Магистрант Корпешова С.Ж., к.п.н. Тургинбаева Л.В.

Региональный социально-инновационный университет, Казахстан

Южно-Казахстанский государственный педагогический институт, Казахстан

INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF KAZAKHSTAN

Innovation is defined as the process of making changes to something established by introducing something new. It applies to radical or incremental changes to products, processes or services. Over the years there have been many changes in the way education is designed and delivered in parts of the world.

Today, technology is a significant driver behind change, and sometimes plays an important role in innovations in educational design and delivery. There are immense possibilities for greater and wider-spread change with the use of present-day technological advancements, as well as with the implementation of innovative educational programs. The challenge is to ensure that innovation plays a constructive role in improving educational opportunities for billions of people who remain under-served in a rapidly developing world.

Technologies that are now available in most Kazakhstani educational institutions increase the potential to support learners and educators, and can help remove the barriers of time and distance. New information and communications technologies do not replace all previous ones, nor do they replace the need for good educational design and delivery. However, appropriate technologies can provide additional possibilities for learner support, interactivity, and access to education. With the emergence of smart phones, eBook readers, Podcasts and Vodcasts, Internet and low-cost computers, as well as solar electricity, cell phone access, and other technologies, comes the opportunity to provide education to assist individuals and communities in places under-served by traditional educational institutes. Technology and other innovations enable educational design and delivery to be adapted to the needs and environment of students enrolled in Open and Distance learning (ODL) and traditional educational programs. Thus, technology can also help programs shift to a ‘learner-centered’ approach to education.

Today, educators have the challenge of monitoring changes in technologies, determining if they apply to learners living in ‘the real world,’ and seeking ways to use technologies to complement and support instructional methodologies and practices.

Given the challenges of insufficient numbers of teachers being trained, teachers leaving the profession, and too few classrooms in developing countries, can technology enable more people to access education? Will the next generation of low-cost computers make it feasible for more students in developing countries to have access to this technology? It is not the technology, but the potential it provides for access, efficiency, and enhanced learning opportunities. Computers better enable learners to access education through ODL. Learners can use Internet technology to communicate with other students or instructors across a city or around the world. Teachers and students can access information through virtual libraries and the World Wide Web, and use software to master technical as well as academic skills.

The opportunities are immense, but there are also technological limitations in many parts of developing countries. Barriers to technological innovations for supporting education include inadequate telecommunications bandwidth, lack of trained support staff, and the cost and the availability of simple telephones, cell phones, computers, and electricity.

The challenge of closing the ever-widening gap between the haves and have-nots may rest with the willingness of the education community to view education from a new perspective – and to innovate. This may include making use of affordable and accessible technologies to expand access to education. It may also require other innovative process or service strategies that do not rely on technology. It may require a shift in focus, to target educational and training programs to align more closely with what people identify as their most urgent needs.

Providing education in new and unconventional ways is only one of a number of solutions, but it is through innovation that we can meet the challenges of improved efficiencies, lower costs, increasing accessibility, and greater success in achieving development goals through education.