Научная статья на тему 'DISTANCE LEARNING DEVELOPMENT IN THE MODERN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL PROCESS'

DISTANCE LEARNING DEVELOPMENT IN THE MODERN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL PROCESS Текст научной статьи по специальности «Науки об образовании»

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Ключевые слова
DISTANCE LEARNING / DISTANCE EDUCATION / ONLINE PLATFORMS / TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS / FOREIGN LANGUAGES / DISTANT STUDENTS / TEACHERS / MODERATORS / UNIVERSITIES

Аннотация научной статьи по наукам об образовании, автор научной работы — Banartseva Arina Vladimirovna, Kaplina Ludmila Yurievna

The purpose of the research is to examine the method of applied solutions for distance learning of foreign languages to increase competitiveness of our universities. Distance learning ensures the delivery of the bulk of the studied material to students, interactive communication of students and teachers during the process of learning foreign languages as well as the assessment of their knowledge and skills acquired in the process of learning. Providing the opportunity for independent work in mastering the educational material is one of the most important part of the distance learning. The scientific novelty of the research is to describe the model as an area of experience to interest the distant student, retain his attention, maintain his satisfaction and increase the degree of mastering the educational material. This article is devoted to some modern technological solutions in the process of distance learning. The results of the work present the essential characteristics and specific features of distance learning for students and teachers using modern informational technologies and online educational platforms, its advantages and disadvantages.

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Текст научной работы на тему «DISTANCE LEARNING DEVELOPMENT IN THE MODERN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL PROCESS»

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Pedagogy

UDC 378.2

senior teacher Banartseva Arina Vladimirovna

Samara State Technical University (Samara);

candidate of pedagogical Sciences, associate Professor Kaplina Liidmila Yurievna

Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education (Samara)

DISTANCE LEARNING DEVELOPMENT IN THE MODERN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

Annotation. The purpose of the research is to examine the method of applied solutions for distance learning of foreign languages to increase competitiveness of our universities. Distance learning ensures the delivery of the bulk of the studied material to students, interactive communication of students and teachers during the process of learning foreign languages as well as the assessment of their knowledge and skills acquired in the process of learning. Providing the opportunity for independent work in mastering the educational material is one of the most important part of the distance learning. The scientific novelty of the research is to describe the model as an area of experience to interest the distant student, retain his attention, maintain his satisfaction and increase the degree of mastering the educational material. This article is devoted to some modern technological solutions in the process of distance learning. The results of the work present the essential characteristics and specific features of distance learning for students and teachers using modern informational technologies and online educational platforms, its advantages and disadvantages.

Keywords: distance learning, distance education, online platforms, technological progress, foreign languages, distant students, teachers, moderators, universities.

Аннотация. Целью исследования является изучение метода прикладных решений по дистанционному обучению иностранных языков для повышения конкурентоспособности вузов. Обеспечение возможности самостоятельной работы в освоении учебного материала является одной из важнейших составляющих дистанционного обучения. Научная новизна исследования заключается в описании модели как области опыта, позволяющей заинтересовать дистанционного студента, удержать его внимание, повысить степень усвоения учебного материала. Данная статья посвящена некоторым современным технологическим решениям в процессе дистанционного обучения. В выводах работы представлены сущностные характеристики и особенности дистанционного обучения студентов и преподавателей с использованием современных информационных технологий и онлайн-образовательных платформ, их преимущества и недостатки.

Ключевые слова: дистанционное обучение, дистанционное образование, онлайн-платформы, технический прогресс, иностранные языки, дистанционные студенты, преподаватели, модераторы, университеты.

The world is undergoing a paradigm shift and this shift is very important for higher education. Significant changes are taking place in modern higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation. Up to date distance learning tools help to broaden the horizons for higher education institutions. Most universities are equipped with software and hardware to adequately support the process of distance learning, including the process of teaching foreign languages.

The educational process has become possible to be conducted anytime and anywhere due to the proliferation of various online platforms used to conduct online classes. For example, Microsoft and Google developed different, useful online platforms to provide classes, conferences and business meetings. However, having got experience working with distance students for many years, having received feedback in the process of teaching prompted us to discuss different problems concerning online teaching process in the paper. We consider that modern distance learning should become more communicative, flexible and should provide timely communication, an individual approach, the ability to assess the needs of students in a timely manner. Those students who may currently be somewhere far from the university, and they cannot attend classroom classes, so they should be motivated, encouraged and constantly supported in the process of foreign languages distance learning. Therefore, not only the content of the proposed distance learning programs should be seriously studied, but also the approach to the distance learning process itself in order to see an effective educational process in which differentiated forms and teaching methods, high-quality control of knowledge, and an individual approach should be implemented. Distance learning provides online interaction of participants in the educational process: a teacher, a student and a university. The subject of the research is the retention of distance students (for example prevention of weeding out), meeting the students' needs and using modern technological solutions to complete the tasks outlined above. Providing distance education for both local and foreign students will increase the competitiveness of our universities. However, it is not

