Chapter 15. POSSIBILITIES OF DISTANCE LEARNING IN ADULT EDUCATION

The widespread use of information and telecommunication technologies in the education system has created prerequisites for active use in the educational process of distance learning (DL). This term, which appeared in the domestic pedagogical context relatively recently, has English-speaking roots. Until the early 90s of XX century. in the literature, the Russian "tracing paper" of the phrase "distant learning" - "distant learning" was used. Later, the “distance learning” form, more characteristic of our language, began to be used. learning at a distance.

Distance learning can be defined as a purposeful process of interactive interaction between students and learners among themselves and with learning aids, invariant to their location in space and time, which is implemented in a specific didactic system. DO represents:

- learning at a distance when the teacher and the student are separated spatially (E.S. Polat);

- a set of educational services provided to a wide range of users with the help of a specialized information and educational environment at any distance from the institutions of continuing professional education (Yu.A. Pervin);

- a new stage of correspondence education, which ensures the use of information technologies based on the use of personal computers, video and audio (L.P. Davydov);

- synthetic, integral, humanistic form of education, based on the use of a wide range of traditional and new information technologies, their technical means, which are used to deliver educational material, study it independently, organize a dialogue exchange between the teacher and students when the learning process is not critical to their location in space and time, as well as to a specific educational institution (A. A. Andreev).

TO retains the advantages inherent in the traditional form of education for Moms: contacts with teachers and students, control over the correctness of the learning material. In addition, it has several advantages: free training schedule; independence of location; saving transportation costs; Convenient view of the presentation of materials; individual learning pace; no restrictions on age, sociability, health.

The long-term goal of DL in the world is to enable the student to take a course in any college or university anywhere. In 1994, Russia adopted the Concept of creating and developing a unified distance education system, created the Eurasian Association of Distance Learning, the Association of International Education, developed the Concept of creating and developing a distance learning system in the Russian Federation.

Distance learning opens up new perspectives for professional and personal development for people in dire need of educational services, but not having the opportunity to receive them in the traditional way:

- applicants preparing for admission to universities;

- young people who are forced to combine studies with work due to the limited capacity of the university system or due to family circumstances;

- Persons with medical restrictions to receive regular education in a hospital;

- military personnel, retired officers, and members of their families; officers and soldiers of the urgent service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and border guards;

- the released specialists of conversion enterprises of the military-industrial complex;

- Persons of all ages living in remote regions of the country.

The following principles of the organization of distance learning can be distinguished:

flexibility, manifested in the absence of regular classes in the form of lectures, seminars and free choice of time required for the course; modularity, expressed in the fact that each individual discipline or series of disciplines that are mastered by students, create a holistic view of a particular subject area; parallelism related to the fact that training can be conducted when combined with the main professional activity;

long-range action, which consists in the absence of obstacles in the form of the distance from the student's location to the educational institution;

asynchrony, implying the possibility of implementing technologies of teaching and learning independently in time;

the mass character, meaning non-criticality of the parameter "number of students";

profitability, implying the economic efficiency of DO1;

widespread use of new information technologies. There are many organizational models of DL: on the principle of external studies, university, on the basis of autonomous learning systems, integrated learning using multimedia programs, non-formal, etc. The teacher in the system of distance learning is called a tutor, and the process of pedagogical activity is the tutorial. The appearance in modern practice of electronic tutors (intelligent tutorials) allows us to speak about the possibility of performing andragogical functions not only by humans, but also by computers.

In distance learning, methods such as informational, receptive, reproductive, problem, heuristic, and research are used. They cover the entire set of pedagogical acts of interaction between a teacher and students: independent cognitive activity of students with various sources of information, course materials; operative and systematic interaction of trainees with the leading teacher and curator of the course; group work using various methods of work on the relevant modules of the course under study; joint projects of students with non-resident and foreign partners.

Of interest is the organization of computer lab workshops, where the student is invited to interactively "assemble" on the monitor screen the appropriate laboratory setup. The process of correctness of the joining of elements is controlled automatically. An experiment is performed on the virtual laboratory setup thus created. In this case, the real physical process is reproduced on the monitor screen using mathematical modeling methods. Such visualization of real physical processes is especially important during vocational training. In the system of DL, electronic simulators are also used to improve professional skills by an adult. Hone their skills on them, the participant of the virtual training is preparing to achieve maximum efficiency in real activity, which minimizes the possibility of human errors.

