CC BY
32
USE OF DISTANCE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES
А. F. Schabaeva
The high level of development of information and communication technologies has led to the emergence of new educational needs in society and a desire for more extensive use of information resources and more effective pedagogical decisions. Adoption of new educational standards of higher professional education creates a scientific and legal basis for changing the educational paradigm to ensure conformity of university graduates’ knowledge and skills with international standards. Currently, the traditional educational system in Russia is moving to the new forms of teaching and learning, using modern information and communication technologies. Today distance learning, or distance training, is becoming more and more popular. These are currently the most up to date teaching methods from the point of view of the methodology using innovations in the field of education and psychology, and from the point of view of the use of the new information technologies and multimedia systems as a necessary condition of the educational process itself.
In the process of lifelong education distance learning is becoming more widespread because it corresponds to the increasing dynamics of the society. Given the need to continuously improve the professionalism and competitiveness of each expert, such training allows for free use of various information resources at any time, training of students at a convenient location according to an individual schedule. Such educational technology promotes the personality-focus of the learning process, the self-intensification of a learner. Distance learning is also used for additional education: retraining and advanced training. In addition, it makes it possible to provide access to education for those categories of consumers, who due to various restrictions, cannot receive the educational services in a traditional manner. A learner has a set of educational and practical aids and tasks on the presented topics. Communication with a teacher is carried out via e-mail; there is also an opportunity to receive quick feedback from a teacher who offers a certain course.
To use the distance educational technologies it is necessary in the first phase to saturate the educational process with computers and other technical equipment in order to start the detailed study of the organization and conduct of the educational process. This is followed by a transition to technologies of use of information and communication means and development and preparation of the methodological materials. The materials offered to a student should be presented in the form of structural and logical patterns with a great number of examples, charts, slides, films and ready-made solutions of basic tasks. This will reduce the time required to study each topic. It is not enough to convert the educational materials into electronic form and submit them to students for further independent work through the Internet, television or other means. In the best case, that is selfeducation of students. One of the main components of distance education consists
94
in virtual work of a teacher and a student, carried out with use of the Internet in the form of online conferences, etc. Such education can achieve a high quality by setting up a convenient individual training schedule.
The result of training and the level and quality of knowledge depend on a teacher’s experience and qualifications in the use of the methodological training materials and on individual practical studies. It is possible to arrange lessons with highly qualified teachers. The quality of higher and further education largely depends on the students themselves. Distance learning involves increased autonomy of students. It is the deliberate and controlled, intensive, independent work of a student.
The main characteristics of distance education are unique accessibility; modular design of courses (everyone can choose his/her own courses of interest); relatively low training costs, due to the low demand for classrooms and teachers; high mobility and a small time interval between pass-fail exams and between sessions of communication with a teacher, as in cases of studying by correspondence; maximum saving of a student’s free time, an opportunity not to interrupt work practice; and individual training. Distance learning does not reduce the quality of education, which meets the state educational standards. A learner receives an opportunity to receive a new profession remotely, to improve his/her qualifications and to expand his/her worldview at any scientific or educational center. With global networks we can overcome the boundaries of the information space.
At the Sterlitamak branch of the Bashkir State University, in the education process we develop and use distance courses of two types: as an additional methodological support, and the so-called interactive courses in which distance learning is possible. The course of the first type contains the instructive, information and control blocks and means publication of all educational and methodological materials necessary for a student to successfully study a discipline. The instructional (organizational) block includes the methodological guidance for students’ independent work, as well as the evaluation criteria. The information block includes the theoretical material on all sections of the course offered for an exam or a test. The information block is logically structured and divided into topics. Each topic should open in a separate file or page. The practical part may include questions for practical sessions, seminars, laboratory and practical work, and exercises. The information block also includes a list of the recommended literature and additional sources of information (external links). The control block includes the materials for monitoring the results of theoretical and practical learning: homework, test papers, tests (control, self-control), colloquium, questions for a pass-fail test and an exam. All materials of this block are entered for student selftraining to pass the final control exams of a discipline.
The interactive distance learning course is a course in which it is possible to organize the educational process in a distance form, i.e. all four blocks are implemented: instructive, information, communication and control. Publication of the teaching materials in this course is carried out using the LMS Moodle course (“lectures”, “tasks”, “tests”, “forum”, and “chat”), and contains all the materials
95
necessary for the successful study of a discipline. The instructive (organizational) block includes methodological materials (guidance) to study subjects, guidelines for independent work of students, evaluation criteria, and the training schedule. The schedule of training has a plan of a distance course, time of conducting seminars, task setting, time for answers to questions for the task and assignment of grades, time for responses to the questionnaires, etc. The information block includes theoretical materials for all sections of the course offered for an exam or a test. The main part of the materials contains pages with educational and test materials, which are logically structured and divided into topics. The practical part includes topics of the seminars, laboratory and practical work, exercises and essay topics. There is also a list of recommended literature and additional sources of information. The recommended elements are a glossary, a reading book (full or abbreviated texts of the literary sources) and video/audio lectures. The communication block includes the use of elements of the course “Forum”, “Chat”, and an e-mail address for the interaction between a teacher and a student. The control block includes the materials for monitoring the results of students’ theoretical and practical understanding of the training materials: homework, themes of tests, tests (control, self-control), colloquium, questions for an exam and a test.
The use of distance learning technologies at our university contributes to an increase in the quality of education through the implementation of modern teaching technologies. It allows you to combine cognitive activity of students with different sources of information and educational materials specially designed for a course and available in electronic form for your convenience. Students get the opportunity to interact with the leading teachers of the course via e-mail, forums, and distance seminars in a remote network mode in order to receive additional consultations with the teachers on a specific subject, and teachers receive an opportunity to check the students' knowledge through online tests. Distant learning reduces the number of academic leaves and the number of students not making progress due to illness or other reasons.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translations Bureau
96
