Alexander Prokhorov, Karpenko, Olga Mikhailovna
According to expert estimates, up to two million people annually need retraining in various areas of higher education. The ongoing structural changes in the economy, social and political life require the retraining of about 40 million people in all areas of professional, humanitarian and socio-economic education in the period until 2007. Approximately two thirds of the adult population of our country are not covered by any form of additional education and awareness. The peculiarity of Russia is that, due to difficult economic conditions, students are forced to combine study with work and are not always able to attend classes regularly.
The rapid growth of technologically improving industries suggests that at least 40-50% of the population should have higher education. Solving this problem using traditional teaching methods requires exorbitant financial costs and the distraction of an unacceptably large number of people from active activities. A real alternative to this is the development of distance education systems (DES). By creating a mobile information and educational environment based on modern information and telecommunication technologies, and reducing unit costs per student by two to three times in comparison with traditional education systems, the DL system allows for a fundamentally new level of accessibility of education while maintaining its quality.
Forms of distance education
Case technology involves compiling educational and methodological materials into a special set - a case, which is sent to the student for independent study. As questions arise, periodic contact with teacher-consultants at the relevant training centers is provided.
TV technology is based on television lectures. Although today in the West (including the USA) this area is losing ground to rapidly developing information technologies, the development of training courses in accordance with the digital television standard, certified, in particular, by the American Federal Telecommunications Commission, continues. Currently, it is planned to use WebTV technology, which allows using a decoder to receive educational programs via the Internet directly to your home computer.
IT technologies are now the most relevant direction in the development of LMS and involve the use of the wide capabilities of Internet technologies and the latest advances in the field of multimedia. The Internet provides access to educational materials, as well as interactive interaction between teachers and students, which guarantees constant contact with the educational center.
A distance learning system using the Internet can be defined as a set of software and hardware tools, methods and organizational measures that make it possible to ensure the delivery of educational information to students via the Internet, as well as testing the knowledge acquired within the course of study by a specific student. The market for distance education systems can be divided into the following three sectors:
- corporate subsidiary;
- Additional education in the system of higher and secondary education;
- subsidiaries in state and local government bodies.
Corporate training has the highest rates of development. This happens primarily due to a sharp increase in the dependence of the efficiency of the enterprise on the level of personnel qualifications. Experience shows that the implementation of LMS allows you to reduce costs and optimize the process of staff development.
If we consider modern trends in the field of distance learning, then first of all we should note the global scale of the introduction of computer and network technologies into the educational process. In addition, there is a change in the educational paradigm and an expansion of the attracted audience. Electronic training courses, which have received a new impetus for development, are becoming more elaborate, clear criteria for price and quality appear, the possibilities for choosing educational programs are increasing, and implementation timelines are accelerating.
LMS abroad and in Russia
The first attempts to use computer networks to solve educational problems were made abroad more than twenty years ago. In those days, this technology was used to create and deliver educational materials and for interaction between teachers and students. These were mainly printed and video materials and occasionally live television broadcasts, and for delivery they used not only e-mail, but also regular mail, cable and public television. Interaction was carried out through the exchange of text messages, written essays, through direct consultations by telephone, and sometimes through audio recordings. Ten years later, the technosphere has changed beyond recognition: VCRs have appeared in almost every home, TV technology has become widely used in educational institutions, and satellite dishes have begun to serve not only entertainment, but also education.
At the moment, there are already powerful and quite extensive systems of distance education in the world, in particular, the “Telematics for Teacher Training” project operating under the auspices of the European Union, which unites seven universities from different European countries and coordinates the development of distance education systems.
In the USA, about 1 million people study in the preschool system. Thus, the National University of Technology, which represents a consortium of 40 engineering schools, trained more than 1,100 students through distance learning methods for a master's degree back in the early 90s.
The National University of Distance Education (UNED) has been operating in Spain for more than 20 years, which includes 58 educational centers within the country and 9 abroad. Created in 1988 with the aim of organizing distance learning for adults, UNED is one of the divisions of the Spanish Ministry of Education and reports directly to the Secretary of State for Higher Education. The UNED structure has a system of advanced training, in particular for secondary school teachers.
The National Center for Distance Education in France provides training to 35 thousand users in 120 countries.
In Germany, the Open University in Hagen (founded in 1976), which allows distance learning and advanced training, issues diplomas and awards degrees, including doctoral degrees. The Institute for Distance Education in Tübingen develops programs for teaching using radio and television; 5 thousand teachers take part in the preparation of 2,500 training courses.
The Baltic University in Sweden brings together the efforts of more than 50 universities in the region. Education in DL technologies can be obtained at universities in the cities of Uasala, Lund, Gothenburg, Umeå and Linköping. All educational tasks are carried out outside the university on the basis of special developments and with the consultation of teachers. The examination process is carried out directly at the university.
Since the 70s in Finland, CE centers and so-called summer universities have begun to be created at 10 universities, of which there are more than 20 with a student population of 30 thousand people.
The Open University has been operating in Turkey since 1974, with the goal of helping residents of remote areas get an education. Students receive the necessary package of educational materials from the university. Additionally, educational radio and television programs are conducted for them, and summer courses are organized; Evening and weekend classes are available. More than 120 thousand students were covered by this training.
In Japan, the University has been operating on air since the early 80s. This public institution, which is funded and under the strict control of the Japanese Ministry of Education, has several faculties in the humanities and natural sciences. Lectures are broadcast on television and radio at certain hours. For each chosen subject, the student must attend an hour-long lecture twice a week. Consultations are provided in special training centers established in each prefecture. The majority of students study for five years and, after successfully passing the exams, receive a bachelor's degree. Credits from this university are equivalent to credits from all other universities.
LMS is also developing in other regions of the world. Examples of universities developing distance learning include China Tele-University, Indira Gandhi National Open University (India), Paynam Noor University (Iran), Korean National Open University (South Korea), University of South Africa, Open University " Sukhothai Thampariat" (Thailand).
