Simple. This is the way a lot of HVAC guys start off. Maybe the practice board looks a little different...it may even be one of those expensive name brand ones. Any way you slice it, they pretty much do the same thing.

I don't see this as a long term "thing" as it is just to get the basic concepts of circuits across to beginners. This board (if a practice board is used at all) should morph into real equipment very quickly. Use them to understand types of circuits, series and parallel, perform basic voltage checks, etc. Then move on to applying those skills/concepts to a real unit.

I honestly like to use them so I can hopefully teach newbies not destroy a whole bunch of thermostats @ $50 $75 dollars a pop!