The specificity of online distance learning in the conditions of informatization of the education system

The global leap from traditional to computerized industry, characterized by the dominance of the advantages of instantaneous information transfer, contributed to the total reconstruction of the social communication system, predetermining the further vector of development of human civilization. The transition to the postindustrial era, accompanied by the transformation of all levels of social production, turned "information" into an independent element of the innovative production sector, changing not only the sources of its receipt, but also the ways of its processing and transmission.Well-known American sociologist, Harvard University professor Daniel Bell identifies three technological revolutions that predetermined the direction and development of the information age: the invention of the steam engine in the 18th century, scientific and technological advances in electricity and chemistry in the 19th century, and the creation of computers in the

20th century. The combination of these factors associated with deep digital modifications has intensified the growth of network technologies and the growth of the process of virtualization of social relations. Information and communication technologies, which are an inseparable component of the results of scientific and technological progress, have had a direct impact on the qualitative transformation of the education system, making it possible to implement distance learning. The informatization process, which has captured all spheres of public life, has firmly strengthened its position in the system of general secondary and higher professional education through the active use of global Internet resources. The placement of a huge information base on the Internet, containing the rich specifics of all relevant areas of activity, provides each user with access to various sources of materials that are constantly increasing every day. The introduction of hardware and software training tools makes it possible to form a unified information and educational infrastructure for storing, transferring and exchanging finished materials: books, research programs, dissertations, articles, reports, abstracts, etc.The incorporation of innovative means of telecommunications into the educational environment, which greatly facilitate the learning process, has rapidly captured all the world's institutional structures, recreating a completely new area of "virtual pedagogy" for the traditional domestic system. The innovative potential of this educational area lies in the possibility of integrating the world community into a single pedagogical mechanism that implements its functionality despite the existing territorial, linguistic and transcultural barriers.

The “virtual pedagogy”, which expresses the nature of distance learning, is understood as a set of complex innovative and information-pedagogical technologies that contain an interactive connection established through Internet communication between real subjects of education by attracting a material technical base. The essential difference between the distance form of education and the traditional one lies in the characteristic features of the organization of the educational environment, which acts as a connecting link between the subjects of education. If in the traditional system of the educational process a specific type of educational information acts as a similar type of organization, aimed at the fulltime form of visiting and regulating the learning process, then the “distance” type of education involves the remote inclusion of learning subjects in the dynamics of the pedagogical and research process. The advantage of this type, according to some researchers, is the achievement of the maximum level of optimization of the educational process, which allows to overcome the barriers of geographical remoteness, temporary isolation and social vulnerability, while minimizing the totality of various economic costs. The desire to ensure the appropriate quality of education that meets the needs of the advanced international standard requires, first of all, the individual interest of the subjects in obtaining higher professional education, effectively implemented within the distance system.The potential availability of parallel combination of training in several educational institutions with the possibility of individual regulation of the schedule and curriculum brings the learning process to a completely new progressive level. Due to the rapidly changing conditions of the social, economic, political and educational environment, open educational platforms are emerging - distance universities designed to attract the maximum number of students. The opening of one of the first large virtual educational institutions "The Open University" in the UK dates back to 1969, education in which provides an opportunity to receive high-quality distance education in various fields and directions. The incorporation of cuttingedge technologies in establishing distance communication through the use of the global network has enabled more than three million people to obtain a degree from a prestigious British university. Today, the practice of "distance education" is becoming not only the prerogative of a consolidated choice of ways for the individual self-realization of modern people, but also an object of the global production market. This type of education presents huge opportunities for people with disabilities, responding to the mechanism for implementing inclusive education, as well as for older generations who, due to their age, can hardly overcome the requirements of the traditional educational system. Also, an obvious and indisputable advantage is the potential possibility of combining training with work activity due to the very flexible individual schedule for mastering the disciplines taught.