"Computers offer the possibility of truly individualized instruction."
Donald Bitzer
Today computers can be used to teach young children how to add up, government employees how to speak a foreign language, and even medical students how to dissect a human body. The idea of using a computer as an educational tool, or e-learning, is often seen as a recent innovation, whereas it has existed, at least in concept, for quite some time. By the end of the 1950s, computers were being used educationally by such early innovators as IBM and the University of Illinois.
In 1960, Donald Bitzer was concerned about the number of illiterate students coming out of schools. When a professor posed a simple question in class one day about the use of computers for teaching, Bitzer took up the task. He designed one of the first learning systems specifically for computers, which used graphics and touch-sensitive screens. Dubbed "Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operation," or PLATO, for short, it was an ideal medium for teaching, as well .as for games and social networking. Along with an associated computer language, known aptly as TUTOR, it allowed simultaneous teaching to a great many users at the same time. As if the creation of computer-assisted learning were not enough, Bitzer also coinvented the plasma screen display panel in 1971, for which they won an Emmy Award for technical achievement in 2002.
