Are Accessible Distance Learning Systems Useful for All Students?

Nowadays the use of distance learning systems is widely extended in engineering education. Moreover, most of them use multimedia resources that sometimes are the only educational material available to provide certain educational knowledge to the students. Unfortunately, most of the current educational systems and their educational content present accessibility barriers so some students cannot access to these educational resources. This paper introduces IMES, an inclusive system designed to ensure that students of all abilities can access the educational content of the system. But, are all the students (not only students with disabilities) satisfied with this kind of inclusive applications? Are they useful for all the students? One hundred and eight students participated in the evaluation of the system during an academic course at Universidad Carlos III of Madrid. The evaluation shows that the system presents educational benefits to all the students in terms of usefulness and user's satisfaction.

The article identifies the pedagogical prerequisites for the use of distance learning (DL) system for students in the educational environment (pedagogical conditions determine the reasons for the transition from the classical to the distance education system; social prerequisites are expressed in the development of society and pedagogical science, the need to solve the problems of the education system itself in the educational environment). The authors also identified the specifics of student learning within the distance learning system in the modern knowledge-intensive environment (the focus of the educational process on the development of research, project, and innovation skills). The research involved the elaboration and experimental testing of a pedagogical model of distance learning in the educational environment based on systemic, synergistic, cybernetic, personality-oriented, and competence-based approaches. This model includes the following components: aims and goals of use; means of achieving them; results and outcomes of activities, content of pedagogical activity, technologies, and available resources. The authors have substantiated the stages of modeling a student's distance learning system in the educational environment (the stage of designing a pedagogical model of DL, the stage of DL functioning (the stage of information and technical support, the stage of filling the DL platform with educational content, the stage of implementation and progressive development), the stage of evaluating the DL results). The paper defines the criteria and indicators for assessing the level of student competencies formation within the distance learning system in the educational environment. It identifies and substantiates the pedagogical conditions for implementing the distance learning system in the academic environment. The article also reveals the pedagogical conditions for the implementation of the distance learning system in the educational environment (the focus of the educational process on the skills formation of research, project, and innovation activities; interaction with external and internal partners in the process of research, project and innovation activities; availability of a system for monitoring the results of project and innovation activities at all stages of its implementation) can be implemented in the teaching of students in science-intensive sectors in other universities.

See article on page 1747–1755, in this issue; See article on page 1756–1764, in this issue

According to the results of the monitoring of specialized Internet resources (analysis of Scientific and methodological and reference literature), the members of the Scientific Research Group established that, that an insufficient number of Scientific works are devoted to the urgent issue of the formation of Theoretical knowledge on the organization of Forms of Physical training by Future Officers of institutions of the Security and Defense Sector of Ukraine in the System of Distance education. This emphasizes the relevance and practical component of the chosen research direction.
 The main goal of the study is the development and testing of a Pedagogical Model for the Formation of Theoretical knowledge of Future Officers of the Institutions of the Security and Defense Sector of Ukraine on the organization of Forms of Physical training in the Distance Learning System. Research methods: axiomatic, idealization, historical and logical, descent from concrete, mathematical and statistical formalization (criterion χ2).
 As a Result of the Empirical research, the members of the Research Group developed and tested a Pedagogical Model for the formation of Theoretical knowledge of Future Officers of the Institutions of the Security and Defense Sector of Ukraine on the organization of Forms of Physical training in the Distance Learning System. The Pedagogical Model proposed by us consists of the following Blocks: target, subjective, content-functional, organizational-methodical and result-evaluative (with appropriate educational, methodological and technical content).

