3 ms·

I know the comments below illuminate some good examples, but what experiences specifically do you feel can never be replaced by a virtual environment? I agree

• evgen 17y ago
  I would say that online lectures and current video-conferencing provides about 80-90% equivalent experience while the class size is above 50 or so; once you get to smaller classes the online lecture becomes about as worthwhile as a lecture on DVD. Beyond general survey courses it is of marginal benefit to anyone who is not an autodidact. Some of the current high-end video-conference setups come close (e.g. the ones that are basically multiple cameras and a screen that is wall-sized) but these are really only suitable for point-to-point remote learning and not situations where the "class" will be distributed in hundreds of locations.
• tedunangst 17y ago
  The experience of plugging in a diode backwards vs a popup that says "pop". When getting it wrong means you can't get it right (without replacing components) you pay more attention to what you're doing.
• billswift 17y ago
  Labwork is supposedly, at least within your major, training for doing original research. Without the rich complexity and messiness of the real world you are not going to learn what potential problems (and especially, unexpected details) to watch for. For those going through the motions for "breadth" courses, VR (once it's good enough) would be fine.