The importance of a competent solution to the problem of choosing a software platform for e-learning is often underestimated. Almost every university that has been organizing and developing distance and e-learning for several years has a negative experience in this area.

Having dealt with the structure of its needs in detail (project goals, educational programs, pedagogical scenarios, organizational models), the university formulates preliminary requirements for the functionality and power of the necessary EE system in order to proceed with the selection of a suitable e-learning system, which is the basic tool of the software platform.

Of course, the success of e-learning, including distance learning, depends not only on the software platform, but its right choice is one of the fundamental factors. For example, a low usability characteristic (the concept of developing software user interfaces focused on maximum psychological and aesthetic convenience for the user) can lead to a complete failure of the process of implementing e-learning in a university. First of all, this is due to the insufficiently high level of knowledge of ICT competencies by most teachers: usually the average age of teaching staff in technical universities is about 50 years, at Novosibirsk State Technical University at technical faculties it ranges from 48 to 57 years.

The most common problems faced by users of e-learning systems

1. Unfriendly interface (low usability).
2. Specific business processes inherent in Russian universities are not supported. For example, group training according to a given curriculum, divided into semesters, as well as the interaction of deans, departments and university administration.
3. The complexity or impossibility of integrating EE systems with existing corporate systems at the university.
4. The variety of tasks that the EO system can solve gives rise to all sorts of options for implementing such systems. As a result, modularity is practiced or the use of several systems at the same time that implement the full set of necessary functions. However, this raises the question of the compatibility of e-learning systems/modules with each other.
5. When using several EE software systems within one university or implementing projects that involve the exchange and / or integration of electronic resources, the problem of organizing a single access to electronic resources arises. Partially solved by choosing a system that supports a widely accepted standard. However, at present, standards are only a general guideline for achieving interoperability, so if a course of study complies with the SCORM standard, this does not mean that it can automatically be used in another EE system using SCORM.
6. Unfortunately, for all software products, the high rate of obsolescence and the constant change in user requirements for the system require a high degree of customizability (flexibility) of the EO software platform.
7. Difficulty accessing the system. The transition of EO systems to the web platform has solved many problems in terms of facilitating access. Now it is enough for students and teachers to have access to the Internet and a browser to access the system, but another side of the problem arises: for example, some technologies require the installation of additional plug-ins in browsers, which is not always possible.

The problems listed above arise when the systems being purchased or developed do not meet the highlighted requirements (in italics).

In addition to the above requirements, one important factor remained unconsidered - the cost, which consists of the cost of software, maintenance and hardware. When calculating the cost, it is often forgotten that the cost of software includes not only the EO system itself, but also other necessary system software. It is necessary to consider who will maintain the software: perhaps the existing staff does not meet the necessary requirements, then an increase in the cost of remuneration of more qualified personnel will be required. Hardware upgrades are likely to be required, including: server; power redundancy; data backup system; network and channel facilities, etc.

Implementation options for the EO software platform

The choice of a particular system is almost always a process of reaching a compromise between its cost and other requirements. For the university, according to the author, the following options for implementing the software platform of the electronic learning environment are possible: use ready-made solutions; use and develop own software solutions; integrate ready-made (foreign) solutions into your own system; outsourcing.

Turnkey solutions are commercial and freely distributed EO systems offered on the market.

Commercial systems: WebCT/Blackboad, Naumen University, Docent, LearningSpace 5.0, Learn eXact, eLearning Server 3000, OROX, WebTutor, Prometheus, etc. The main advantage of commercial solutions is that for the most part they are reliable products, with an appropriate level of user support, regular updates and new versions. Disadvantages of commercial systems:

• the source code is not available to users, so even small changes at the user level are not possible;
• the high cost of any commercial product, regular payments for a license, for an increased number of users.

Freely distributed systems are open source systems: MOODLE, LAMS, Sakai, ATutor, Claroline, Dokeos, OLAT, OpenACS, ILIAS, etc. The advantages of these systems are directly opposite to the disadvantages of commercial systems and vice versa. Additionally, the following disadvantages should be noted:

• Russian legislation does not define the concept of systems with the GNU/GPL license under which open source systems are distributed; therefore, the legal status of these systems has not yet been determined. In addition, there are examples when open source projects developed into commercial systems, and users of such systems were forced to switch to other payment systems;
• as already noted, the cost of the program consists not only of the cost of the software itself, which in this case is really free, but also of the cost of support, which can be quite expensive. This is due to the fact that you need to pay for the work of your own highly qualified personnel or a third-party company to support and develop the acquired system.

A fairly complete comparative review of freely distributed EO systems is considered in.

Not every university is capable of developing its own software solutions and is a project with a high risk of failure (like any project in the field of complex software development). The undoubted arguments in favor of our own development are the following:

• the developed system fully meets the needs of a particular university;
• The university has full rights to the software product;
• support is provided by the direct developers of the system, so changes are made quickly and efficiently;
• development is usually carried out with the involvement of students and graduate students, which undoubtedly contributes to the development of research and engineering projects in the field of information and pedagogical technologies in education.

Outsourcing is becoming an increasingly attractive solution for universities, especially those that are just now taking the first steps in developing the EE infrastructure and do not have enough qualified personnel to support and develop the software platform on their own. This market of services is developing more and more both in the world and in Russia. As part of the outsourcing of e-learning technologies, companies offer to host courses on their own server and conduct training using their EL software system. In this case, the costs for the initial implementation of the e-learning system, as well as its support and development, are reduced.

Software platform of the NSTU e-learning environment

For more than 10 years, the Institute of Distance Education (IDO) of NSTU has been implementing projects to develop EE systems. The systems changed developers and each other, as a result, today the university successfully uses a family of products called DiSpace. It is designed to support e-learning, both at the level of teaching individual disciplines, and at the level of planning and organizing the educational process.

All software products of the DiSpace family are web-based applications: to work with them, the user needs only a web browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera or any other). They can be used both independently of each other and together. At NSTU, DiSpace systems are partially integrated with the information system of the university.

The DiDesk system (http://courses.edu.nstu.ru/admin.php) makes it easy to create online versions of electronic courses. The process of creating a course is greatly accelerated if the teacher already has materials in electronic form (for example, in the format of MS Word documents, MS PowerPoint presentations, and other files). Students get the opportunity to remotely access course materials, as well as the ability to download files. At the same time, access to materials can be restricted using a password that is set by the teacher himself. Currently, more than 1000 electronic courses have been created in the system (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Number of e-courses in DiDesk

The DiTest.v2 remote testing system (http://qti.edu.nstu.ru/new) provides teachers with the ability to create and edit tests, as well as conduct testing remotely. This system meets the modern requirements of actively developing distance and electronic learning technologies, supports the latest version of the international QTI specification of the IMS consortium. Tasks in the test are grouped by topics, and the topics, in turn, are combined into didactic units (DU). This is due to the fact that at present testing on the basis of the set of DUs is becoming a necessary requirement in higher professional education, which is confirmed by the structure of the test tasks of the federal Internet exam. Test questions can be of the following types: single and multiple choice, associations, matching, open question. To prepare a test task, you can use images, formulas, Flash-animation.

The DiClass learning process management system (http://website/do) was developed to support a combined form of learning. The creation of a new version of this system is associated with the expansion of the range of specialties for which training is conducted in a combined form, as well as with the connection to the system of new faculties and departments of the university. In the DiClass system, teachers and students have access to a news feed, a gradebook, seminars and consultations, the ability to receive and send tests and personal messages. For tutors (managers of the educational process), there are opportunities for managing working curricula, managing study groups, and monitoring the learning process.

Telecommunication system Editoria (http://editoria.edu.nstu.ru) is an "electronic classroom" for online consultations and classes with remote students.

According to the results of the survey, DiSpace users (teachers, students, tutors and managers) evaluate the system positively in general, note its ease of use and sufficient functionality. From the point of view of management, the transparency of the educational process in the system allows you to track and eliminate its organizational and methodological shortcomings.

