Boom in Distance Learning During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Challenges and Possibilities

Abstract

The article highlights brief theoretical aspects of the origin of distance learning tracing the experience of foreign counties as well as Ukraine’s practice in this regard. The paper outlines practical and social aspects of distance education; definition of what successful distance learning should look like; effective solution to the problem of implementing distance or blended learning by the academic staff of the Precarpathian national University. The necessity of engaging both teachers and students in integrating innovative digital technologies in academic process of education institutions to ensure a quality level of practical classes, creating favorable conditions for self-realization and professional development of future primary school teachers is substantiated. Major accent is placed on the efficiency of the use of particular digital tools like Kahoot, Mentimeter, Pear Deck and Flipgrid for innovative organization of education environment, creative presentation of theoretical information, consolidating students’ knowledge, practical skills and abilities, formative and summative assessment of learning outcomes, development of students’ competences within certain courses, as well as systematic professional self-improvement. It was found out that among the difficulties most often faced by the education institutions in working with students was identified as follows: providing equal access to online or blended education under the condition of Coronavirus pandemic in rural, mountain and low-income communities, etc. The authors proved the quality of introduction and application of distance learning at the Pedagogy Faculty of the PNU in the process of teaching/studying the academic courses of the language and literature cycle can be assessed by means of the mentioned in the research digital instruments. This will contribute to the practical orientation of the educational process, active participation of each student in the learning process, increasing motivation and engagement in all forms of cooperation in the education environment.

Interuniversity Online Courses as Possible Approach to Improve Teaching During Crisis: a Ukrainian Case Study

“…Summarizing the above, we can say that the challenges raised in 2022 during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine were largely met almost immediately by educational institutions, thanks to the previous experience with online learning of Ukrainian students and teachers during the Covid 19 pandemic (Blyznyuk et al, 2021). Therefore, today and in the future, OL allows to some extent to compensate for the forced interruptions of the educational process during the war in those universities where the participants of the educational process are in relative safety.…”

“…Introducing online learning (OL) is one of the ways to address the first educational problem mentioned above. Nowadays, OL is a global trend in education (Liang & Chen, 2012; Blyznyuk et al, 2021;Malimon et al, 2022). It has become an integral part of both modern life and education.…”

“…As a rule, online learning is much cheaper than traditional education due to lower costs for travel, accommodation and organization of the actual educational process (Malimon et al, 2022;Dziubanovskyi et al, 2020). Its advantages also include high accessibility, flexibility, interactivity, and technology (Liang & Chen, 2012;Blyznyuk et al, 2021;Duszenko et al, 2022).…”

The Use of Flipgrid in Improving Secondary School Teachers’ Motivation and Confidence in Speaking English

“…The variety of non-face-to-face speaking practice allowed the participants to collaborate and give feedback to one another. They were able to improve themselves, and if the sessions in the platform were combined with face-to-face lessons, it would be good for blended teaching and learning activity (Blyznyuk et al,2021). The combination of Flipgrid and direct practice was important because the participants needed to build their capacity to participate in real-life conversations which expected them to respond precisely and immediately.…”

“…Moreover, they also developed personal self-regulated techniques and self-regulated environmental strategies. Blyznyuk et al (2021) then added that learners could contemplate recording and re-recording what they wanted to say as many times as necessary until they felt they had done it justice. This recording using a video camera improved learners' personal assessment of their speaking performance and brought a beneficial impact on language learning development (Kirkgoz, 2011).…”