It should be emphasized that further education is being developed not only within national education systems, but also by individual commercial companies with a primary focus on training in business, which makes up a quarter of all higher education programs. Private corporate educational networks have been created by companies such as IBM, General Motors, Ford, etc. Some of these educational systems are ahead of systems created at universities, both in complexity and in number. Today, the management of many companies is reconsidering the status of educational departments in their structures and is beginning to consider investments in training on a par with investments in research and development.
The process of developing subsidiaries in Russia began in the early 90s. The number of educational institutions, departments and centers of preschool education in our country by the beginning of the 21st century amounted to more than 100 and continues to grow rapidly.
The Russian educational and scientific community began to pay special attention to distance education after the adoption in 1995 of the concept of the creation and development of a unified system of distance education in Russia. The number of educational institutions using DL technology to one degree or another is growing rapidly. To coordinate efforts in this area, appropriate structures have been created in the Ministry of General and Professional Education of the Russian Federation, the Eurasian Association of FE, the Association of International Education, the Center for Information and Analytical Support of FE, the Interuniversity Center of FE of the Russian Federation on the basis of the Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics, etc.
For example, at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI) at the Department of Radio Systems, students from the Ryazan Institute of Radio Engineers and the Mari Polytechnic Institute (Yoshkar-Ola) successfully studied remotely. The Moscow State Aviation Technological University provides distance learning for applicants from schoolchildren living in remote areas for admission to the university. At the Moscow State Industrial University, DL is being used on an experimental basis to train employees of the penal system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and convicts in correctional colonies. Examples of experimental DL at the Moscow State University of Electronics and Mathematics have already become classic. FE technologies are being actively implemented at MSU. M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow State Aviation Institute, Moscow State Institute of Electronic Engineering, Moscow State University of Economics, Informatics and Statistics, Moscow University of Chemical Technology. D.I.Mendeleev and other universities.
In recent years, distance learning centers have begun to be created in our country: at the Moscow University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI), Novosibirsk State University, Ivanovo State University of Economics, Krasnoyarsk University, the St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of New Technologies of Education, at the Modern Humanitarian University, at Russian State Humanitarian University, etc. Regional distance learning centers also began to be created.
Corporate training is developing rapidly in Russia. This trend is noted in the systems of OJSC Gazprom, the Central Bank, Sberbank of Russia, Roszemkadastr, Rosgeolfond, as well as in a number of large companies extracting and processing natural resources. In terms of their technical and didactic capabilities, these systems are comparable and superior to the corresponding educational systems of universities.
Before 2000, the market for distance learning systems in our country was quite poorly developed. But when the most advanced companies began to have a need for products of this kind, and then the opportunity and desire to spend money on them, well-known Western brands entered the Russian LMS market: IBM, Cisco, Oracle. Today, the most popular DL systems on the Russian market are the Lotus LearningSpace (IBM) and WebCT packages.
The dominance of the largest foreign companies was caused by the lack of Russian analogues of this kind of systems and, of course, the promotion of well-known brands.
There is no doubt that the systems offered by Western brands are distinguished by wide functionality, but they are often unaffordable for most Russian customers, in particular budget universities. Imported DMSs require knowledge of a foreign language or have difficulties with Russification. In addition, foreign developers cannot provide modification and customization of the system, for example, registration fields and exit forms, to meet the specific requirements of Russian universities and corporations. With a well-established sales technology, support for the subsidiary system by even very respected foreign companies often comes down to the phrase: “Well, you saw what you bought!” If a Russian client has specific wishes and comments, then, as a rule, all he can do is write letters to the manufacturer and wait for a new version to appear, in which these comments may be taken into account. All of the above does not have the best effect on the client’s desire to purchase a foreign subsidiarity system.
As the need for software products for distance learning among Russian customers became greater every day, the activity of domestic companies capable of developing such systems began to grow. Recently, Russian companies have begun to actively offer their own developments of distance education systems, but it is still premature to say that the Russian market for these products has already been formed. This is evidenced by the fact that domestic developers often announce their systems as something exceptional, having no analogues in our country, and this is explained not so much by the intention to more successfully “promote” the development, but by the fact that comparative analyzes of domestic developments are almost never published in the press. this area. We hope that this publication will help to some extent correct the current situation (the table shows a comparative analysis of a number of leading developments of LMS from domestic manufacturers).
SPUTNIK ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
The automated training management complex “SPUTNIK-ADOCENT” is built according to a two-level scheme, containing the main distance learning center and associated territorial training centers. JSC "SPUTNIK-ADOCENT" is intended for the deployment of distance learning in large corporations with a geographically distributed structure, as well as in large universities and universities with a regional network of branches. In the simplest version, for example in a small organization, the territorial training center AS “ASSOCIATE CENTER” can function without a main center.
Territorial training center AS "ADOCENT" is a Web site built using ASP technology from Microsoft. The AS "DOcent" includes:
- Internet applications in the form of four automated workstations that support the work of the administrator, curator, teacher and student of the remote center;
- a centralized database containing all information about the progress of the educational process in the distance learning center;
- a set of 27 training courses (16 courses on information technology, 10 courses on programming and the course “Enterprise Business Plan”);
- three tool packages designed for the development of new automated training courses and tests “Uniar Producer 2002”, “Uniar Builder 2002” and “Uniar Tutor 2002”.
The Main Center for Distance Learning of JSC "SPUTNIK" provides:
- management of coordinated joint work of territorial training centers;
- collection of general statistics;
- control and audit of the work of territorial centers;
- formation of a centralized database of certified educational materials;
- creation of a common database of certified specialists.