Currently, IDO NSTU conducts research and development in the field of solving the following problems:

1. Commercialization of developed EO systems. In particular, the development of outsourcing, within the framework of which it is possible to place courses on the IDO server, work in EL software systems, technical and methodological support.
2. Exploring the possibilities and most appropriate forms of implementation of new technologies, such as web 2.0, intelligent search engines, collaborative learning technologies, etc.

_________________________

LITERATURE:

1. Bogomolov V.A. Review of Free Learning Management Systems / Educational Technology & Society 10(3), 2007. pp. 460-466.
2. Yun S.G. E-learning software platforms / E-learning in a traditional university: Sat. articles / resp. ed. G.B. Parshukova, O.V. Kazan. - Novosibirsk: Publishing house of NSTU; 2010. - 134 p.

01.01.2010 Unified educational information environment: directions and prospects for the development of electronic and distance learning: materials of the IX Intern. scientific-practical. conf.-exhibitions (Novosibirsk, September 22–24, 2010). - Novosibirsk: Publishing house of NSTU, 2010. - S. 58-62.

Distance education system

Introduction

1. Interactive interaction between teacher and students

2. Organizational and methodological models of distance education

3. Organizational and technological models of distance education

4. Main types of technologies in educational institutions of a new type

5. Methods of distance university education

6. Information technologies of distance learning

7. Learning tools in distance education

8. Forms of distance education

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The term "distance education" means such an organization of the educational process, in which the teacher develops a curriculum, mainly based on the student's independent learning. Such a learning environment is characterized by the fact that the student is mostly, and often completely separated from the teacher in space or time, at the same time, students and teachers have the opportunity to communicate with each other using telecommunications. Distance education allows residents of regions where there are no other opportunities for professional training or high-quality higher education, no university of the required profile or teachers of the required qualification level to study.

Since the mid-70s, educational institutions of a new type began to appear in many countries, called "open", "distance" universities; "electronic", "virtual" college. They have an original organizational structure, use a unique set of pedagogical techniques, economic mechanisms of functioning.

The term "interactive interaction" is widely used both in domestic and foreign pedagogical literature. In the narrow sense of the word (in relation to the user's work with software in general), interactive interaction is a dialogue between the user and the program, i.e. exchange of text commands (requests) and responses (invitations). With more developed means of conducting a dialogue (for example, if it is possible to ask questions in an arbitrary form, using a “key” word, in a form with a limited set of characters), it is possible to choose options for the content of educational material and the mode of operation. The more opportunities there are to control the program, the more actively the user participates in the dialogue, the higher the interactivity. In a broad sense, interactive interaction involves a dialogue of any subjects with each other using the means and methods available to them. This assumes active participation in the dialogue of both parties - the exchange of questions and answers, managing the course of the dialogue, monitoring the implementation of decisions, etc. A telecommunications environment designed to communicate with millions of people is a priori an interactive environment. In distance learning, teachers and students will act as subjects in interactive interaction, and e-mail, teleconferences, real-time dialogues, etc. will be the means of implementing such interaction.

External training. Education, focused on school or university (examination) requirements, was intended for pupils and students who, for some reason, could not attend stationary educational institutions. So, in 1836, the University of London was organized, the main task of which in those years was to help and conduct exams for certain certificates, degrees, etc. for students, students who did not attend regular educational institutions. This task has been preserved to this day along with the stationary training of students.

Education at the same university. This is already a whole system of education for students who do not study stationary (on-campus), but at a distance, in absentia or remotely, i.e. based on new information technologies, including computer telecommunications (off-campus). Such programs for obtaining various certificates of education have been developed in many leading universities in the world. Thus, the New University of South Wales in Australia provides distance and distance learning for 5,000 students, while 3,000 students study full-time.

Cooperation of several educational institutions. Such cooperation in the preparation of distance learning programs makes it possible to make them more professionally of high quality and less expensive.

Autonomous educational institutions specially created for the purposes of distance education. The largest such institution is The Open University in London, on the basis of which in recent years a large number of students have been studying remotely, not only from the UK, but from many Commonwealth countries. In the US, an example of such a university is the National Technological University (Colorado), which prepares students for various engineering specialties in conjunction with 40 engineering colleges.

Autonomous learning systems. Education within such systems is conducted entirely through TV or radio programs, as well as additional printed manuals. An example of this approach to distance learning is the American Samoan television project.

Informal, integrated distance learning based on multimedia programs. Such programs are aimed at teaching an adult audience, those people who, for some reason, could not complete their school education. Such projects may be part of a formal education program, integrated into that program (examples of such programs exist in Colombia), or specifically oriented towards a specific educational goal (for example, the British Literacy Program), or specifically aimed at preventive health programs, such as programs for developing countries.

Single media - the use of any one learning tool and information transmission channel. For example, learning through correspondence, educational radio or television programs. In this model, the dominant medium of instruction is, as a rule, printed material. There is virtually no two-way communication, bringing this distance learning model closer to traditional distance learning.

Multimedia - the use of various teaching aids: printed textbooks, computer programs for educational purposes on various media, audio and video recordings, etc. However, the transmission of information in one direction dominates. If necessary, elements of full-time education are used - personal meetings between students and teachers, holding final training seminars or consultations, taking exams in person, etc. This technological model will be discussed in more detail below. For the main object, we will take an electronic textbook (ES).

Hypermedia is a third-generation distance learning model that involves the use of new information technologies with the dominant role of computer telecommunications. The simplest form of this is the use of e-mail and teleconferencing, as well as audio training (a combination of telephone and telefax). With further development, this model of distance learning includes the use of a complex of such tools as video, telefax and telephone (for videoconferencing) and audio graphics with the simultaneous widespread use of video disks, various hyper-tools, knowledge systems and artificial intelligence.

The type of information technologies used in the educational process is considered as the first factor (integrated characteristic) of a distance learning university. In doing so, two important aspects must be emphasized.

Firstly, such an order of consideration of factors does not at all mean assigning the highest priority to technology in the organization of the educational process. No matter how powerful and perfect technological applications are, they should serve educational (pedagogical) purposes, and not vice versa. But on the other hand, one cannot underestimate the role of new information technologies, which often offer qualitatively new opportunities for the implementation of the educational process.

Secondly, the following list of the main technologies used in distance learning universities, of course, does not mean that any particular model should be characterized by the use of only one of them. A multimedia approach based on the use of several complementary information technologies seems to be the most effective in the field of education.

Distance education technologies used today can be divided into three broad categories:

non-interactive (printed materials, audio, video media),

computer learning tools (electronic textbooks, computer testing and knowledge control, the latest multimedia tools),

· videoconferencing - advanced means of telecommunication via audio channels, video channels and computer networks.

The means of online access to information via computer networks have given qualitatively new opportunities for distance learning. In the Russian Higher School, they are actively developing in the form of the use of electronic textbooks and technology for exchanging textual information using asynchronous e-mail.

Developed means of telecommunications, the use of satellite communication channels, the transmission of a packed video image over computer networks have only recently begun to be used in the practice of distance education. This is due to the lack of a developed communication infrastructure, the high cost of communication channels and the equipment used.

Videocassettes are a unique tool for distance learning in almost any discipline. Without requiring large expenses for replicating educational videos, the video recorder has become widespread in all countries. Video cassettes are commonly used as components of teaching kits, partially replacing traditional lectures.

E-mail economically and technologically is the most effective technology that can be used in the learning process to deliver the content of the training courses and provide feedback from the student to the teacher. At the same time, it has a limited pedagogical effect due to the impossibility of realizing the "dialogue" between the teacher and students, adopted in the traditional form of education. However, if students have constant access to a personal computer with a modem and a telephone channel, e-mail allows for a flexible and intensive consultation process.

Videoconferencing using computer networks provides the opportunity to organize the cheapest average video quality. This type of videoconferencing can be used for seminars in small (5-10 people) groups, individual consultations, and discussion of individual complex issues of the course being studied. In addition to transmitting sound and video images, computer videoconferencing provides the ability to share control of the computer screen: creating drawings and drawings at a distance, transferring photographic and handwritten material.

5. Methods of distance university education

An important integrated factor in the typology of distance universities is the set of pedagogical methods and techniques used in the educational process. Having chosen as a criterion the method of communication between teachers and students, these methods (techniques) can be classified as follows:

Teaching methods through the interaction of the student with educational resources with minimal participation of the teacher and other students (self-learning). The development of these methods is characterized by a multimedia approach, when educational resources are created using a variety of means: printed, audio, video materials, and, which is especially important for electronic universities, educational materials delivered via computer networks. This is first of all:

interactive databases

electronic journals

computer training programs (electronic textbooks).

In interactive databases, data arrays are systematized, which can be accessed through telecommunications. Using these resources, course developers, for example, can maintain local databases for both students and teachers. Another solution is to provide access to external databases. The number of databases accessible via computer networks is growing rapidly.

Electronic journals are periodicals that are distributed to subscribers via computer networks. They are becoming an increasingly important source of information and learning.

Computer tutorials are software that can be used on a remote computer through a computer network. A communication session with a remote computer may be carried out using, for example, a dial-up connection or Telnet services on the Internet.

Methods of individualized teaching and learning, which are characterized by the relationship of one student with one teacher or one student with another student (teaching "one to one"). These methods are implemented in distance education mainly through technologies such as telephone, voice mail, e-mail. The development of telementoring (the system of "tutors"), mediated by computer networks, is an important component of the educational process in e-universities.

Methods based on the presentation of educational material to students by a teacher or an expert, in which students do not play an active role in communication (one-to-many learning).

These methods, characteristic of the traditional educational system, are being developed on the basis of modern information technologies. Thus, lectures recorded on audio or video cassettes read on radio or television are supplemented in the modern distance educational process by the so-called "e-lectures" (electronic lectures), i.e. lecture material distributed over computer networks using bulletin board systems (BBS). An e-lecture can be a collection of articles or excerpts from them, as well as educational material that prepares students for future discussions. Based on the electronic bulletin board technology, a method of conducting educational electronic symposia is also being developed, which is a series of speeches by several authorities (“first speakers”).

Methods that are characterized by active interaction between all participants in the educational process (many-to-many learning). The significance of these methods and the intensity of their use increases significantly with the development of teaching telecommunication technologies. In other words, interactive interactions between the learners themselves, and not just between the teacher and the learners, become an important source of knowledge. The development of these methods is associated with the holding of educational collective discussions and conferences. The technologies of audio, audiographic and video conferencing make it possible to actively develop such methods in distance education. A special role in the educational process of distance universities is played by computer conferences, which allow all participants in the discussion to exchange written messages both in synchronous and asynchronous mode, which is of great didactic value.

In order to classify distance universities according to the pedagogical principles underlying their educational practice, it is advisable to single out the following principles of telematic education systems:

interactivity of the educational process

learning as a dialogue

learning adaptability

Flexibility of teaching material

“transferability” of material in distance education

student activity.

Distance educational institutions are usually based not on any one of these principles, but on their combination. Nevertheless, dominant ones usually stand out.

6. Information technologies of distance learning

The main role played by telecommunication technologies in distance learning is to provide educational dialogue. Learning without feedback, without constant dialogue between the teacher and the student is impossible. Learning (as opposed to self-education) is a dialogic process by definition. In full-time education, the possibility of dialogue is determined by the very form of organization of the educational process, the presence of a teacher and a student in the same place at the same time. In distance education, the educational dialogue must be organized with the help of telecommunication technologies.

Communication technologies can be divided into two types - on-line and off-line. The former provide real-time information exchange, that is, a message sent by the sender, upon reaching the recipient's computer, is immediately sent to the appropriate output device. When using off-line technologies, received messages are stored on the recipient's computer. The user can view them with the help of special programs at a convenient time for him. Unlike full-time education, where the dialogue is conducted only in real time (on-line), in distance education it can also go in a delayed mode (off-line).

The main advantage of off-line technologies is that they are less demanding on computer resources and communication line bandwidth. They can be used even when connected to the Internet via dial-up lines (in the absence of a permanent connection to the Internet).

Technologies of this kind include e-mail, mailing lists, and teleconferencing. With the help of the list-server, distribution of educational information can be organized, personal communication between the teacher and the student is established with the help of e-mail, and the teleconference allows organizing a collective discussion of the most complex or difficult issues of the course. All of these technologies allow messages to be exchanged between different computers connected to the Internet.

Of the on-line technologies, first of all, it should be noted chat, which allows real-time text messaging over the Internet. In the simplest case, a "conversation" takes place between two users. For a collective conversation, you need to connect to a special server - an IRC server. Then, when working, the user sees a screen in front of him, on which messages are displayed, indicating who sent this message. Most programs also allow you to call one of the users present to a "private" dialogue, closed from other users. To work with chat, there are a large number of programs, for example, MIRC. The effectiveness of on-line technologies is especially high when organizing network seminars and group consultations.

In distance education, learning tools are implemented through new information technologies. Traditional textbooks, teaching aids, workbooks, etc. are widely used in distance education systems. In foreign systems of distance education, where the technical level of equipping the educational process is high, the share of printed publications is large (for example, in the USA - 85%, in Germany - 95%).

When developing didactic printed materials for distance education, it is necessary, as experience shows, to be guided by the following:

· teaching aids for the completeness of the content should be designed in such a way as to minimize the student's recourse to additional educational information;

When building the structure of educational material in the manual, it is advisable to use the modular principle;

detailed instructions for studying the material and organizing independent work should be given;

· Mandatory elements in the manual should be control tasks, explanatory dictionaries, questions for self-examination with answers, training tasks.

In general, the rational structure of the educational and practical manual on the discipline (course), intended for distance education, should include the following sections.

· Introduction to the discipline (history, subject, relevance, place and relationship with other disciplines of the program in the specialty).

· Curriculum by discipline (training course).

· The purpose and objectives of the study of the discipline.

· Guidelines for self-study of the course.

· Main content structured by sections (modules).

· Tests, questions, tasks with answers for the training (by sections).

· Final test.

· Practical tasks for independent work.

· Topics for small research projects.

· Explanatory dictionary of terms.

· List of abbreviations and abbreviations.

· Conclusion.

· List of references (basic, additional, optional).

· An anthology (digest) on the discipline, containing excerpts from textbooks, scientific and journal articles, methods and other educational materials on the subject of the course. J, Brief creative biography of the author of the manual.

It is advisable to build network educational materials as a network educational and methodological interactive complex, which belongs to the network electronic textbooks of the second generation with enhanced interactivity functions through the use of such Internet services as teleconferences and videoconferences.

The complex contains the following canonical didactic functional blocks: organizational-methodical, information-training, identification-controlling. The psychological and pedagogical functions of the complex are implemented through the presentation of educational material in the hypermedia environment, didactic interaction of students with teachers and with teaching aids through e-mail, "chat", tele- and videoconferences. The complex consists of the following didactic blocks:

1. Organizational and methodological. Substantially includes information about the goals, objectives of the discipline, its relationship with other disciplines included in the curriculum; a brief description of the content of the topics of the curriculum, the procedure and recommendations for studying the discipline with the help of the complex; a review of the literature and forms of reporting and control, the procedure for organizing interaction with the teacher. For the psychological comfort of students, the module is visualized and is a recording of the orientation lesson on a video cassette with subsequent digitization. The content of the module is duplicated by a text file.

2. The information and training block consists of modules equal in volume to the educational topic. The modules are made in the hypermedia environment. Each module is accompanied by tests for self-examination, and the entire block is accompanied by a final test for the course and exam tickets for the course. Hypertext links available in the educational text enable the student to get acquainted with a specially created electronic reader on the subject of the course, Internet information resources, and resources of the electronic library.

