{"id":2284,"date":"2012-02-29T09:25:35","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T14:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/?p=2284"},"modified":"2012-09-27T10:39:01","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T14:39:01","slug":"distance-learning-in-russia-lessons-learned-and-questions-raised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/open-and-distance-learning\/distance-learning-in-russia-lessons-learned-and-questions-raised\/","title":{"rendered":"Distance Learning in Russia: Lessons Learned and Questions Raised"},"content":{"rendered":"

Distance education in Russia has its history of almost 90 years. It was launched in the 1920s when the first departments of distance education were organized in the conventional universities, and it was usual practice. For example, Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI) was founded in 1932 and a faculty of Distance Education was established three years later, in 1935. <\/p>\n

During next almost 70 years distance education existed in the only one form, namely teaching\/learning by correspondence with short face-to-face sessions and exams (usually twice a year). This tradition causes nowadays both positive and negative consequences. On the one hand, the methodology of distance education has a solid basis and serves the quality assurance but one the other hand the customary approaches detain progressing modern forms of distance learning. <\/p>\n

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New stage of distance education started in early 1990s with introducing information and communication technologies (ICT) into education. The number of distance learning students in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) increased noticeably<\/a> (in thousand: 1940\/41 academic year \u2013 128,0; 1990\/91 \u2013 892,3; 2000\/01 \u2013 1761,8; 2009\/10 \u2013 2710,3). In 1995 the National Concept of Distance Education Development was adopted and the State Program of Informatization of Education was launched. MESI and its partners initiated modifying the Law on Education, and the article on distance education technologies was approved.<\/p>\n

New boost of distance education and distance learning in mid-2000s was triggered by rapid development of the Internet and ICT infrastructure in the country. Nowadays distance learning is represented almost in all social segments: higher education, secondary school, varied kinds of industries and social communities. Distance learning as acquiring new information, mastering certain skills and self-education in different fields with the use of the Internet, PCs and mobile devices has become daily practice for many. The latest data of September 2011 from comScore<\/a> shows that in Russia there are 50,8 million of individual users above 15 years old (total Russian population is 142,9 million) \u2013 more than in any other European country. <\/p>\n

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Though at present the fluent sharing information and hence distance learning more and more affordable and accessible, the role of HEIs in distance education is still very important and should be even higher in future. HEIs have potential for: navigation in the ocean of information; quality assurance; producing and sharing quality open educational resources; creating and advising on targeted paths towards mastering skills and knowledge, especially professional ones; providing educational services for different target groups \u2013 from children to pensioners, etc. <\/p>\n

In our time in Russia the main constraints for strengthening modern quality distance education are not poor facilities or slow Internet speed but seem to be as follows:<\/p>\n