Abstract:

The need to comply with social distancing measures in the aftermath of the pandemic has led to a rapid increase in the use of DECET (distance electronic communication educational technologies) for organizing the training process in the system of higher professional education. For 1.5 years, students have been training at a distance periodically exclusively or by organizing a combination of distance and classroom classes. The specified period of time turned out to be sufficient for students and teachers to form a quite definite view and understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of DECET.

A survey was conducted by distributing an online questionnaire to 240 students and 98 representatives of the teaching staff of Russian and Belorussian higher education institutions. Based on the results of the pilot experiment (2020), the representations of the benefits and risks of online education during the pandemic were collected and ranked. These judgments were presented to respondents in the main experiment (2021) with a proposal to choose the judgments that are most consistent with their perspective on DECET in a pandemic. Empirical data were analyzed with descriptive and comparative statistics methods and qualitative interpretation.

According to respondents’ answers, a perspective on the advantages of DECET is represented by the following categories of judgments. The finding materials for study in the available resource are fixed by 85.0% of students and 76.0% of lecturers; the possibility of organizing activities in a comfortable environment are noted by 95.3% of students and 53.8% of teachers only; approximately 76.0% of students and 92.4% of lecturers see the creation of conditions for self-education through DECET.

Both students and teachers point out such disadvantages of DECET: fatigue and overwork of the subject (90,9% of students and 100% of lecturers); information stress (overabundance of information) (92,4% of students and 97,7% of teachers). The students found the increase in the volume and complexity of tasks (93,6%), while teachers are concerned about the lack of feedback and interaction in the student-teacher dyad (94,4%); decrease of emotional component in interaction (86,5%). Significant differences were revealed in the student and teaching perspective of such shortcomings of DECET as lack of feedback (P<0.01); decrease of interaction in the dyads of student-teacher (P<0.05) and student-student (P<0.01); increase in the volume and complexity of tasks (P<0.005).

Students receive additional ample opportunities in choosing a method of studying certain subjects, however they find themselves even further away from a lecturer, which leads to their unorganized independent activity "online". Many students experience difficulties in independent work of selection of information in conditions of its abundance, lack of time etc. The risks of the unproductive, fragmentary nature of the activity increase. Thus, along with the systematization of information provided by the use of new DECET, fragmentation of the perception of the content and understanding of educational information can occur. Risks can be reduced by improving interactive forms of teaching through online platforms that provide an opportunity for interaction in microgroups and dyads. The integration of students' work in the classroom and their extracurricular activities under the supervision and facilitatation by a lecturer are seemed as the most appropriate.

Keywords:

Professional education in higher school, distance electronic communication educational technologies, advantages and disavantages of distance learning.