Online driver’s ed courses have exploded in the past few years. The potential is exciting, but the execution, unfortunately, has left us wanting more. Simply put, most (but not all) online course are boring.

Advantages of online driver’s ed

• May fulfill a requirement in your state
  The advantage to an online course is that it may fulfill a state requirement. However, you, as the parent, should NEVER allow your teen to hit the streets until they have gone through an extensive training program that you or a professional driving instructor has administered.
• Convenient
  Your student can take the course whenever they want. However, the same can be said for some of the “offline” training methods we’ve reviewed such as DVDs.

Disadvantages

• Boring, text-laden
  In order to fulfill the requirements set forth by the state, most online driving training programs are forced to include a lot of text. Most try to supplement this with some pictures or flash animations. With the exception of one online program, these graphics and animations are low-grade and will not impress a 15 or 16 year old who is accustomed to the high-end visual style of Hollywood, MTV, and ESPN.

The bottom Line

Online driving training courses could be great for you and your teen’s schedule. However, in most cases, the instruction is fairly boring and stale. Unless you’re attempting to fulfill a requirement, you’ll probably get more learning value out of a driver’s ed DVD.

States with requirements

The following states’ allow online courses to fulfill part or all of their licensing requirements: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia.