Problems and prospects for the development of distance learning

At the moment, the stage of its development can be described as telecommunication. This is the area of communication, information and knowledge. Proceeding from the fact that professional knowledge is aging very quickly over time, it is necessary to constantly improve it. Previously, this problem was solved through the well-known to many advanced training courses, to which people were sent a few years after the completion of the basic training of the specialty. Today, distance learning makes it possible to implement a truly massive and, what is important, continuous self-learning without interrupting work, universal exchange of information, regardless of time and space barriers. It is this system that can most adequately and flexibly respond to the needs of society and ensure the implementation of the constitutional right to education of every citizen of the country.

Educational technologies are a complex of didactic methods and techniques used to transfer educational information from its source to the consumer and depend on the form of its presentation. 1

A feature of educational technologies is the outstripping nature of their development in relation to technical means. The point is that the introduction of a computer into education leads to a revision of all components of the learning process. In the interactive environment "learner - computer - teacher", great attention should be paid to the activation of imaginative thinking through the use of technologies that activate the right hemispheric, synthetic thinking. This means that the presentation of educational material should reproduce the teacher's thought in the form of images. In other words, the main point in educational technologies of distance learning is visualization of thought, information, knowledge.

The educational technologies best suited for use in distance learning include:

• a)    video lectures;

• b)    multimedia lectures and laboratory workshops;

• c)    electronic multimedia textbooks;

• d)    computer training and testing systems;

• e)    simulation models and computer simulators;

• f)    consultations and tests using telecommunication means; g)video conferencing.

One of the main signs of this time is the high dynamics of the labor market. The mobility of modern social transformations and technologies determines the relevance of the problem of the need for continuous training, even for high-level specialists.

The main component of continuous and open education is distance learning, which opens up opportunities for meeting the intellectual needs of a specialist in modern society. As another form of education, distance learning meets the requirements and needs of each individual person in obtaining high-quality, necessary and convenient education.

One of the most difficult components of the technological process of learning in distance learning mode is mastering the skills of working with new multimedia resources that provide the transfer of educational information. With the introduction of distance learning technologies into the practice of the university, the problem arises of regular and timely improvement of the qualifications of the teaching staff, to have the opportunity to constantly improve their professional skills in this area, preferential conditions should be created for the normative base for replenishing the teaching load when developing educational modules for distance learning. Experimental activities, in connection with the introduction of distance learning in education, should allow the development of a unified methodology and technology of educational and methodological complexes for students using this teaching technology, create a system of technical and methodological support for the university, and master the learning environment of the appropriate software. The specificity of assessing the quality of teaching materials for students at the university should be that, on the one hand, they should have high educational opportunities, and on the other, be technically correct, technologically advanced and safe.

The introduction of distance learning technologies made it possible to determine the important features of modern open distance learning, which include:

• a)    high motivation for cognition, education and self-realization of the adult population;

• b)    an adult has experience that can be used both in teaching him and in teaching his colleagues;

• c)    an adult learns to solve his own important professional problems;

• d)    an adult is focused on the immediate application of learning outcomes, because he owns an important dominant in the learning process;

• e)    an adult has many objective limitations in his studies (financial, professional, temporary, social);

• f)    an adult is always interested not so much in quantitative as in qualitative characteristics of knowledge;

• g)    the learning process is always involvement, partnership in learning activities;

• h)    an adult has a number of stereotypes regarding the forms of his education.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that higher education is, in principle, an expensive thing, and therefore not publicly available, then the first thing the promotion and promotion of distance learning should go through services with a lower cost, but not low quality. Such as advanced training (especially for specialties aimed at IT), seminars and online trainings. These services can be roughly categorized into what we have called interactive distance education. Potential consumers of such services are heads of organizations (as the most solvent part of the population) and middle managers. That is, we have a large group of potential customers available.

Competitors for distance education are consulting organizations that provide training in the form of conventional training and consultation. But distance learning can benefit from lower fees as there is no need to prepare printed and other consumables, and there is a replacement for electronic counterparts. These materials have a constant cost due to their one-time production. ²

The very innovative idea of distance education, along with the underlying advantages dictated by the requirements of the modern century, will make it possible to create a positive image of the use of distance learning and expand its use by the population for training in selected specialties in the universities.

We can unambiguously state the relevance of this type of education in today's constantly changing world for most categories of the population.

The experience of domestic and foreign specialists in the implementation of open forms of education confirms that the future of the educational sphere will largely depend on breaking the prevailing stereotypes, reliance on pedagogical and technological innovations. The constant search for the optimal solution to pressing problems, creativity in the broadest sense of the word are the key to progress.