In the live Zoom class, students join a real-time session led by a certified instructor at a set time, with the ability to ask questions. It's open to anyone 16 and over. The self-paced online course, restricted to students 18 and older, lets them progress through modules on their own, with identity checks built in. Both paths are DMV-approved, teach the same mandatory material, and qualify you for a road test. The key difference: live classes, Zoom included, hand out MV-278 certificates, while online completions are sent electronically to the DMV without issuing a physical MV-278.