An impact of Virtual Learning Environments on communication process between students and instructors

Taking into account the general communicative and entertaining nature of the VKontakte resource, the created group had to be somehow embedded in the general context. For this purpose, a group with an album with humorous pictures from the field of computer humor, and the first topic of the discussion was a small selection of anecdotes on a computer theme.

Of the 20 students of the training group, about 10 people were found in the Vkontact, by name, surname, etc. An invitation was found to join the group with a message where it was asked to invite other classmates to this group whom I could not find on the resource myself. As a result, the effect of personal connections, which is characteristic of social networks, has worked, and in less than a couple of weeks almost all students of the group joined the virtual group on the subject "Information Management" VKontakte, except for two people who apparently do not use this resource. Before the virtual group Vkontakte initially did not set the goal of duplicating the resource Sakai, the group was called to maintain a more lively contact with students. Given that this resource was regularly visited by both students and the teacher any changes or updates to discussions and group pages were easily tracked without special efforts the resource allows you to see on the automatically generated page with personal news all the updates of the pages of friends and groups that make up user. And this is one of the most used functions -

It allows you to without any efforts to be aware of all the changes on all lines of communication of the user of the resource. This was an absolute advantage and

Saving time for the teacher, because on Sakai, to check if someone asked a question or if someone created a topic for discussion, you have to go to the resource specifically, log in, and go to the discussion section. At the moment, it's rather difficult to follow the updates on Sakai. At the moment, the update distribution works only on the events created by the teacher, and it is rather the new "events" (for example, the creation of a new practical task or the placement of an advertisement). Updates of the discussion topics can not initiate the sending of notices by e-mail, and there is also no analogue of the automatically generated news line on the VKontakte resource either at the best, new published announcements on subjects, but no more, are immediately visible. During the course, the discussion section at Sakai was visited by the teacher at least once a week or two weeks, but in the overwhelming majority of cases, these efforts were in vain, since updates and questions appeared very rarely during the semester, and at the approach of the exam with a chaotic frequency.

Most of the students visit the VKontakte resource at least once a week, sometimes more often mostly to see what news from friends, but at the same time (if available) I saw updates to the virtual group page for this it was not necessary to go to the page every time The resource showed these updates in a personal news line about changes in the pages of friends and groups. This was a great convenience, as it saves time and allows you to respond more quickly to questions usually within a couple of days, a maximum of a week.

Given that Sakai is still an official resource for distance learning support, and for the purity of the experiment, after the first questions began to arrive, the first topics of discussions and answers had to be manually copied to the second resource that is, if the question was asked in the message or In the group in the contact, the question itself and the answer to it were copied into the discussion section on my subject on the Sakai resource (and vice versa) thus providing some "synchronization" of the discussions. And in most cases they appeared on the page of the virtual group in the contact, and then copied to Sakai, only once the question appeared on the Sakai resource, and then it was copied into the Contact.

The main conclusion, confirmed by the experience of parallel use of both platforms the academic platform Sakai is currently optimal for presenting official information on the subject, while the support of live communication is the function that is so far implemented on social networking resources, in particular, Resource Vkontakte.

In the example of the subject "Information Management", the topics of the discussions were specially created both on the Sakai resource and in the Contact, and at first, they were completely identical due to the efforts of the copy teacher. Nevertheless, the important experience and the result of the experiment was the absolute preference for students for the training discussions on the practical task of the virtual group in Contact, in comparison with the possibilities of discussion on the Sakai resource. Students were more willing to use for educational discussions the resource that they already used to communicate in their daily lives, rather than go to a separate site created to support the learning process. It was more convenient for them, they did not require a separate time, due to more rapid answers, they supported the feeling of lively, active communication, so important with remote, mediated communication. On Sakai, this would be possible only if students actively use this resource in everyday learning life (which unfortunately is not the case at the moment) and in the case of a more convenient notification system about updates on the Sakai resource (this possibility is also currently lacking).

Within the framework of today's reality, if an object requires active remote discussions, it seems convenient to use the functionalities of social networks, which in this case create an additional channel for communication between the teacher and students and complement the academic resource for supporting the learning process.



