They work on problems and, when they have a question, one of the students will e-mail the instructor. The instructor can answer the question and then send them to a web site for more information. The technology gives the students greater access to the university, the instructor and information resources. The core courses can be internet-based or virtual courses, while the lab work can be handled at the institutional level. Technology is not a trade off between distance education and on-site education.
Distance education is a different form of education for a particular kind of knowledge.
Research and clinical education are performance activities and do not act the way factual knowledge does. UT-Houston must work to help its faculty understand what internet technology can add to their curricula and instruction, and to train faculty to use different technology tools. Video conferencing is another technology that we can expect to see increasing use. Virtual reality will also become a valuable tool in the future as the technology develops. One indication of this is in the faculty surveys where students emphasize the enthusiasm an instructor has for a particular course.