High Tech vs. High Touch

The virtual universities are actually more conservative, emphasizing the "low-tech" approach by relying heavily on traditional e-mail. The virtual universities also place greater emphasis on frequent online instructor-student interactions so that the student will not feel lost, emphasizing "low-tech and high touch".

The major universities are more likely to venture into high-tech innovations such as the Internet-based remotely controlled laboratories developed at Stanford University. Companies also contribute new technologies such as the CyberAssist.

Virtual classroom, with its emphasis on effective communication in distance education, may enhance the 'high-touchness' of distance education in the near future.