Computer training programs declared themselves as a means of education in the early 70s, during the appearance of personal computers, but still do not have a generally recognized, "legalized" name. The most common formulations are software and methodological complex, software for educational purposes, controlling training programs, etc. Such software is usually intended for use in the traditional educational process, in the training, retraining and advanced training of personnel, for the development of the personality of the student, intensification learning process and for other purposes.

The study of the content, methods and means of developing PSES allows us to highlight the main functions that they perform in the educational process:

individualize and differentiate the learning process;

To carry out control with diagnostics of errors and with feedback;

to carry out self-control and self-correction of educational activities;

free up study time by performing labor-intensive routine computational work on a computer;

visualization of educational information;

· to model and imitate the studied processes or phenomena;

carry out laboratory work under conditions of simulation on a computer of a real experience or experiment;

to form the ability to make the best decision in various situations;

develop a certain type of thinking (for example, visual-figurative, theoretical);

Strengthen the motivation for learning (for example, through the visual means of the program or interspersed with game situations);

to form a culture of cognitive activity, etc.

PSUN at the present stage include: electronic (computerized) textbooks, electronic lectures that control computer programs, reference books and databases for educational purposes, collections of tasks and generators of examples (situations), subject-oriented environments, computer illustrations to support various types of classes.

Teaching methods and means are among the essential characteristics of the didactic process. They can ensure the achievement of the required learning objectives if the necessary material and technical base is available for this, and the teacher will be given the right to choose the organizational side of learning, i.e. form (or type) of employment. The educational process in distance education consists, as a rule, of successively alternating periods of contact and non-contact time. Their duration is different. In some cases, the contact period in the learning process may be absent altogether.

In pedagogical practice, such well-known forms of education have been developed, such as lectures, seminars, laboratory classes, tests, term papers, tests, exams, consultations, independent work, etc. and during non-contact periods of study.

Let us give some characteristics of the listed canonical forms of learning when they are used in LMS, meaning them, therefore, and as a form of distance learning.

Lectures are one of the most important forms of training sessions and form the basis of the theoretical training of students. The purpose of the lectures is to provide a systematic foundation of scientific knowledge in the discipline, to reveal the problems, state and prospects of progress in a particular field of science and technology, to focus on the most complex and key issues. Lectures should stimulate the active cognitive activity of students, contribute to the formation of creative thinking.

In methodological terms, a lecture is a systematic problematic presentation of educational material, any issue, topic, section, subject. A systematic course of lectures, which sequentially presents the material on the curriculum, includes, traditionally, introductory, installation, ordinary, review and final lectures. In distance education, orientation lectures are of particular importance.

The general requirements for a lecture in the LMS are preserved. These are scientific character, accessibility, unity of form and content, organic connection with other types of training sessions. The requirement of emotional presentation is also fully satisfied; it is achieved in audio and video versions, and even in "electronic lectures" presented in the form of text files, with the help of special characters. For example, a smile on the screen is displayed by a combination of characters that resemble a rotated laughing face.

Lectures in DL can be conducted in real and "unreal" time, frontally and individually. Television is used for frontal lectures. Computer videoconferencing can be used for an individual option for conducting classes, and if projection equipment is available, for projecting an image from a computer monitor onto a screen.

The first encounter with the material in writing, rather than directly from the teacher's message, is still preferable (although this does not coincide with the spontaneously established tradition of adult education). At the same time, the greatest didactic effect is given by the option when this is followed by a consultation, carried out, for example, by e-mail.

Seminars. They are an active form of training sessions and are widely used in teaching all academic disciplines. Seminars are built, as a rule, on the basis of a lively creative discussion, a friendly discussion on the topic under consideration. In fact, as many educators point out, the main drawback of seminars at the present time lies in the passivity of the listeners, in creating the appearance of activity through the preliminary distribution of questions and speeches, in the absence of a truly creative discussion.

Seminars can be held in distance education using computer video and teleconferencing. In the pedagogical aspect, the video version is no different from the traditional ones, since the participants in the process see each other on the screens of computer monitors. Videoconferencing takes some getting used to. There is some delay in the image on the screen when the participants move, some unusual interior stuffed with equipment affects, distraction, etc.

Consultations. This is one of the forms of directing the work of students and assisting them in independent study of educational material. Consultations can be individual and group. During the consultation, the individual properties of the listener as a person are manifested (his intellectual, moral qualities, and especially the characteristics of the psyche and consciousness of the student: attention, memory, imagination and thinking).

The LMS mainly uses consultations using such means as: telephone, e-mail, video and teleconferences. The choice of NIT tools will be determined by the existing composition of hardware and software equipment at the workplaces of the student and teacher. The most commonly used telephone and email.

Laboratory works. This type of occupation is more important for technical specialties. They can be carried out when remote access via computer networks to laboratory facilities or a central computer simulating an experiment is required, or when it is necessary to deliver a portable laboratory practice “at home”.

Studies of these areas have shown that the first direction (within the concept of a remote laboratory workshop) is preferable for didactic and economic reasons, which allows solving a significant part of the problems when conducting laboratory work in distance education, as well as implementing the concept of "training forms".

control measures. Control in the educational process consists in checking the progress and results of theoretical and practical assimilation by students of educational material. The assessment of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in the process of distance learning is of particular importance in view of the lack of direct contact between the student and the teacher. The role and importance of objective and multi-criteria forms of knowledge quality control is increasing. A feature of control in LMS is the need for additional implementation of the functions of identifying the student's personality in order to exclude the possibility of training falsification.

Two types of control are used: procedural control and self-control. With routine forms of control, it is advisable to organize continuous communication in the form of input, current and output control. Self-control is carried out by students both with the help of computer training systems and elementary methods, by answering control questions or tests in sections of the curriculum.

The informatization process is a natural and objective process characteristic of the entire world community. It manifests itself in all spheres of human activity, including education. Largely due to this process, a new synthetic form of education became possible - distance learning, which incorporates the best features of traditional forms of education - full-time, part-time, external studies, and integrates well with them. One can pay attention to the trend when all known forms of education merge in the future into one single form with the predominance of the characteristics of modern distance learning. The use of video teleconferencing, the Internet and other data transmission systems as tools will “bring together” the teacher and student who are far from each other, bring distance education closer to traditional, to direct communication between the teacher and the student, the lecturer with the audience, group seminars, tested for centuries. That is why distance learning is often called the form of education of the XXI century.

Significant experience in distance learning has been accumulated in Russia and abroad. It becomes obvious that research and practical work on the problems of distance learning, methodological, methodological and technical support of distance education should be constant and continuous. You can be sure that the results of such work will bring real results in the modern educational process, and at the same time in the development of telecommunications systems.

1. Baltsuk N.B., Bunyaev M.M., Matrosov V.L. Some possibilities of using electronic computers in the educational process M .: Prometheus 2009.

2. Evreinov E.V., Kaimin V.A. Informatics and distance education. M.: VAK, 2008.

3. Karakozov S.D. Development of the content of education in the field of information and educational systems: training a teacher of informatics in the context of informatization of education / Ed. N.I. Ryzhova: Monograph - Barnaul, 2005.

4. Lavrent'eva N.B. Pedagogical foundations for the development and implementation of modular teaching technology in higher education. - Barnaul, 2009

5. Markhel I.I., Ovakimyan Yu.O. An integrated approach to the use of technical teaching aids: Proc. allowance. - M.: Higher. school, 2007.

6. Mashbits E.I. Psychological and pedagogical problems of computerization of education: (Pedagogy - school reform). - M.: Pedagogy, 2008.

8. Olifer V. G. Olifer N. A. Computer networks. Principles. technologies, protocols: Textbook for universities /: Peter, 2009.

9. Pugovkin, A.V. Fundamentals of building telecommunication systems and networks. Part. 1: Transmission systems. -Tomsk: TMTsDO. -2008.

10. Robert I.V., Polyakov V.A. The main directions of scientific research in the field of informatization of vocational education - www.informatika.

