УДК: 4И(07) К-30
THE ROLE OF DISTANT LEARNING IN THE FORMATION OF
INTELLECTUAL NATION
А.О. Каус
Филиал «Назарбаев
Интеллектуальная школа физико-математического направления в г.Семей»
акционерного общества «Назарбаев Интеллектуальные
школы»
The world is not standing still - it develops with a very fast pace. The
sooner changes occur, the better people realize the importance of modern
education. In every sense, education is one of the fundamental factors of
development. No country can achieve sustainable economic development without
substantial investment in human capital. Education enriches people’s
understanding of themselves and the outside world. It improves the quality of
their lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society. Education
raises people’s productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and
technological advances. In addition it plays a very crucial role in securing
economic and social progress and improving income distribution.
Nursultan Nazarbayev has repeatedly stressed in his speeches that high quality
education is a key to successful future of Kazakhstan. In his lecture
"Kazakhstan in the post-crisis world: intellectual leap into the future” the
President announced the idea of the project "Intellectual Nation 2020”, which main
aim is to nurture people of a new formation and to transform Kazakhstan into a
country with a competitive human capital. The project is based on three
aspects:
§ a breakthrough in the education development;
§ the development of science and scientific potential of
the country;
§ the development of innovations.
Head of the State focused his attention on the actions, which are
necessary for Kazakhstan to fit into the trends of modern time. "Kazakhstan,”
emphasized Nursultal Abishevich "is in a great necessity of an intellectual
revolution, which will awake the nation potential. It is important to create
such education system, which will allow to bring up active, successful
generation, capable to create and realize breakthrough projects. We need to
ensure that our youth is able not only to receive, but also to create new
knowledge. Today, the most important qualities are creative thinking, ability
to process knowledge, and ability to find not ordinary decisions, methods of
teaching, new specialist”.
Distance learning based on modern information technologies meets all
requirements of the educational paradigm of postindustrial society. Distant learning is a process of transferring
knowledge to learners who are separated from the teacher by time and/or
physical distance and are making use of technology components, such as
Internet, video, CD’s, tapes, and other terms of technology to accomplish
learning. Distance learning is attractive for several reasons, including
convenience, flexibility, and pace. It is convenient because you can study when
and where you want. Other students like the ability to work at their own pace.
For example, a distance learning student can complete assignments quickly, or
work ahead on a subject that is easy for him or her. Likewise, a student can
spend additional time on assignments that are difficult. Distant learning is
very flexible. But at the same time, it requires more of the learner. As a
learner, you are responsible for ensuring that you schedule the necessary time
away from other activities in order to complete your coursework and
assignments. Besides that, statistics says that students who succeed at
distance learning are generally very organized, self-motivated, and comfortable
with a computer. That’s why teaching and learning via the internet are becoming
more and more popular.
At Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Semey distant learning technologies,
such as yacapaca.com, zunal.com, master-test.net,
are widely used. They are free e-learning platforms designed for educators to
create, share, set, mark and analyse students’ assessments. Our students have
an opportunity to complete homework assignments independently at home and
submit them electronically to their teacher. They use online research tools,
including databases and extensive collections of electronically stored
documents, to complete projects-instead of wading through stacks of books in a
traditional library. The Internet's search engines, along with the many
scholarly databases that online schools make available to their students,
replace traditional trips to the campus library. Students communicate with a
tutor, ask questions via e-mail, online chat or scype phone calls. Such
intensive use of internet-based technologies is possible thanks to the
excellent technical equipment. The
school
has 12 multimedia classrooms with software for managing class, 3 classrooms of computer science with licensed software for programming and construction graphics, 37 smart-classrooms, more than six hundred computers and laptops. The school is connected to the high-speed Internet; there is settled wireless local network (Wi-Fi), which covers the entire territory of the school.
Distant learning also helps us to reach learners in different geographic
locations, and what is more important in rural areas. In September 2010 Virtual
School of Nazarbayev Intellectual School was opened. Virtual school provides a kind of additional remote
learning using distance learning technologies, which allows students to receive and carry out
tasks, to use teaching material and to take a consultancy services off network
teacher in the off-line mode. Its main goal is to create conditions for
developing students’ skills in Mathematics and Natural Sciences in
every Kazakhstani region and city of republican value. Another reason, why
virtual school was created, is to prepare 5th-6th grade
pupils to get the grant
of the First President at Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools. The main objectives of the
Virtual School are:
§ to provide opportunities for individual assignments
according to NIS profile subjects’ curriculum;
§ to provide methodological support for students of
virtual school;
§ to organize a vacation school for full-time studying.
In 2010-2011
academic year more than a hundred students all over the region took part in
Virtual school project at Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Semey. Twenty seven
of them completed the course successfully and were invited to participate in
the vocational school in the end of March. Many students say that thanks to
lessons at Virtual school, they got an opportunity to enlarge their knowledge
on Mathematics, English, Kazakh and Russian languages, compare subjects’ curriculum at NIS and their own school, find
out their weak points and work harder at them.
As can be seen form the passage above distant learning
is extremely important technology of Kazakhstan, a country which has enormous
intellectual potential and beg territories. On the 7th of December
2010, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev in his speech to students of
Nazarbayev University said, "You, representatives of modern generation, have
great opportunities, which you have to use them as much as possible. You are
future intellectual elite of the Kazakhstan Republic. And nowadays your mission
is to study properly.” Lifelong learning should be the motto for all Kazakhs, Nazarbayev said,
adding that Kazakhstan will continue to create conditions for the people to
pursue this goal and usage of distant learning technologies will play an
important part in this process.
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