Promoting the Use of ICT for Education in a Traditional University: The Case of the Virtual Learning Center of the University of Granada

This case describes the Virtual Learning Center of the University of Granada in Spain. It relates the creation of a specific service structure to manage the promotion of the use of ICT and elearning in the educational processes of a large, traditional, five century-old university. With just the base of a few previous pilot experiences, this Center, created in February 2001, had to address the training of the teaching staff of the University in ICT competences and the creation of both graduate and post-graduate virtual courses. Four years later, all the proposed goals have been achieved and, currently, the University of Granada has more than 4,000 virtual students and more than one third of its academic staff (around 1,200 teachers) have proper e-learning skills, with some of them being able to create their own digital materials for face-to-face teaching support and blended learning.