Russia

Russia in a nutshell

(mainly sourced from: Wikipedia)

Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Eurasia. It is a semi-presidential republic comprising 83 federal subjects. At 17,075,400 square kilometers, Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 142 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40 % of Europe, spanning 11 time zones and incorporating a great range of environments and landforms.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Russia

Russia established worldwide power and influence from the times of the Russian Empire to being the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first and largest constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower. The nation can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts and sciences. The Russian Federation was founded following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but is recognized as the continuing legal personality of the Soviet Union. Russia has one of the world's fastest growing major economies.

Though Russia's population is comparatively large, its population density is low because of the country's enormous size. Population is densest in European Russia, near the Ural Mountains, and in southwest Siberia. 73 % of the population lives in urban areas. As of the 2002 Census, the two largest cities in Russia are Moscow (10,126,424 inhabitants) and Saint Petersburg (4,661,219). Eleven other cities have between one and two million inhabitants. Moscow is also the capital of Russia.

Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages. According to the 2002 Census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by Tatar with 5.3 million and German with 2.9 million speakers. Russian is the only official state language, but the Constitution gives the individual republics the right to make their native language co-official next to Russian. Over a quarter of the world's scientific literature is published in Russian. Russian is also applied as a means of coding and storage of universal knowledge – 60 – 70 % of all world information is published in English and Russian languages.

Russian education policy

(mainly sourced from: Wikipedia)

The literacy rate in Russia is currently 99.4 %. All citizens are guaranteed free education by the Constitution. Entry to higher education is highly competitive. As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and space and aviation research is generally of a high order. The main task of modern education policy in Russia is the thorough modernization of the education system, which was built during the Soviet period.

Russian education system

(mainly sourced from: Wikipedia and OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for the Russian Federation.)

The Russian education system can be divided into four major groups: primary education, secondary education, higher education and post-graduate education.

Secondary education

Secondary education in Russia takes eleven years to complete. After graduation from the 9th grade, which is compulsory for all Russian citizens, a pupil obtains a Certificate of Basic General Education (equivalent to O-Level). After that he/she has to choose one of the following ways to complete his/her secondary education: continue education for two more years at the secondary school to pursue a Certificate of Complete Secondary Education (equivalent to A-Level) or to pursue an associate degree at a tradesmen school or a college, which usually takes three years to complete.

University

After obtaining a Certificate of Complete Secondary Education a student can enter a university or an institute (college). He/she can choose a program of higher education with the duration of four to six years. There are three different degrees that are conferred by Russian universities. The first degree is the Bakalavr (Bachelor) degree. Bakalvr's programs last for at least 4 years of full-time university-level study. The programs are elaborated in accordance with the State Educational Standards, which regulate almost 80 % of their content. The other 20 % are elaborated by the university itself. The programs include professional and special courses in Science, Humanities and Social-economic disciplines, professional training, completion of a research paper/project and passing State final exams. The Bakalavr's degree is awarded in all fields except Medicine after defending a Diploma project prepared under the guidance of a supervisor and passing the final exams. In Medicine, the first stage lasts for six years.

Holders of the Bakalavr degree are admitted to enter the Specialist Diploma and Magistr's (Master's) degree programs. The Magistr's degree is awarded after successful completion of two years' full-time study. Students must carry out a year of research including practice and prepare and defend a thesis which constitutes an original contribution and sit for final examinations. Both Bakalavr's and Magistr's degrees were introduced relatively recently; they did not exist during the Soviet period. (Wikipedia)

Post-graduate levels

After obtaining a Specialist's or Master's Degree a student may enter a university or a scientific institute to pursue post-graduate education. The first level of post-graduate education is aspirantura that usually results in the Kandidat nauk degree (Candidate of Sciences). The seeker should pass three exams (in his/her special field, in a foreign language of his/her choice, and in history and philosophy of science), publish at least three scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, write a dissertation and defend it. This degree is roughly equivalent to the Ph.D. in the United States.

