Have you ever taken an online college course?

I teach one, and I can tell you it isn’t the same as teaching kids live, face to face. It’s so much harder to explain concepts via messaging etc., than it is in real life, with me drawing pictures and making gestures and getting them fired up with curiosity and a desire to learn.
I’m getting ready to take my first online course at a community college here locally, and I have some concerns that it’s going to be nothing more than someone sticking a work book in front of your face and expecting you to teach yourself. Which I can do. But, can I expect more than that?