The main distance learning center includes:
- “Manager's Workstation” subsystem, designed to obtain complete statistical information about the work of territorial centers and the implementation of control actions;
- “Inspector's Workplace” subsystem, designed to carry out comprehensive monitoring of the work of territorial centers, the quality of work of employees of territorial centers, the progress of the educational process in study groups, as well as monitoring the process of testing and certification of specialists;
- “Statistics” subsystem, which provides statistical data on territorial centers. The basis of this subsystem is data regularly collected from databases of territorial centers. Data updating (replication) is carried out automatically according to the schedule specified when installing the territorial center software;
- “Monitoring” subsystem, which provides control over the work of territorial training centers. The information basis of the subsystem is the database of territorial centers, which stores information about study groups, schedules of online classes, student testing protocols, etc. Thus, the subsystem ensures that the inspector works with the database of the territorial center with the access rights of a teacher and curator simultaneously;
- the “Training Courses” subsystem, which implements the provision of territorial centers with high-quality, certified training courses and relevant educational materials;
- a centralized database that stores complete information about territorial centers;
- centralized archive of educational materials and qualification tests.
The SPUTNIK-ADOCENT system has been implemented in many organizations and enterprises:
Corporate customers:
- Roszemkadastr JSC "SPUTNIK-DOTSENT" is a commercial version of the FDOC "Earth" system, which has been developed by order of Roszemkadastr since 1999. Last year, a pilot version of AK SPUTNIK-ADOCENT was deployed on the basis of training centers of Roszemkodastr in the following structure: the head center of AK SPUTNIK was installed in the training center of the Federal Cadastral Center "Earth"; Three regional centers were connected to the main center in 2002. Distance learning courses have been organized: “Federal cadastral valuation of settlement lands” and “Unified State Register of Lands”. This year, in the Roszemkadastr system, it is planned to deploy AK SPUTNIK on the basis of six territorial training centers, which are branches of the Federal Clinical Center "Earth";
- Gazprom AS "DOcent" is installed on the industrial server of OJSC Gazprom. Last year, the training center of OAO Gazprom conducted regular distance learning based on 12 computer training courses based on the internal corporate network;
- Sberbank Human Resources Management of Sberbank of Russia purchased a trial sample of AS “DOcent”. In December 2002, a group of Sberbank employees was trained in working with automated workstations and in administering AS “ASSOCIATE CENTER”, as well as in developing distance learning courses;
- Federation of Internet Education last year, work was fully completed to create a prototype of a national distance learning system and to deploy seven regional distance learning centers on the basis of JSC "SPUTNIK-ASSOCATEUR". In particular, 72 employees of the RCDO were trained, who will conduct distance learning on the basis of the RCDO;
- higher education institutions:
- Ivanovo University of Chemical Technology AS “ASSOCORATE PROFESSOR” has been used in the university’s internal network for the third year. Currently, over 100 study groups are connected to the system, with over 1,000 students studying. In 2002, there were no malfunctions in the work of the AS “DOcent” and no comments from IKhTU;
- Russian State Open Transport University;
- Russian Chemical-Technological University named after. D.I. Mendeleev AS “ASSOCIATE DOCENT” is installed in parallel with the previously acquired “Prometheus” system. In the developments carried out by these universities, tools developed by UNIAR are widely used;
- educational institutions of law enforcement agencies in 2002, work was carried out within the framework of a state contract for the development of personnel testing tools;
- training centers:
- Microinform system was implemented on a rental basis. Microinform employees have developed two distance learning courses based on UNIAR tools;
- Center for Intensive Technologies in Education Intensive work is underway to connect the AS “ASSOCORATE CENTER” to the CITO website.
BaumanTraining
The BaumanTraining distance learning project was developed jointly by the Specialist computer training center at MSTU. N.E. Bauman and the American company Bauman Computer Training Company, Inc. At the beginning of March last year, the project was presented in London at Europe's largest international conference and exhibition Online Learning 2002 Europe Conference & Expo.
Key advantages of the project:
- 24/7 teacher support for the learning process and 24/7 technical support;
- three-stage system for testing the student's knowledge;
- a modern form of presenting material, including text, graphic, multimedia formats with sound;
- the ability to perform simulation and real laboratory work (unique RealLabs technology);
- a unique content packaging technology that makes it possible to use low-speed modem access and standard software;
- a learning process monitoring system that allows both the teacher, the student, and the company that sent the specialist for training to obtain the necessary information about the acquired knowledge;
- interface, content and support in Russian and English.
Currently, the system offers more than 100 courses for IT specialists, including authorized courses from Microsoft, Autodesk, CIW, Novell, CompTIA. New interactive courses based on the center’s proprietary methods are constantly being developed.
During the year of the project, more than 7 thousand people completed distance learning, including employees of KPMG, Seiko Epson, Bank of Moscow, Sibintek, Slavneft, Surgutneftegaz, Yukos, etc. Currently underway implementation of the system in several large companies in the oil and gas sector.
WRC e-Education System
WRC e-Education System software package for building a distance learning system on the scale of a virtual university or a large corporate educational system. The complex provides centralized management of the educational process, in particular, it automates the preparation of curricula for a wide range of specialties, generates reports on student performance, “attendance” of lectures and practical classes, allows you to flexibly configure user rights, manage registration, and control payment for educational services. The component architecture of the software package and open standards make it possible to quickly optimize, modernize and expand the distance education system.
The complex contains specialized tools for preparing educational materials: multimedia lectures, tests, dictionaries, collections of articles, bibliographic lists, and a bank of Internet resources.
The software package is available in two versions, one of which (WRC e-Education System University Edition) is intended for virtual universities, and the other (WRC e-Education System Corporate Edition) for corporate educational systems. The WRC e-Education System University Edition complex is used at the Russian Humanitarian Internet University (http://www.i-u.ru/) in the preparation of bachelors and masters in a number of specialties, and the WRC e-Education System Corporate Edition is used by the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation (http://www.fss.ru/).
