Computer Based Training (CBT)
Although PLATO, the first dedicated computer based training system, was built in 1959, CBT did not really come around until the late 80s or early 1990s. The early CBT programs were little more than programmed instruction teaching machines. It was not until the 1990s that their multimedia capabilities were put to full use. It is based on individualized instruction that allows a learner to work through the material at her own pace. It is a natural progression from printed individualized instruction and teaching machines to the computer with its speed, branching capability and visual display.
The definition of CBT is close to the definition of individualized training — an interactive learning experience between a learner and a computer in which the computer provides the majority of the stimulus, the learner must respond, and the computer analyzes the response and provides feedback to the learner. Its multimedia function has added the capability of displaying information in audio, graphic, and motion video form, which can make the teaching of skills and processes more effective than if only text were used. Individualized instruction delivered over the World Wide Web is a further development of computer-based training. Web-based instruction can be used with any type of computer that can access the internet and that has web browser software.
CBT is now often referred to as elearning, even some definitions only define elearning as learning being delivered online.