Lecture 1.

Basic concepts and definitions

Part 1

While the first projects of electronic (online) education had appeared in the world under the
term of “ e-learning ” as early as in the 1990s , they really became a massive phenomenon
only in the mid-2000s. Today, the global e-learning market is estimated at $ 90 billion and
its growth rate exceeds 25% per year.

Over the past 10 years, e-learning and distance learning technology has turned into an
integral part of a number of national educational systems. This trend has not bypassed
Russia.

The Federal Law No. 273-FZ “On Education in the Russian Federation” , which entered
into force in 2012, introduced regulations on the concepts of e-learning and distance
learning technology in the main educational process.

However, in Russia, up until now, public confidence in online learning and readiness of
educational organizations to actively create courses are highly dependent on the
government policy and the availability of official recognition of learning outcomes of such
courses in the composition of educational programs allowing to obtain state diplomas.

This is caused by the lack of conceptual apparatus clearly outlining this area. Exactly for the
reasons of trying to “use the same language” when speaking about online learning, we in
this lecture, will speak in more details about the basic terms and regulatory framework
presently governing integration of the e-learning format into the educational process.

Lecture 1. Basic concepts and definitions

Part 2

The regulatory definition of e-learning and distance learning technology in the Federal Law
no. 273 reads as follows:  

 “E-learning means organization of educational activities with the use of: information

contained in databases and used for the implementation of educational information
programs; information technologies providing for its processing; technical means and
information and telecommunication networks for transmitting the specified
information via communication lines; interaction between students and teachers.

The same law, in Article 16 , draws attention to the following:

 “When implementing educational programs using exclusively e-learning and

distance learning, the organization performing learning activities should create the
conditions for the functioning of electronic information and learning
environment which includes electronic information and educational resources, a
stack of information and telecommunication technologies, and relevant technological
means providing for students' mastering the learning programs on a full scale,
regardless of the physical location of students. "   

This way, it is possible to define a number of terms in respect of which a clear

understanding is desirable:
  E-learning;
 Electronic information and educational environment;
 Blended learning;
 Lifelong learning;
 Electronic educational resources;
 Distance learning technologies.

Lecture 1. Basic concepts and definitions

Part 3. Standards and terminology

Standards

Some of these terms are defined by GOSTs (sets of technical standards maintained by
EASC operating under the auspices of CIS).

Let’s get to know some of these standards in more details.

GOST R 52653-2006. Information and communication technologies in education.

Terms and definitions.

Approved and put in force (for the first time) on December 27, 2006.

The standard sets the basic terms and definitions corresponding to the legal framework and
national standards of the Russian Federation and harmonized with international standards.

Such terms as e-learning, information and communication technology and distance learning
technologies are defined.

 E-learning  is the learning by using information and communication technology.

 Information and communication technology: information processes and methods
of working with information carried out with the use of computer engineering means
and telecommunications.
 Distance learning technology: educational activities implemented mainly via
information and telecommunication technologies through intermediate (distance) or
partially intermediate interaction between the student and teacher. 

GOST R 52657-2006. Information and communication technologies in education.

Educational Internet portals of federal level. Rubrication of information resources

While the previously mentioned GOST contains basic terms and definitions, GOST R52657
gives a detailed rubrication and classification of the electronic learning resources.  

They have been developed for quite a long time exactly in accordance with this definition
and classification of the electronic learning resources.  

 Electronic learning resource (ELR):  educational resource, presented in digital

form and containing the structure and subject content, and their metadata.

Note: An electronic learning resource may include data, information, and the software
necessary for the use in the learning process.
GOST R 53620-2009.  Information and communication technologies in education.
Electronic learning resources. General provisions.

It regulates the basic terms and concepts related to electronic learning resources. 

This standard establishes general requirements for electronic learning resources (ELRs)
broadly used in information and learning environments: i.e., automated control systems for
educational institutions of all levels of education. This standard is included in the
"Information and communication technologies in education" complex of standards.  

This GOST laid the fundamentals of structuring electronic materials; it regulates what can
be considered as an electronic learning resource and how to prepare those; special
attention is paid to the accurate displaying of the resources in various browsers.

At a certain period, the “weight” of a resource was of great importance, since the bandwidth
of Internet lines was quite limited.   

GOST R 53625-2009 (ISO / IEC 19796-1: 2005). Information technology. Learning,

education and preparation. Quality management; quality assurance and the metrics.
Part 1. The general approach. 

The first part of this standard outlines the general approach to quality management and
quality assurance in the field of education, learning, and preparation to it as applied to
information and communication technologies.

And, the last one to mention is

GOST R 55751-2013. Information and communication technologies in education.

Electronic teaching materials. Requirements and characteristics.