5. Practical impact of VLE on communication between students and instructors at SPSU and Warwick university

Type of VLE in Warwick SPSU

As we can see from the graph, the majority of Warwick students uses Moodle as it is more popular there, but as it is not a point for a comparison in this research, we can analyze, that Sakai has almost a quarter of the pie in Warwick, and around 33% of the space is taken by BlackBoard. In SPSU almost half of the pie is taken by the BlackBoard and another 40% is taken by Sakai, which makes them two most popular VLE at Saint-Petersburg State University

What students prefer to communicate with other students

The most popular answer for communication with other students on-line was social network and now, messengers slowly replacing even social networks (more specifically WhatsApp on a first place and Viber on a second for both countries). For Warwick university the most popular answer was still Facebook with 67% (WhatsApp has 24%) and for SPSU the most popular was Vkontakte with 58% (WhatsApp 28%). None of the respondents mentioned VLE in their answer to this question.

What students prefer to communicate with instructors

The majority of answers from students of Saint-Petersburg State University was “via e-mail” (84%) - the most common and simple way of communication, some students mentioned social networks and even messengers, but some of the respondents said, that sometimes it is not convenient because you lose the comfort zone of social network, where you can type and post anything as you will need to “keep an eye on what you are doing after you add professor”. For the Warwick university the majority voted for VLE (53%) in which every professor is registered and ready to receive a message, make an appointment or provide specific information.

Who does the students find important source of information

For both of the universities the main source of information was a university website. Most of the information about any topic of interest secondly checks there (after asking fellow students). However, Warwick students also use VLE to get more specific and person-oriented information, events of particular interest for person, such as: favorite singer on-campus, cricket game on Tuesday or lecture class will be delayed. SPSU students almost don't do that and there is no proper, well-structured platform for it yet.

Sample by gender and age SPSU Warwick



How much time students spend in VLE

The average student in Warwick spends approximately 30 minutes a day using VLE, with extremes up to 4 hours a day (those students mostly used them for a distance learning, to watch recorded lectures and sometimes seminars). The average student in SPSU spends less than 10 minutes, mostly, to check the schedule and less often to see grades.

The age of the respondents in both universities has no big difference. Most of the respondents aged between 22 and 24 and the least ones 17-19 years old in SPSU and just a few respondents aged more than 25 in Warwick.

The pie charts of gender are almost identical with more than 66% of females in both universities and around 33% of males in SPSU and 35% in Warwick.

Main barriers for communication in VLE

For Warwick university, this point raised questions and sometimes confusion, after some time, minor barriers were found, among those, the most popular one was the personal attitude of an instructor. Depending on a person it was easier to communicate or harder. Some of the instructors are only willing to communicate through VLE and no other options are available. For SPSU the results are quite different. The technical difficulties and features limitation at the top of respondents' answers (84%). Students do not know how to solve problems appearing while using the system and who to contact when they are having one (74%). There was no proper introduction to the system (89%). The structure of the VLE at SPSU is not simple to understand (75%).

Is VLE works at full potential at your university

This can be explained in a complex of reasons: with a culture differences, different approaches to education and technologies, to accept something new and even with an age of university, lack of knowledge on how to work with VLE and no prior introduction to the system might make the experience with a system unpleasant and after that the person will not want to continue to work with it.

Hate BlackBoard - Love BlackBoard

Here are presented two different views on a same VLE Blackboard at different UK universities (British forums). One of the poll has 30 voters and the second one has around 100 voters. The first one had place in December 2008, and the second one a little bit more recent one, in 2010~

The results of the first poll is mixed, half of the voting instructors (professors at the university) voted FOR this system and half of them voted AGAINST, in a commentary section there were big discussions on whether it's good or bad, but the issue which was quite often to be mentioned was the technical difficulty.

In 2008 the BlackBoard system was just in its early development stage and those types of issues were expected, nevertheless it didn't stop many from hating it.

The second one is survey, showing us usage of BlackBoard at language course at the University of Warwick. The results we see from the table are very different to the results of previous one. For most of the positions respondents answered positively (more than 55% for all of them), or at least neutral. The position which got most negative results is that “Blackboard was a useful support to material covered during tutorials” with 18%. This position mostly depends on a material downloaded previously to the platform and it means, that those negative 18% are more to a personal, responsible for these materials. On the other hand, the least negative votes got the position “I felt comfortable using BlackBoard” - 4%, and this is more related to the design, technical issues and user-friendliness of the platform, which, since the previous forum-poll in 2008 were drastically improved, therefore creating a comfortable space for learning.

This example perfectly shows us, that the system itself is improving, the technical quality and possibilities are rising and it's moving from the position of BlackBoard, to a position of instructor and administrator to make the best out of the platform which offers its features.



