Abstract:

The article discusses the peculiarities of the organization of distance learning at a regional university in Russia. In March 2020, in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, in order to ensure the safety of students and employees in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19 most Russian universities were recommended to organize a distance learning regime. Most universities demonstrated their readiness to organize the educational process in the conditions of a viral pandemic, as evidenced by the timely created or adapted hardware and technical, software, subject and methodological bases, as well as remote education support services.

Russian universities have twenty years of experience in using various domestic and foreign LMS platforms, distance learning systems and network telecommunications: Moodle, Prometheus, Proctortrack, Canvas, Google Classroom, Google Meet, Sakai, Skype, Hangouts, Zoom, YouTube, Webex – for organizing synchronous and asynchronous transfer of educational material and independent work of students. The choice of the platform in most cases may depend on its commercial attractiveness, the possibility of access to the high-speed Internet and the number of trainees.

However, in the process of organizing the educational environment through distance learning, Russian universities have faced a number of difficulties. In particular, a number of students in places of residence, in dormitories or in self-isolation/treatment centers lack a sufficient number of modern and reliable hardware, software, communication tools, computers, laptops, tablets and high-speed communication channels. Among other problems are insufficiently formed independent work skills of junior students, weak online and / or offline tutor navigation, delays in communication and communication systems, the complexity of the transition for some older teachers to a fully networked system of organizing the educational process.

Based on the current situation, the authors of the article considered the educational environment (within the framework of humanistic, structural-functional, behavioral, cultural and other approaches) as a subsystem of the socio-cultural environment, a set of historically formed factors, circumstances, situations, that is, as the integrity of specially organized pedagogical conditions for the development of the individual.

A sociological survey, conducted by the authors in 2020 using the survey method (online and questionnaire), confirmed that in the context of a viral pandemic, when organizing the educational process, the administration and teachers of universities together with students determine the most optimal technologies and models of software tools and systems to support distance learning. At the same time, the administration and teachers of universities should take into account the specific conditions for the implementation of pedagogical principles of work, staffing, technical capabilities and available equipment and technologies, which will partially optimize and reduce the possible difficulties of switching to distance learning in the context of a viral pandemic and other similar situations in the future.

Keywords:

Distance education, educational environment, educational platforms, organization of educational process, pandemic.