Educational platforms for distance education in Russian and Chinese universities: new challenges for higher education

The article provides a comparative analysis of digital educational platforms used in the practice of Russian and Chinese universities. Our conclusions are based on the comparative data on Russia and China published in the reports of UNESCO, International Labour Organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Council of Europe and European Economic Community (EEC),Asia-Pacific Programme of Innovation in Education for Development (APEID). In addition, the article provides data from two sociological studies carried out by the authors themselves. The first study was conducted between January and February 2020. The study was conducted by means of a survey, personal interview (N = 600). Students from Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Tyumen took part in the survey. The quantitative research data were supplemented by in-depth interviews with Chinese graduates of Russian universities (postgraduates, master's students) in the amount of 50 pieces (N = 50). Also in March - May 2020, we conducted a sociological survey in the universities of Ekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, and Moscow. In the course of the research we interviewed 500 students who had gained experience in distance learning during the pandemic. Qualitative research - in-depth interview method (N = 20), average duration of the interview is 90 minutes. Informants were the faculty of higher educational institutions of Yekaterinburg, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Frame analysis of cases was also conducted (N = 42). The analysis of these cases made it possible to identify the most popular digital technologies in the educational process, as well as their main advantages and disadvantages.