5.1 Conclusion

SPSU and Warwick

1. The better way is to combine on-line education and auditory one. The student should be given a choice of the most accessible and convenient form of education, including a combined one, in which full-time instruction is combined with elements of distance education. For example, traditional auditory forms of academic work do not always guarantee a better development of communication skills than with distance learning. And if in-person training is not provided the opportunity to re-study the material of lectures delivered by leading specialists, then distance learning technologies that provide video recording of lectures or the provision of training programs, allow them to work with them at convenient time, if necessary repeatedly returning to repetitions. Many full-time students of higher and professional education combine study with work, and providing them with such opportunities would certainly contribute to greater access to quality education.

2. To make the most out of the VLE it should be noticed. According to the gathered data, many of the students didn't even hear about the VLE. Information on existing VLE in universities and other educational institutions, should be brought to the attention of all persons for whom such resources may be of interest. For example, already now the Russian sector of the Internet network has thousands of educational Web pages, interesting and useful for both teachers and trainees. However, the lack of full-fledged catalogs makes access to these important materials difficult. Joint development of specialized resources by teachers and scientists from several educational institutions and scientific and methodological centers also contributes to greater awareness (the idea from one of the interviews).

3. To be effective tool for communication, it should answer demands of the students. The cost and, accordingly, the accessibility of VLE depend to a great extent on the proper strategy for purchasing, developing and using the software of the educational process. A quality education should use, if possible, the technology of tomorrow. It is very important, that for the right amount of spent money there is a right amount of properly working tools given.

4. There is a field for an improvement on both sides (Warwick and SPSU).

5.2 VLE in general

Approachability. First, according to found theory, students will not need to come to the university for regular classes and for a session. The whole process goes through the Internet. Therefore, the distance from the location of the student to the educational institution (provided the communication works well) is not an obstacle to an effective educational process. Students learn in a convenient place for themselves, on a convenient schedule and at a convenient pace. The only visit is the surrender of the state certification examinations and the receipt of a diploma. According to normative documents, attestation of the future specialist is possible only internally.

Increasing skills. Secondly, since the motivation for choosing a student for a particular training course is his real need for specific knowledge, skills and skills that he will apply in practice, the productivity and effectiveness of training will incomparably increase in comparison with other forms of education.

At Warwick, VLE makes education easier to manage. Thirdly students often engaged in an individual plan, based on the level of their basic training and their needs. It is quite possible for them to combine learning with other studies or with basic professional activities.

Computer literacy is needed. Fourthly, this form of education takes place far from the educational institution, far from teachers and does not imply visual control of teachers behind the actions of students, it will require the children to be extremely motivated, self-organized, diligent, able and willing to work independently. Also, they, need to have a certain starting level of knowledge of computer literacy. But, if the students do not understand something, or they have any difficulties in their studies, through the forum at any time, at any stage of the training they can ask for an explanation to the administrator, tutor teachers and their classmates. This is a very important point that fundamentally distinguishes networked learning from correspondence: the student does not remain alone with incomprehensible material, but, like with full-time education, can always promptly clarify all issues.

For taking the most out of VLE, there should be different courses uploaded. Fifthly, the distance learning network program traditionally consists of separate courses (modules). General disciplines students learn from the materials laid out in the shell (after which they perform the test work this can be the performance of the test, problem solving, drafting and protection of the project, etc. Profile disciplines are also initially studied by students in electronic textbooks and programs, but the most important ones Questions of profile disciplines after the general independent acquaintance are sorted out together with the instructor-tutor at consultations and videoconferences. As a control, computer testing systems. The protection of the developed projects and also the traditional forms: examinations, interviews, the protection of coursework, conducted in the videoconference mode.

5.3 Role of the instructor

The instructor in such a virtual educational environment must adapt and define his role:

1) in the new form of communication asynchronous "conversation", since the virtual discussion is conducted in a different way (short and concreteness of statements, unambiguous statements become important criteria) and serves as an additional means for developing the ability to reflect in communication, increases the level of logical and abstract thinking of students;

2) using modern technologies (for example, project methodology) as one of the theoretical foundations important for the installation of virtual associations for training;

3) applying modern principles of education (for example, individualization as a priority in education today, practical orientation as a productive combination of the system of continuing education and professional development with practical skills of students that will allow each member of the virtual community to build its own trajectory for innovative work);

4) in creating a pedagogical Internet environment (and VLE), taking into account technological, administrative and financial opportunities;

5) in structuring the virtual learning environment, which should, while remaining flexible and open, adapt to individual differences and take into account the personal needs of students, and this requires the development of a new concept and teaching methodology;

6) in the relationship between virtual associations and various forms of traditional communities for the direction and pedagogical support of the professional activities of these new virtual spaces.