REDCLASS
The REDCLASS distance training system (DT) was created by REDLAB specialists together with the REDCENTER training center. Active work on the system began in 1998. The first implementation of the system took place at the authorized training center REDCENTER. Currently, work is underway on the installation and trial operation of REDCLASS at the Faculty of Computer Science and Technology of Moscow State University, at the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, as well as with other corporate customers.
REDCLASS has a modular structure and can be supplied to the customer in various configurations depending on its goals and requirements.
The functional modules of the SDT REDCLASS include:
- an electronic textbook adaptable to the level of current knowledge, learning goals and technical capabilities of the user;
- a testing module that allows you to get an idea of the user’s knowledge level for control and self-control, as well as for the purpose of preparing for certification;
- a virtual laboratory module that provides users with the means to perform practical tasks on a real technological system in remote mode and/or emulation mode;
- statistical data analysis module;
- an online consultation and communication module that allows users to receive advice and exchange knowledge 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
- author's content creation system environment for developing educational materials for SDT of various levels of complexity and interactivity;
- module for remote administration of the educational process.
Distinctive features of the REDCLASS SDT:
- special attention to adapting the appearance and content of the provided educational materials to the needs of a particular student, his initial knowledge, and technical capabilities;
- the presence of virtual laboratories that provide students with access to remote equipment and software in order to gain practical work skills;
- a flexible control and reporting system that ensures constant monitoring of the quality of training;
- the possibility of planning and automated control over the implementation of the training plan.
The REDCLASS SDT is written in Java and can operate on any hardware platform. The specific configuration of technical means for its operation depends on the expected number of concurrent users in the system. For example, simultaneous operation of 40 users can be provided by a one or two-processor server with a processor frequency of 500 MHz and more and a RAM capacity of 512 MB. At the same time, no special equipment or software is required at user workstations, except for a regular personal computer and a Web browser.
OROX
This set of software tools for supporting and implementing distance learning includes the following components: a shell for creating distributed teaching and monitoring systems, a tool using a Web interface for systematizing and storing multi-format information (ISHI) and a shell for creating textbooks (OSU).
OROX is a tool for creating and supporting learning environments that uses modern Web technologies and supports the international standard of educational information products IMS. This system allows you to create training and monitoring resources, conduct training based on an electronic curriculum, manage the educational process, carry out interactive communication with all users of the system and perform administration.
ISHI is a network software shell for creating and maintaining a cataloged collection of electronic resources, which is implemented on the basis of Web technologies and provides opportunities for placement, storage, structuring, classification and search by users of information resources of various types and formats, as well as for organizing secure access to this information. ISHI allows you to post educational and scientific resources of any type and format and is used to organize independent work for students. The system implements differentiated access to available resources for different categories of users.
OSU allows you to quickly create electronic textbooks intended for placement both on CD and on the Internet and local network, based on existing template interfaces according to a structure specified by the user and source materials provided to him. Any type of information supported by the Internet can be placed on the pages of these manuals. OSU makes it possible to import/export textbooks into IMS Content Packaging, as well as create tests that support the standard of interaction between tests IMS Question&Test Interoperability.
- tests the teacher can set the duration, order and type of questions. The question may be accompanied by various illustrations, animation in the form of a flash object, an animated GIF file;
- test the teacher has the opportunity to take tests using chat and a graphic board;
- coursework or essay eLearning Server allows you to control the process of submitting essays, checking them and grading them;
- trainings allow the teacher to see the actions performed by the student on his computer;
The training center can work under any common server platforms (FreeBSD, Linux, Windows, etc.), and you can completely change the appearance and expand the services of the training center.
Currently, about 60 implementations of eLearning Server 3000 have been carried out. Among the users of the system are the UN Office in Belarus, the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation), the Government of the Leningrad Region, the Belarusian State University, the Arkhangelsk State Technical University, the Saratov State University,
VIPKLH, International Center for Financial and Economic Development (ICFED), Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, Russian State University of Oil and Gas named after. I.M. Gubkin, Russian Chemical Technical University named after. D.I. Mendeleev, International Academy of Modern Knowledge (Obninsk), LUXSOFT Company, Logrus LLC, SRC Company, etc.
The eLearning Office software package allows you to create a multimedia training course from individual source materials that can be published on CD-ROM or on the Internet. The package is intended for teachers of higher and secondary educational institutions who do not have programming skills.
eLearning Office 3000 includes:
- ePublisher for creating electronic textbooks. When creating an electronic textbook, the source text is in RTF format; its location and one of 40 design templates for the future publication are indicated, after which ePublisher automatically generates an electronic textbook;
- eAuthor for the compilation of distance courses: educational material in multimedia form, testing systems, a full-text search system for the material, as well as for providing communication with the Web site of the training center. Using eAuthor, you can create a distance learning course that includes a variety of sections.
- eBoard for organizing and managing lectures, seminars, conferences on the Internet.
Distinctive features of eLearning Office 3000:
- ability to use MySQL and other DBMS;
- educational process administration functions can be flexibly redistributed between the teacher and the educational administration of the server up to the complete independence of teachers if necessary;
- developed mechanisms for conducting online classes, including chat, teacher-simulated chat, graphic chat. Frontal surveys and control are implemented as easily as possible thanks to flexible tools for creating schedules and types of classes, which can include both supplied services and those additionally connected by the administrator;
- training materials can be published on the server and grouped into training modules in arbitrary formats. In the case of XML/IMS data on the server, it will be published in accordance with its structure;
- full individual control over the student is provided through maintaining and archiving protocols of his activities, including protocols for taking tests, etc. When preparing answers, depending on the testing mode, they may include (automatically or manually by the teacher) recommendations for students;
- courses can be created either offline or online, or mixed;
- the ability to control skills and abilities using special tools broadcasts from the student’s or teacher’s computer, built into the learning center automatically;
- training courses, including tests, can be prepared both in the Web interface and using the eAuthor client program, and then published on the server or on CD as independent publications;
- installation is simplified as much as possible, is carried out automatically and does not require special knowledge (installation takes 3 minutes on the Windows platform).
