Scientific-innovation Center EdTech AITU

We live in a digital world where technology is increasingly becoming a part of our society. Therefore, we need to explore and exploit the benefits that technology can bring to the education system. Technology is often associated with the automation of processes and the reduction of human interaction, although in education it will never replace the role of our great teachers. However, technology can be an effective tool in helping to reduce workloads, increase efficiency, remove barriers to quality education, and provide tools to support lifelong learning and improve student achievement.

Description

Digital technologies are gradually penetrating into all branches of human activity, including education, contributing to the development of the individual and society. This makes it necessary to research and use the advantages that these technologies can bring to the education system. The use of digital technologies is often associated with the automation of processes and the reduction of human interaction, although in education they will never replace the role of a teacher. Nevertheless, without the use of videoconferencing and Internet technologies, it would be difficult to imagine how universities could cope with the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, technology can be an effective tool to help reduce the workload and increase the productivity of teachers, remove barriers to quality and inclusive education, as well as provide tools to support lifelong learning and improve student academic performance.

Although the use of technology does not always have a positive effect, choosing the right approach can bring benefits such as simplification and automation of tasks and processes, improved cooperation and access to information, as well as data collection and analysis for effective management of the learning process.

The OpenCourseWare project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, initiated in the early 2000s, as well as massive open online courses (MOOCs), launched almost simultaneously on the Coursera and EdX platforms in 2012, significantly influenced the development of online education in the world. The development of online education and the study of educational technologies began to engage not only universities with a distance learning format (for example, The Open University), but also such supporters of the traditional approach to learning as Cambridge University and Oxford University. The prospects of these areas are confirmed by the constant growth of MOOCs and students in global online learning platforms.

Mission

The study of digital technologies and the use of their advantages for effective learning.

Vision

To become a center for digital transformation of learning and expertise of educational technologies.

Goals

– research, adaptation and implementation of educational technologies in the teaching and learning process of the University;

– development and elaboration of an innovative learning environment based on digital technologies;

– implementation and support of the concept of continuing education (lifelong learning).

Directions for development

– implementation of the concept of continuing education (platform of continuing education, system of accounting and transfer of academic credits, modules for integration of educational programs, bank of academic credits, national framework of end-to-end competencies);

– research in the field of educational technologies and innovative approach to learning (adaptive learning, recommendation systems, virtual, augmented and mixed reality, virtual assistant);

– development of educational technologies and implementation of innovations in the learning process (analytics of educational data, development of dashboards, digital profile, analytics and decision-making system, virtual simulators and laboratories);

– development of instructional design skills of the teaching staff and digital pedagogy (methods of developing educational content and evaluation tools, psychometric research, collaborative and social learning).

Projects and initiatives

1. Internal project “Creating a virtual University model using the Nvidia Omniverse platform”

2. Development and deployment of a continuous IT education platform based on a competency-based training model

Results

Virtual model of University