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Students learn well when they take responsibility for their learning. Learning increasingly takes place in an
environment, which is constantly evolving to respond to the personal needs of each learner. The emergence of
Open Educational Resources and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC; now being effectively developed in
KazNU) is expected to offer multiple advantages in terms of increased access to higher education, reduced
costs and flexible timetables, to name just a few. However, there is little scientific evidence to prove the
efficiency of these new models. Some critics even argue that they may well be just another attempt to further
commercialise higher education. Meanwhile, blended learning – a combination of traditional training with
digital online content – is seen by many as the best alternative. Gibbs G. 1981’s notice is still correct.
Awareness and reflection are not merely symptoms of developments in learners, they bring about the
developments. It is through engaging students in reflecting upon the process and outcomes of their studying
that progress is made [4].
According to Wikipedia’s definition distance education or distance learning is a mode of delivering
education and instruction, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a
traditional setting such as a classroom. Distance learning provides «access to learning when the source of
information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both». Distance education courses that
require a physical on-site presence for any reason (excluding taking examinations) have been referred to as
hybrid or blended courses of study [5; 6]
Good example of online learning destination and MOOC provider is edX, founded by Harvard University
and MIT in 2012, which offers 950+ high-quality courses in subjects such as humanities, math, and computer
science from the world’s best universities and institutions to learners everywhere with 2,300+ faculty and staff
teaching courses and discussing topics online and 840,000+ certificates proudly earned by edX students. It has
90 global partners, including: The Laura and John Arnold Foundation, which supported the development of
the edX platform and increase the number of high-quality courses available to learners; The Gates Foundation,
which helps edX to develop courses as well as partner with community colleges to experiment with the use of
the courses in a «flipped classroom»; Modern States, working with edX to help more students enter or return
to the traditional college system and to make quality education more accessible; LaunchCode, which creates
pathways to economic opportunity and upward mobility through online learning, apprenticeships and job
placement in technology.
One of the bright examples is a set of electronic lectures, including Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
developed in correspondence with Center for distance education, KazNU. The PCR course is intended for a
full-time study in computer classes and online learning network (as present on introductory and supplementary
level to the general training or upon becoming a part of a larger on-line course or electronic manual) and might
be useful not only for the students of our own faculty, School of Biology and Biotechnology (as was shown
on third year bachelor students specialty «Biotechnology» during the course «Molecular diagnostics»), but
also during classes with the students of other specialties (for instance such as law, mathematics and computer
modelling).
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