The effectiveness of distance learning depends significantly on the technology used in it. The capabilities and characteristics of distance learning technology should ensure the maximum possible efficiency of interaction between the student and the teacher within the system. Difficult-to-use software not only makes it difficult to perceive educational material, but also causes a certain rejection of the use of information technology in teaching.
Successful implementation of distance learning is based on the right choice of software.
In all the variety of means for organizing distance learning, the following groups can be distinguished:
original programs (Authoring Packages) - most often represent some local developments aimed at studying individual subjects or sections of disciplines. The teacher here develops and creates educational materials. As a rule, such products are designed to create lessons with immediate feedback to the learner, rather than to store information about the learning process over time. Such developments, on the one hand, are an indispensable means for activating educational material during classroom lessons and independent work of students; on the other hand, the lack of feedback from students and the teacher greatly reduces the effectiveness of their use;
learning management systems (Learning Management Systems - LMS) - designed to control a large number of students. Some of them are aimed at use in educational institutions, others - for corporate training. Their common feature is that they allow you to monitor user training, store their characteristics, count the number of visits to certain sections of the site, and also determine the time spent by the student on completing a certain part of the course. These systems allow users to register for a course. Registered users are automatically sent various types of information about current events and necessary reporting. Trainees can be organized into groups. In addition, there is the opportunity to test knowledge and online communication;
content management systems (Content Management Systems - CMS) - provides opportunities for posting electronic educational materials in various formats and the collaborative process of creating, editing and managing content. Typically, such a system includes an interface to a database with the ability to search by keywords. Content management systems are especially effective in cases where a large number of teachers are working on creating courses and need to use the same fragments of educational materials in different courses;
educational content management systems (Learning Content Management Systems - LCMS) - combine the capabilities of the two previous control systems and are currently becoming promising in terms of organizing distance learning. The combination of managing a large flow of students, the ability to quickly develop courses and the availability of additional modules allows learning and educational content management systems to solve the problems of organizing training in large educational structures.
Learning management systems are characterized by a high level of interactivity and allow people located in different countries and with Internet access to participate in the learning process. With their help, the learning process can be carried out in real time.
There are a number of LMS systems that provide training via the Internet. Let's consider the main software platforms for organizing distance learning:
1) ILIAS- a free learning platform that allows you to create methodological and educational materials for distance learning, as well as organize connections and build interaction between teachers and students, test and evaluate the latter’s knowledge. ILIAS supports Russian language. Unfortunately, this system is not fast to learn, that is, the system is not yet so intuitive. It has a beautiful interface and supports a large number of features, but it is not so easy for both students and teachers to understand it right away. To work, the user must learn to work with it, or modify it (adapt and simplify) to suit his own needs.
Rice. 1. ILIAS Demo Mode
2) ATutor- a free learning platform similar to the ILIAS system from Canadian developers. The system interface is simple and quite understandable. The system supports Russian, which is a plus. However, this does not apply to the documentation. The LMS ATutor start page is shown in Fig. 2;
Rice. 2. LMS ATutor start page
3) OpenELMS is a joint project whose activities are aimed at organizing and implementing a distance learning system for use in commercial and educational organizations. This platform is a freely distributed software product. LMS software OpenELMS is both comprehensive and fundamentally easy to use. The LMS OpenELMS start page is shown in Fig. 3;
Rice. 3. LMS OpenELMS start page
4) Dokeos is a freely distributed software product used by international companies, federal departments and universities. This platform was created for building distance learning sites. It is more suitable for organizations than universities, as it is aimed at a professional clientele, for example, enterprise personnel. An example of a lecture implementation in LMS Dokeos is presented in Fig. 4;
Fig.4. Implementation of a lecture in LMS Dokeos
5) Sakai is a freely distributed software shell that is developed and used by the international community of major universities. This is a constantly evolving project. Sakai software includes many features for developing courses and organizing a course management system, as well as document management, forums, chats, online testing. The LMS Sakai start page is shown in Fig. 5;
Fig.5. LMS Sakai home page
6) Moodle(English) Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment- modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment) - is a free learning management system. The system is focused primarily on organizing interaction between the teacher and students, although it is also suitable for organizing distance courses, as well as supporting face-to-face learning. The Moodle system has been translated into dozens of languages, including Russian, and is used by almost 50 thousand organizations from 200 countries. An example of the start page of the educational portal of the Altai State Technical University (AltSTU) based on LMS Moodle is presented in Fig. 6;
Rice. 6. Start page of the educational portal of AltSTU based on LMS Moodle
Moodle Learning Management System is a management system specifically designed for creating quality online courses. In terms of the level of capabilities provided, Moodle can be compared with well-known commercial distance learning systems. At the same time, this system compares favorably with them in that it is distributed in open source code - this makes it possible to customize the system to the features of a specific educational project, and, if necessary, to build new modules into it.
Ample opportunities for communication are one of Moodle's greatest strengths. The system supports the exchange of files of any format - both between the teacher and the student, and between the students themselves. The mailing service allows you to promptly inform all course participants or individual groups about current events.
An important feature of Moodle is that the system creates and stores a portfolio for each student: all the work submitted by him, all the grades and comments of the teacher on the work, all messages in the forum.
The teacher can create and use any assessment system within the course. All grades for each course are stored in a summary sheet. It allows you to control the “attendance”, activity of students, and the time of their educational work on the network.
The modular structure of the system ensures ease of use of the system for students and teachers.
The presence of an open community consisting of more than 50,000 system users and more than 3,000 implemented distance learning systems around the world allows for the effective exchange of experience.
According to numerous studies of the capabilities of various software platforms, the Moodle system turned out to be the sole leader. It should be noted that, taking into account the continuous improvement of all systems, Moodle maintains a leading position at the present time.
