Technology supplements other forms of communication between instructors and learners. The hardware and software used are essentially below threshold, even though forms such as e-mail may be available as alternatives to invisible technologies such as telephone calls. The primary delivery will be in traditional programs or courses, and usually take the form of face to face communication or, in distance education, paper based manuals. An example is conventional K-12 schooling, where videos, slides, and computers are used to supplement and illustrate classroom interaction. Having a web presence may also count as Type I where the only use is to advertise the existence of a service.
Technology is used for limited interaction between instructors and learners.
Typically, this will occur in one direction only, such as where an instructor posts the full text of lectures on a web page for learners to read. The software and hardware will be commercial with a very limited degree of customization. Interaction will be predominantly asynchronous. While this represents more mediated settings than Type I, the tools are being used as substitutes for other forms of technology lying below the threshold rather than as a fully developed form in their own right. Quite a few university courses are Type II, with course outlines, notes, and reading lists posted on the web.