Long ago - right after we came over on the Mayflower and before computers and the internet - our local junior college offered basic courses via a local TV station. The classroom session was taped live and then replayed at a later time. Students had a choice to either attend actual class on campus or watch from the comfort of their living room. Of course we also had books back then, nothing digital. Only had to go to the campus to take tests and turn in papers.
It was not only very inexpensive but a great time saver and easy way to pile up the college credits on core curriculum courses.
Back in the 70’s I took a video course when that was rather new. I loved it. I could watch it at home, or go to the library and pop the tape in at my convenience. I very much prefer online classes to keep my nursing license current. My daughter did 2 semesters of online clasess and absolutely hated them, despite starting on a computer at 18 months old. She also wants a physical textbook in her hands, and it can’t be used, either. On top of that, the online classes were more expensive than on campus classes and she was watching recycled videos.
People learn differently and one size doesn’t fit all. School was torture for me, having a high IQ. A history teacher threatened to fail me if I missed another day of class. I asked him how he could justify that if I had a B+ and never cracked the book. In a small town, his personal war stories were crap compared to his neighbor who’d been in the Bhutan Death March. Maybe he was jealous I was friends with the guy’s daughter.
Back in the early 90s when online schools first became available, it was a Godsend for a colleague with a child that had ADHD and was being abused by his teacher and the school system. It made a huge difference for him and he finally started learning. Again, one size doesn’t fit all.