Distance learning system(LMS, LMS) is an important tool in the work of e-learning specialists. An LMS may be a major expense if you are looking for a reliable, all-in-one eLearning system that will meet all your eLearning development needs.
You can get acquainted with the Top 20 learning management systems (LMS) based on reviews from system users.
Fortunately, there are plenty of LMSs that are open source, that is, distributed for free. You will be able to choose a dynamic, flexible system that will meet all your requirements, within the allocated budget.
The following 11 distance learning systems are free and may be of interest to you.
TOP 11 free distance learning systems for organizing e-learning
1. Moodle
Today, Moodle is undoubtedly one of the most popular open source LMSs. the user has various toolbars, the ability to track student progress and multimedia support. The system makes it possible to create courses adapted for mobile phones, and is quite friendly to the integration of add-ons from third-party developers.
For those who want to make money on their courses, Moodle has integration with the PayPal payment system, which makes the process of placing orders and payment simple and straightforward. Another important advantage of Moodle is the user community. Unlike many other free LMSs, here you can almost instantly get answers to most of your questions by accessing the online technical support database.
In addition, the service offers a number of ready-made templates that you can use to save time and not create a course from scratch. Moodle may seem complicated and incomprehensible to you at first, but if you are looking for a program that gives the user the maximum amount of freedom, then do not be lazy and spend a little time studying the Moodle interface.
2. YO-STADI - Electronic educational environment
The online platform for organizing distance learning YO-STADI is a free Russian development by a team of like-minded people in the development of distance education.
To get started, you need to register on the site and create a “workspace” - your company’s personal space in which educational materials and tasks for your students will be placed.
The difference from classic LMS is that the functionality is focused on practical work. Yo-Study, of course, allows you to publish educational materials, but most of the system is designed for all kinds of knowledge assessment and testing.
Yo-Study contains a sufficient number of tools for organizing training and testing:
"Workspace"
Course materials, announcements and assignments (cases) are published in the work area. A workspace is created by a teacher/tutor/learning manager and can span multiple groups or courses. Students gain access to the workspace upon request.
"Test"
Yo-Study has powerful functionality for testing; the test can be created on the website or imported from *.docx, having previously been prepared in accordance with special rules. A detailed report of each test taker's responses is available. It is possible to limit the timing, time, number of attempts, and the ability to switch between browser windows.
"File"
Uploading files/documents, which the teacher can then evaluate and comment on. The progress log is generated in the workspace automatically, based on the created tasks and allows you to generate an Excel file.
"Magazine"
The journal is generated by the system based on assignments created by the teacher. Grades are entered into the journal automatically when testing, this greatly facilitates the teacher’s work, and students always have access to the latest information.
"Forum"
When creating a “forum” as a task, it becomes possible to mark the answer.
"Event Ribbon"
Events are collected on the corresponding page organized in the form of a news feed; you can receive notifications about them by email.
Summary
Yo-Study is a new free electronic educational environment aimed at organizing personnel training.
Advantages:
Does not require installation/configuration;
the system is free;
easy to use;
powerful functionality for testing and evaluation;
does not require preliminary course development;
there is an English version.
Flaws:
Impossibility of independent modification;
lack of SCORM support;
limited but sufficient functionality;
In general, Yo-Stady deserves an excellent rating and is a good solution for small companies that want to organize staff training without incurring any costs for purchasing a DMS.
3. ATutor
This distance learning system has many useful features: from email notifications to file storage. One of the most striking advantages of ATutor is its customer-centricity and easy-to-understand interface, which makes this system an ideal tool for those who are just starting to explore the world of e-learning.
Atutor also offers the user a number of pre-installed themes to speed up the course creation process. And we can’t help but mention the various assessment tools, file backup, statistics maintenance, and the ability to integrate surveys.
4. Eliademy
For teachers and training supervisors, this system is completely free; a small fee is charged to users if they want to take advantage of the benefits of a premium account.
Eliademy offers eLearning course catalogs, assessment tools, and even an Android mobile app for educators looking to develop mobile courses and target people who prefer to learn on the go. E-learning coordinators can easily and easily upload courses and send invitations to students via their email addresses.
5. Forma LMS
From analysis of the general level of knowledge to detailed statistics and reporting, Forma LMS boasts a fairly comprehensive set of available functions. The service also has various certifications, knowledgeable management support, and a wide range of virtual classroom management tools, including various calendars and event managers.
This system is ideal for corporate training programs and offers access to an active online community where you can find lots of useful tips on how to get the most out of the service.
6. Dokeos
If you're looking for an e-learning system with pre-built course elements, then Dokeos, which is free for groups of up to five users, is for you. This system offers many ready-made e-learning templates and courses and, of course, authoring tools with which you can minimize the time spent creating your course.
On their website, the developers offer the user a lot of useful information, including step-by-step video instructions for creating your own courses. The intuitive interface makes Dokeos a great option for those new to eLearning and for those who don't want to spend time going through lengthy instructions.
7. ILIAS
This distance learning system can be called the first open system that complies with such standards of distance learning systems as SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004. This flexible universal system meets all the basic requirements necessary for successful sales of proprietary courses.
It should be noted that ILIAS is one of the few distance learning systems that can be used as a full-fledged platform for e-learning, thanks to the ability to communicate within a team and transfer and store all documents. The system is absolutely free for all organizations involved in e-learning, regardless of the number of users.
If you have hundreds, or even thousands, of people studying, this system will help you significantly reduce costs, since many other LMS charge fees depending on the number of users.
8. Opigno
The opportunities provided by the Opigno system cannot but rejoice. Certificates, class schedules, forums, proprietary e-learning tools, grading systems, and video galleries are just a few of the impressive list of features available to the user.
This distance learning system is written in Drupal, a popular content management system. This gives you the ability to manage curriculum, track student progress, and integrate e-commerce using just one tool.
