Challenges and benefits of integrating online learning in higher education in a pandemicof COVID-19

Abstract

Objective — to assess peculiarities of distant learning integration in higher educational institutions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methods. More than 50 literature sources were included to the study. 20 of them were chosen for detailed investigation. Data of use of online educational methods in departments of phthisiology and pulmonology of Kharkiv National Medical University and Bukovinian State Medical University were used.Results and discussion. To provide the asynchronous part of distance learning, the Department of Phthisiology and Pulmonology of Kharkiv National Medical University created distance courses on the Moodle platform. The courses were built in accordance with the topic plans of the department. Study materials on the topic were presented in various formats: files, web pages, videos, links to Internet resources, etc., test tasks were developed for each topic. In addition, lecture presentations with text accompaniment were added to online resources.At the Department of Phthisiology and Pulmonology of Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU), training sessions have been started online in accordance with the orders of the BSMU: «On the introduction of quarantine at the University» No. 129-Adm. of 03/12/2020 and «On the approval of instructions for teachers for conducting training sessions online using the videoconferencing service» No. 130-Adm. from 12.03.2020. Final modular controls and state exams were provided in online distance learning. Chernivtsi region was in the red zone of quarantine measures until September 21. Thus, the educational process at the BSMU was carried out exclusively in a distance form using the videoconference service. The Google Hangouts Meet service — https://meet.google.com — was selected for online training sessions. To schedule online training sessions using the Google Hangouts Meet video conferencing service, the Google Calendar service — https://calendar.google.com — was used.Conclusions. Despite a number of problems in the implementation of online learning technologies, such as insufficient technical provision, imperfect knowledge of the methodology of modern digital skills by participants in the educational process, the need for a quick change in approaches to continuous teaching in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a powerful impetus in the development and implementation of information-communication technologies in education, which in the future may have positive consequences for improving the quality of education, increasing student motivation and their satisfaction with the educational process.