A variety of means are widely used in the distance learning system: print and electronic publications; computer training systems in conventional and multimedia versions; educational audio and video materials; computer networks. Printed publications, which are traditional textbooks, teaching aids, are widely used in DL systems, where the technical level of equipment of the educational process is high. As a rule, printed publications for the distance learning system have a block-modular structure, are supplied with instructions for studying the material and organizing independent work; The mandatory elements in them are control tasks, questions for self-checking with answers, training tasks, explanatory dictionaries.

Electronic publications are an electronic version of printed educational materials, but they have a compact storage in the computer’s memory or on external magnetic media, the ability to promptly make changes and transfer over long distances by e-mail; with a printer, they easily turn into a hard copy.

Computer-based training systems (program-methodical complexes, software for educational purposes, controlling-training programs) declared themselves as a learning tool in the early 70s, when personal computers appeared. In these systems, funds are concentrated in which a certain subject area is reflected, in one way or another the technology of its study is implemented, conditions are provided for the implementation of various types of learning activities. Computer training systems allow you to:

- to individualize and differentiate the learning process;

- exercise control with the diagnosis of errors and feedback;

- exercise self-control and self-correction of educational activities;

- release training time due to the performance of time-consuming routine computational tasks by a computer;

- visualize educational information;

- to simulate and simulate the studied processes or phenomena;

- to carry out laboratory work in the conditions of imitation on the computer of a real experiment or experiment;

- to form the ability to make the best decision in different situations;

- develop a certain kind of thinking (for example, visual-figurative, theoretical);

- strengthen the motivation of learning (for example, at the expense of visual means of the program or interspersing game situations);

- to form a culture of cognitive activity, etc. Computer training systems at the present stage

include electronic (computerized) textbooks; controlling computer programs; reference books and databases for educational purposes; collections of tasks and generators of examples (situations); subject-oriented environments; computer illustrations to support various types of activities.

A variety of computer training system can be considered an electronic textbook, which is a computer application of a paper textbook. The electronic textbook accumulates in itself all the main didactic, methodical, scientific and information and reference materials necessary for teachers to prepare and conduct all types and forms of classes, as well as students for independent study of educational subjects or preparation for classes conducted under the guidance of a teacher, and receiving additional background information on academic discipline. In addition, it provides students with the opportunity to solve the problems of self-control of mastering materials on the academic discipline, and teachers - to objectively carry out current and final control over the performance of students and cadets.

The electronic textbook allows to solve the following tasks:

- receive information about the curriculum and thematic plan of the academic discipline, the sequence of classes and the logic of studying topics;

- individually view, study or repeat educational, methodical and informational reference material;

- clearly present on the computer display all the didactic material and visual aids (diagrams, figures, tables, graphs, text, etc.);

- to carry out self-control (with automated grading) mastering the content of training topics and the entire discipline as a whole, as well as receive recommendations for additional study of insufficiently learned training topics; receive information about the recommended educational, scientific and methodological literature;

- print samples of lesson plans and methodological developments on all topics;

- multiply handouts (plans, tables, tasks, etc.) necessary for conducting classes with students and cadets;

- have access to a database of legislative acts and governing documents regulating information activities in the country and in the Armed Forces, as well as the educational process in high schools of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation;

- to receive methodical recommendations on the conduct of various forms of training (private methods);

- learn information about some technologies used in information activities.

The didactic audio and video teaching materials are currently mainly recorded on magnetic media, audio and video tapes and can be presented to the learner using a tape recorder or video recorder. Teaching audio materials are used to record lectures and instructions for a training course that does not require graphic illustrations, as well as to record lessons for teaching foreign languages, which is most common. Lectures, instructive lessons, illustrative material for printed publications, and case studies can be presented in a video form.

Computer networks are a specific learning tool that includes various kinds of information and a collection of computers connected by communication channels. Computer networks are used in distance learning in the mode of remote databases, including the Internet, e-mail and e-conference.