It was exactly in this standard that the norms formulated in 273 FZ were implemented,
namely, e-learning and distance learning technologies. The standard establishes
requirements and characteristics in relation to e-learning methodological complexes
connected with teaching aids and intended for studying particular disciplines, educational
modules, and complexes of disciplines, and for mastering learning programs as a whole.

• E-learning presumes: organization of learning activities with the use of: information

contained in databases and employed in the implementation of educational programs;
information technologies that ensure its processing; technical means; information and
telecommunication networks that provide for the transfer of specified information via the
communication lines; interaction of students and teachers.

Note: Distance learning technologies are understood as learning technologies implemented

primarily with the use of information and telecommunication networks with indirect (remote)
interaction of students and teachers.

The same standard puts into practice the concept of the “Electronic information and
learning environment” as “a complex of electronic learning resources, means of
information and communication technologies and automated systems necessary to ensure
that students master learning programs in full, regardless of their physical location.”   

The special attention is paid in this standard to the concept of electronic educational and
methodological complex, and the detailed interpretation of this concept should not be left
unmentioned.  Despite that the concept per say presently remains basically unused, the
determination of its structure, goal setting, and classification to a big extent helps in the
frequent discussions that arise today on what could or could not be considered an e-course
and how to assess the quality of such.

The electronic learning and methodical complex (ELMC) is a structured complex of e-

learning documentation, e-learning resources, means of teaching and control of
knowledge containing interconnected content and intended for the joint use in efficient
studying of subjects, courses, disciplines and their components by students.

1. The structure and the learning content of ELMC is determined by the specifics of the
levels of learning, requirements of educational programs and other regulatory and
methodological documents.   
2. ELMCs could be created for the provision of studying particular disciplines,
educational modules, complexes of disciplines, and to implement learning programs
as a whole.

Part 1

Adaptive teaching technology - the content, pace and sequence of presentation of the
material are "adjusted to the student." The task is to optimize the educational trajectory.

The idea of adaptive and personalized learning has been around for a long time. I would
like to recall the 50s and the "teaching machines" of the psychologist B.F. Skinner. Skinner
created a mechanical box-like device that posed questions to students. Correct answers
were rewarded with new academic material; incorrect - led to a repetition of the old
question. “The student quickly learned to answer correctly,” Skinner noted.

Today, there are many more opportunities for the implementation of such a learning
technology.

The introduction of online courses into the educational process with an adaptive approach
allows you to build an individual educational trajectory of a student, using as much
information as possible about how he (the student) studies the material, and how this
material was studied before him.

Asynchronous learning is "a teaching method in the process of which the contact
between the teacher and the learner takes place with a time delay." We can say that this is
a "student-centered" teaching method. Teachers provide educational material in the form of
online resources, which can be accessed at any convenient time. Students may be given a
time slot during which they must complete all the necessary tasks. This format of training
requires such an organization of online courses in which information on completing
assignments, monitoring the assimilation of the material will not require the intervention and
presence of a teacher.

Blended learning ( blending learning ) - alternation of traditional forms of education,

including direct communication with the teacher, with elements of e-learning. Online
courses with this form of training, as well as with asynchronous learning, should enable
students to fully master the material on their own, and the possibility of organizing control
events in an online format should be provided. 
Part 2

With blended learning, as the experience of our university shows, interaction with students
is divided into the following stages:

 " Prepare me " and " Tell me " - an introductory (orientation) lecture in which

students are told both the main content of the course and organizational.
 " Show me " - studying a block of an online course (mainly lecture videos and
organizing control of independent work).
 “ Let me ” - interaction with a teacher in practical classes, getting assignments to
complete independently.
 " Help me " - interaction with the materials of the online course, with the teacher on
the forum, the ability to return to the already studied material.

I would like to note that, commissioned by the US Federal Department of Education,

Stanford University experts have analyzed more than a thousand empirical studies that
compared traditional, online and blended learning . The results showed that in the period
from 1996 to 2008, online learning did not have a significant advantage over traditional
forms of education, however, the introduction of blended learning changed this trend,
showing not only its advantage over online learning, but also quite good results compared
to traditional.

The transition to a blended learning model entails a change in the "functions" of the teacher,
adding, for example, the unexpected at first glance, the role of the scriptwriter-designer of
the material for the preparation and creation of video clips.

One of the varieties of blended learning - " Inverted class » (Flipped Class) . In this case,
students should familiarize themselves with the lesson materials in advance, before meeting
in the classroom. The requirements for organizing the material of online courses can be
somewhat relaxed, since the teacher answers the questions that arise in preparation for the
lesson in the classroom. In this case, the frequency of meetings and their uniformity are
important in order to avoid "accumulation of unresolved problems."

It should be noted that the introduction of online courses in the educational process affects
not only the change in the role of the teacher, new requirements are also imposed on the
student.