11. Simonov V.P. Pedagogical management: 50 KNOW-HOW in the field of educational process management. Tutorial. M., 2007.

12. ISDN - NEW SERVICES. Materials of JSC "Tomsktelecom" (www.telecom.tomsk.su)

Olifer V. G. Olifer N. A. Computer networks. Principles. technologies, protocols: Textbook for universities /: Peter, 2009.

Baltsuk N.B., Bunyaev M.M., Matrosov V.L. Some possibilities of using electronic computers in the educational process M .: Prometheus 2009.

Pugovkin, A.V. Fundamentals of building telecommunication systems and networks. Part. 1: Transmission systems. -Tomsk: TMTsDO. -2008.

Evreinov E.V., Kaimin V.A. Informatics and distance education. M.: VAK, 2008.

Simonov V.P. Pedagogical management: 50 KNOW-HOW in the field of educational process management. Tutorial. M., 2007.

Markhel I.I., Ovakimyan Yu.O. An integrated approach to the use of technical teaching aids: Textbook-method. allowance. - M.: Higher. school, 2007.

Mashbits E.I. Psychological and pedagogical problems of computerization of education: (Pedagogical science - school reform). - M.: Pedagogy, 2008.

ISDN - NEW SERVICES. Materials of JSC "Tomsktelecom" (www.telecom.tomsk.su)

Robert I.V., Polyakov V.A. The main directions of scientific research in the field of informatization of vocational education - www.informatika.

Karakozov S.D. Development of the content of education in the field of information and educational systems: training a teacher of informatics in the context of informatization of education / Ed. N.I. Ryzhova: Monograph - Barnaul, 2005.

Lavrentieva N.B. Pedagogical foundations for the development and implementation of modular teaching technology in higher education: Abstract of the thesis. diss. d. ped. n. - Barnaul, 2009

Expert: in Information Technology and Educational Video

Distance learning systems have long been known to university professors. But schools have recently discovered e-learning. With the help of distance educational technologies, it is possible not only to shift a number of routine pedagogical actions onto the shoulders of a computer, but also to organize truly high-quality, individual, differentiated learning. Our article today is devoted to an overview of the three most famous free systems distance learning.

Distance learning system Moodle

Short description

We will start our review of distance learning services with Moodle - this is one of the most popular distance learning systems in Russia (abbreviated as LMS).

The advantages of this method:

• no need to install anything - register and get a ready-to-work system;
• there is a free plan;
• there is support for the Russian language;
• there is a video conferencing plugin;
• automatic update (a trifle, but nice).

However, you may encounter certain disadvantages of the cloud service:

• a third-level domain that is difficult for students to remember;
• only 50 registered users (for a school this is very small);
• there is no way to install your modules;
• There are ads that you can't turn off.

Edmodo

The next thing we'll look at is the Edmodo web application, as a special service on the Internet that does not need to be installed anywhere. Edmodo positions itself as a social network for education or Facebook for education - it is built on the principle of social educational networks, and the interface resembles the appearance of Facebook.

Characteristic Edmodo

The logic of work in this application is as follows. The teacher creates a group (in fact, this is an electronic course). The group has its own unique link and code that you need to share with other participants in the educational process. A group can have learning elements such as records (in the form of a test or files), tests, assignments, and surveys. You can import content from other services, such as news feeds from your school website, YouTube videos, content from other services.

There are no special bells and whistles in Edmodo, but there are simple and necessary elements - a calendar (for fixing educational events, a journal for grading, the ability to check homework, etc.).

Advantages and disadvantages of Edmodo

Let's outline the benefits of the service:

• free;
• no ads;
• simple registration;
• users are divided into three groups: teachers, students, parents (each group has its own separate registration, its own access code).

There are also certain disadvantages:

• lack of Russian language - although the interface is simple and understandable, English can be a serious obstacle to implementation;
• Edmodo groups cannot be combined, i.e. the student will have a bunch of inconvenient (and they are inconvenient) links, with a bunch of codes;
• in general, the arsenal of educational elements, although sufficient, is relatively poor - the same tests do not contain additional strategies, there are no thematic tests, etc.

Edmodo has some admin tools. Perhaps they will make it possible to create a unified electronic school environment based on this application, which can greatly facilitate the introduction of distance learning in an educational institution.

Google classroom

Our review ends with an application from one of the leaders in the IT industry. It should be noted here that Google previously had a large number of educational tools in its arsenal. At some stage, Google decided to combine all these tools into a certain platform, which resulted in the creation of Google Classroom. Therefore, Classroom can hardly be called a classic distance learning system, it is more like a collaboration tape - the same Google for education, only collected in one place. Therefore, Google Classroom is ineffective, it cannot be particularly surprising, and the organization of truly effective collaboration requires, in my opinion, a lot of effort from the teacher and, most importantly, a significant restructuring of the educational process.

Previously, Google Classroom had a relatively complex registration system and user access to the course, but about six months ago, Google opened up free registration and now access to Classroom is as easy as Facebook.

Other features of Google include:

• using only Google tools (Google drive, Google docs, etc.);
• participants in the educational process create a shared folder “Class” on Google Drive;
• the “Class” folder is available both for an individual student and for the class as a whole.

Advantages and disadvantages

Among the advantages of the solution from Google are:

• support for the Russian language (the same Edmodo exists longer and has a better interface, but it never became popular due to the lack of support for the great and mighty);
• free;
• brand - everyone knows Google and the use of the world leader's products looks solid;
• Google was created specifically for schools, unlike Moodle, which is more suitable for universities;
• The traditional functions of Google are implemented well: it is possible to publish theoretical material, assignments, grades in a journal, there is a calendar.

Let's highlight the disadvantages of such a solution:

• very poor arsenal of educational elements. One of the poorest sets of training elements. On the other hand, if we consider it as a collaboration feed, then the main thing in Google will be the organization of collaboration, and not control elements such as tests (which, by the way, Google does not have);
• links to Classroom are not convenient;
• The interface leaves much to be desired.

Tests in Google Classroom

There are no tests in Google, so many people create tests based on Google Forms. It is designed to create polls, but with a certain amount of imagination, polls turn into tests with a flick of the wrist….. I recommend trying OnLineTestPad, a self-hosted web service for creating tests.

OnLineTestPad

This is a free online testing service. The network nature of testing means that you have all the data about the attempts of students, all their grades, all their correct and incorrect answers. Let's briefly outline the features of OnLineTestPad:

• the service has a large number of forms of test tasks (there are no only graphic questions);
  flexible settings (there are training testing strategies, there are random (thematic) questions, various restrictions, etc.);
• The main disadvantage is a huge amount of advertising. You can try to turn it off by "legal" actions, but this requires additional labor.
• this service causes positive feedback from teachers and teachers, is one of the best services for organizing testing.

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 retraining of about 40 million people in all areas of professional, humanitarian and socio-economic education in the period up to 2007. Approximately two thirds of the adult population of our country are not covered by any form of additional education and enlightenment. The peculiarity of Russia is that, due to difficult economic conditions, students are forced to combine study with work and cannot always attend classes regularly.

The rapid growth of technologically improving industries suggests that at least 40-50% of the population should have a higher education. The solution of this problem in the framework of the use of traditional teaching methods requires exorbitant financial costs and distraction from active work of an unacceptably large number of people. A real alternative to this is the development of distance education systems (DLS). 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 makes it possible to provide a fundamentally new level of education accessibility while maintaining its quality.

Forms of distance education

Case technology involves the completion of educational and methodological materials in a special set - a case, which is sent to the student for independent study. As questions arise, it is planned to periodically contact the consultant teachers in the relevant training centers.

TV technology is based on television lectures. Although today in the West (including the USA) this direction is losing ground to rapidly developing information technologies, nevertheless, 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 a home computer.

IT technologies are now the most relevant direction in the development of LMS and imply the use of the wide possibilities of Internet technologies and the latest achievements in the field of multimedia. The Internet provides access to educational and methodological materials, as well as interactive interaction between teachers and students, which guarantees constant contact with the training center.

