Implementation of the e-learning methodology in university teaching: an experience through the Virtual Campus project

The continual effort to use new technologies throughout the world of higher education has led to the development of a variety of informational tools which make it possible to support traditional education through use of the Internet. A great many diverse applications are available, both technologically and in the form of programs, which satisfy the majority of virtual education needs. New needs continue to present themselves, not only with regard to the exchange of information and documents, but the complete and integrated management of teaching which is carried out using virtual environments and the Internet: e-learning. The University of Castilla-La Mancha, in its continued effort to evolve technologically, has decided to implement the very tool which is considered to be the most widely-used, the most functional, the easiest and most standard, and the most widely-supported in all the world: WebCT. Currently, WebCT boasts 3500 clients (most of which are universities), and is used by more than 15 million students and more than half a million professors. Its unlimited range can be illustrated by the fact that it has been translated into 15 languages in order to be used in more than 72 countries. Against this backdrop, "Virtual Campus" has emerged. This paper is dedicated to the analysis of said tool as a primary mode of e-learning expansion in the university environment. Defined as an entity which is physical, virtual, administrative, technological and educational, it can be used to carry out standard educational university activities in accordance with the guidelines set out by the new European Space for Higher Education.