Thus, the updated standard for students of the International Society for the Promotion of
Technology in Education , published in June 2016 , contains the following requirements:

 Students should use technological tools in the learning process and also
“personalize the learning space to deepen knowledge”.
 Students must understand the specifics of learning in the digital world and act only in
safe and legal ways.
 When studying the material, the student must think critically.
 It is important not only to study existing materials, but also to be able to “solve
problems by creating new solutions”.

It is obvious that it is the introduction of modern educational technologies that allows the
most effective implementation of these requirements.

It is obvious that the effectiveness of using online courses in the educational process
depends not only on the correct setting of e-learning goals, but also on the possibility of
achieving these goals using a specific toolkit. Typically, this toolkit is a distance learning
system (LMS, e-Learning Management System ), implemented on one of the possible
technological "engines".

Recently, except, probably, have become familiar terms:

 " Learning management system » ( L earning Management System, LMS ), largely

associated with Moodle ;
 " Learning content management system » ( the Learning the
Content Management the System , the LCMS ) making it possible to create
materials.

There are new, increasingly used - these are "educational platforms". An educational
platform is already a kind of online service that allows various participants to post
educational materials, build personalized learning paths, and store information on the
results of mastering disciplines.

The most famous educational platforms are Coursera , the National Open Education
Platform, Universarium, Netology.

At the end of the topic, I would like to say a few more words about the forms of submitting
material for online courses, both familiar and new.

Digital storytelling (Digital Storytelling)

Storytelling is a method of influencing an audience by telling a story with real or fictional

characters.

Digital storytelling combines storytelling with digital content - animation, photo, audio, video
- to achieve the goal of learning through storytelling.

Digital storytelling tools range from the ability to create visual storytelling to the ability to
leverage online museum collections.

MOOC. History

The concept of "Massive open online course " is becoming more and more active in
everyday life , and some time ago this phrase was not very popular.

It all began in 2001 year when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology posted for free on
the Internet all their training materials

In 2011,  Sebastian Troon, a Stanford professor, posted and ran a free course on artificial
intelligence on the Internet.

160 thousand people from 190 countries became Trun's students . In 2012, Troon
became the founder of the online education platform Udacity.

This is just one of the most striking examples of this period. However, what was happening
was the reason that 2011 was declared the year of open distance courses (сMOOC -
connective Massive Open On-line Course).
In 2012 , MIT introduced its first massive open online course , Circuitry and Electronics. You
could enroll in the course without any admission requirements.

155 thousand people from 160 countries have registered for it  . Of these, only 7157 have

completed the entire course on the Internet for a free course on artificial intelligence.

MOOCs naturally have both supporters and opponents. One of the arguments “against” is
always the information that the percentage of those who have completed the course is very
low. I would like to answer this with the words of Anant Agrawal, head of the MIT program
"Circuitry and Electronics". In response to such criticisms, he noted: " If you look at the
number of people taking this course in absolute terms, it will correspond to the number of all
students who could take this course at MIT in 40 years .  "

Lecture 3. Open platforms and MOOCs

MOOC. Definition

Outdoor Mass online course (abbr .: MOOK ; English Massive open online courses,

MOOC.)a training course with a massive interactive participation c using e-learning
technology and open access through the Internet, is a form of distance education. As a
complement to traditional curriculum materials such as reading and homework, Massive
Open Online Courses provide the ability to use videos, interactive user forums that help
build and maintain communities of students, teachers, and
assistants. For MOOK characterized by short videos, interesting tasks and, of course, a
lively communication of teachers and students.

The massive open online course is hosted on an educational platform that provides access
to it in 24x7 format and without any restrictions.

Inconnectionwiththat,I Such courses allow the learner to choose their own pace of learning,
learn at any time, and, which is not unimportant, choose the moments when there is a
desire to learn.

Training on the courses is free, but in order to receive a document (certificate), in electronic
form, confirming the learning results, it is necessary not only to fulfill all the requirements of
the course assessment system, but also to pay for the opportunity to enter the final
trajectory for passing the test.

The cost of the certificate is different. So, for example, on the National Portal "Open
Education" today a certificate for individuals costs 1,800 rubles, and for legal entities (in the
case of, for example, a network agreement with an organization) 1,000 rubles.

However, it is difficult to talk about MOOCs as a commercial enterprise. Not only Russian,

but also foreign companies have repeatedly made attempts to “monetize” MOOCs , the
conclusion is that this did not bring much success. In this case, the image component is
much more productive. For example, about 35% of students admitted to the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology say that their choice was influenced by the university's project
related to the publication in the open access of materials of its entire educational
program. From lecture notes and videos to homework and slides.
Educational platforms

Massive open online courses are hosted on various educational platforms. The main
requirements for such platforms can be formulated as:

1. platform availability;
2. platform performance;
3. support by the platform of a minimum set of API functions;
4. support for pass-through authentication based on accounts;
5. Availability of published minimum technical requirements and requirements for user
software versions supported by the platform.