One of the most promising directions in the development of distance learning systems is the use of technologies in them that allow to effectively organize the cognitive activity of students in an automatic mode for their assimilation of educational materials. For this, the current emotional state of the students should be taken into account, which indicates the expediency of introducing appropriate means of recognition into the distance learning system. The subject of the study are models, methods and means of recognizing the emotional state of members of the distance learning system by a person's face and voice. The purpose of the work is to determine the list of parameters for evaluating the effectiveness of means of recognizing the emotional state of members of the distance learning system. The research methodology is based on the theory of complex systems and system analysis and involves the determination of an approach to the development of technology for harmonizing the emotional state of a student of a higher educational institution, the analysis of scientific and practical works in the field of operational recognition of the face and emotional state of a user of a computer system based on the image of a face and voice, and as well as the definition of the list of parameters for evaluating the effectiveness of the relevant means of recognition. As a result of the conducted research, an approach to the development of a technology for harmonizing the emotional state of a student of a higher educational institution was determined, which involves a neural network analysis of the biometric parameters of a student of a distance learning system to recognize his current emotional state, which should be used to adjust the type and volume of educational materials when they are submitted in an automated mode. The expediency of using neural network analysis tools based on biometric parameters, which can be registered using common computer tools, is shown. It was determined that in the distance learning system, the specified biometric parameters should primarily include a person's face and voice. It is justified that the following should be included in the list of basic parameters for evaluating the effectiveness of means of recognizing the emotional state of a member of a distance learning system based on neural network analysis of a person's face and voice: the completeness of recognition of basic emotions; ability to recognize complex emotions; the ability to recognize an emotional state; recognition accuracy; computational complexity of recognition; the ability to recognize emotions without prior recognition of a person. As a result of the research of well-known technologies for recognizing emotions and persons by face and voice, a list of additional parameters was determined, which provide the possibility of evaluating the effectiveness of the specified technologies when they are used in the distance learning system. Taking into account the proposed performance evaluation parameters, it is shown that from the point of view of using modern emotion recognition tools in the distance learning system, their critical shortcomings are related to: low accuracy of recognition of the nomenclature of both basic and complex emotions; high computational resource intensity; inability to recognize emotions based on a complex analysis of several biometric parameters; low integration with means of identity recognition; the difficulty of recognizing an emotional state. It is substantiated that the prospects of further research in the field of the application of emotional state recognition tools in the distance learning system should be correlated with their adaptation to the expected conditions of use and their integration with the word recognition system in the member's voice signal.

The world wide pandemic situation revealed the problems in all spheres of human life which haven’t been faced before. Recently the world has changed greatly as well as the relationship between people and their professional activity. The great bunch of the workload, if basically acceptable, is done with the use of modern innovative technologies. Such problems have not trampled down the sphere of higher education as well. Distance learning, which was previously addressed to only as accompanying possibility of lessons conduct, nowadays is considered to be the only practicable form of conducting lectures, practical lessons, tests, i.e. it has become a usual daily practice for both teachers and students. Among the basic functional requirements to the electronic educational resources in the system of distance learning there are the visualization and interaction principles both when getting familiar with the theoretical material and when completing virtual laboratory and practical tasks. The Microsoft Office documents have become the most widespread elements among the electronic educational resources. That is why there is a pressing need in presenting the electronic MS Excel spreadsheets on the resource web-pages. The simple and convenient way to solve the problem of Excel documents introduction into the electronic resources of the distance learning systems is the use of cloud services. The services help to acquire the access to the information resources of any level and of any capacity with the possibility to allocate the rights of the users belonging to different groups in relation to the resources. For that purpose the availability of the Internet network access and web-browser would be enough \cite{Kravtsova2020}. The cloud calculation technologies introduction allows for the use of the programs that do not require special licensing, update versions monitoring and eliminates the need of software technical support as the provider himself exercises control over the functioning, data saving, antivirus protection and possible cyberassaults.The peculiarities of professional training of navigators require the students to acquire the knowledge of professionally-oriented tasks algorithms as well as the knowledge of technologies that can help to implements them. One of the main routines the officer needs to deal with on the navigational bridge is the use of the information systems of shipboard hardware. But before usage he needs to assure of the systems reliability. That is why it is extremely important to gain during the course of professional training the necessary skills of navigation equipment exploitation reliability assessment by means of Microsoft Office documents and cloud services. So the subject matter of the suggested research is the procedure development for the navigation equipment exploitation reliability assessment by means of modern services use in the course of professional training of future seafarers. The aim of the paper is the solution of the problems of optimum assessment of the information systems of shipboard hardware reliability by means of cloud technologies usage. The following tasks are completed in the course of the research: the peculiarities and characteristics of navigational information processed by the shipboard navigation and information system have been analyzed; the results of the information systems of shipboard hardware usage have been studied; the technological diagram of the basic components structuring of the “Information systems of shipboard hardware” complex for the Master’s degree training course has been created; the effective technology of the program Excel documents processing has been chosen; the system of access and usage of web-services for calculation tables processing in the system of distance learning has been designed;the process of competency formation which will enable students to use cloud services has been suggested.

