A good example of the threshold effect is the telephone, which is regarded, one hundred years after invention, as a transparent and unproblematic medium. Video recorders are another example, with most of us able to remember the initial excitement generated by their invention. As the years have passed, video recorders no longer produce a great deal of discussion they have become effectively neutral artifacts for most users. The first is below the threshold for many users while the second is still visible to those involved. The degree and form of mediation is a useful way of summarizing technology and research issues.
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.