Problems and opportunities of Distance Education

Алтынбай Жансая Ардаққызы
Түркістан облысы
 Түркістан қаласы
Төле би атындағы
«№19 жалпы орта мектебі» КММ
ағылшын тілі пәні мұғалімі

Education is the path to the future. Before modern society is one of the most important tasks: creating a promising system education capable of preparing the population of our planet for life in new conditions of civilization.

Distance learning is a qualitatively new, progressive form of learning, which arose in the last third of the twentieth century due to new technological opportunities arising from information revolution, and based on the idea of ​​»open learning». The most important distinctive features of the distance education method are:

• fundamentalization of education, increasing its quality level;
• an increase in the mass character of education due to wide using distance learning methods using information and telecommunication technologies;
• development of creative abilities and the formation of human personality.

Distance learning is a new, developing form of organization educational process, which differs from the generally accepted form of teaching, that it is mainly focused on independent work of   student. The experience of many countries shows that the form of distance learning is very attractive and effective. This is primarily due to the low cost of training (5-10 times lower than with full-time education) and the opportunity to get education in any specialty at a convenient time for the student and at convenient place.

The creation and development of a distance education system requires development of special ways of organizing and supporting educational process. The creation of a DL system in education represents great opportunities for further development of well-established traditional forms of education to a new quality level. However, a full the deployment of elements of school  education constantly encounters insufficient level of technical and software-hardware base, methodological and educational support, as well as the lack of developed legal framework and budgetary funding. One of the most important components of distance learning are educational complexes. The educational complex has strict requirements, so how the effectiveness of distance learning depends on how the student will be able to independently perceive the educational material. Therefore great attention is paid to the methodology of building the educational complex. It should also be noted that the main costs in preparing distance course is responsible for the development and creation of educational complexes. Complexes of the following type are currently used: • on paper; • on video and audio cassettes; • on computer floppy disks. In addition, to build an effective comprehensive course training is most appropriate to provide all options or types complexes. In this case, the student has a choice exactly the type of presentation that he learns best. The effectiveness of training in distance education depends on possibilities of operational communication between the student and the teacher and their forms contacting. It should be noted that without this contact it is impossible build an effective training system, as to solve problems assimilation of the material can only be a teacher. Therefore, the system operational communication of the student with the teacher, distance learning the establishment should pay special attention.

The distance learning system faces the following problems: — training of teachers — course developers for the DL system; — development of electronic courses, textbooks and software; — training of teachers, working in the DL system; — development of a quality control system learning; — development of regulatory support for this form education; — further development of technical support for DL.

To ensure organizational, legal, methodological and financial support for distance education in the region, it is necessary to create a regional center, within which it would be carry out work on the marketing of educational services, develop commercial forms of DL, jointly work on attraction of funds from local budgets, employment centers, funds of enterprises and firms. Within the framework of this regional center, create a scientific and methodological council and a permanent scientific and methodological seminar that could generalize the experience of the DL system and develop recommendations on the general principles of designing educational and methodological materials and methods learning. It is also necessary to publish a scientific and methodological collection on the problems of the region. The regional center of DL should solve the following tasks:

• Carrying out research works on the DL problem;
• professional development of teachers;
• designing courses focused on DL;
• creation of educational and methodological support;
• Organization of quality control of training.

The real challenge, however, is to provide effective distance learning with meaningful activities to keep students focused on their learning goals and performance objectives. Besides some essential software such as a web conferencing tool to organise live sessions, an efficient Learning Management System (LMS) – like Moodle, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Schoology or Edmodo – is also needed. This helps to create a virtual classroom in which to share resources and materials and communicate flexibly with our students. As it is not feasible to keep students in front of a screen for hours, long academic-style video conferences are preferably avoided and replaced by shorter online sessions and micro-lessons to explain the learning scenario. In order to avoid limiting online live sessions to one-direction information transfers, teachers could make part of the lesson content into videos that students can watch asynchronously at their own pace. Time spent online with teachers can then be used on interactive, creative and problem-solving tasks, for example through polls, exit tickets and moments of reflection. Equally important is the planning of post-connection deliveries and deadlines.

