International forum on teacher education (vIFTE-2020) on the problems of distance education in the world.

The Sixth international forum on Teacher education (vIFTE-2020) was successfully held in Kazan. This time it was held online. The forum turned out to be quite adequate to the reality and most of the problems that were discussed at it were related to online education, its disadvantages and advantages. The participants of this forum themselves experienced these nuances of online dialogue. In essence, the forum became a laboratory where problems of distance education and other scientific and pedagogical problems were discussed online. This is the kind of self-reflection that was in the "here and now" mode.

It must be recognized that this year's pedagogical forum has become a real world Internet laboratory with a large number of visitors. Attendance at the forum was very high. It was visited by more than 10 thousand people.



I paid special attention to the video conference of aidara Kalimullina, Director of the Institute of psychology and education of Kazan Federal University, which was held as part of this Sixth international forum on teacher education. He addressed scientists and educators around the world with questions about the difficulties faced by parents, students and teachers in connection with the transition to distance education. In addition, participants of the video conference were asked about the lessons and results that can be learned from the small experience of teachers around the world engaged in distance education. Next, a topical question was asked: how can we change the training programs of our teachers so that they are ready to teach in a variety of conditions?



Timirkhan ALISHEV, Vice-rector for external relations of Kazan Federal University, was the first to speak. He noted that almost 80 percent of the world's students have switched to distance education and highlighted the problem of distance education when there are several children in the family. Alishev drew attention to the problem of distance education infrastructure and unequal technical conditions in different families.

They noted that not all teachers were ready for the distance format, but it became mass in March. Already in March and early April, these technical tools appeared, and since the end of April, these technical problems have been eliminated. After overcoming this first stage, there were already pedagogical and methodological problems. Alishev paid attention to the problem of design of distance education courses, the problem of a new format for evaluating students, the problem of involvement in learning, and finally, the problem of independent work of students.

According to Timirkhan Alishev, the problem of digital didactics and the need to transform educational programs has become acute. He noted that a deeper approach and integration is needed. It is necessary to use technologies and new educational platforms for more effective learning. At the same time, it was revealed that schools did not see a single platform in March. Students have adapted to distance education, but they lack contact with each other and live communication with the teacher.

In conclusion, this participant of the video conference concluded that students have a negative attitude to the complete replacement of distance education, but the World and school will not be the same. Schools will never return to the traditional format.





Murat Choshanov, a Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, continued the video conference. He began his speech with the thesis that the situation with distance education was an emergency and there was not much choice. The speaker immediately highlighted the problem of preserving the quality of education. Schools in the United States have abandoned standardized and non-standardized testing because of the quality of the conditions. The second problem is the shift of emphasis from information and organizational functions in the teacher's work to constructive and design. The information and organizational function will always be dominant in traditional didactics. Relevance goes away. And the classroom-based system is being replaced by a digital learning environment, which is dominated by the constructive and design function of the teacher and the teacher.

The problem of individual independent work has increased dramatically. Schools in the United States were skeptical about homework. In us schools, this is underestimated. Teachers and instructors were not ready for a paradigm shift. Choshanov concluded that teaching becomes dominant in distance education. Teaching seems to fade into the shadows. The teacher must learn to design an effective learning environment. Each challenge is simultaneously an opportunity.

Then Maria Zhigalova, a Professor at the Brest state technical University, took the floor. According to her point of view, the situation with distance education has only added new forms of education, leaving the old ones. The workload of teachers has increased. The problem of feedback has worsened. The task began to be performed without the presence of a teacher. There was a problem controlling self-execution of tests. Distance education should be available, but it will never replace live communication between a teacher and a student.



The next participant of the videoconference Lyudmila Berkner , associate Professor of Slavic studies at the Iasi University "al. I. Cuza" began her speech with the motto : «Variability. Dynamism. Novelty». Then she noted that teachers have turned from educators to online teachers.

The speaker gave quite an objective assessment of online education in Romania, which is close to Amateur. This opinion is shared by almost all parents and teachers. She recalled that the Ministry of education offers its platform, but it is overloaded. And for teachers, the workload has actually doubled. It was difficult to establish a remote connection, although there were instructions. The majority of teachers do not have the skills of distance learning. Many universities do not have their own digital platform. Learning and teaching has become more difficult, despite webinars and video conferences. The state should provide technical means.



Miroslav prokhazka, a Professor at the University of South Bohemia, also noted the lack of connection to distance education. He spoke about the low motivation of students and parents. About how much time parents now spend on children. He spoke about the problem of social deficit and various socio-cultural capital. Czech teachers were not ready. At times, teachers and parents met in front of the school and passed on the job. The Professor noted that there is a low motivation of students for distance education.





Yulia Koynova-Zellner, a Professor at the Technical University of Dresden, called distance education canned food, and canned food is known to be good only during the war and in the campaign. In other words, digital education will never replace or enrich the process of subject knowledge. There is a narrowing of the dialogue and no feedback. At the same time, distance education allows you to avoid stagnation in the field of education. The Professor advised to avoid mixing the roles of parents and professional teachers. Helping to clarify the role of parents is the task of a distance learning teacher. At the same time, it is not necessary to shift the responsibility only to parents or only to teachers. There is an importance of prompt cooperation between teachers and parents. Cooperative collaboration is also necessary with colleagues.





Boncho Gospodinov, a Professor at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, was concerned that there was a lack of a unified centralized functioning education system , as well as sufficient qualifications of teachers for such work. More than 65 percent of teachers are over 45 years old and have no experience with information technology.

Daria Hanolainen, a researcher at the University of jyvaskyl, said that a hybrid model will be introduced in Finland. Testing mode is already underway for the new school year. There were no failures. The main lesson will be learned in the summer.

Ulanbek Mambetakunov, Vice-President of the Kyrgyz Academy of education under the Ministry of education and science of the Kyrgyz Republic, said that education is being digitalized in Kyrgyzstan for the second year, but there are not enough technical resources for students.





At the end of the video conference, Aidar Kalimullin, Director of the Institute of psychology and education of Kazan Federal University, said that everyone is drawn together by a common problem. This is something that teachers are not fully prepared for, but everyone agrees that this is a forced measure. Teachers of the world have just begun to accumulate experience in the field of distance education. There is a global inequality in the field of distance education. In some countries, there were funds to support distance education. We must recognize that teachers were learning new technologies for themselves. The teachers were modern heroes, along with the doctors fighting the covid. The moderator noted that there is an understanding of the need for modernization in all countries and a serious transformation of education is expected throughout the world. Professor Aidar Kalimullin noted that there is a need to change the training program for teachers of the University, in connection with the increasing relevance of distance education. And special attention should be paid to the psychological training of teachers, so that distance education does not cause harm.

It must be recognized that the introduction of distance education as an indicator has exposed all the problems of education in the world. These educational problems are now visible as under a magnifying glass and are visible to all parents. I want to believe that education in the world, thanks to the introduction of distance learning, will become the main condition for its development and improvement.