The 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 Web, as well as the verification of knowledge gained in the course of training by a particular student. The market of distance education systems can be conditionally divided into the following three sectors:

• corporate subsidiary;
• DL in the system of higher and secondary education;
• DO in state and local government.

Corporate training has the highest rates of development. This is primarily due to a sharp increase in the dependence of the efficiency of the enterprise on the level of qualification of the personnel. Experience shows that the introduction of LMS allows you to reduce costs and optimize the process of staff development.

If we consider current trends in the field of distance learning, then first of all it should be noted the global scale of the introduction of computer and network technologies in the educational process. In addition, there is a change in the educational paradigm and an expansion of the audience involved. E-learning courses, which have received a new impetus for development, are becoming more elaborate, clear price and quality criteria are emerging, the possibilities for choosing training programs are increasing, and the implementation time is 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. At that time, 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 delivery was made not only by e-mail, but also by regular mail, cable and public television. The interaction was carried out through the exchange of text messages, written essays, through direct telephone consultations, and sometimes through audio recordings. Ten years later, the technosphere has changed beyond recognition: VCRs appeared in almost every home, TV technology became widely used in DL, and satellite dishes began to serve not only entertainment, but also education.

At the moment, there are already powerful and fairly 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.

About 1 million people study in the DL system in the USA. Thus, the National Technological University, which represents a consortium of 40 engineering schools, in the early 90s provided training for more than 1,100 students using distance methods for a master's degree.

For more than 20 years, the National University of Distance Education (UNED) has been operating in Spain, which includes 58 training centers within the country and 9 abroad. Established in 1988 with the aim of organizing distance higher education for adults, UNED is part of the Spanish Ministry of Education and reports directly to the Secretary of State for Higher Education. The structure of UNED has a system of advanced training, in particular for teachers of secondary schools.

The National Center for Distance Education in France provides training to 35,000 users in 120 countries around the world.

In Germany, the Open University in Hagen (founded in 1976), which allows you to receive education and improve your qualifications by correspondence, issues diplomas and awards degrees, including a doctoral degree. The Institute for Distance Education in Tübingen develops programs for teaching using radio and television; 5,000 teachers are involved in the preparation of 2,500 training courses.

Baltic University in Sweden brings together more than 50 universities in the region. DL technologies can be obtained at the universities of Uasala, Lund, Gothenburg, Umeå and Linkoping. All educational tasks are carried out outside the university on the basis of special developments and with the advice of teachers. The process of passing exams is carried out directly at the university.

Since the 1970s, DL centers and so-called summer universities have been created in Finland at 10 universities, of which there are more than 20 with 30,000 students.

An Open University has been operating in Turkey since 1974, with the aim of helping people in remote areas get an education. Students receive from the university the necessary package of educational materials. In addition, educational radio and television programs are conducted for them, summer courses are organized; Lessons are available in the evenings and weekends. More than 120,000 listeners have been covered by such training.

In Japan, since the early 80s, the University has been operating on the air. This public institution, which is on the budget and under the strict control of the Ministry of Education of Japan, has several faculties of the humanities and natural sciences. At certain hours, lectures are broadcast on television and radio. For each chosen subject, the student must listen to an hour-long lecture twice a week. Consultations are given in special training centers set up in each prefecture. The majority of students study for five years and after successfully passing the exams receive a bachelor's degree. The credits of this university are equal to the credits of 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), Painam Noor University (Iran), Korea National Open University (South Korea), University of South Africa, Open University " Sukhothai Tampariat (Thailand).

It should be emphasized that DL is being developed not only within the framework of national education systems, but also by individual commercial companies with a predominant focus on training in the field of business, which makes up a fourth of all higher education programs. Private corporate educational networks have been created by companies such as IBM, General Motors, Ford, and others. Some of these educational systems are ahead of those 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 development of DL in Russia began in the early 1990s. The number of educational institutions, departments and centers of distance 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 DL after the adoption in 1995 of the concept of creating and developing 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 Vocational Education of the Russian Federation, the Eurasian Association of DOs, the Association for International Education, the Center for Information and Analytical Support for DOs, the Interuniversity Center for DOs of the Russian Federation on the basis of the Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics, etc.

So, 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 conducts remote training for university applicants from among schoolchildren living in remote areas. At the Moscow State Industrial University, DL is used on an experimental basis to train employees of the penitentiary system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and convicted correctional colonies. Examples of experimental DL at the Moscow State University of Electronics and Mathematics have already become classics. DL technologies are being actively introduced at Moscow State University. 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. DIMendeleev and other universities.

In recent years, distance learning centers have been created in our country: at the Moscow University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI), Novosibirsk State University, Ivanovo State University of Economics, Krasnoyarsk University, St. Russian State University for the Humanities, etc. Regional distance learning centers also began to be created.

Corporate training is rapidly developing in Russia. This trend is noted in the systems of OAO 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 systems of higher education institutions.

Until 2000, the market for distance learning systems in our country was rather poorly developed. But when the most advanced companies began to need 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. To date, the most popular DL systems on the Russian market are Lotus LearningSpace (IBM) and WebCT packages.

The dominance of the largest foreign companies was caused by the absence of Russian analogues of such systems and, of course, the promotion of well-known brands.

There is no doubt that the systems offered by Western brands are distinguished by their wide functionality, but often they are beyond the reach of most Russian customers, in particular, budget universities. Imported LMS require knowledge of a foreign language or have difficulties with Russification. In addition, foreign developers cannot ensure the modification and customization of the system, such as registration fields and output forms, to the specific requirements of Russian universities and corporations. With a well-established sales technology, the support of the DL system by even very respected foreign firms often comes down to the phrase: “Well, you saw what you were buying!” If a Russian client has specific wishes and comments, then, as a rule, he can only 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 DL system.

Since the need for software products for distance learning from Russian customers has become more and more every day, the activity of domestic companies capable of developing such systems has also begun to grow. Recently, Russian firms 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 “promote” development more successfully, but by the fact that comparative analyzes of domestic developments in 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 DLS developments of domestic manufacturers).

SPUTNIK-ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

The SPUTNIK-DOCENT automated learning management complex is built according to a two-level scheme containing the main distance learning center and related territorial training centers. JSC "SPUTNIK-DOCENT" 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 of AS "DOCENT" can function without a main center.

Territorial training center AS "DOCENT" is a Web-site built using Microsoft ASP-technology. AS "DOCENT" includes:

• Internet applications in the form of four automated workstations that provide the work of an administrator, curator, teacher and student of the remote center;
• a centralized database containing all information about the course of the educational process in a distance learning center;
• a set of 27 training courses (16 courses in information technology, 10 courses in programming and the course "Enterprise Business Plan");
• three tool packages designed to develop new automated training courses and tests "Uniar Producer 2002", "Uniar Builder 2002" and "Uniar Tutor 2002".

The main Distance Learning Center of Sputnik JSC provides:

• management of coordinated joint work of territorial training centers;
• collection of general statistical data;
• 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:

• the subsystem "Workstation of the Manager", designed to obtain complete statistical information about the work of territorial centers and the implementation of control actions;
• subsystem "Workstation of the Inspector", designed to carry out a comprehensive control of the work of territorial centers, the quality of work of employees of territorial centers, the progress of the educational process in training groups, as well as control the process of testing and certification of specialists;
• subsystem "Statistics", providing statistical data on territorial centers. The basis of this subsystem is the data regularly collected from the databases of territorial centers. Updating (replication) of data is performed automatically according to the schedule specified during the installation of the software of the territorial center;
• subsystem "Monitoring", which provides control over the work of territorial training centers. The information basis of the subsystem is the databases of territorial centers, which store information about study groups, the schedule of online classes, student testing protocols, etc. Thus, the subsystem ensures the work of the inspector with the database of the territorial center with the access rights of the teacher and curator at the same time;
• the subsystem "Training Courses", which implements the provision of territorial centers with high-quality, certified training courses and relevant educational and methodological materials;
• a centralized database that stores complete information about territorial centers;
• centralized archive of teaching materials and qualification tests.