Teachers might also feel the need to formatively assess students’ learning progress in order to provide personalised feedback. For example, students can complete online quizzes – like Socrative, GoFormative, Liveworksheets, LearningApps and Wordwall – or play games in teams like Kahoot!, Quizzizz or Quizlet Live.

As for the summative assessment of students’ performance in distance teaching activities, online testing may raise concerns about plagiarism and cheating. Therefore, it might be easier to evaluate the learning process on the basis of creative tasks like digital storytelling, and to focus on skill acquisition such as learning to learn, cooperation, active participation, progress and commitment.

Common problems of distance education

Lack of Support. The physical absence of the instructor during asynchronous learning (independent learning) means that they may not be available to guide or support the student when they need it most. This means the student may need to wait for the next synchronous learning (live instruction/class time) period to get support or will have to reach out to the teacher via email or other communication channels.

Oftentimes, getting support relies on the student formulating questions and asking for help; something some students may find difficult. Also, if the student has misunderstood a concept or is missing vital building blocks in their knowledge, they may not be aware that they are on the wrong track. Working one-to-one with a tutor will ensure your student gets the support they need and help them build back any educational foundations they may be missing due to distance learning.

Feelings of Isolation. A lot of learning is peer-based as students use discussion and groups to work through material. Teaching others, explaining concepts, answering questions and defending positions are all excellent ways to learn and develop critical thinking skills. While these are still possible in distance learning, they don’t have the same social impact as working together in person.

Socially, your child may feel isolated and miss out on the regular interaction they enjoy in a classroom environment. While this is a common problem of distance education, you can help your child feel more connected to their peers by encouraging their participation in class discussions and by creating opportunities outside of class, like phone calls or video chats with friends, group online gaming, and in person interactions.

Academic Discipline. In a synchronous learning environment there is a certain amount of social pressure and regulation. Students have to show up on time, with homework done, and they are guided through their learning like in an in person classroom. This means students are accountable to their teacher and peers to be a productive member of the class.

On the other hand, asynchronous learning doesn’t provide the same sense of accountability, as students are working through the class material and learning independently. Some students are self-disciplined and have no problem with the independence of distance learning, while others may feel a little lost. You can help by establishing a structure and routine for completing classwork and studying. It is also helpful to teach your child executive functioning skills, like organization, prioritization, and time management to help them stay on top of everything. Executive functioning skills are essential to success in academics and life, but we aren’t born with them.

A teacher can support child in developing solid executive skills training to help them become an effective independent learner.

Technology. Advances in technology have made distance learning a more viable option as students are able to interact with each other and with the instructor, utilize audio, video and text to learn and use the internet for research. To ensure that your student is an effective distance learner, they must have access to all the technology they need and to be able to effectively navigate and use the tools at their disposal.

Distance learning can be an incredible experience for students, but distance learning is only as effective as the student is. Knowing the challenges of distance learning before you begin can help you to create a positive and encouraging learning environment for child and set them up for success. If you find your child is struggling with distance learning, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Getting a teacher at the first sign of struggle can prevent your child from falling further behind and can help keep their distance learning experience a great one!

Literature.

1. Hannay, M., Newvine, T. (2006) Preception of Distance Learning: A Comparison of Online and Traditional Learning. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 2005. ISSN 1558-9528. http://jolt.merlot.org/05011.htm.
2. Van de Vord, R. (2010) Distance students and online research: Promoting information literacy through media literacy. The Internet and Higher Education. Volume 13, Issue 3, 2010. ISSN 1096-7516.
3. Stokes, H., Stafford, J., & Holdsworth, R. (n.d.). Rural and remote school education: A survey for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Melbourne, Australia: Youth Research Centre, University of Melbourne. Retrieved from hreoc.gov.au/pdf/human_rights/rural_remote/scoping_survey.pdf
4. D Lamont Johnson, Cleborne D Maddux, Jacque Ewing-Taylor. Distance Education Issues and Concerns. ISBN 9780789020314 Published June 30, 2003 by CRC Press
5. Guri-Roseblit, S. (2009). Distance education in the digital age: Common misconceptions and challenging tasks. Journal of Distance Education, 23(2), 105- 122.