The use of the internet in the education sector: from an information system to a social communication space

The author analyzed and researched the process of the Internet emergence and development as a global virtual environment that affects many areas of human activity and plays an important role in modern education. The stages of development of the information environment and approximate historical framework are identified, the characteristic features of these stages are determined. The subject is the study of the process of the emergence and subsequent development of the Internet from an information system to a unique social communication space and its application in the field of education. The purpose is to determine the possibilities of using the virtual environment in the organization of distance education at the present stage of the development of the Internet. Scientific novelty is in the actualization of the theoretical aspects of using the Internet in distance education and recommendations that are designed to improve the psychological and pedagogical conditions of this process. Research methods: theoretical analysis, synthesis and generalization of scientific literature on the research topic.