Implementing E‐learning in the Traditional Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

This article takes a close look at a large, well‐established traditional European university, the University of Barcelona, as an example of an institution that has a long history of developing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and e‐learning. The results of a systematic peer‐review analysis illustrate the issues, problems, and solutions currently encountered by many European universities in their institutional plans and implementation efforts for integrating e‐learning in face‐to‐face teaching.

Notes

1. The authors use the term e‐learning in two different ways: a) as technology supported learning (Commission of the European Communities, 2000); b) as the use of new multimedia technologies and the Internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to resources and services as well as remote exchanges and collaboration. (Glossary, n.d.)

2. The Lisbon Strategy sets goals for education and training for living and working in the knowledge society in Europe (Lisbon European Council, 2000)

3. MASSIVE stands for Modelling Advice and Support Services to Integrate the Virtual component in Higher Education. For more information, see http://www.massive‐project.org/

4. It has around 76,000 students. Ten thousand Bachelor's degrees and 450 PhDs are awarded each year. The UB library is the second largest in Spain, with more than two million books and about 36,000 print and online journals.

5. UB is the representative of Creative Commons in Spain.