After graduation a student may continue postgraduate education. After several (2 – 4) years of study in doctorantura, if they obtain important scientific results, publish them and write another thesis, the Doctor Nauk degree (Doctor of Sciences) can be awarded. The average time between obtaining Kandidat and Doctor degrees is roughly 10 years. Only 1 in 4 Kandidats reaches this grade. Granting of advanced degrees is overseen by the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science.

Higher education in Russia

(mainly sourced from: Wikipedia and OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for the Russian Federation.)

See also the following OECD report for more information about the Russian higher education:

Thematic Review of Tertiary Education - Country Background Reports.

The Russian education system was originally inherited from the Soviet Union without any significant changes. In the Soviet Union, the education of all levels was free for anybody who could pass entrance exams; students were provided with small scholarships and free housing. This was considered crucial because it provided access to higher education to all skilled students, as opposed to only those who could afford it. Free higher education is the main reason why more than 20 % of Russians aged 30–59 hold six-year degrees.

The downside of that system was that institutions had to be funded entirely from the federal and regional budgets; therefore, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, expenditures on education took a big blow; institutions found themselves unable to provide adequate teachers' salaries, students' scholarships, and maintenance for their facilities. To address the issue, many state institutions started to open commercial positions. The number of those positions has been growing steadily since then. Many private higher education institutions have emerged, mostly in the fields where Soviet system was inadequate or was unable to provide enough specialists for post-Soviet realities, such as economics, business/management, and law. In 2004, 35 % of all first-year students were paying for their own education in state institutions and 20 % were enrolled in private universities.

Today, the country has 685 governmental higher education institutions, all of these having state accreditation. Besides, 619 non-governmental higher education institutions have been licensed for educational activities, 367 of these having been given accreditation in the past decade. Thus, the number of higher education institutions is 1,304 (1,162 of which are accredited). In 2003–2004, the total number of students in higher education institutions was 5,947,500, including 5,228,700 and 718,800 in governmental and non-governmental education institutions respectively.

The trend for consolidation began in 2006 when state universities and colleges of Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog and other southern towns were merged into Southern Federal University, based in Rostov-on-Don; a similar conglomerate was formed in Krasnoyarsk as Siberian Federal University; the third one is likely to emerge in Vladivostok as Pacific Federal University, Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University acquired the federal university status in 2007 without further organizational changes.

The composition of Russian students is also becoming more and more homogeneous. Foreign students (including students from countries of the CIS and the Baltic countries), educated in state and municipal HEIs, make up less than 2% of the total. The number of students from different countries accepted and graduated varies depending on the character of political and economic relations between Russia and other countries, and on the presence or absence of bilateral special agreements between the countries.

Higher education reform

(mainly sourced from: Wikipedia, OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for the Russian Federation. and Implementation of the Bologna Process in Russia: Tomsk Polytechnic University as a case model.)

The tertiary education system in Russia is being modernized and developed within the context of social, cultural and economic changes taken place in the country since early 1990s. However, it can be stated that the importance of individual, uniquely Russian factors for change is gradually falling, as trends typical for the majority of countries in the developing world are becoming dominant.

The modernization of the tertiary education system includes the following tasks: facilitation of cooperation between universities and local communities, active participation of HEIs in regional development, closer liaison with the business community, increased financial stability in HEIs and the creation of a transparent quality assessment system compatible with and comparable to the international systems. The goals of internationalization of tertiary education and integration into the European and world education areas facilitate the modernization of tertiary education system.

Since 1985 some proposals for restructuring the Russian educational system in accordance with the U.S. educational system have also been made. Nevertheless, these proposals have been discarded as retrogressive. Instead, much more interest has been shown in adopting the proposed international standards of the Bologna Process.

The Russian Federation officially joined the Bologna Process in 2003. As a result, the country has taken certain national responsibilities to strengthen the convergence and transparency of its HE qualification structures, to resolve the problem of transfer and weighing of academic credits, and to improve its quality assurance system, thereby increasing international academic mobility and graduate employability. Some of the Bologna reforms were initiated already before Russia officially joined the Bologna Process. However, the empirical data show that the process of implementing the Bologna principles in Russian HEIs is still rather slow, because relevant legislation and financial support is lagging behind.

Administration and finance

(mainly sourced from: OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for the Russian Federation.)

