Bugaychuk K. L. Distance and e-learning: essence, features, correlation

Bugaychuk Konstantin Leonidovich
DISTANCE AND E-LEARNING: ESSENCE, FEATURES, CORRELATION

The article studies the origin and meaning of the terms «e-learning» and «distance learning». According to the analysis of scientific development of domestic and foreign experts it is concluded that the electronic and distance learning use electronic devices (computers, mobile telephones), information and communication technologies for the delivery of educational content, including Internet, and educational content is digitized. Emphasized, that educators use these concepts in two ways: as synonyms and as complementariness.

Instead, the laws devoted to the problems of education, separate the terms «e-learning» and «distance education technologies», from which it can be concluded that the legislator distinguishes these phenomena on the basis of invariance of the participants’ location of learning process. Determined that e-learning does not have to be at a distance, for example, it can exist in the classrooms of the institution , and distance learning, as a correspondent model, does not always use resources of the Internet and the computer. That is the concept of e-learning is wider and involves the use of electronic means for learning in various forms of learning (intramural, extramural) during professional development, during individual work of students and participants.

Distance learning occurs when participants of the learning process are away from the teacher and from each other and interact with each other through electronic means in synchronous and asynchronous modes (email, forums, social networking, social services, webinars, Skype, etc.). Today in the learning process as the main technical tools are frequently used mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, this has led to the term «mobile learning». Based on this, the author presents an original scheme of relation of electronic distance and mobile learning.

In further studies it is possible to analyze the evolution of e-learning (from e-learning 1.0 to e-learning 2.0), and the characteristics of the organizational forms of mobile learning in the context of modern information and communication technologies.