Very briefly about some of them:

Coursera

The platform was launched in 2012. It is focused primarily on those who want to
independently improve their professional skills, expand their ideas about a particular area of
knowledge, and increase their attractiveness in the eyes of serious employers. 

Not only educational institutions, but also leading cultural organizations cooperate with
Coursera. Training on the courses is free, only access to books and obtaining a certificate
are paid.

Lectorium

Russian academic educational project developing two directions:

1. The media library is a collection of video lectures by the best Russian lecturers. All
materials are published only by agreement with lecturers and educational
institutions. Access to the library is free and free.
2. MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) is a new generation of online
courses. Initially, the courses hosted at the Lectorium were mainly aimed at
schoolchildren and applicants.

National portal "Open Education"

It is a modern educational platform offering online courses in basic undergraduate and

graduate disciplines studied at Russian universities.

All courses hosted on the platform are developed in accordance with the requirements of
federal state educational standards and meet the requirements for learning outcomes of
educational programs implemented in universities.

Upon completion of training, the student can receive a certificate. In order to be able to final
testing, it is necessary to fulfill the requirements of the assessment system established in
the course and make payment.
COURSERA  https://www.coursera.org/

one of the largest foreign educational platforms. The platform offers training in various

categories:

 Computer science
 Data science
 Information Technology
 Social sciencies
 Natural and technical sciences
 ...

There are both paid and free courses. it is possible to obtain a platform certificate. There is
a possibility of specialization (a set of courses related to one topic). Courses are available in
Russian, English and many other languages. Many well-known world Universities (over
150) are Coursera partners. To date, the portal has trained more than 25 million people
from all over the world.

Udacity  -  https://www.udacity.com/ University of Silicon Valley

Udacity is a platform for the IT pros of the future, created by the IT people of the past and
supported by the IT people of the present. It originated from one of the Stanford
programs. Course materials are provided by leading experts from companies such as
Google and Facebook. To make learning easy, Udacity brings together materials,
professional teachers, actors and editors, turning them into short, interesting, easy-to-digest
videos. The spectrum of what is taught is very diverse.

There are paid courses and free courses. There are no restrictions on free courses! Paid -
sometimes some experience / education is required.

Tuition fees range from $ 20 to $ 200 per month, depending on the course.

They are taught in English.

UDEMY  https://www.udemy.com/   - the platform offers training in the following specialties:

 Business;
 Technologies;
 Fashion and Style;
 Foreign languages
 Mathematics and Science;
 Life style.
 Preparation for exams
 Personal growth
 ...

The courses are paid, but money back is guaranteed.

Part 2

EDx Platform https://www.edx.org/

The most academic foreign MEP is a platform. 

A joint non-profit product of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Harvard
University and the University of Berkeley.

The goal of the EDX project is to create an open and free platform for distance education for
free education for everyone. This project contains online courses, the content of which
corresponds to the highest university level and is designed for an international audience.

Founded EDX in spring 2012 by Anant Agarwal (MIT).

The exactingness of students in EDX courses is as high as when studying at the

universities participating in the project.

The founders of the project consider the transformation of quality education into an elite
one as their main task . Intellectuals should emerge from their “virtual walls”, and any
employer would consider it an honor to hire them. Therefore, EDX courses have very strict
requirements and a high dropout rate. Only 5% of graduates remain from the entire mass
of those who entered the first year.

Training is conducted in English .

Khan Academy  https://www.khanacademy.org/ 

The platform is named after Khan Salman. An American of Bengali descent, he quietly
worked as a stock analyst, until in 2006 he decided to help his relative Nadia with
mathematics.

He recorded videos on YouTube. Content suddenly became so popular that Salman quit his
job and started an online academy. As of 2017, this YouTube channel has over three
million subscribers.

The platform has over a hundred teachers from all over the world. Among them are school
teachers, university professors, as well as experts from various fields.

They teach everything, including programming.

The platform's slogan is “ Free , for everyone, forever”.

They are taught in English, with English subtitles.

Documents are not issued. Just learn - and gain knowledge.

Lecture 4. Foreign educational platforms

Part 1

COURSERA  https://www.coursera.org/

one of the largest foreign educational platforms. The platform offers training in various

categories:
  Computer science
 Data science
 Information Technology
 Social sciencies
 Natural and technical sciences
 ...

There are both paid and free courses. it is possible to obtain a platform certificate. There is
a possibility of specialization (a set of courses related to one topic). Courses are available in
Russian, English and many other languages. Many well-known world Universities (over
150) are Coursera partners. To date, the portal has trained more than 25 million people
from all over the world.

