Students in online classes do not need to be technology experts, but they do need a fair amount of online skill. If a student is not comfortable with online discussion boards, sending email attachments, web conferencing, or uploading documents, he may encounter technical difficulties in an online class.
Interactions between students and professors in an online class are done entirely via computer or phone. Some students find it difficult to maintain focus and motivation when they do not see their professor every week for reminders and support.
Online classes rely heavily on discussion-board forums to provide class discussions of various topics. Sometimes students in these classes do not use proper etiquette when typing responses to classmates' postings in these forums, which can cause conflicts between students.
An online student must learn to manage her time well. Since there are due dates in an online class, but not specified class meeting times, an online student has to make time in her own schedule to complete class assignments. Some people have difficulty managing their time wisely when there are so few boundaries to constrict them.
In an online course, the professor serves as a facilitator. This means that he supervises the students as they move through a preordained course framework. The professor did not design the course, he merely manages it. So sometimes a professor in an online class is not fully able to help his students understand course objectives since he most likely did not participate in writing those objectives.
In a ground-based college, tutoring services are available for students on campus. But in an online class, students have to seek help via email or phone call to their professors. Sometimes this proves insufficient when you cannot sit down with your tutor or professor to get face-to-face help.