The changes that took place in the economic and political life in Russia in the last 10 – 15 years have had an enormous impact on the higher education system, including its resource base. The positive trends in recent years include a major growth in the volume of state funds allocated to the higher education sector, and the development of new sources of HEI funding.

In Russia, there are two different institutional types of higher education structures: state (municipal) and private HEIs. The sources of financing differ greatly. The main difference in the system of sources of funding for state and private HEIs is that for the first time on a regular basis (annually), funds from the budget (mainly the federal budget) are received in the form of so-called budgetary appropriations. Private HEIs do not have the right to receive such funding. This factor is fundamental for understanding the differences between the financial positions of these two types of HEIs, as budget financing for state HEIs usually amounts to 30 % or more of the operating income.

Quality assurance

(mainly sourced from: OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for the Russian Federation.)

State assessment of quality assurance in education consists of three stages: licensing, attestation and accreditation, which have been consolidated into a single comprehensive assessment procedure since 2000. Currently adopted amendments to the RF Law 'On Education' have unified (merged) present procedures of attestation and state accreditation.

Licensing is the assessment of compliance of the conditions of educational activity with state requirements for academic classrooms, laboratory equipment, the level of teaching staff and academic literature. Licensing includes the review of documents and the performance of external expert reviews, including field visits by committees. Given positive results of the licensing process, a HEI receives a license: a document of permission granting the right to perform educational activity and receive eligibility for tax concessions.

Attestation, in turn, is the assessment of the compliance of content, the level and quality of the training of graduates with the requirements of state educational standards, the identification of trends in the development of the academic process and methods of overcoming negative trends. Finally, accreditation is the establishment (confirmation for a consecutive term) of the state-accredited status of a HEI by type (higher education institution) and form (institute, academy or university) with the establishment of a list of educational programs in which the HEI has the right to issue national diplomas.

Based on the results of state accreditation, an HEI receives a diploma of state accreditation, including a list of accredited programs and the period of accreditation. Information about accredited HEIs and programs is published in an official registry, in an annual directory. The National Accreditation Agency, established by the Ministry of Education in 1995, supports the higher education institutions, the educational establishments of vocational training, and the educational authorities of Russia in carrying out their state accreditation procedures.

No HEI has the right to commence operations without the receipt of a license issued by the Federal Service. Each license must be confirmed every five years. The first attestation of a new HEI may be conducted upon application, three years after the receipt of a license, on condition of the successful graduation of the first group of students. Attestation is also performed once every five years. Passing the procedures of attestation of educational programs and accreditation of HEIs (once every 5 years) is mandatory for all state HEIs. Non-state HEIs are subject to these procedures only if they are applying for the right to issue national diplomas.

Russian HEIs in the information society

Towards the information society

(mainly sourced from: Institute of the Information Society, The Information Society and Technology in Russia. Cultivate Interactive 8:2002., Russia e-Readiness and e-Needs Assessment. and Promoting Enabling Environment for Information Society Development in CIS countries. United Nations ICT Task Force Europe and Central Asia Regonal Network Series 1.)

Awareness of the advantages resulting from dissemination of information and communication technologies (ICT) started to grow in Russia only at the turn of the new millennium. The Russian Federation makes some 12.5 % of the Earth’s territory and only 2.4 % of its population. So the population density, which is very important for the development of information and communication technologies, is rather low (20 % of the average figure for the world). Additionally, the population density is substantially different in different regions. Especially in rural areas with extremely low population density, severe climate and, therefore, high cost of telecommunication facilities, access to the modern telecommunication infrastructure is often poor.

Local, national and international long-distance fixed telephone voice communications were still the main type of network connection in the early 21st century Russia. Mobile communication networks encompassed 74 out of 89 Russian regions at the beginning of 2001. According to information from the Communication Ministry of Russia, there were some 2.5 million cellular phone users in Russia at that time. Additionally, some 20 million users had access to cable television networks.