Udacity  -  https://www.udacity.com/ University of Silicon Valley

Udacity is a platform for the IT pros of the future, created by the IT people of the past and
supported by the IT people of the present. It originated from one of the Stanford
programs. Course materials are provided by leading experts from companies such as
Google and Facebook. To make learning easy, Udacity brings together materials,
professional teachers, actors and editors, turning them into short, interesting, easy-to-digest
videos. The spectrum of what is taught is very diverse.

There are paid courses and free courses. There are no restrictions on free courses! Paid -
sometimes some experience / education is required.

Tuition fees range from $ 20 to $ 200 per month, depending on the course.

They are taught in English.

UDEMY  https://www.udemy.com/   - the platform offers training in the following specialties:

 Business;
 Technologies;
 Fashion and Style;
 Foreign languages
 Mathematics and Science;
 Life style.
 Preparation for exams
 Personal growth
 ...

The courses are paid, but money back is guaranteed.

Part 2

EDx Platform https://www.edx.org/

The most academic foreign MEP is a platform. 

A joint non-profit product of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Harvard

University and the University of Berkeley.
The goal of the EDX project is to create an open and free platform for distance education for
free education for everyone. This project contains online courses, the content of which
corresponds to the highest university level and is designed for an international audience.

Founded EDX in spring 2012 by Anant Agarwal (MIT).

The exactingness of students in EDX courses is as high as when studying at the

universities participating in the project.

The founders of the project consider the transformation of quality education into an elite
one as their main task . Intellectuals should emerge from their “virtual walls”, and any
employer would consider it an honor to hire them. Therefore, EDX courses have very strict
requirements and a high dropout rate. Only 5% of graduates remain from the entire mass
of those who entered the first year.

Training is conducted in English .

Khan Academy  https://www.khanacademy.org/ 

The platform is named after Khan Salman. An American of Bengali descent, he quietly
worked as a stock analyst, until in 2006 he decided to help his relative Nadia with
mathematics.

He recorded videos on YouTube. Content suddenly became so popular that Salman quit his
job and started an online academy. As of 2017, this YouTube channel has over three
million subscribers.

The platform has over a hundred teachers from all over the world. Among them are school
teachers, university professors, as well as experts from various fields.

They teach everything, including programming.

The platform's slogan is “ Free , for everyone, forever”.

They are taught in English, with English subtitles.

Documents are not issued. Just learn - and gain knowledge.

Lecture 5. Trends in education of the future

Part 1

In October 2017, experts from the  Center for Educational Development of the

SKOLKOVO Business School prepared an overview of the new NMC Horizon report  on
the future of higher education for the next five years (here is a brief summary of this report)

NMC (The New Media Centers) reports have been issued since 2002 and are recognized
by scientists and practitioners around the world.

1.Adopting progressive teaching methods requires cultural transformation

Until the beginning of this century, it was believed that the key figures in the life of
universities were teachers, but with the onset of a new era, there was a change in the
vector to meet the needs of students and stimulate their success. The structure of the
university should be built in such a way that it facilitates the exchange of new ideas, the
identification of successful cases inside and outside the campus, in order to develop and
apply them in practice.

All activities of the university should be aimed at the formation of a successful student
personality. To do this, according to the researchers, it is necessary to define clear goals
and objectives, create the necessary organizational support structures, train teachers in
digital technologies in pedagogy, and revise curricula and student assessment systems.

2. Teaching students real practical skills will help them in future employment, and will also
improve their professional qualifications
Entering the university, students expect that higher education will help them get a decent
job in their profession and the necessary amount of knowledge for career growth. However,
the situation with yesterday's university graduates suggests otherwise. According to a 2016
sample survey by Rosstat, unemployment among university graduates in 2015 is five times
higher than unemployment in the country as a whole.

NMC researchers draw attention to the fact that this is a signal to universities about the
need to radically revise the educational program, focus on transferring deeper theoretical
knowledge to students, and also pay considerable attention to practice using modern
technology.

3. Collaboration is key to disseminating effective solutions

One of the key features of a world-class university is its ability to collaborate in the global
market. The massiveization and customer focus of higher education has led to serious
competition among universities, and the globalization of education has become the basis for
the formation of strategic alliances between several universities from different
countries. Currently, we are observing how university cooperatives are developing,
alliances are being formed that help them to occupy a winning position in the world market
of educational services.

