I’m hoping to start taking community college classes over the summer. While looking at the catalogue I noticed some classes (like some psychology & child development classes) are only available online. Can someone explain how these classes work? Do you watch a video of a professor’s lecture, or is it a live stream? If anyone could explain what the online classes at specifically West Valley College or Mission College in norcal are like that’d be even better. Thank you!
Really depends on the teacher, but I don’t think there will ever be live-stream. One of my online professors uploads lectures, the other doesn’t. There will be a lot of reading and discussion boards. Tests may be given as well. It’s honestly not that bad! I like my online classes cause I can go at my own pace and work when I want to but still have deadlines.
It’s quite rare for the professor to upload video lectures, but some do. I took an art class from Los Angeles Valley College online and the professor had such detailed videos. Normally, it is a mix of reading (written) lecture notes and interacting with other students via a discussion board (as mentioned above). The only hard thing about online classes is that it’s incredibly easy to fall behind because you aren’t constantly being reminded in-person of deadlines by a professor. Sure, you might get emails or see posts about deadlines, but if you don’t check the class website often, it doesn’t really help. As somebody who (almost) missed their online final, just a word of caution 
I’ve taken many online classes though, so I do enjoy them. They offer such a nice degree of flexibility.
@calibay19 I took loads of online college classes at Los Angeles Valley College, Pasadena City College, and Glendale College, and most CC online classes are structured in the same format. The online classes will be facilitated through the Canvas system, you will have a mix of reading assignments, papers, projects, and weekly discussion boards. The rigor of online classes vary by professor - some can be super easy, while others are very rigorous and filled with assignments. The “lectures” in online classes are not live stream video type lectures, but rather you read the textbook chapters and the professor might post some short summaries of the chapter readings - those summaries are your “lectures.” Very rarely have I had an online class where the professor posted a video lecture - it’s really just YOU reading the textbook, discussing with your peers in the weekly discussion forums, and writing a few papers or projects. The professor is really just the one who grades your work and stays in the background, YOU are essentially teaching yourself and must be motivated to learn the material.
In my personal opinion, I think online classes are much more easier and less stressful than the on-campus classes, and you have the convenience and flexibility of working on your own time and not dealing with the drive/parking to campus. But you MUST be motivated and keep up with the deadlines in an online class, as it can be easy to procrastinate and leave online papers/projects to the last day, which is a big no no. Good luck!