Thus, as the configuration of education changes in the direction of its continuity, innovativeness and priority use of modern technologies, then the education of instructors must be rethought for a new educational environment.

5.4 Perspectives

Clear and unified criteria for assessing knowledge for all teachers and disciplines should be developed. I use in the distance education a test system for assessing knowledge is clearly inadequate, it is necessary to evaluate both the independence, activity, development of the learner in the course of cognitive activity. The necessary tests should accompany the current checks with the help of special systems, open for work at any time. Such systems that provide feedback to the teacher real or virtual, for example, using a system that can be used to solve the correct answer.

How to increase the accessibility of quality education. It is necessary to look at the problem of providing quality and accessible education on the other hand, when all new information technologies are implemented with the aim of improving the quality of education for a limited number of students. This may be due to the development and use of specialized models designed for business games or computer experiments, the use of specialized computer equipment, other expensive technologies and software products. Nevertheless, in this case, it is possible to formulate the principles of their use, which, while preserving the high quality of the teaching, will increase its accessibility.

A virtual educational environment is an environment different from the traditional way of obtaining (providing) education, the nature of educational communication, carried out both indirectly at a distance, and traditionally "eye to eye".

Information and communication technologies (media) used in the virtual educational environment are its means, the composition and specific gravity of which varies depending on technological progress, the degree of accessibility to the students, the model of the organization of the educational process.

1. The developed model of the virtual educational environment organization allows to implement the innovative approach in professional development; Realize the continuity of education and build an individual trajectory of the student's professional growth; Carry out professional support of the teacher (teacher), make educational resources available, regardless of the location of the student; Use innovative educational products, integrate the practical experience of the teacher and the discovery of scientists in the field of innovative technologies, etc.

2. An open model of modern education is optimal for solving modern educational problems of continuous professional development using a virtual educational environment, meeting the educational needs of those interested in obtaining this teacher education. The development of education should be carried out as a transition from a "closed" education model to an open one, based on the use of a virtual educational environment as the main means of communication between the teacher and the learner.



Bibliography

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3. Johnstone, A. H. (1991) Why science is difficult to learn? Things are seldom what they seem. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 7, 75±83.

4. Broekman, I., (1992). Culture, cognition and uncertainity: metacognition in the learning and teaching of probability theory. Paper presented at University of Witswatersrand, South Africa.

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6. Adey, P. and Shayer, M. (1994) Really Raising Standards. Routledge, London.

7. Atkin, J. M. (1998) The OECD study on innovations in science, mathematics and technology education. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 30(6), 647±660.

8. Bellanca, J. and Fogarty, R. (1993) Blueprints for the Cooperative Classroom. Skylight Publishing, Melbourne.

9. Berry, J. and Sahlberg, P. (1996) Investigating pupils' ideas of learning. Learning and Cognition, 6(1) 19±36.

10. Becker, H. (1994) Analysis and trends of school use of new information technologies. U.S. Congress Of®ce of Technology Assessment, Washington D.C.: US Govt. Printing Office.

11. Turkle, S. (1995) Life on the screen: identity in the age of the internet. Simon & Schuster, New York.

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Appendix 1

Questionnaire

Communication

What do you use to communicate with other students?

What do you use to communicate with professors?

Would you rather prefer one of these forms of communication?

Where do you get necessary information for the study (e.g. schedule, course materials, inquiry)?

Underline sources which you use to get additional information (e.g. news, events, scholarships)

Underline what type of resources do you usually use to manage your study? (virtual offline, virtual online, physical (paper) university/non-university)

Virtual learning Environments

What kind of online technologies provided by your home University do you use?

For what purposes do you use these systems?

How well do these systems meet your expectations?

Which of the following words would you use to describe these systems?

How do you think, at what level these systems help you?

Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with these systems?

BlackBoard

How often do you use blackboard?

For what purposes do you use blackboard?

Underline features you are familiar with

Underline features you regularly use

For how long you have been using blackboard?

Personal info

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What is your level of education?

From which faculty are you?

Thank you for participation!



