Abstract:

During the forced transition from traditional education to distance learning in the conditions of Covid-19 in the spring of 2020, Russian educational institutions faced a number of problems: digital educational resources (DER) were not used enough to prepare students "face to face"; the content of DER was fragmentary (in most cases it was limited to lecture materials and tests / assignments); both teachers and students had no experience of systematic use of DER. As a result, the initial period of the transition to distance learning was characterized by violations of the schedule, content, course of mastering disciplines, low student involvement in the learning process and a general negative attitude towards distance learning.

The relevance of the research is associated with the need to improve the quality of distance learning and the degree of student involvement in the process of distant learning. The aim of the study is to register changes in the student involvement in the distance learning while improving the content of DER. The research methods are: a survey with open-ended questions to collect feedback and reflection from students when they are forced to switch to distance learning; statistical methods of processing data of students’ online classes attendance and passing tests / assignments on time. The study was conducted from March to May 2020 in groups of students of the Kazan State Institute of Culture, in the classes of "Foreign language".

Results. Feedback from students in the context of the forced transition to distance learning (March 2020): “teachers use various digital educational resources, different software and messengers”, “it is not clear when classes are held and on which platform; where to watch the lecture when skipping; when, how and which tasks to perform". Students’ reflection: “I’m afraid to miss a lesson, not to pass an assignment on time, to fall behind the group”, “It seems that I can skip it and do it later, do my own business, instead of studying; I can be lazy and then do more assignments. Attendance of online classes (March - April 2020) - 67%, answers to classes - 34%, delivery of assignments / passing tests on time - 59%.

The authors suggested to choose a single DER (Moodle) for organizing of distance learning. A clear content of classes / assignments / tests for the whole semester and a schedule of classes / assignments have been developed and posted in Moodle for the DER. The content of the DER available to students includes: a thematic plan, a motivating promo video, theoretical and practical materials, video, audio, presentation materials, interactive elements of knowledge control, blocks of intermediate and final control and specific limited terms for their completion. Feedback (May 2020): “everything is clear and understandable, there is no need to disturb the monitor, no need to look for the teachers’ contacts, the content of the DER is available and sufficient for distance learning”. Attendance of online classes (May 2020) - 96%, answers to classes - 67%, delivery of assignments / passing tests on time - 88%.

The results are of practical value for higher educational institutions and demonstrate an increase in the degree of student involvement in mastering of the discipline "Foreign language" in distance learning under force majeure conditions by improving the content of the DER, specifying the procedure for mastering the discipline and limiting the deadlines for completing tasks/tests.

Keywords:

Digital educational resources, distance learning, student involvement, language training, learning content, linguistics, attendance, assignments.