The PLATO Phenomenon

CSL had the distinction of creating the first computer-assisted instructional system in the world. Its name: PLATO, or Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations.

In the first generation of PLATO, users sat at a station resembling a telephone booth. They faced television screens and communicated with the computer using a keyboard that looked like a typewriter. PLATO profoundly influenced computer-based education systems throughout the country.