In the live Zoom class, you join a scheduled session taught by a certified instructor and can ask questions on the spot - it's open to everyone 16 and up. The self-paced online course, restricted to students 18 and older, lets you work through the modules on your own time, with built-in identity checks. Both versions are DMV-approved, deliver the identical required material, and qualify you to schedule a road test. One key difference: the live/Zoom version gives you a physical MV-278 certificate, whereas the self-paced online course reports your completion to the DMV electronically, and no MV-278 certificate is provided.