SPRINGFIELD - Busier lives and higher gas prices mean more people are taking classes online.
  Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield has added 500 students in the last year alone. Teachers say you can learn just as much online and they’re adding more classes to meet demand.
  “I couldn't sit in a classroom during the daytime hours I had to work and at night I needed to be home with my child,” said former online student Amy Clifton.
  She’s a working mom who went back to school to get a better job. For students like Clifton online classes have paid off, but they're not for everyone.
  “I have had a few that signed up and I think weren't prepared for the time and effort and certainly it's not for everyone. It's for a certain type of student,” said online instructor Samantha Reif.
  Reif says going from the blackboard to the computer screen has been a challenge.
  “I almost have to spend more time with my students online because we don't get the interaction with me,” said Reif.
  Even though there's still some challenges left when it comes to online classes and communication Lincoln Land has 2,000 students signed up for this fall, that’s a 40% jump in the last 2 years.
  “The opportunity for learning is there, the same amount of material they just have to work harder,” said Reif.
  Even as demand grows for online classes and people adjust educator’s say there will always be a classroom.
  Lincoln Land currently offers more than 100 online classes. About 13-percent of Lincoln Land's nearly 7,000 students take classes online.