Abstract:

In modern society, there is a steady trend towards increasing the level of education of the population. Education is becoming a continuous process. People strive to learn or improve their qualifications throughout their lives. The main prerequisite for expanding educational opportunities in society is the emergence and spread of the Internet and mobile communications. According to statistics, from 2000 to 2020, the number of Internet users increased from 500 to 5000 million people. The development of the Internet erases the territorial boundaries between teachers and students, and education is becoming available for large cities and the rural community.

Electronic educational courses in various directions and social groups are the latest trend of the 21st century. The transition to a new stage of ICT development increases the level of requirements for teachers. On the one hand, a wide range of e-learning methods makes it possible to choose communication with students that is optimal from the teacher's point of view and to apply various control modes. On the other hand, e-learning opens up students' opportunities to receive advice, and assessments from a remote expert teacher.

The pandemic confirmed the value of e-education for society in 2020, during which all traditional teaching moved to the online environment. Such measures have been taken by the Governments of many countries to limit social contacts between people and reduce the spread of infection. Information communication technologies (ICT) have become a working tool in education during the pandemic. Simultaneously, on the other side of the academic barrier, not everyone was ready to begin to master new knowledge transfer formats immediately.

The article examines the Russian online education market. It is shown that from 2016 to 2019, there is a positive trend in almost every segment of the market: language training, additional vocational education, further schooling, higher education, and general secondary education. The use of digital technologies has more than doubled over this period. We suggest that every year online educational services are gaining popularity among the population of various age categories.

Such advantages facilitate this as the ability to learn anywhere and anytime; individual approach; combine training with other activities; efficiency, relevance, etc. However, e-learning is not without its drawbacks. For example, strong motivation on the part of the learner is needed; isolation from society, and, as a result, communication skills are not improved; limited opportunities for practical activity; lack of guarantees of the result.

However, with the penetration of online technologies, the education market is currently experiencing a new development era. Recent trends are emerging on the e-learning market: some large educational projects are rapidly expanding their geography and gaining ground not only in Russia and the CIS countries but also abroad; highly specialized profiles of specialties appear in the industry, for which there is a considerable demand; competition between players is growing.

Projects in e-learning take advantage of new opportunities brought by technology, such as an individual educational trajectory, mobile learning (mobile apps), micro-learning, gamification, VR and AR, etc.

The Russian e-education market is expanding in almost all segments and is growing at a rapid pace.

Keywords:

e-learning, universities, the Russian Federation, e-learning trends.