Director of the Institute of Distance Education Dmytro Tarasov tells about online courses on the VLE

ANNA ZIHANSHYNA, LVIV POLYTECHNIC CENTER FOR COMMUNICATION
Дмитро Тарасов

Distance learning expands opportunities for quality higher education. Access to all the main elements of the academic discipline, which is mastered by Lviv Polytechnic students, is provided by a virtual learning environment.

Dmytro Tarasov, Director of the Institute of Distance Education, spoke in more detail about the functioning and the content of online courses.

– The main information resource of the Institute of Distance Education is the Virtual Learning Environment. This information system is designed to organize the learning process, place learning materials and ensure constant communication between teacher and student. VLE is based on Moodle software. The Polytechnic Virtual Learning Environment can also connect additional resources.

– What is the main purpose of online courses?

– The main purpose of online courses is independent preparation and expansion of students’ learning opportunities. Online courses on the VLE include disciplines that have a certificate of electronic educational and methodological complex and are additionally provided with interactive components, test tasks, video lectures, etc. Students can get acquainted with all the materials online.

– Please tell us about the main shortcomings of the Virtual Learning Environment.

– A typical problem for students is to enter the VLE at the beginning of the academic year. This is usually due to a lack of login or forgotten password. Another problem is that the student does not see on the website the course to be taken. In the first case, you need to contact the system administrator of your Institute to make sure the password or other data is correct. If the student knows his password, but still cannot log in, he must contact the teacher of the discipline or write to the mail of the Department of Organizational Support of Distance Learning IDN.supr@lpnu.ua. As for the problems with the display of disciplines, teachers can independently connect students to the appropriate course.

– Has the popularity of VLE and online courses increased during quarantine?

– During quarantine, the popularity of the Virtual Learning Environment has grown significantly. To increase the capacity of the equipment, the Polytechnic Institute of Distance Education and the Center of Information Support transferred VLE to new servers. So the last session went virtually without problems.

– What alternative resources can students use to study remotely?

– Important alternative resources that complement the VLE are video conferencing, webinars, group work systems, namely: Microsoft Teams and Zoom. This is a useful addition to ensure the interactivity of distance learning. An alternative to a virtual learning environment can be means of exchanging information outside it. For example, corporate mail, which students and teachers can use to communicate, send papers for review, and so on. This allows you to unload the work of the Virtual Learning Environment.