Many universities enter into cooperation not only with foreign higher education institutions
(for example, an interdisciplinary research project of the University of Copenhagen and
representatives from Germany, China, the USA and Denmark on molecular prediction of
cancer risk and its progression, or a memorandum of understanding on research
cooperation between NRU-HSE and Seoul National University (SNU)), but also find
partners within the country. A good example of such a country alliance is the Institutional
Cooperation Committee, which includes 12 research universities in the US Midwest
(University of Chicago; University of Illinois; Indiana University; University of Iowa;
University of Michigan; Michigan State University; University of Minnesota; Northwestern
University; Ohio State University; Pennsylvania State University; Purdue
University; University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Part 2

4. Despite the widespread adoption of technologies and materials for online learning, they are still
not available to everyone
A key problem around the world, including Russia, is that not all population groups have the
same access to the Internet and may be limited in their development
opportunities. According to the International Telecommunication Union, 47.9% of the world's
population uses the Internet.
The largest number of people with Internet access is traditionally in developed countries
(81%), in developing countries this number is 40%, in the least developed countries - only
15%. In the Russian Federation, 59.6% of the population (87.5 million people) have access
to the Internet.

Another important factor is data transfer speed. Only 12 people out of 100 in Russia have
access to high-speed Internet, which is 2.5 times less than in the United States (based on
data from the Google Public Data Explorer platform; ICT statistics collected by ITU in 200
countries of the world for the period from 1960 to 2013 years). The situation is even worse
in Africa, Asia-Pacific, North and South America and the Arab region, where Internet speeds
hover around 2 Mbps.

5. It is necessary to create processes for assessing skills at the individual level

Universities are changing, increasing their flexibility in line with the demands of the labor
market. Individualization of education is an integral part of this process. The NMC points out
that the first step is to create a personalized assessment of learning outcomes. It provides
an opportunity to get a clearer picture of what students need to know to acquire certain
skills and competencies. The most in-demand skills of the future will be vocational skills,
creativity skills and critical thinking skills of students; developing criteria for assessing such
skills is a top priority for universities.

Currently, in world practice, there are already a number of successfully implemented

projects in the field of skills assessment at the individual level. Stanford's Lytics Lab is one
example of the successful implementation of empirical research to better understand the
dynamics of student development. The Open-Learning Initiative of Carnegie Mellon
University and the Check-My-Activity-Tool of the University of Maryland at College Park are
also two examples of promising developments that allow students to control their own
performance.

6. In order to feel free in the digital world, it is not enough just to be able to use technology
In the history of mankind, until now, there has been no greater impact on the behavior and
identification of an individual, regardless of country or culture, than the cumulative effect of
digital technologies. The consequences of this shift in society are enormous and, in
particular, are the founders of key changes in human life.

But in the world of digital and technological opportunities, it is not enough to be able to use
technology, it is important to understand how technology can improve your life, increase
professional opportunities and do your job well. Universities need to develop students' deep
understanding of digital environments, the ability to intuitively adapt to new conditions and
create new content.

Teaching students to live in the era of rapidly developing digital technologies, however, as
well as to understand their own strategy for behavior in the digital world, is one of the most
difficult challenges for higher education leaders.

7. The effectiveness of online learning, as well as mobile and blended learning, is beyond
question
Online education is the greatest discovery in higher education. While universities compete
for every student, educational platforms are gaining millions of listeners. According to the
results of the Class Central study in 2016, educational platforms were represented by more
than 700 universities, 6850 courses, and 58 million students were trained on
them. According to the College Data website, the average university has between 5,000
and 15,000-20,000 students, the Coursera educational platform 23 million students, EdX 10
million, XuetangX (the first non-English language platform to be included in the top 5
leading MEPs in the world) 6 million. FutureLearn - 5.3 million, Udacity - 4 million.

It is absolutely useless for universities to compete with the MEP. Online courses enable
students to choose what they like and gain knowledge in a short period of time, anywhere,
for less money. Also, online learning gives a feeling of freedom and control over the process
of their development, which is one of the key motivators in obtaining the desired result. That
is why universities should include in the educational process the possibility of integrating the
MEP with the curriculum. We are already seeing very interesting developments focused on
educational markets that have not yet been reached, as exemplified by the Federal
Polytechnic School in Lausanne, which initiated the creation of MOOCs for French-speaking
African countries; participation of the Spanish portal Miriada X in Latin America and
"Globalization OpenupEd",

Blended education at the university is still in question. However, in 2016, Imperial College

London gave rise to the suggestion that blended learningcould be the future of higher
education. The essence of the program was that the Masters of Engineering, starting from
the last semester, take online business courses. While the idea of a MEP is not new, it was
a revolutionary decision to take online courses for students physically present at the
university. According to David Lefebvre, head of education technology, this was not the first
attempt to bring engineers into business through the MEP. The first, conducted five years
ago, failed because the technology and course were not sufficiently developed. Currently,
the pilot program has been limited to engineering students, but if successfully implemented,
the practice will be expanded to include science, business and medical students.

The presence of such advanced technological solutions as online education, blended and
mobile learning at the university is, in fact, a key factor in the success of the university. If the
university lacks an effective strategy for integrating these approaches, we can say that such
a university has no future. At the same time, it is necessary to monitor the impact of
educational technologies on learning outcomes, which will show the effectiveness of each
of them in a specific situation.

