DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE LEARNING ACCORDING TO THE PROGRAM OF TOMSK REGIONAL CENTER FOR COMPETENCIES IN THE FIELD OF ONLINE LEARNING
Tomsk regional center for competencies in the field of online learning (hereinafter - Center) was established in 2017 as one of the events in the framework of the priority project “Modern digital educational environment in the Russian Federation”. The main objective of the Center, the one that is related to the employees and students of universities and colleges, is to build competencies in the field of online course production and integration into the learning process. To meet this objective the Center offers a range of events - retraining off-line courses, online courses, seminars, consulting service, projects and so on. Retraining courses are aimed at diverse audience - starting from rectors and deans to technical staff who wish to be a member of an online course production team. Those people who are competent in the field and wish to have a document certifying that may go through an examination. Experienced employees may share their best practices in blended learning with others submitting their idea into a special virtual collection and give a workshop onsite. Students may study traditional and online courses about this new trend in learning and become volunteers for the information and education events organized by the Center employees or become mentors of the online courses, which there teachers create after completing their retraining programs. Education in the Center goes along with the informational campaign, which has two objectives. The first one is to make a public aware of the opportunities that online learning provides. The second is to motivate professionals in the field of education for a fruitful discussion of the challenges it brings and ways of coping with them. To get the idea of this activity results the Center will set some monitoring initiatives. As far as schools are outside the spectrum of the digitalization priority project but are going to enter that the Tomsk regional center welcomes their representatives - both managers, teachers and children - to the educational and informational events as well. The expected results of the Center must be significant to the field of education in the region, as well as to its potential in joining a new Russian priority project on digital economy.