How distance learning works

Along with full-time, evening and part-time forms of education, a system of distance education is actively developing today, accessible to almost anyone. This type of training does not have age, professional, or territorial restrictions, and it is successfully used by people who are not able to attend classes in person or often attend sessions because of their employment, health status, remoteness of the university, and care for young children.

At its core, distance learning is close to distance learning, therefore it is built according to a typical scheme: the student is set the deadlines for taking the chosen course according to his wishes, the curriculum, teaching aids, a list of recommended literature and additional sources, assignments for independent work that the student performs to a certain date. As you study a particular discipline, the student passes tests and exams, and at the end of the course he defends the qualification work. The main difference between distance learning and distance learning is that the first involves working with a group of students, and the second provides an individual approach.

Distance learning is carried out using the educational portal of the university. When enrolling, the student is given a login and password to access the teaching materials of the course: textbooks, assignments for independent and control work and recommendations for their implementation, schedule for studying the material, etc. For convenience, part of the manuals can be duplicated in paper form or on CD-ROM.

The sequence of studying subjects and the pace of study is determined individually, so the total duration of the educational process depends on each individual student, his abilities and wishes. You can complete the entire course in the traditional 5-6 years or in a shorter period, if you study intensively, or taking into account life circumstances, study for a longer time.

Teachers, methodologists and technical support specialists via telephone or video, as well as e-mail and communication on the university forum give students regular consultations on issues arising during the educational process. However, distance learning does not preclude personal communication. As a rule, once a year students should be present at sessions during which they attend lectures, seminars, do laboratory work, pass tests and exams. In addition, they can appear at the university and more often if there is such a need.

In those educational institutions where personal attendance at the exam is not required, verification of the mastery of material in academic disciplines is carried out in an automated system that provides detailed and constant control and makes it independent of the teacher, which in turn allows an objective assessment of knowledge. However, in such cases, there is the problem of identifying the person performing the tasks, so such forms of control are not used everywhere.