The SPUTNIK-DOCENT system has been implemented in many organizations and enterprises:

Corporate customers:

• Roszemkadastr - JSC "SPUTNIK-DOCENT" is a commercial version of the FDOTS "Earth" system, which has been developed by order of Roszemkadastr since 1999. Last year, the pilot version of JSC "SPUTNIK-DOCENT" was deployed on the basis of the training centers of Roszemkodastr in the following structure: the head center of JSC "SPUTNIK" was installed in the training center of the Federal Cadastral Center "Earth"; Three regional centers were connected to the head center in 2002. Conducting remote courses "Federal cadastral valuation of land in settlements" and "Unified State Register of Lands" was organized. For this year, in the Roszemkadastr system, it is planned to deploy AK SPUTNIK on the basis of six territorial training centers that are branches of the FCC Zemlya;
• Gazprom - AS "DOCENT" is installed on the industrial server of JSC "Gazprom". Last year, OAO Gazprom's training center conducted regular distance learning based on 12 computer training courses based on the internal corporate network;
• Sberbank - the personnel department of Sberbank of Russia purchased a trial sample of AS "DOCENT". In December 2002, a group of Sberbank employees was trained to work with automated workstations and to administer AS "DOCENT", as well as to develop distance learning courses;
• Federation of Internet Education - last year, work was completed in full to create a prototype of a national distance learning system and to deploy seven regional distance learning centers on the basis of SPUTNIK-DOCENT JSC. 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 "DOCENT" has been used in the internal network of the university for the third year. Currently, more than 100 study groups are connected to the system, in which more than 1000 students study. In 2002, there were no failures in the work of AS "DOCENT" and no comments from the IHTU;
  • Russian State Open University of Communications;
  • Russian University of Chemical Technology D.I.Mendeleeva - AS "DOCENT" was installed in parallel with the previously acquired system "Prometheus". In the developments carried out by this university, tools developed by UNIAR are widely used;
  • educational institutions of law enforcement agencies - in 2002, work was carried out under the state contract for the development of personnel testing tools;
• training centers:
  • Microinform - the system is implemented on a lease 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 AS "DOCENT" to the CITO website.

Bauman Training

The distance learning project BaumanTraining was developed jointly by the Computer Training Center "Specialist" at Moscow State Technical University. N.E. Bauman and the American company Bauman Computer Training Company, Inc. In early March last year, the project was presented in London at the largest international conference in Europe and at the Online Learning 2002 Europe Conference & Expo.

Key benefits of the project:

• round-the-clock support by the teacher of the learning process and round-the-clock technical support;
• a three-stage system for checking the knowledge of the listener;
• a modern form of material presentation, including text, graphic, multimedia formats with sound accompaniment;
• the ability to perform simulation and real laboratory work (the unique RealLabs technology);
• a unique content packaging technology that allows the use of low-speed modem access and standard software;
• a system for monitoring the learning process, which makes it possible to obtain the necessary information about the acquired knowledge for both the teacher, the student, and the company that sent the specialist for training;
• interface, content and support in Russian and English.

More than 100 courses for IT specialists are currently available in the system, including authorized courses from Microsoft, Autodesk, CIW, Novell, CompTIA. New interactive courses on the author's methods of the center are constantly being developed.

During the year of the project, more than 7,000 people underwent distance learning, including employees of KPMG, Seiko Epson, Bank of Moscow, Sibintek, Slavneft, Surgutneftegaz, Yukos and others. implementation of the system in several large companies in the oil and gas sector.

WRC e-Education System

WRC e-Education System is a 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, automates the preparation of curricula for a wide range of specialties, generates reports on student progress, "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 allow you to quickly optimize, modernize and expand the system of distance education.

The complex contains specialized tools for preparing educational materials: multimedia lectures, tests, dictionaries, collections of articles, bibliographic lists, a bank of Internet resources.

The software package is available in two versions, one of which (WRC e-Education System University Edition) is designed for virtual universities, and the other (WRC e-Education System Corporate Edition) is for corporate educational systems. The WRC e-Education System University Edition complex is used in the Russian Internet University for the Humanities (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 operated by the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation (http://www.fss.ru/).

REDCLASS

The REDCLASS remote training system (RTS) 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 in an authorized training center REDCENTER. Currently, work is underway on the installation and trial operation of REDCLASS at the faculty of the VMIK of Moscow State University, at the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, as well as at other corporate customers.

REDCLASS has a modular structure and can be supplied to the customer in various configurations depending on his goals and requirements.

The functional modules of the SDT REDCLASS include:

• an electronic textbook adapted to the level of current knowledge, learning objectives and technical capabilities of the user;
• a testing module that allows you to get an idea of ​​the level of knowledge of the user for control and self-control, as well as in preparation for certification;
• a virtual laboratory module that provides users with the means to perform practical tasks on a real technological system in a remote mode and / or emulation mode;
• statistical data analysis module;
• an online consultation and communication module that allows users to receive advice and share knowledge 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
• the author's content creation system - an environment for the development of educational materials for CCT of various levels of complexity and interactivity;
• module for remote administration of the educational process.

Distinctive features of SDT REDCLASS:

• special attention to adapting the appearance and content of the provided educational materials to the needs of a particular student, his initial knowledge, technical capabilities;
• the presence of virtual laboratories that provide the student with access to remote equipment and software in order to gain practical work skills;
• a flexible system of control and reporting that ensures constant monitoring of the quality of education;
• the possibility of planning and automated control over the implementation of the training plan.

The REDCLASS SDT is written in Java and can run on any hardware platform. The specific configuration of technical means for its functioning depends on the expected number of simultaneously working users in the system. For example, a single or dual-processor server with a processor frequency of 500 MHz and a RAM of 512 MB can provide simultaneous work of 40 users. At the same time, no special equipment and software is required at the user's workplaces, except for an ordinary 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 training and control systems, a tool using a Web interface for organizing and storing multi-format information (ISHI) and a shell for creating textbooks (OSU).

OROX is a tool for creating and maintaining learning environments using modern Web technologies and supporting the international standard for information products for educational purposes IMS. This system allows you to create training and control 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 placing, storing, structuring, classifying and searching by users of information resources of various types and formats, as well as for organizing secure access to this information. ISHI allows you to place educational and scientific resources of any type and format and is used to organize the independent work of students. The system implements differentiated access to available resources for different categories of users.

OSU allows you to quickly create electronic tutorials designed to be placed both on CD and on the Internet and local network, based on the available template interfaces according to the structure specified by the user and the source materials provided by them. On the pages of these manuals, you can put any kind of information supported by the Internet. OSU allows you to import / export tutorials in IMS Content Packaging, as well as create tests that support the IMS Question & Test Interoperability standard of interaction between tests.

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 implemented. Among the users of the system are the UN Office in Belarus, the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation), the Government of the Leningrad Region, Belarusian State University, Arkhangelsk State Technical University, Saratov State University,

VIPKLH, International Center for Financial and Economic Development (ICFER), Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University, Russian State University of Oil and Gas. I.M. Gubkina, RKhTU im. D.I. Mendeleeva, International Academy of Modern Knowledge (Obninsk), LUXSOFT Company, Logrus LLC, SRC Company, etc.

The eLearning Office software package allows you to compile individual learning source materials into a multimedia learning course 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 the 40 design templates for the future edition are indicated, after which ePublisher automatically generates an electronic textbook;
• eAuthor - for compiling distance courses: educational material in multimedia form, testing systems, a full-text search engine for the material, as well as for providing a link to the Web site of the training center. With eAuthor, you can create a distance learning course that includes a variety of topics.
• eBoard - for organizing and managing lectures, seminars, conferences on the Internet.

