Distance Learning in the Educational System of Higher Education: The Experience of Understanding and Priority Areas for Improvement

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to comprehend the modern experience of distance learning in the educational system of higher education and to identify priority areas for its improvement. This format of education has ceased to be an innovation and has become a full-fledged component of the educational system of higher education, which means it will develop. This necessitates the analysis of publications that are devoted to the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and risks of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic period. The importance of analyzing information about distance learning on the web pages of the official websites of institutions of higher professional education with the organization of distance learning forms is motivated by the study of the complex of their advantages that formed higher educational institutions and the compliance of proposals with what is happening in practice. The relevance of the article determines the demand for distance learning and the need to determine vectors for its improvement to improve the quality of higher education in Russia. The main topic of scientific articles on distance learning 2020-2022 is a meaningful analysis of its “pluses” and “minuses”, taking into account the experience of the widespread introduction of this form of education into the practice of higher education in Russia and relying on sociological surveys of specific participants in distance learning. The official websites of universities provide information on distance learning with an emphasis on its advantages and compliance with the process of digitalization of the educational environment. The results of the study showed that distance learning is characterized by reaching a new level of development with the following prospects: the formation of didactic competencies of distance learning participants; development of educational materials aimed at the interactivity of classes and the dynamism of the assessment system to enhance the involvement of students; creation of psychological comfort of the individual and confident personal motivation; stable financing of digital technologies and digital equipment of universities; increasing the level of computer literacy; creation of a complex of exercises of a therapeutic and prophylactic nature to increase the motor activity of students and teachers.