Abstract:

In the face of the proliferation of COVID-19, most universities and colleges, with the recommendation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, decided to switch to emergency remote education. The urgent transfer to distance learning during the pandemic has significant differences from massive open online courses (MOOCs).
Well-organized online learning is meaningfully different from courses offered online in response to a crisis/disaster. Educational organisations are forced to work with students remotely to reduce the risks of coronavirus spread and should be aware of the difference when assessing the effectiveness of so-called "online learning" using digital learning technologies. Universities working to maintain instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic should understand those differences when evaluating this emergency remote teaching.
In this regard, all face-to-face classes, including lectures, practical, and even laboratory classes with virtual analogy, were transferred to the online environment. Teachers are forced to organise the educational process through distance learning technologies based on various methods of delivering electronic content and available communication tools for students and teachers in the electronic information and educational environment (EIE). Such a sharp transition to "distance learning" is a forced and urgent measure, not all universities were ready for this radical restructuring of the educational process based on objectively different levels of information infrastructure development, provision of disciplines with electronic educational resources and the readiness of teachers to use digital platforms and services in the educational process.
The stressful situation for all participants cannot affect the attitude towards online learning and other distance educational technologies. At the same time, the term "online learning" itself is used every time regarding the lack of face-to-face contact with the teacher, which leads to the concepts' substitution and incorrect conclusions. In this situation, it would be unreasonable to use the term online learning even in relation to the use of massive open online courses, since the emergency students' transfer to them in the middle of the semester without preliminary organisational measures and proper support from the authors of online courses does not allow students to fully experience the benefits of this technology. In this regard, it is essential now to understand the concepts and determine the differences between online learning and educational technologies used in the context of emergency university transition to distance learning.
Understanding the differences between online learning and other existing educational technologies, such as distance learning, blended learning, mobile learning, etc., allows for a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of learning in different formats and to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of a particular technology. Unfortunately, scientific discussions are often closed and research results do not go outside the scientific community. However, it can be stated with confidence that the experimental studies carried out in Russia have proved that the effectiveness of online education is not lower, and in some cases even surpasses traditional full-time education in terms of educational results. Thus, what is this educational technology? What determines the effectiveness of online learning? And why should this technology be distinguished from distance learning in extreme conditions?

Keywords:

Online learning, educational technologies, distance learning, blended learning, mobile learning, comparative analysis of the effectiveness.