Virtueller Medizinischer Campus Graz: eine e-Learning Umgebung wird 5 Jahre alt / Virtual Medical Campus Graz: an e-learning environment has its 5 year-anniversary

Parallel with the initiation of an integrated curriculum at the Medical University of Graz a virtual learning environment was implemented, designated as Virtual Medical Campus (VMC). Several financial support projects made the development of the VMC and its enhancements possible. Learning objects are granular and strictly equipped with a set of metadata conforming the SCORM 2004 2nd edition-standard and are therefore reusable and exchangeable with other study courses or e-Learning-systems. Simple usability allows authors the intuitive creation of content, which may be enriched with interactive and tutorial systems using several built in authoring tools like web-based-training or a Virtual Microscope. In 2005 more than 3300 students applied for human medicine at the Medical University of Graz and it was decided to give a virtual term with a selection process at the end of it.More than 1 million accesses to learning objects and 257,000 web-based-trainings were handled without a single breakdown. This unique interim solution of a virtual term demonstrated the capacity of the VMC-system and the organisational possibility to intercept rushes of application using e-Learning. In the meanwhile the VMC Graz provides 13 study courses at four universities in two different European countries and two international postgraduate programs. The technical development aims at Web 3.0 – “Semantic Web” and the further expansion of co-operations is a present and future strategy