Opigno also offers the user online surveys, instant messaging and chat, which makes it possible to quickly provide and receive feedback and effectively collaborate.
9. OLAT
Assessment tools for e-learning, social integration and a learner homepage are just a few of the many benefits of OLAT. In this system you will also find a schedule, email notifications, the ability to add bookmarks, file storage and certificates.
With OLAT, you can quickly and easily add new users to your system and develop comprehensive eLearning courses. Another interesting feature is the ability to check browser compatibility. With just a few clicks, you can ensure that your course material displays correctly in all browsers. OLAT is ideal for multi-platform e-learning courses, designed for various devices.
The iSpring Online online learning platform is used by both private business trainers and large companies with a developed network of branches: Alfa Capital, Lamoda, PwC, Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network. used by both private business trainers and large companies with a developed network of branches: Alfa Capital, Lamoda, PwC, Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network.
This is an Internet service, which means there is no need to download the program, install it on the server, or configure it. To get started, just register on the site, download training materials and assign to employees. One person can manage the SDO.
Features of iSpring Online:
Unlimited storage. You can upload an unlimited number of educational materials to the LMS: courses, videos, books, presentations.
Course editor in PowerPoint. The company has an editor in which you can create an electronic course from a PowerPoint presentation with videos, tests, and interactive games.
Mobile learning. Courses can be opened on a computer, tablet, smartphone, even offline, for example, on a train or plane.
Detailed statistics. The system collects detailed statistics and helps monitor employee performance. Reports show which courses the user completed, what passing score he scored, and how many mistakes he made in the test.
Webinars. You can demonstrate your desktop, presentation or video, write in general and personal chat. The system automatically sends participants a reminder about the next online meeting and informs about changes in the schedule - there is no need to write to everyone personally. Webinar recordings are saved.
Flaws:
iSpring Online has a free 14-day trial, but the overall system is not free. However, a free LMS is unlikely to cost less money: you will have to spend money on your technical support and hire programmers to administer it.
In the case of a paid platform, you receive a full service: they will help you deploy and configure a training portal, download materials and start training employees. Technical support staff will resolve any questions over the phone.
Open source eLearning systems give you the ability to create and effectively develop eLearning courses, especially if you are willing to spend some time thoroughly learning all the possible features of the system. In some cases, the use of such systems may affect the learning curve, but the cost savings and freedom in choosing the appearance and content of the course, in the end, cover all possible difficulties.
If the distance learning system has its own online community, feel free to check it out before you make a final decision to use a particular product.
11. Teachbase.
The Russian development of the Teachbase distance learning system has received recognition from more than a dozen companies. The service is ideal for solving corporate training problems, but it can also be used by private trainers. Teachbase is a remote access system, which means that you do not need to install it on your computer, maintain or configure it. To create a course (or take it), you will need Internet access and a computer or mobile device.
The key feature is simplicity. Everything is intuitive, thanks to the visual interface. Creating and launching a course on your own will take even a beginner no more than an hour. Any issues that arise are promptly resolved by the Internet School staff (the creators of the service). Free technical support is available through a communication channel convenient for the client.
Despite the ease of operation, Teachbase has a wide range of functionality. Available features:
— Personal account – for each of the participants. When you enter the service, the materials assigned for review are immediately visible.
— Testing after passing the material with test parameters settings.
— Statistical reports for the course organizer, for analysis and improvement of the course.
— User base with filtering capabilities.
— Editors – educational materials can be processed directly in the system. By the way, the author is provided with free space on the server for remote storage of materials.
— Communication between users – using webinars and other tools.
To get started with Teachbase, just register. You can start launching your training course right away. The first 14 days from the moment of registration are free - you can fully appreciate the benefits of the service and study it. In the future, the tariff will depend on the number of participants. What is important is that you only pay for active users.
There is also a free option to use Teachbase in the future. What is important is without any functionality limitations. Use the service for free if the number of active listeners is no more than 5 people per month. Few? Perhaps for some, yes, but for small companies, it is often quite enough.
Having appeared at the end of the 20th century, distance learning by the beginning of the 21st century. has become one of the most promising and effective systems for training specialists in various fields of knowledge. In the last decade, computer and Internet technologies have become widespread and accessible to any user. They invade every sphere of activity, including pedagogy. Today, acquiring knowledge remotely using a computer and the World Wide Web is an inevitable stage in the development of the educational system. You can read more about distance learning in our articles and.
At the present stage, the term “andragogy” has appeared, which is a theory of lifelong education for adults. Universities of the so-called “third age”, business schools, and corporate training systems are forcing us to rethink the essence and significance of education as a whole. Number of platforms massive open online courses (MOOCs) There are dozens of programs that give people from all over the world the opportunity to study at a convenient time in a convenient place and improve their skills. The MOOC format is considered one of the most popular and promising trends in global education, as it gives everyone access to quality education. The history and development of such an amazing unique phenomenon as massive open online courses is described in the article “Massive distance courses: a revolution in education? »
Let's look at some systems that will be of interest to teachers for training and advanced training.
Arzamas project
Arzamas is a non-profit educational project dedicated to humanities (history, literature, art, anthropology, philosophy). It has existed since 2015. Arzamas courses are a combination of short video lectures given by scientists and materials prepared by the editors: background notes and articles, photo galleries and newsreel fragments, quotes from forgotten books and interviews with experts - everything that will help to more fully reveal the topic.
All courses are free. Every two weeks on Thursdays a new course is published on a specific topic, but all previously published ones can be found in the “Courses” section. In addition to the courses, there is also a “Journal” - a large section in which interesting materials appear daily that are not directly related to the topics of the courses. Interviews with scientists, rare archival documents, book reviews, quotes and much more (there is also a children's section).
The project has a strict set of rules for use (you can and should read them in the License section of the website).
