I have recently seen a few people complaining that they aren’t getting peer interaction in their newly-virtual university environments. Yeah, the online experience does not mirror the physical. In the physical, there is usually one or two peers that you hit it off with ... you might all meet in the campus library to study together (because the student center is too loud and has too many distractions). The virtual world does not really offer as a way for you to know which of your fellow students is likely to be suitable for this.

Years ago, online classes had a certain number of required interactions in a forum. That always felt artificial. You’d go to bed the night before an assignment was due, thinking no one had been paying attention. Then the next morning, right before the turn in deadline, six or eight students would be trying to get their required “interaction” before time ran out.

It was not the same.

We also had group projects. Whether online or in class, group projects stink. I used to write up almost completed “parts” for each group member, then send them out, so they could refine them a little. Why? Because one person could deflate the scores for the entire group, so I wanted to ensure they had as much information (with citations) as needed to write up a good part. (One time, someone else did the same thing, and they got theirs mailed out before mine was completed, so I just summarized my info and sent it out as a supplement.)