Plato

PLATO, an apronym for Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operation, was one of the first generalized Computer assisted instruction systems, originally built by the University of Illinois (U of I) and later taken over by Control Data (CDC), who provided the machines it ran on. PLATO ran for many years at the U of I, but William Norris's plans to make it a major force in the computing world and a keystone of corporate social responsibility failed. Although the project was economically a failure and supplanted by other technologies when it was finally turned off in the 1990s, PLATO nevertheless pioneered key concepts such as online forums and message boards, online testing, email, chat rooms, picture languages, instant messaging, remote screen sharing, and multiplayer online games.

Testing

Testing software developed on PLATO was deployed as the first large-scale computer-based testing system, and turned out to be the most financially viable component of the system. The NASD, private-sector regulator of the UI securities markets, began using PLATO for securities license testing in the 1980s. Use of the testing products grew steadily during that decade, and they were spun off from Control Data as Drake Training and Technologies in 1989. With the advent of IT certifications programs sponsored by, among others, Novell and Microsoft, the online testing business exploded. Today's market leader, Thomson Prometric, is the direct descendant of the PLATO testing system; the other major company in the market, Pearson VUE, was founded by several PLATO / Prometric veterans. The testing business has continued to grow, adding professional licensure and educational testing as important business segments.

Related Topics:
NASD - Control Data - Novell - Microsoft

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