The idea that distance education lacks intimacy and is therefore inferior is based on an embedded metaphor that sustains a restricted and limiting mental model of ideal instruction. The authors analyze alternative conceptualizations of intimacy, space, and place as factors in the development of effective instructional models. They predict that the traditional instructional model will be increasingly problematic in the face of new and emerging technologies. After a review of a range of factors that will influence the eventual consolidation of new instructional models for higher education, the authors advocate a blending of metaphors and models that will place higher education practitioners in postures of greater flexibility to exploit as yet unidentified opportunities and challenges.