Part 4

8. Educational ecosystems must be flexible enough to accommodate entirely new learning methods
The effective integration of technologies into the educational process has a positive effect
on the dynamics of students' development and stimulates interest in acquiring
knowledge. However, the right environment must be prepared for the introduction of
technology and new teaching methods.

Educators using tools and platforms such as learning management systems often strive to
come up with new combinations of different learning components, such as open content or
educational applications. The key problem here is the unpreparedness of the educational
system to accept new teaching methods. One of the possible solutions is the creation of a
flexible educational environment in which there will be a place for the creative beginning of
teaching.

9. Higher education is an excellent environment for developing more intuitive computers

Universities are still ideal places for the production of knowledge and new discoveries. With
the spread of artificial intelligence and natural user interfaces, universities are developing
machine learning algorithms and tactile devices that respond to touch, which determines
their leading position in research activities.
For example, the Texas Computing Center at the University of Texas at Austin is
implementing a global project to create a supercomputer (Stampede2) that solves problems
and accelerates searches in a way that traditional experiments cannot achieve. It helps
scientists investigate problems that are too large (like black holes), too small (like DNA),
and too dangerous (like hurricanes).

Stampede2 was presented on July 28, 2017 and was immediately named the most powerful
supercomputer on the territory of academic institutions in the United States, and also took
12th place in the world ranking. Its capacity reaches 100,000 desktops.

10. Lifelong learning - the basis of higher education

Countries striving to form a knowledge-based society and a competitive economy are more
concerned than ever with the need to constantly update the knowledge of the population,
improve the qualifications of employees, and expand opportunities for professional
development. This is a matter of close cooperation between universities and
corporations. One such example is Starbucks' collaboration with Arizona State University to
develop online courses for its employees. AT&T and Udacity have created the Nano
Degree: a short, focused course that builds the knowledge and skills needed for entry-level
positions in the company. There are thousands of such examples in all countries. As NMC
researchers point out, one of the challenges of the lifelong learning system will be to
develop incentives for learning not only for students, but also for teachers and employees of
all organizations.

Lecture 6. Trends in education - both jokingly and

seriously
Trends

Trend # 1 - learning will become the main daily activity

If in the past we spent a small part of our daily time on learning, then in the future, the time
that we will have to allocate for learning will increase significantly.

It is learning that will become our dominant daily activity.

Trend # 2 - learning will become lifelong

If in the past we learned only a small part of our life, then in the future we will have to learn
all our lives.

We start learning at an increasingly early age, do not stop at maturity, and continue into old
age.
Trend number 3 - traditional lecture training will give way to project and problem-oriented
Lecture-based teaching has dominated for 1,000 years as a successful scale-up model to
meet the massive demand for skilled professionals. At the same time, individual project
training has always remained expensive and not readily available, since it is based on
mentoring. Mentoring is difficult to scale, so it has always been a bottleneck that has held
the market back

Project-based education fully meets the requirements of our time, so its share will grow, up
to the full extrusion of the classical university model.

Lecture 6. Trends in education - both jokingly and seriously

Trends (continued)

Trend # 4 - Changing Education Scaling Models

Development and extinction of the traditional lecture approach, which mixes, partially giving
way to distance formats.

The fading of traditional personal mentoring through face-to-face meetings.

The rapid development and extinction of distance learning based on copying the

traditional lecture format,

A new format is "coming" - the format of massive open online courses.

Development of distance mentoring as the dominant teaching format

Technology will provide affordable mentoring 24/7 to anyone.

Individual training, based on an individual plan and the availability of mentors for everyone,
will gradually replace mass boxed education.

Trend # 5 - technology change that is changing education

Most of the mainstream education will go online and in a virtual environment, adding
personification, modeling and career forecasting based on the use of artificial intelligence,
and Big Data approaches.

In perspective - full virtual reality simulation

The indicated trends demonstrate technologies that will provide a breakthrough in

education:

 scalable , affordable, remote, complete mentoring for everyone;

 modeling and forecasting an individual learning trajectory that becomes
synonymous with a career - in fact a simulation of fate ...
 advanced training protocols based on neuroplasticity that can change the
topology of the brain's neural network and thereby dramatically increase the speed
and depth of learning.

"This means that a person's neurophysiological and psychophysical improvements will

reach such a level that everyone will be  constantly  connected to a common knowledge
base, and the learning process will take place in real time. That is, from that moment, a
person will“ stop ”learning and will receive the necessary knowledge and skills as soon as
the need arises. This is close to what Google CTO Ray Kurzweil understands
by technology singularity "

Professions of the future and dying professions

The main question is - does everyone agree with this?