In Russia, the most widely used distance learning is applied at university training centers. The Moscow State Aviation Technological University (MATI) conducts remote training of applicants for admission to this educational institution from among schoolchildren living in remote areas of Russia. The Astrakhan State Technical University (ASTU) has a distance training center for graduate students, military personnel, disabled people and everyone who wants to improve their knowledge and prepare for entering higher education institutions without going to preparatory courses. In the Moscow State Industrial University, distance education is used to train employees of the penitentiary system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and convicted correctional colonies.

Moscow State University of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM), which has many branches throughout the country, Moscow State University is widely known among universities that have active distance learning centers. M.Lomonosova, Moscow State Aviation Institute (MAI), Moscow State University of Economics, Informatics and Statistics (MESI), Penza State University, Petrozavodsk State University, Ryazan State Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk State Technical University, Samara State Aviation University, Saint -Petersburg State Technical University, St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics, Tambov State University Twain's Technical University, Tomsk State Academy of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Ural State Technical University, Ukhta Industrial Institute, and others.

The following directions are characteristic of the activity of educational and distance university centers:

- improvement of information and telecommunication technologies (ITT);

- application of the latest ITT in distance learning;

- development of forms of cultural exchange and business cooperation with all interested Russian and foreign organizations;

- corporate (corporate) distance learning, carried out on the basis and in the interests of training for a particular firm (corporation).

DL is developing not only within the educational systems, but also with individual commercial companies with a primary focus on business training.

The development trend of corporate (corporate) distance learning is noted in banking systems, systems of RAO Gazprom, Central Bank, Sanitary and Epidemiological Services, etc. In terms of their technical and didactic capabilities, these systems exceed the distance learning systems of universities.

For example, distance learning in the interests of Gazprom provides primary training for first-time employees; annual professional development of managers, specialists, technicians and highly skilled workers in current areas of professional activity; training of persons preparing for the development of a second profession or official transfer.

Distance learning in the interests of Gazprom provides:

- primary training for persons first employed at enterprises and organizations of RAO Gazprom;

- annual professional development in current areas of professional activity of managers, specialists, technicians and highly skilled workers;

- Periodic training in special educational programs to maintain the qualifications of the entire contingent of managers and specialists at a level sufficient for the effective performance of official duties;

- training of persons preparing for official movements;

- training of persons preparing to master a second profession or go to work in another profession.

Task for self-control

Prepare an essay on one of the topics:

1. Experience of foreign corporations in the organization of distance learning of the population.

2. Distance education of adults in various regions of Russia: problems and prospects.

3. Models of distance learning for teachers.

4. Centers of distance learning for adults at the present stage.

5. Didactic features of e-learning tools.

Recommended literature

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Glazer GD New Russia: General education and the resulting society // Pedagogy. - 2000. - Љ 6.

The Internet in Humanities / Ed. E.S. Polat. - M 2000.

Clarin M. V. Interactive learning is a tool for learning new experience // Pedagogy. - 2000. - Љ 7.

The concept of creation and development of a distance education system in Russia. - M., 1995.

M. Moiseeva. Coordinator as a Key Figure in the Distance Learning Process // Open Education. - 2001. - Љ 1.

Polat, Ye.S. Distance Learning. - M., 1998.

Concepts and Principles of Distance Pedagogy // School 2000: Concepts, Methods, Experiment: Sb. scientific tr. / Ed.Yu.I.Dika, A.V. Khutorskoy. - M., 1999.

LD Reiman. Formation of educational space on the basis of an interconnected network of ties of Russia // Open Education. - 2001 - Љ 1.

L. Slutsky. Open Education in the System of Personnel Training for Small Business // Open Education. - 2001. - Љ 1.

Suvorinov A.V., Osin A.V. Multimedia-environment of education in the era of global computer technologies // Problems of higher school informatization. - 1998. - Љ 1 -2; (11-12).

Turischeva M. S, Kuryshev A. S. Using remote sensing technologies to prepare applicants for entrance examinations // Open Education. - 2001. - Љ 1.

Feigenberg I.M., Rovinsky R.E. Information model of the future | as a development program // Questions of Philosophy. - 2000. - Љ 5. | Khutorskoy A.V. Remote forms of creativity // Computer science and education. - 1998. - Љ 6.

Khutorskoy A. B. Basics of distance learning: Special course program for students of pedagogical educational institutions. - M., 1999.