Purpose. Based on the analysis of scientific literature and modern educational practice, to identify the main barriers to ensuring equal opportunities for students with special needs while studying in the system of vocational education. Methods. To solve the purpose of the study, a set of theoretical methods was used: analysis of scientific literature, regulatory documents and legislative acts; study of the modern educational space of inclusive infrastructure in vocational (vocational-technical) education institutions of Ukraine and Europe; comparison, generalization, systematization of theoretical data. Results. The current state of accessibility of the educational environment of VET institutions for people with special educational needs is considered. The conditions of accessibility of vocational education for students with special educational needs are analyzed, certain types of barriers to the implementation of inclusion are identified, which can be grouped into three main areas: social adaptation to the educational environment, accessibility of educational products during full-time and distance learning, and the use of information, computer and assistive technologies. Conclusions. The main barriers to the inclusive educational space of VET institutions are pedagogical barriers related to the choice of teaching methods in accordance with the student's nosology, the use of information, computer and assistive technologies, insufficient training of teachers, and the lack of support staff. Technological barriers related to technological tools and components in the distance learning system and their accessibility for students with special needs. For educators, there are certain challenges in choosing the appropriate methodology, information and computer tools that will not only meet learning objectives, but also facilitate joint interaction between teachers and students with and without special needs. Individual barriers that relate to both students with special needs and normative students, namely, communication barriers. The lack of experience of interaction between these two groups of students prevents the real inclusion of students with disabilities in the educational and social space of a VET institution

The purpose of the article is to analyze the axiological component of the content of contemporary higher education. Objectives of the study: to prove the expediency and to find out the essence, levels, and logic of designing the value component of the content of modern higher education. Methods of research used: analysis (defining, comparative-comparative), synthesis, generalization. The article substantiates the relevance of the axiological dimensions of modern higher education. The directions of research of modern scientific discourse of value problems and content of higher education are presented. On the basis of the analysis of P. Kasatkin, V. Ognevyuk scientific positions, a scientific discussion on the necessity and feasibility of value component introducing in higher education has been analyzed. The traditional interpretation of the content of education in the context of the cognitive paradigm of education as a system of scientific knowledge, skills and abilities, which ensures the diversified development of mental and physical abilities of schoolchildren, the formation of their outlook, morality and behavior, preparation for social life and work, when its function was the transfer of experience gained by previous generations of people, and the idea of the content of education in the format of a personal pedagogical paradigm, when the student is in the area of primary attention and the content of education is interpreted as its external component, which performs functions of the environment for internal changes of the individual. The cultural concept of the content of education is presented, which is coherent with the pedagogically adapted social experience of all mankind, corresponding in its structure to human culture in its entirety and contains (according to O.Berezhnova) the experience of cognitive activity; experience in implementing known methods of activity; experience of creative activity; experience of emotional and value relation to reality. It is proved that the content of the value component of the content of education is formed at the state (global) level in the format of state documents, doctrines, concepts, leading theories of pedagogical science; at the level of the discipline – within the limits of state standards, educational programmes; at the level of educational material – reflected in textbooks, textbooks. It was stated that the value component of the content of higher education is a process of awareness, acceptance and internalization of socio-cultural, professional and personal values of students. It is determined that the perspective aspect of the investigation of the problem is to find out the structure of the value component of the content of higher education.