Appendix 2

Interview Guide

Duration: Approx. 1 hour 5 minutes

Language: Russian (Transcript translated)

Introduction

Hello. My name is Ivan Zhuk, I am a student of SPSU, conducting research for my MA thesis. The topic is “An impact of VLE on communication process between students and instructors”. Thank you for finding time for this interview. As a student, who regularly uses VLE, your opinion is indeed valuable for this research.

The interview duration will be approximately one hour.

During the interview, all the dialog will be recorded, it will help to preserve all the information and will make the process of analysis easier. Is it okay for you? If you like, this interview may be anonymous, would you like to? If you are ready, let's start!

General

Why did you choose to study at SPSU?

1. Online technologies SPSU/Warwick

What types of online services of the SPSU do you use? (University site, Sakai, BlackBoard, Schedule, etc.)

Why do you use particularly those?

How often do you use each of those?

What words comes to your mind on “Virtual Learning Environment”?

What activities do you perform in the BlackBoard/Sakai? (what is a most used one?)

Where do you get needed information related to News, Schedule, Events, Learning materials, Tasks, Contacts?

Were there any situations when you couldn't get the information you were looking for?

Was it due to the system, or due to the human mistake?

Were there any problems or inconveniences because of that?

How did you solve these problems?

Was there any other person involved or was it just you (staff, students' advice etc.)?

Do you have more positive or negative view on VLE?

How would you rate VLE at Saint-Petersburg State University/Warwick?

2. Communication

How do you communicate with instructors and how with fellow students?

Is it convenient to communicate this way?

How would you prefer to communicate with instructors (maybe face-to-face)?

Did you face any problems communicating with instructors on-line?

How did you solve these problems?

Do you use chats, discussion or commentaries in VLE? (No/Yes - Why?)

Do you prefer to receive paper-materials, or e-materials?

Is it convenient to receive materials via VLE?

What do you think the BlackBoard/Sakai is best for?

3. Perspectives

What do you think of the idea of everything for education gathered in one place?

What would you change or add in BlackBoard/Sakai?

What do you think are the perspectives of the VLE in the SPSU and in general?

4. Personal info: What is your age?

What is your nationality?

What is your level of study?

From which faculty are you?

Thank you very much for this interview! Good bye.



Appendix 3

Research Design Draft

Personal notes page

Who: staff, admin, students, academics

What: communication (order rules advice products) relations inside/outside, connections between (different systems)

When: research (2 years) few months Russia + few weeks UK meta. Info/data last 10 years

Where: Russia (SPSU); UK (LSE, Warwick, Cambridge)

Why: Lack of it in Russia; Fast growing field

How: Online survey; In-depth interview

Abstract Contents

Abstract

Introduction (10% of words or space)

Review of the background literature (15%)

Design and methodology of the research (15%)

Implementation of the research (15%)

Presentation and analysis of data (15%)

Comment and critique of the outcomes or findings (20%)

Summary and conclusion (10%)

References

Bibliography

Challenges and how to overcome them

Information technologies and Education

1. Awareness of information technologies and systems that exist in Russian and UK universities.

The main problem here would be interviewing part, where I would have to ask academics about systems that are not really well-known. Some of academics do know Blackboard or Sakai, but just slightly about basic functions. Basically, it is possible to overcome the situation by changing the In-depth Interview method to something that sociologist from Herzen University does not know how to call - discussion method? Firstly, we will be talking about the systems that they know and how well they work, what would they change, how useful it is, how often do they use it and etc. After that, I will be suggesting some questions for a further discussion, mostly, about systems that I saw in UK and Germany. What do they think of them, would it work in Russia and what are their expectations and predictions if such a technology will be invented here / current, old one will be changed.

2. Making sociology out of no sociology.

The thesis itself sometimes raises questions about its connections to sociology. Information technologies themselves is individual discipline (is/are?) and Education is a subject of many disciplines. But I found a way how to overcome this issue - I will be connecting my work with sociological approaches and views. For instance, as much as possible I will gather information and after look at it and analyze through the eyes of sociologist! How does system affect students, how do they communicate in there, what is a relation between students and academics in there and how efficient it is?

3. Approachability to people responsible for such systems in UK.

Overcoming of this challenge is yet to be found. The major problem is that as an Alumni of Warwick University I had access to most of the systems of Uni and to the staff, but after 15^th of March I will be withdrawn from a system and will have to find my own way through the people I know or with help of my charisma through the staff. This is more of a general challenge and solutions for questions will be found later.

