Described are the results of a study that was set up to get insight into the appreciation of students for distance learning, especially concerning online lab-experiments. We wanted to know whether an online lab-experiment is more or less effective than a regular one and how it can be used in IPD-projects. Preliminary data analyses have shown that the appreciation of an online lab-experiment is dependent on a number of items, like the educational contents of the experiment itself, the way accompanying theory is presented, possibilities of doing the experiment in an alternative way, the organization around the experiment etc. It appears also that students give serious suggestions on developing other online lab-experiments and the way to use it in IPD-projects. A description is given of the web-based experiment "cube measurement", which is carried out using a remotely operated robot and image processing functions. The students' appreciation is discussed and suggestions are given on how comparable experiments can contribute to work in an IPD environment.