The project was implemented in order to help understand which industries will be actively
developing, which new technologies, products, management practices will be born in them,
and which new specialists will be required by employers.

A project where you can see everything in the "conditional

interactive" http://atlas100.ru/about/

Media reaction "It is time for journalists, notaries and librarians to urgently change their
profession and retrain, for example, to a gardener who breaks up front gardens on the roofs
of skyscrapers. The Moscow School of Management Skolkovo and experts from the Agency
for Strategic Initiatives presented the Atlas of New Professions." which professions will
actively develop in the coming decades, and which ones can be given up. "

Head of the Atlas of New Professions project Dmitry Sudakov :

“In general, the Atlas of New Professions is an attempt to create a new career guidance tool
that will open the eyes of schoolchildren, parents and working people whose professions
are becoming obsolete. Because you need to understand what you want to do in the future
and start changing today ... An important thing to understand: about 90% of the professions
will retain their names, but the tasks will change dramatically .... Today's milling cutter would
be called an engineer 20 years ago - the very concept of a “working profession” is
developing.
Blue and white collars begin to mix up a lot. stands still, then his unique competence slides
down, and the market will soon push him out.

My favorite example: The Associated Press put a robot on writing notes on financial
statements. And it turns out better: there is no human factor, the program makes fewer
mistakes and makes everything faster. And whoever writes first, everyone refers to
that. Therefore, the journalist who dealt with these notes remains unemployed. Simple, non-
author journalism is most likely a dying profession: on the one hand, a lot will be automated,
and on the other, everyone will become journalists in one way or another. "

Lecture 7. Gamification and Learning

Part 1. Definitions

Gamification is the process of using gaming techniques and motivating listeners in non-
gaming processes.

It is important to understand a few points:

 Gamification has nothing to do with game theory.

  Gamification  is not only about glasses, badges and quests.
 You don't have to have any game development or game design experience to take
the course.
 Skills in drawing, photoshopping and sculpting are also not required.
 Great experience in video games is also not required

Why and why?

As we said in previous lectures, "The system of" professions for life "is dead. It will never
happen again that a person at the age of 17 chose what to do, once learned and all his life
does what he learned." (Andrey Zorin, professor at Oxford University and Russian State
University for the Humanities)

Today there is an opinion that: “In our time, it is possible to state the crisis of education,
both ideological (it is not clear what needs to be taught, and that the student himself will
Google when needed) and instrumental - it is not clear how to teach in new educational
environments. training has gained in mass, but lost in efficiency. More often than not, it's
just boring. "

There are services that combine learning with entertainment, this approach is
called  Edutainment .

Examples of such services are LinguaLeo and Duolingo .

Modern online services are abandoning the paradigm of a unified educational program as a
"educational pipe" that the user must go through from start to finish. Online, the user is less
focused and has more freedom of choice than a student who pays for a teacher's time or a
specific course.

What techniques can be used for this?

1. Feeling (understanding) progress

The usual educational process: progress is determined by how far he went in the course (or
to which page of the textbook, there is also a successful test writing).

But online testing is much easier and more convenient. Depending on how successfully one
or another section has been mastered, the student can be directed along different
trajectories.

In the modern world, a student needs feedback much more often, in almost real time he
wants to understand whether he is making progress today, what has changed compared to
yesterday.

This is where gamification comes to help the user (for example - see above - traveling along
different trajectories / levels).

Part 2. What is changing in the educational process?

Secondly , the very paradigm of education is changing. Getting the necessary skills is no

longer a task that can be solved once and for all. Education, acquiring knowledge,
developing skills becomes a constant "background" occupation for any person, that is, a
kind of "hobby", passion.
But hobby should cheer up, and not "be a load", as we often perceive the educational
process.

So, how can you build a learning process if you "use" the elements of gamification:

Competition --- Winning Conditions ---- Leadership Table ---- Awards ---- Social Interaction
---- Status

Examples of
1. An example of using gamification for almost any community-driven site:

 Reward the user right after registration - he deserves it. Give him his first badge and
some on-site currency so he can try the benefits of higher status.
 Encourage useful user actions - give more points for actions useful for the
development of the site - if the Q&A section is poorly filled on the site - give twice the
points for questions and answers there.
 Use rewards - from on-site currency and badges to completely material gifts.
 Maintain the ratings of the most active users, give them more authority on the site.
 Encourage social connections between users - and users will come back for
communication and bring their friends.

Several services exploiting the gamification idea:

 FourSquare - get badges, titles of mayor with check ins

 SCVNGR - a logical development of the FourSquare idea - complete simple tasks,
accumulate points and get discounts, coupons, etc.
 BunchBall - a platform for gamification
 BigDoor is a platform for implementing the virtual economy on websites
 BadgeVille - user activity tracking, distribution of awards