enough just to launch a service (product) on the market, communication must be of high quality, and the service provider (here it's a university) must satisfy its consumer who is a student throughout the entire distance learning process. Therefore, we formulate the hypothesis of our research as follows: distance learning of foreign languages is a product that can improve competitiveness, and in order to preserve and satisfy consumers (distance students) it is necessary to apply the most modern technologies in the teaching process.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines distance learning as "a teaching method in which students and teachers do not meet in the classroom, but use the Internet, email, etc. to deliver lessons". The theoretical and practical aspects of distance learning were considered in the scientific works of A. Andreeva, R.M. Bernard, V.A. Kanavo, E.S. Polat, D.H. Schunk and others [1, 2, 9, 11, 12]. Distance learning is a complex of modern technologies that provides transferring the required amount of educational material to students. Also, it allows the possibility of online interaction between participants in the educational process and the possibility of an independent learning process. All these listed above technologies can be implemented using modern educational online platforms. As for the process of foreign languages distance learning, the choice of educational products (platforms) should be accompanied by experience in using such educational resources. Intangible services do not depend on students, although their experience should be also taken into account.

If our goal is to involve the student in the distance learning process and keep him or her in it, then it is necessary to collect all the influencing factors into a single model. Let's imagen and describe the model as an area of experience - Educational entertainment - Absorption (active remote familiarization with the material) - Broadcast of training programs and webinars - Communicative approach using websites, online platforms, virtual reality, augmented reality, online role-playing games, online conferences, chats, instant messengers, social networks. Such a process of obtaining information using innovative technologies should interest the distant student, retain his attention, maintain his satisfaction and increase the degree of mastering the educational material. Communication ensures distant students' active involvement and their full immersion in the educational process. Clemons stresses: "Online educators face technological challenges that are rarely encountered by classroom teachers. However, their goals are the same it is to improve students' education by using an enriched learning environment" [6]. There is a need to provide multiple ways of communication for the three participants in the process: a teacher, a student, a moderator (representative of the university's academic department). The role of the moderator and his contribution to the communication process should not be underestimated. Some educational institutions often consider the moderator's actions less significant, but in our opinion, this view is wrong.

A qualified moderator of the online educational process should: communicate with teachers, provide them with explanations on operational functions, monitor the activities of teachers, remind and carry out general statistical monitoring of the activities of teachers with appropriate conclusions and suggestions for improving the process; monitor students, give them explanations on operational functions, track those who had low online activity or did not have this activity; upload training materials to the educational platform or help teachers in ensuring this action, conduct trainings for teachers on how to work in the system; communicate with the study department to ensure systematic notification of the grades received for the training course taken by the students; track the content of training courses uploaded to the platform, control their quality, contact teachers, remind them of updating the content; communicate with responsible IT professionals and network administrators to ensure the stable operation of online platforms [10].

It is difficult to underestimate the importance of social networks (Facebook, Vkontakte, Telegram, etc.) in modern life and communication. Groups in VK, pages with a link to information, the ability to exchange information in one click, chats, interactivity - these advantages of a social network can be fully used by students and teachers, which often happens.

Cloud services are available in many applications. The cloud facilitates more efficient use of IT resources. Cloud services can help create a single database of multiple institutions, especially if dual or shared training programs are envisaged. The Moodle cloud, for example, allows access to all special applications and services from anywhere and anytime via the Internet, since the information is stored on the main server (the server of the company's service provider. The approach to education in the era of mobile technology needs to be changed in the light of technological factors.

As for modern education, in our opinion, it does not abolish the main teaching in the classroom and does not replace it with a cybernetic process but combines these two approaches to obtain a better result. We examined the method of applied solutions for distance learning of foreign languages. The research results show: 1. In modern conditions, an open education market means high competitiveness of universities. 2. Distance learning tools, even without taking into account the impact of the pandemic and isolation, significantly contribute to an increase in the prestige and competitiveness of the university. 3. Distance learning should become more communicative and flexible, providing quick communication, an individual approach and the ability to assess the needs of the student. 4. An approach to modern distance learning should combine both formal and informal communication. The methods and solutions we propose should help keep students in the process of teaching foreign languages, as well as contribute to satisfaction with the distance learning process, which will lead to an increase in the competitiveness of the corresponding universities in Russia.

