Педагогические  науки/1.Дистанционное образование

Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor ToktarovaV.I.

Mari State University, Russia

E-Learning and Teaching Support in Response to the Implementation of the Next Generation Educational Standards

The development of the higher education is currently placing new demands on the qualification of specialists in different spheres. Both goals and targets are involved in this process of conversion, and so are educational technologies.

The development of on-line training is among strategic goals of the whole educational system in our country both as one of teaching methods and a component of IT support for education. The Order of the Ministry for Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated December 3^rd 2001 “On the Single Organization and Administration of Activities in the Sphere of IT Support for Education in Russia” specifies the main areas of providing curriculum content with computer technologies. New aspects of their development and application emerge from the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Education” that has been passed and is coming into force since September 1^st 2013 in terms of applying e‑learning and distant learning technologies. The provisions of the law stipulate that e‑learning may be applied by implementing fundamental education programs regardless of education types and as well as all conditions for the operation of educational resources information environment must be created ensuring that all the trainees fully master their fundamental education programs regardless of their location.

Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Professional Education in different curriculums specify competences as a result of education that must have been mastered by students before they graduate from the institute of higher education. The implementation of competency building approach provides for extensive use of interactive lesson forms along with extra-curriculum activities. For instance, the program 010400 “Applied Mathematics and IT” presupposes that the proportion of such lessons must account for above 20 per cent of in-class learning. This makes for new requirements for design and development of the fundamental education programs courseware thereupon.

One of the most promising technologies is the implementation of courseware in the educational resources information environment where teaching methods and techniques, knowledge sources are being changed as well as the role and functions of a professor and his communication with students are under transformation. According to I.V. Robert [1], changing forms of providing teaching material should determine composition and structure of new generation courseware where educational electronic publications and computer learning are of higher importance.

The Chair for Applied Mathematics and IT at the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “Mari State University” has developed and introduced a model of electronic courseware for the fundamental education program for bachelor's degree [2].

The constituents and components of model include the provision of:

- theoretical training (educational electronic publications and coursebooks, e-lectures, video and multimedia lectures, computer-based reference books, encyclopedias and dictionaries, databases, etc.);

- practical field experience ( computer-aided learning systems, automated laboratory courses, electronic problem books, computer simulators, virtual laboratories, automated systems of information processing, application program packages, etc.);

- academic performance rating (computer-aided systems for -academic performance control and rating, testing programs, electronic collections of tasks and questions, etc.);

- self-guided work by students (electronic educational publications for self-education and self-control, computer-based systems with self-education functions, etc.);

- in-service and on-the-job training (computer simulators, virtual laboratories, application program packages, etc.).

Service tools of the electronic learning and teaching support are located within the educational resources information environment of the university and this fact enables the usage of generally accessible internet-based technologies in education. Web 2.0 services aimed at developing co-operation, critical thinking, communication computer skills (e-mail, video conferences, webinars, etc.), visualization (photo- and video hosting, social geoservices, etc.) and transformation (blogs, knowledge maps, etc.) of educational information have currently been developed.

The experience of implementing the electronic learning and teaching support of the fundamental education program for the Program 010400 Applied Mathematics and IT enables to state the efficiency of its implementation in the educational process. Such organization of the electronic learning and teaching support enables both the basis for holding interactive academic lessons according to the Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Professional Education and the means for organizing electronic or distant learning.

References

1. Robert I.V. Theories and Principles of IT-Support for Education (Psychological, Pedagogical and Technological Aspects). – M.: IIE RAS, 2008. 2^nd ed., revised. 274 p.

2. Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Professional Education for the Program 010400 Applied Mathematics and IT: The Order of the Ministry for Education and Science of the Russian Federation №538 dated May 20^th 2010. 25 p.