[martincmartin]

The facts are a little different.

For the math & physics classes, the deadlines are 3 weeks after being assigned, whereas when you take the class in person, there's a strict 1 week deadline.

Part of the advantage of taking an online class, as opposed to self study, is the motivating factor of deadlines. I have a lot of textbooks I've started reading, then said "I'll get back to this" and never have.

Another advantage of class over just textbook is discussions with classmates and TAs. Having a schedule helps with that too, since there are others working on the same material at the same time.

[nightski]

I do agree, but fortunately having the course online means one should be able to choose how they learn best. Want to sign up for a scheduled online class with available TAs? Neat, now you can pay for that separately. Want to just consume the material at your leisure and not require any outside assistance other than maybe a forum? Pay a smaller fee or even get it for free depending on the needs of the content creator and get access at any time without deadlines.

Personally I have a study friend and we motivate each other. But we don't necessarily move as fast as MIT's deadlines because we are professionals with deadlines that take priority. So it's completely lost on me which is frustrating because the material is great!