Fact sheet

Information virtual systems in higher education (Cases of Russia and UK)

Saint-Petersburg State University is a classic research university, it is one of the oldest universities in a country and among the two federal universities of Russia (the other one is a Moscow State University). The university is currently in a process of adaptation to new technologies which are already in use of universities abroad. One of the steps to informatization was to apply new IT services to the university to make some aspects of student's life easier. Starting with electronic schedule and personal page of a student with just information about passport, level of education and a name, we are moving forward, introducing Sakai and Blackboard, virtual learning environments and management systems to create a better learning and communication field. But currently, my hypothesis, based on a short-survey and personal findings is that those systems are not working in their full potential and some of the basic features, such as communication with students and professors, inquiries and some others are underused, and this might be due to many reasons which this study is also aiming to find.

The University of Warwick is a modern research university and one of the youngest universities in the United Kingdom. Since the very beginning Warwick was using technologies to help improve communication, the VLE and VIS are part of the university and deeply interconnect in most of the spheres of the university life. It is very technologically advanced university. There are online groups, forums, platforms for managing possibly every aspect of the university life, such as: electronic journals and databases, learning materials, schedules for all events inside and outside of the campus, registration for such events, enrollment, on-line consultation related to the educational process and medical issues, finance sections (related to the tuition fees, accommodation, food and etc.) and many other things which are regulated and funded mostly by university staff including student's union personal.

Virtual systems in the UK

According to topuniversities.com, universities of the UK are the second technologically advanced following those in the USA, especially the top-tier ones and modern ones: Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Warwick

Warwick University

Warwick is one of the youngest universities in the UK, which makes it really easy to "adapt" to the technologies. It is one of the most fast-growing universities in the UK, being in the top 10 for the last few years. Warwick university has a vast network of virtual systems: library, accommodation, lectures and etc, some of them interconnected at some point, some, such as finance, completely standalone.

Statistics

Students from the departments, such as Computers science and Engineering, which are technologically more advanced than others, are more likely to find a job in the modern world full of technologies.

In technologically advanced systems it is easier to see what was really done to improve something. Information and news are easier to access, they make sure you won't miss anything (as an opposite to a board, which might be ignored most of the time)

References:

topuniversities (URL: http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2015/statistics-operational-research)

Unistats.direct.gov.uk (URL: https://unistats.direct.gov.uk/Subjects/Overview/10007163FT-U-G500/ReturnTo/Search)

Warwick site (URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/aro/dar/quality/categories/feedback/nss/feedback/)

Annotated Bibliography list

· Social network in education. Blanka Klimova and Petra Poulova. University of Hradec Kralove. 2015

At the present stage there is a comprehensive mass introduction of information technologies in all spheres of education. The main goal of informatization of the education system is the transformation of modern information resources and information and communication technologies into the resource of the educational process, ensuring the formation of qualitatively new educational results. The emergence of information and communication technologies could not but affect the change in the management strategy of the educational institution. This means that organizational changes are necessary in all areas of the educational institution, ensuring the introduction of modern technologies in the system of educational, educational, methodical and managerial activities, and the formation of the information educational environment of the institution. In the conditions of active introduction of modern information technologies, the actual need is the formation of ICT competence of all pedagogical workers. This will effectively solve the problems of updating the forms and methods of educational and upbringing activities, taking into account the trends in the development of the information society, the interests and needs of modern children and adolescents.

Recently, educational and scientific social networks began to appear. The social network Facebook has long been recognized as one of the most popular tools (software) for learning and development. The American social network Facebook is used by about 800 million people. Facebook allows university teachers to create courses for students, organizations can create a closed corporate network of employees on the Facebook platform: employees of one company can be in constant communication with colleagues from different branches, publish news of their organization, etc. Approximately the same principle runs MySpace .

This article would help to understand how virtual information systems in universities made their way to higher education and explain how interconnection of information and people helps to create such systems.

· Concurrent development and cost-benefit analysis of paper-based and digitized instructional material. David Annand. 2001

Quite a lot of writers both beginners and venerable ones are sometimes asked the following question: how exactly is it more convenient to translate their ideas into reality. Everyone eventually makes the final choice it is known, for example, that Stephen King is more inclined to a computer-based set of texts, and Clive Barker basically creates his Cyclopean works only on paper. There is, of course, a third way to slander the text on the recorder, and then give it to decryption to an outside person. But these methods are not very common these days, and most authors choose between electronic text editors and a paper notebook.

