This paper summarizes two studies and the contemporary literature on the design and construction of effective and efficient Computer Based Learning (CBL) environments. There is adequate evidence on Distance Learning environments, however CBL environments provide some special characteristics that separate them from their Distance counterparts, while they have to adhere to educational principles, as they are mainly educational environments. So, firstly these similarities and differences are emphasized under the educational view. Secondly, the contemporary educational research on such environments is provided and the studies made in this area are briefly described. The objective of this paper is to conclude to a set of design and construction guidelines for environments of this kind, as they emerged from the studies and contemporary trends in the field. So, these guidelines are presented and some issues of interest for further research on the domain are discussed.