Distinctive features of eLearning Office 3000:

• the ability to use MySQL and other DBMS;
• the functions of administration of the educational process 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, graphical chat. Frontal surveys and control are implemented as easily as possible thanks to flexible tools for creating a schedule and types of classes, which can include both supplied services and 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, they will be published according to their structure;
• full individual control over the student is provided through the maintenance and archiving of protocols of his activities, including protocols for passing tests, etc. When preparing answers, depending on the testing mode, they may include (automatically or manually by the teacher) recommendations to students;
• courses can be formed both in offline or online mode, and in a mixed one;
• the ability to control skills and abilities with the help of special tools - broadcasts from the computer of a student, teacher, built into the training 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, carried out automatically and does not require special knowledge (on the Windows platform, installation takes 3 minutes).

Modern distance learning systems help organizations quickly conduct training and certification of employees, regardless of where these employees are located: in Moscow or Blagoveshchensk, at a computer in an office chair or with a tablet on board an aircraft.

Judging by the descriptions on the websites, all LMSs are similar to each other: they have a simple interface, have the necessary functions and, at the same time, are cheaper than all the others. But as soon as you “push the buttons” in each one, it becomes clear that in fact all LMS are very different.

2. Mirapolis LMS - a platform for training and automating HR processes

Example of a standard user interface in Mirapolis LMS

3. ShareKnowledge - convenient integration of online learning into SharePoint-based systems

4. Teachbase - distance learning platform in an easy and accessible way

5. WebTutor - flexible configuration of LMS capabilities based on ready-made modules

Description of WebTutor

1. Availability of information. The site provides all the necessary information to get acquainted with the platform - there is a detailed description of the entire system as a whole, as well as each of its modules. After registration, you can create your own learning portal for free. The free version has significant functional limitations, but it is quite suitable to familiarize yourself with the system's capabilities. The Learning Portal has a list of frequently asked questions to help you get to grips with the system. WebSoft customers also get access to a private portal where they can find a wealth of helpful documentation and communicate with peers from other companies.
2. Ease of use. The standard interface of the system looks out of date. To figure out how to use and configure the system, you will need to further study the documentation and instructions or contact specialists.
3. Flexibility of settings. The appearance and structure of the educational portal can be flexibly customized to the requirements of each client; for this, the system has a large number of modules and components. Using these modules, you can build a small training portal or a full-fledged system of complex automation of HR processes. The WebTutor platform can be integrated with various corporate information systems.
4. The system can be deployed on a corporate server or in the cloud. International standards SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, AICC and Tin Can are supported, there is a built-in test editor, as well as its own tool for developing interactive electronic courses - CourseLab. For the convenience of taking courses from mobile devices, there are mobile applications.
5. User management. The "Personnel and organizational structure" module allows you to add, store and view information about the company's employees, their positions and departments. You can group users and flexibly configure access rights for them. The Gamification module allows you to add achievement badges to the system to further motivate employees to self-study.
6. Communication between users. Using the Portal Management module, you can add forums, blogs, chats, as well as the ability to conduct surveys to the system. The Virtual Classroom module allows you to add a webinar platform.
7. Statistics and reports. Using the "Learning Center" module and the additional tool "Report Generator", you can get detailed analytics about the results of employee training and other system data and then export these reports in Word, Excel, txt or HTML format.
8. The cost of the system does not depend on the number of users and servers used, but on the number of modules used and the cost of services for developing and customizing the system to customer requirements. There is a possibility of renting the SDO. The cost of the minimum version of the LMS for 1000 users, 1 GB of memory is 115,000 rubles per year.

Who is WebTutor for?

Users

As a rule, users of the WebTutor system are large companies with a large number of employees distributed over a large area. For example, the system is used by: Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, Rosgosstrakh, Transneft, MVideo, Magnit, Svyaznoy, Garant, etc.

You can read customer reviews and their stories of WebTutor implementation on the official website in the section Our clients.

6. Docebo - Modular Online Platform with Social Learning and Skills Management

The system contains 4 modules: Learn (formal learning module), Coach & Share (non-formal social learning module), Extended Enterprise (module for training external users), Perform (skills management module). Learn - the main module, the rest can be purchased. You can also purchase additional options for them for a fee.

Description of Docebo

1. Availability of information. The Docebo website has a knowledge base with detailed instructions for managing the system. There are separate manuals for different LMS users: for administrator, manager, expert and students. However, all information is only available in English. You can ask a question about the product by contacting Docebo representatives directly - by phone or email, or through the official Russian partner - Competentum. There is a 14-day trial version. But in order to get demo access to LMS, you need to send a request from your corporate mail.
2. Ease of use. The interface is quite simple: employees will be able to independently figure out how to take a course or solve a test. To learn how to configure the platform, the administrator does not need IT skills. However, to understand how to use individual options, such as customizing the interface for different roles, the administrator may need to look into the knowledge base.
3. Flexibility of settings. You can design the platform in the corporate style of the company: change the color scheme and upload the logo. The administrator also has the opportunity to modify the portal interface for different roles by selecting the necessary widgets and their location. All of these features are available at an additional cost.
4. Learning content management. In the LMS, you can download an unlimited number of educational materials in PPT, PDF, docx, xls and video formats, as well as electronic courses in SCORM, AICC and Tin Can formats. The system does not have a built-in e-course editor, but there is a tool for creating tests and surveys. You can view educational materials offline in a mobile application on smartphones and tablets. It is also possible to sell courses if you buy an integration with an e-commerce service.
5. User management. Administrators can add users manually by email, by importing from a CSV or XLS file, or via SalesForce if CRM integration is enabled. They can also remove users, give them flexible access, and group students by department and other criteria. You can assign courses to individual users or to an entire group of students. A paid gamification module is available in the LMS. It allows you to add ratings, points, badges and certificates to the training system.
6. Communication between users. By connecting the Coach & Share module, you can create a virtual social environment for employees to communicate. The LMS allows for the appointment of experts and enables experts to share knowledge. Users can ask questions to experts, as well as suggest content, publish their own posts, rate and comment on posts of colleagues. To conduct webinars, integration with external services (Adobe Connect, GoToMeeting/Training/Webinar, Cisco Webex, etc.) can be purchased for a fee.
7. Statistics and reports. The platform allows you to create 17 types of reports: by users, training courses, tests, training programs and sales. Including there is an opportunity to take into account the results of face-to-face classes.
8. Cost and licensing policy. You can use the demo version for free for 14 days. Docebo offers a basic plan (from 300 users with limited functionality) and an advanced plan (from 500 users with the option to purchase all modules). Each user in excess of the selected tariff is paid separately. Additional options are also available for a fee: e-Commerce, customization, gamification, interface modification, face-to-face training management, integrations and webinars. The cost of tariffs and individual options can be clarified on an individual basis with a Competentum representative.

Who is Docebo suitable for?

Users

Docebo's clients are representatives of medium and large businesses. For example, Thomsons Reuters agency, Denny's restaurant chain, Starbucks coffee shop chain, Cineplex film company.

Brief Summary

Docebo is a cloud-based modular LMS with many options. The system allows organizing not only formal but also informal learning in a virtual collective environment, as well as managing user skills. You can connect only those modules and options that users need. The solution is most suitable for medium and large companies that want to flexibly customize their LMS.

7. Unicraft - Corporate Learning Platform for Quick Launch

Briefly about the table. The criteria for comparing and evaluating the LMS are presented horizontally, the compared LMS are presented vertically. The cells of the table are scored according to the following principle:

• zero points - if there is no comparison criterion in the system;
• one point - the criterion is presented in some way;
• two points - the criterion is presented well.
• three points - the criterion is an advantage of LMS.

You can use this table as a guide when choosing a distance learning system for your company. We hope that it will help you navigate the possibilities of each LMS, just as a simple compass helps travelers not get lost in a dense forest.

Overview of the TOP-8 domestic and foreign LMS for corporate training: 7 comments

Approximately the same list is in the book of MBA Krakhotin A.V. "Mentoring in Industry".
The coincidence is not accidental. Thanks for the decryption. Very useful article. I agree with Pavel.