Having emerged in the last two years, the term eLearning is used to label almost any technology-based learning program and has been characterized as the next phase of the digital revolution. Technology has been called upon in various forms to enhance the learning experience, even prior to any migration of learning to the Web.

It's easy to trace the gradual expansion of technology in learning and what became the inception of distance learning. When having an individual present just wasn't an option, audio- and videotapes could substitute. More recently, CD-ROMs were the delivery medium of choice. It has been limitations in the effectiveness and scalability of these earlier solutions that gave rise to the evolutionary process of eLearning.

Let's look at a brief history of that process, to clarify the definition of eLearning.