty minutes or longer at a time. If a student has an exercise bicycle at their house, they could pedal while doing algebra, improving both their brains and bodies. Online schooling prepares students for taking care of themselves later in life.

Many students take a course online over the summer in order to free up an elective for the regular school year; they complete an entire course in one-fourth of the time it would take normally. They demonstrate that online classes can help a responsible student develop both skills from their class and time managment skills to stay on top of their tasks. Students would benefit greatly from being able to take their classes at home.