Project PostScience
PostScience - is a popular online magazine about modern fundamental science and the scientists who create it. The project began its work in January 2012 and was opened to visitors on May 24, 2012. More than 800 scientists from various research fields, including Nobel laureates and representatives of foreign science, took part in the project. The authors are the scientists themselves, who speak about the research in the first person.
Sections: Themes(publications on astronomy, psychology, language, economics, biology, law, culture, philosophy, history, sociology, mathematics, chemistry, brain, physics, medicine); Look(videos, lectures, etc.); Read(FAQ - facts about scientific problems, theories and concepts. Text versions of video lectures. Tests - will help test your knowledge. Magazine - articles in large format. Question to a scientist - experts answer questions from readers. Talks - conversations with scientists about current issues. Books - book recommendations, etc.); Events; Library(popular science books on various disciplines); Special projects (for example, Mathematical Walks, where a journalist walks with mathematicians and conducts a conversation in interview mode); Tests; Courses(author's lecture series, accompanied by texts, bibliography and tests).
TeachVideo website
Company TeachVideo- a leading Russian producer of educational videos on information technology.
This site contains a unique collection of video lessons on various areas of IT topics, that is, training videos on working with a computer, software and the Internet. The lessons are created by professionals, filmed and voiced with high quality. You can view them directly on the website, online and for free. On the main page of the site there are constantly updated sections displaying new products and the most popular lessons.
National Open University "INTUIT"
INTUIT(from Internet University of Information Technologies) is an educational project whose main goals are the free dissemination of knowledge on the World Wide Web and the provision of distance learning services. The project website provides open and free access to a large number of training courses on the topics of computer science, information technology, mathematics, physics, economics, management and other areas of modern knowledge. After completing the training, you can receive an electronic certificate for free. The project was founded by Anatoly Shkred, the site opened on April 10, 2003.
Courses for INTUIT are written by professors and teachers of Russian and foreign universities, employees of research institutes, employees of government organizations and business representatives.
Teachers need to not only constantly learn themselves, but also teach. Currently, there are a large number of systems for implementing e-learning. A logical question arises: which platform should be preferred for more effective organization of the educational process?
The most important criteria for selecting a distance learning system are:
- Installation on any hardware and software platform.
- System security.
- Simple, intuitive web interface.
- The presence in the system of functions used to organize e-learning using distance educational technologies - development and editing of courses, a set of course elements.
- Russian language support.
- Course modularity (In modern EE systems, a course can be a set of micromodules or blocks of educational material that can be used in other courses. They are often compared to plastic Lego game elements. Knowledge objects can simply be transferred from one course or lesson to another, completely different from him course. The purpose of creating these objects is to reduce course development time, since once you create one object, it can be reused again and again.).
- Integration of external modules to expand functionality.
- Support for international standards (IMS, SCORM) used in e-learning.
- Availability of forms of communication.
- Possibility of organizing a point-rating system.
- Using the system in blended learning.
Depending on their main purpose, all platforms for organizing distance learning can be divided into:
Moodle competes on equal terms with the world flagships of the LMS market. An international team of developers, under the leadership of the Moodle Foundation in Australia, has been working on the system for more than 10 years. Thanks to this, Moodle combines a wealth of functionality, flexibility, reliability and ease of use.
The system is widely known in the world, has more than 60 thousand installations in more than 100 countries, and has been translated into several dozen languages. The system scales well: there are installations serving up to a million users.
LMS Moodle is designed for creating and conducting high-quality distance learning courses.
Moodle is distributed in open source code, which makes it possible to “tailor” it to the features of each educational project:
- integrate with other information systems;
- supplement new services with auxiliary functions or reports;
- install ready-made or develop completely new additional modules (activities).
Implementation and maintenance of Moodle with the help of Open Technologies
We are ready to conduct a product demonstration for you via Skype, at your site or in our office.
Moodle Features
All resources are collected into a single whole
In the system, you can create and store electronic educational materials and set the sequence of their study. Due to the fact that Moodle is accessed via the Internet or other networks, students are not tied to a specific place and time and can move through the material at their own pace from any part of the globe.
The electronic format allows you to use not only text as a “textbook,” but also interactive resources of any format, from an article on Wikipedia to a video on YouTube. All course materials are stored in the system and can be organized using labels, tags and hypertext links.
Collaborative solution of educational problems
Moodle is focused on collaboration. The system provides a lot of tools for this: wiki, glossary, blogs, forums, workshops. At the same time, training can be carried out both asynchronously, when each student studies the material at their own pace, and in real time, organizing online lectures and seminars.
The system supports the exchange of files of any format - both between the teacher and the student, and between the students themselves.
Teacher - in touch with students
Ample opportunities for communication are one of Moodle's greatest strengths.
In the forum, you can hold discussions in groups, rate messages, and attach files of any format to them. In private messages and comments - discuss a specific problem with the teacher personally. In the chat, the discussion takes place in real time.
The quality of training is under control
Moodle creates and stores a portfolio for each student: all the work they have submitted, grades and comments from the teacher, messages in the forum. Allows you to control “attendance” - the activity of students, the time of their educational work on the network.
As a result, the teacher spends his time more efficiently. It can collect statistics on students: who downloaded what, what home buildings they completed, what test scores they received. Thus, understand how much students understand the topic, and taking this into account, offer material for further study.
Moodle for user
The capabilities that Moodle gives to users can be grouped by roles:
- Students
- learn anytime, anywhere, at your own pace,
- spend more time studying interesting topics in depth,
- knowledge is better absorbed.
- Teachers
- keep the course up to date,
- change the order and method of presenting material depending on the work of the group,
- spend more time on creative work and professional growth, because routine processes can be entrusted to the LMS,
- maintain feedback with students, including after graduation.
- Administration
- effectively distributes the load on teachers,
- analyzes learning results,
- reduces the cost of managing the educational process.
Moodle has solutions for all possible learning management tasks. If there is no ready-made solution yet or it is imperfect, the functionality of the system can be easily expanded.