According to the results of research carried out by Russian Public Centre of Internet Technologies (ROCIT), the number of Internet connections in 2001 reached 5 million (compared with 3.4 million in 2000) and the audience of Runet (Russian Internet) 18 million users (11.4 million users in 2000). The regular audience was estimated at 8 million users (those who use the Internet at least once a week). At the same time, the percentage of corporate users (those who use the Internet from an office, an educational institution, a library or other point of common access) grew to 65 %, which was 5 % more than the year before. For Russia with its vast territory and poor population, these public internet access points were, indeed, important.

In 2002, 79 % of Russian internet users were younger than 45. Stable growth of Internet users had been identified among managers (20 %) and students (30 %). 35 % of the Runet audience used the Internet at home and 73% of them had a monthly income below $ 100 per person. Geographically the Russian Internet audience was still concentrated in Moscow (57.2 %) and in Saint-Petersburg (9.1 %); 72 second level domains were in the capitals of Russia (Moscow and Saint-Petersburg), though more activity had been registered in the regions in 2001. A considerable digital divide continued to exist between Moscow and the regions of Russia.

Factors setting limits to the growth of the internet audience were related to the approaching saturation point as regards Moscow Internet usage, the poor quality of telephone connections in the regions and a low level of awareness of the capacities and benefits of the Internet. ROCIT considered that the Russian Internet audience was not growing very quickly because of the high cost of personal computers and the low availability of Internet connections using other cheaper terminals (e.g. specialized TV devices). The competition between internet providers in large cities, in turn, caused a trend towards a reduction in costs. Additionally, prices had become more balanced; they were different for various access speed and information volumes.

The federal bodies started to pay serious attention to the Internet and to the information society after President Putin signed the Global Information Society Okinava Hartia adopted by G8 in July 2000. As a consequence, the Russian State Information Society policy also started to become more detailed. In January 2002, President Putin signed a federal law on electronic signatures, thereby rendering an electronic signature legally equivalent to a graphic signature. A law on electronic business was discussed in the State Duma and passed the first reading.

At the same time (January 2002), a federal target-oriented program Electronic Russia 2002 – 2010 was initiated by the RF Government. The program aimed at computerizing the country and encouraging the development of IT and communications sectors. Additionally, the Ministry of Education of Russia in co-operation with regional authorities completed a program of computerization in country schools the year before, supplying hardware and software together with teacher training in 97 % of schools. Several projects involving training courses for school teachers were also managed by the Federation of Internet Education.

The government decreed that people lacking facilities and skills should be provided with internet connections in post offices all over Russia. Centers of collective internet access were planned in 1,860 regional post-offices. Additionally, the official websites of the President, of the Security Council, of the Russian Government, of the State Duma, of all Ministers, and of regional administrations were opened, which proved the federal program Electronic Government successful.

So since the mid-90s, the Russian Federation had developed several programs aiming to develop particular components of the information society. In September 1998, a number of professionals in the sphere of information technologies, telecommunications and information policy, brought together by the common goal of developing the Information Society in Russia, had established an independent research and service organization called the Institute of the Information Society (IIS). And a few years later (November 2001), IIS and 50 other organizations from 7 Russian regions had initiated the creation of the Russian e-Development Partnership (PRIOR).

In spite of all, Russia did not have a national e-Strategy until year 2008. In August 2006, the government had adopted a new version of the program eRussia 2002 – 2010 drafted by the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications. At the same time, objectives of governmental support to competitive domestic production in the sphere of ICT, development of national information infrastructure, as well as objectives of introducing ICT in activity of separate governmental bodies were singled out as special governmental and departmental programs and projects. Finally in February 2008, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, approved the Information Society Development Strategy in Russia, which was elaborated with the assistance of the Institute of the Information Society.

E-learning in Russian schools

(mainly sourced from: Education of the Highest Quality – an Interview with Prof. Yuri Rubin at the Moscow Academy of Finance and Industry. and Russian Federation: E-Learning Policy to Transform Russian Schools. Document of The World Bank.)

As early as the mid-60s, Russia under Soviet rule had recognized the importance of computer technology. Computers were introduced into general education with the aim of achieving a technological breakthrough for the USSR through development of information and computer literacy in all general school graduates. Special software was developed and teachers were trained. At the beginning of 90s, up to 28 % of schools were equipped with computers, mainly of Soviet make.