· A product review of WebCT. Jim Clark. Champlain College. 2001

WebCT is designed to ensure that the practice of high-quality learning activities is accessible to all individuals, including those who are particularly in need of it. The US Department of Statistics estimates that 20% of the population has sensory, physical disability, or inability to learn. The legislation of both countries, the United States and Canada, takes into account the importance of establishing accessibility standards for the development of web-based resources.

WebCT uses adaptive technology in accordance with the US Rehabilitation Act, Section 508, effective June 21, 2001.

This article is about WebCT software will show us an example of a successfully used university system and its impact on educational process. Shows the possible features of system which may be used in other systems.

· Twenty-first century college syllabus. Options for online communication and interactivity

Jack A. Cummingsa, Curtis J. Bonkb, F. Robert Jacobsc. 2002

Many changes in the business world today are mainly due to advances in information technology, and this has entailed a shift from mass marketing to a customer-focused, interactive and measurable approaches to integrated communications. Currently, marketers are developing targeted marketing communications to create and maintain relationships with customers in narrowly defined target markets. In addition, the significant development of information and communication technologies is stepping up the transition to personalized marketing communications, expanding the rights and capabilities of clients, which are now considered not as targets, but as partners in the current relationship. Almost any person who has access to a computer with a simple modem can use the huge information resources provided by the worldwide information network the Internet.

This study examines Web-based syllabus and paper syllabus and will show the difference in effects on the retention of information.

· Experiences with reusable E-learning objects. From theory to practice. Jeanette A. Muzio, Tanya Heins, Roger Mundell. 2005

Educational institution in which the teaching process and training are carried out through the Internet. Materials on the training courses in the virtual school are presented in electronic form and posted on the website in such a way that authorized students can use them. These materials usually include the texts of lectures on the subject, interactive tests and simulators, dictionaries, etc. After reading the materials of the virtual lesson, the trainee performs a number of tasks that are automatically checked by the system, with an assessment. A student can interact with network teachers by consulting on subjects. Network teachers can also monitor and evaluate the learner's knowledge by communicating with him by e-mail, telephone, forum or other technical means of communication. Attestation of students throughout the course is usually carried out in the form of an exam (full-time or correspondence).

Distance course a special, based on the use of modern information technology, a form of presentation of the contents of the training course. Distance course is the main element of building learning using distance learning technologies

· SurveyMonkey.com--Web-Based Survey and Evaluation System. Alan Gordon. 2002 http://www.SurveyMonkey.com

Service is suitable for creating quick polls and questionnaires. The free tariff allows you to include up to 10 questions in a survey and involve up to 100 respondents at a time. Survey Monkey is good for working with the audience in real time: you can ask a question in a lesson or during any event and show the statistics of answers right in the process of adding them.

The survey, created with Survey Monkey, can be sent to the audience as a link, inserted into a blog or published on Facebook. To quickly give an answer, the participants in the survey should have a smartphone in their hands.

The site of the service gives detailed instructions for creating surveys, but, more importantly, information on how to think about their content. After all, if for you the survey is a study of the audience (its opinions, expectations, level of preparation, etc.), then its co-existence requires a research approach.

This article includes all features of the SurveyMonkey, how those are used by different groups of people, with what purposes and also, there is some statistical information.

· Exploring student perceptions of group interaction and class satisfaction in the web-enhanced classroom. Michaela Driver. 2001

There are many reasons why a person can not study in educational institutions. This may be a poor state of health, and considerable distance from educational centers, employment, etc. Unfortunately, even children due to certain circumstances sometimes do not attend all school activities. To avoid negative developments, not to allow the emergence of "debt" for study, backlog, many parents and guardians use a method such as distance learning in school. At the same time, it is possible to seriously improve the situation in school and a child who regularly goes to school, but does not demonstrate a full academic performance. Using distance learning in school, you can achieve good results.

Such an online school with lectures by experienced teachers, open at any time and working completely free of charge, is able to teach a child a lot of the educational program. He will be able to quickly learn any lesson. And if something suddenly turns out to be incomprehensible, it will only be necessary to re-run the video lesson of this Internet school, and the child will avoid a gap in knowledge. The main thing is that he wants. And it does not matter who needs distance education an adult or a child. Give the child to understand how important and useful this Internet school can be.

This paper explains interaction between some learners within relatively small groups on-line.

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