Let's analyze the various online platforms that can help develop distance learning. The Zoom platform is a simplified video conferencing and messaging platform on any device. The conference syncs with the calendar and relays streaming video conferences. Other features of the Zoom platform that will help organize the educational process: 1) integration of HD - video and audio (up to 100 video participants and 49 videos on the screen simultaneously); 2) built-in collaboration tools (many participants can share their screens and take notes for maximum interactivity); 3) conference security; 4) recording and transcription (the ability to record conferences on a local disk or in the cloud, make notes); collective chat (chats in groups, search by history, file sharing integration).

Now let's take a look at the capabilities of Microsoft Education platforms. So, in particular, the Microsoft Teams platform allows you to create a secure online classroom, maintain the interest of remote students, and support remote learning. Evaluating the capabilities of Microsoft Teams, we can highlight the main things: 1) assignments (you can create interesting assignments and provide feedback); 2) gradebook (you can assign grades and track right in the working group); 3) professional development (you can communicate with other teachers in professional learning communities, create working groups to implement a training project); 4) easy communication with everyone (you can organize club events, communicate with students and their parents). Microsoft also offers a huge variety of programs that can be used in the online educational process with remote students, for example: Whiteboard (online

whiteboard), Microsoft sway (allows you to combine multimedia and text to create presentations and websites) and many others.

The next platform we would like to mention is the Google Meets platform. It offers video meetings for everyone, and the data stream is encrypted in transit. There is an opportunity to share video resources, show presentations, send chat messages during online learning. Important advantages are broadcasting video meetings to a large number of participants, conducting large-scale virtual events, and conducting brainstorming sessions [4].

Moodle is by far the most widespread distance education system and is installed in more than 54 thousand educational institutions. This proves the quality of the system, tested by hundreds of thousands of users around the world. We list the following advantages of this online learning platform: 1) a wide range of server software, database server, modules and plug ins; 2) it is scalable both in breadth and in depth, the number of trainees in the system is unlimited, training, assessment and certification of personnel, talent management, career planning, etc. are easily implemented. Everything is limited only by the imagination and experience of teachers. What is important is that there is a simple installation and update of the system, step-by-step instructions are available on the official website and installation is free. The developed modular architecture makes it easy to expand the capabilities of Moodle, allowing you to integrate the system with other programs and services.

Distance learning is extremely important for those who cannot attend programs due to health complication, severe social anxiety, busy work schedules or parenting demands, pandemic situation or any other situations which make it necessary to be confined to the home [5]. Collecting all the facts into a single model: Area of experience -Educational entertainment - Absorption (active remote acquaintance with the material) - Broadcast of training programs and webinars - Communicative approach, we can conclude that the process of learning and obtaining information using modern innovative digital technologies should interest the remote student, retain his attention, maintain satisfaction and increase the degree of mastering the educational material. Having conducted a survey of remote students who have completed a foreign language course on the Zoom, Teams, Moodle platform, we want to note an increase in efficiency: 92% - they note an increase in efficiency, 82% - they note a high level of trust, 91% -they note a high level of activity, 85% - note the increased use of video and audio.

The spread of distance learning can become the key to solving many educational problems and a tool to increase the competitiveness of universities in Russia. To achieve this, we offer our recommendations for retaining remote students in the process of distance learning, based both on the application of the model: Educational entertainment -Absorption - Broadcast of training programs and webinars - A communicative approach, and on the basis of formal and informal approaches to communication and modern technological solutions. However, distance learning has a number of disadvantages that make the educational process quite formal, for example, frequent delays in communication between teachers and students, limited amount of information received compared to full-time students, problems with communication or the Internet, etc. ... It should be emphasized that modern education does not replace basic classroom learning or replace it with a cybernetic learning process but combines these two approaches to obtain the best result. An important aspect of the introduction of e-learning is the readiness and ability of teachers and students to new methods and technologies of teaching. But, of course, a methodically correctly organized educational process using electronic educational resources and a sufficiently high material support can bring foreign language teaching to a qualitatively new level. Distance learning is a logical step in the evolution of education. As we have seen throughout this paper, its advantages are irrefutable and much of the technology is already freely available. However, the last step needed for distance learning is for it to expand and become the norm rather than the exception. Education is a very traditional industry that has hardly changed in the last century when compared to other sectors. With a new generation of teachers, these "technology natives" will take command and that's why we can expect even more explosive growth in distance learning in the coming years. Of course, the best option for organizing foreign language learning can be an electronic environment, which includes various educational electronic tools: online training platforms, web resources, e-mail, instant messengers, in which remote students and teachers will feel comfortable and will be able to actively participate in the educational process on an equal basis with its other participants.

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