ICT-tools for internationalization of continuous education

Abstract

Problem and goal. Continuous education is a process of growth of educational (general and professional) potential of the individual throughout life via the use of the system of state and public institutions and in accordance with the needs of the individual and society. The need for continuous education arises due to the progress of science and technology, the widespread use of innovative technologies. Internationalization stands for the intentional process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions and delivery of education. Information and telecommunication technologies nowadays are a significant part of modern learning and play an important role in continuous education that uses different ICT-tools for its purposes but depending on the interpretation continuing education concept has its own specifics. Accordingly, various procedures for the use of information and telecommunication technologies are in demand. To make the application of ICT-tools for continuous education relevant to the specialized goals one should clearly understand the correlation among aims of continuous learning and ICT-tools. Methodology. Various procedures for the use of information and telecommunication technologies that are in demand for purposes of internationalization of continuous education are considered. A brief review of scope of ICT-tools and their potential and relevance to the specific aims of internationalization of continuous learning is given. Results. Internationalization of education and development of continuous education are nowadays very important processes all around the world. There are some main trends in application of ICT-tools/ technologies in internationalization of higher education currently being developed and widely used. Mostly all of ICT-tools/technologies can be used in continuous education to solve problems similar to higher education. Meanwhile new ICT-tools/technologies - virtual mobility, distant academic mobility and electronic internationalization - have great potential to be applied for internationalization under specific conditions of continuous education. Conclusion. It is demonstrated that information and telecommunication technologies supply internationalization of continuous education with not only well known ICT-tools/technologies but also new ones with powerful potential.