Distance learning systems (DLSs) are a class of important services that information infrastructures have to provide users. DLSs base their operation on information access, electronic transaction and communication services furnished by information infrastructures. Regarding the teaching process, by using DLSs new paradigms enable users to distribute educational content to support interaction among user classes (instructor-student, student-student and student-educational institution), testing, evaluation, and eventually advice in different domain knowledge areas. Classification of DLSs depends on the way these paradigms are implemented. In this paper, we concentrate on a particular DLS class, which encompass systems based on enabling Web access to otherwise classical intelligent tutoring systems-Web oriented intelligent tutoring systems. In this paper we present one such system-distributed tutor-expert system (DTEx-Sys), which has been developed for asynchronous distance educational purposes. DTEx-Sys is designed as a 3-tier client-server architecture where the intelligent tutoring functions are separated from the user interface and the knowledge base(s). The system functionality comprehends knowledge base access for arbitrary domain knowledge, along with testing, diagnosing and evaluation of students' work.

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the research trends in Korean language education for English-speaking Korean learners and propose future research directions. Methods To achieve this, 100 academic journal articles and 103 theses published from 2000 to 2023 were selected as the subjects of analysis. They were categorized by year, type, proficiency level, and topic for thorough examination. A qualitative method was used in which the researcher sets analysis criteria and classifies the study accordingly. Results Research on Korean language education for English-speaking learners began in 2000 and peaked in 2015, with the highest number of studies published. Since then, it has been maintained at a steady level. In terms of publication types, there were 100 academic journal articles and 103 theses, with the majority focusing on beginner-level learners, while research on intermediate-level learners was the least prevalent. Looking at the topics, studies on educational content and learner performance patterns accounted for the largest proportion, whereas research on general education, learner factors, and educational materials appeared relatively scarce. Conclusions Research on cultural education content for English-speaking learners needs to be conducted more actively, and studies on educational materials available to English-speaking learners should be diversified according to specific topics and proficiency levels. Additionally, research on teacher education and studies on self-directed learners are also necessary.

Online CKD Education for Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows: Training in a New Era

У статті подано аналіз особливостей компетентнісного розвитку викладачів вищої школи засобами цифрових технологій. Серед різних компетенцій викладачів виокремлено інноваційну та цифрову, які є системоутворювальними в професійній діяльності. В основу міркувань авторів статті покладено результати міжнародного проєкту #21720008 «Компетенції викладача вищої школи в добу змін» за сприянням Вишеградського фонду та Міністерства закордонних справ Нідерландів. Представлено діагностичний інструментарій, а також аналіз отриманих результатів щодо розвитку інноваційної та цифрової компетенцій викладачів. Зроблено висновок, що здатність викладачів до сприйняття нового, використання ІКТ-технологій в освітньому процесі та створення інформаційних ресурсів у нових умовах безпосередньо впливає на якість освітньої діяльності. Ураховуючи, що компетентнісна ідея є базовою для відбору змісту освіти і оцінки якості її результатів, розроблено програму компетентнісного розвитку викладачів вищої школи у внутрішній університетській системі підвищення кваліфікації. Розроблено на охарактеризовано чотири її модулі: «Діагностика компетентнісного розвитку викладача вищої школи»; «Компетентнісна парадигма сучасної вищої освіти»; «Баркемп компететнісного розвитку викладачів вищої школи»; «Компетентнісні практики». Виокремлено та диференційовано відповідно до мети дослідження цифрові ресурси, які можуть бути застосовані в Програмі компетентнісного розвитку викладачів. Обґрунтовано доцільність використання цифрових технологій (систем дистанційного навчання, ресурсів для комунікації та співпраці із застосуванням мобільних пристроїв, сервісів для проведення опитувань у режимі реального часу, ресурсів для створення мультимедійних презентацій та інтерактивної перевірки знань, умінь і навичок тощо) для реалізації відповідної Програми. Представлено позитивний досвід Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка у підвищенні кваліфікації викладачів у рамках змістового модулю «Інформаційно-комунікаційні технології», який спрямований на розвиток загальних уявлень про шляхи і перспективи інформатизації освіти; застосування інноваційних педагогічних та цифрових технологій, сервісів Веб 2.0 в освітньому процесі тощо.

