Certainly, the institutional economic costs can be considerable. Psychological costs should not be minimized either. These include the effect of information overload on instructor and student, and, as mentioned previously, the issues engendered by lack of social and nonverbal cues. This paradigm reflects a network revolution and evolution. From a pedagogical perspective, the point of injecting new technology, rather than to add nonessential frills to the basic communication course vehicle, is to deal with recognized shortcomings in the process.
Instructors can design the use of email to enhance writing skills and critical thinking.
No longer are students excluded by limited hours or long distances from contact with instructors, or access to research facilities. Instructional communication theories acknowledge the importance not only of providing information, but of mediating the relationship of one human to another. A note of caution must be sounded here, however, because it is unlikely that CMC use in instruction will result in a net reduction of time spent dealing with students. Any investigation of CMC's impact on student learning requires specific assessments of cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning, as CMC may have different effects in each of these areas. Cognitive learning is typically measured by using fact based exams which test for information retention, essay exams which demonstrate capacity for analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, and skills knowledge exams, which demonstrate knowledge of concept application.