The paper deals with knowledge management as an approach to the organization of the development of the content of smart education. The purpose of the study is to develop an approach to improving the information support for the content development of higher educational programs and training materials. The system of higher education faces the challenge of supporting the development of the digital economy through training and research outcomes. Given the high pace of development of digital technologies and methods of their use, the creation of the appropriate content of education is a time-consuming task that requires a quick solution. Currently, in the studies of smart education focus on methodical aspects of the conduct of training practices, but the process of content development goes to the background, like something what is in competence of only author or lecturer. However, it is the issues of the content of education that become the most relevant. Technologies and methods of knowledge management able to provide the necessary level of speed and quality of development of educational materials.

This paper analyzes the functionality of an educational multimedia material, to recognize different media (blogs, websites teachers, multimedia resources ...) in which you can show an educational material. Managing nonverbal concepts may lean toward a good or bad composition also needs to explore trends in user based on their ages and interests, and specify a path outside this same field, find new routes to achieve to improve the work to develop. An initial description of the external features, main objectives and functions of 5 essential multimedia educational resources, 3 blogs, 5 teacher’s websites, an attempt to analyze an educational resource page, 8 educational websites in Spanish is by knowledge areas, and a brief description of the media with more impact in Mexico. This paper analyzes the functionality of an educational multimedia material, to recognize different media (blogs, websites teachers, multimedia resources ...) in which you can show an educational material. Managing nonverbal concepts may lean toward a good or bad composition also needs to explore trends in user based on their ages and interests, and specify a path outside this same field, find new routes to achieve to improve the work to develop. An initial description of the external features, main objectives and functions of 5 essential multimedia educational resources, 3 blogs, 5 teacher’s websites, an attempt to analyze an educational resource page, 8 educational websites in Spanish is by knowledge areas, and a brief description of the media with more impact in Mexico.

Results from end-of-course student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are taken seriously by faculties and form part of a decision base for the recruitment of academic staff, the distribution of funds and changes to curricula. However, there is some doubt as to whether these evaluation instruments accurately measure the quality of course content, teaching and knowledge transfer. We investigated whether the provision of chocolate cookies as a content-unrelated intervention influences SET results. We performed a randomised controlled trial in the setting of a curricular emergency medicine course. Participants were 118 third-year medical students. Participants were randomly allocated into 20 groups, 10 of which had free access to 500 g of chocolate cookies during an emergency medicine course session (cookie group) and 10 of which did not (control group). All groups were taught by the same teachers. Educational content and course material were the same for both groups. After the course, all students were asked to complete a 38-question evaluation form. A total of 112 students completed the evaluation form. The cookie group evaluated teachers significantly better than the control group (113.4 ± 4.9 versus 109.2 ± 7.3; p = 0.001, effect size 0.68). Course material was considered better (10.1 ± 2.3 versus 8.4 ± 2.8; p = 0.001, effect size 0.66) and summation scores evaluating the course overall were significantly higher (224.5 ± 12.5 versus 217.2 ± 16.1; p = 0.008, effect size 0.51) in the cookie group. The provision of chocolate cookies had a significant effect on course evaluation. These findings question the validity of SETs and their use in making widespread decisions within a faculty.