Neither the USSR then, nor Russia since, was able to sustain these pioneering efforts. The decentralization and under-funding of the Russian education system in the 90s resulted in a growing inequity of ICT availability across the education system. During that time, the only significant forward movement in the use of ICT in education was seen in higher education (HE). For the most part, because of the division of responsibilities for education between regional and federal levels, the push was uncoordinated. It had no clearly recognizable and coherent strategy for changing either educational content or methodologies. It also led to such a degree of diversification in technical specifications and software standards that it closed the door to any subsequent system-wide approach. The net effect was that investment in ICT in higher education in Russia had very few flow-on effects to other levels of education and generally at their expense. By the late 90s, Russia had become the only country with an increasing student to computer ratio in schools, a situation caused in part by the obsolescence of the first generation computers installed in the 80s.

However, Russia’s recently improved economic and political stability is changing the picture. Russia can now afford to recognize the urgent need to embed ICT in its educational practices in both general and vocational education. Moreover, there is a clear change of attitude toward ICT education in Russian society. The general public understands the importance of ICT. School administrators, teachers, and the teachers’ union also see ICT as an important part of the reform agenda – a comparatively recent development. At the political level too, all parties have acknowledged the importance of ICT education.

In the public sector, parallel with two presidential initiatives for installing modern computers in urban and rural schools, the federal government initiated two key policy programs that included measures to accelerate the introduction and integration of ICT education in both general and initial vocational schools. The programs were Development of the Common Education Information Space for 2001 – 2006 (E-Education for short), published in August 2001, and Electronic Russia for 2002 – 2010 (E-Russia for short), published in January 2002. These initiatives were perceived as a key condition for integrating Russia into the community of developed countries. However, although the programs were interrelated, there was no clear mechanism for their administrative coordination. There was neither a mechanism to coordinate the efforts of the federal government with diverse regional and institutional initiatives.

Three private sector initiatives, in turn, marked interesting developments in educational funding. However, only the first was of direct relevance to general school needs and was aimed at providing a systemic change. It was the teacher training program started in 2000 by the Yukos oil company with the main goal of introducing Russian teachers to ICT in general and to the Internet in particular. The other two private ventures were the OSI auditorium.ru education portal initiative and the Teleschool project.

Despite the emergence of highly relevant government policies and programs, public support, and Russia's natural wealth of talent, Russia has faced huge difficulties in equipping its people with the skills necessary to compete in an information economy. Russia's huge landmass, thinly spread population, lack of available finances, and regional diversity have all brought daunting challenges, especially to the setting up of effective connectivity and digital networks.

So it can be said that the Russian e-learning market started to take shape only in the mid-2000s, and indeed, the country now has all the conditions for rapid development of e-learning. Since 2004, Russia has received support from The World Bank with developing higher education facilities, hardware and software application, and instructor lead professional development. So in the near future, many higher education institutions will be able to take an active part in using e-learning tools.

Virtual initiatives in HE

Moscow State University for Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI)

The Moscow State University for Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI) is an innovative research and education complex comprising 50 branches, 117 representative offices and over 100 regional partners in the Russian Federation and abroad, namely in Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Ukraine. The number of students is 150,000, including some 7,000 foreign learners from 52 different countries around the world.

The employment of modern teaching and learning methods, and information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as the extensive use of modern software and educational resources are of high importance at MESI. Using its wide regional network, MESI also realizes joint research and educational programs with the leading Russian and foreign universities. At MESI, e-learning covers the following areas:

1. Technologies
   Internet
   PC
   Communication and delivery tools
2. Content authoring
   IMS and SCORM
   Adaptation for any delivery medium and bandwidth
3. Teacher training
   Instruments of LCMS
   E-Learning philosophy
   Time saving
4. Delivery and promotion of e-Learning
   Online model
   Blended model
   Special intro-courses for all students (instrument of LCMS and philosophy of e-learning)
5. Knowledge management
   Storage of all learning information and learning sequences
   Customized learning materials according to individual learners’ needs

The quality of e-learning is ensured with up-to-date materials, reliable technologies, student-centered pedagogical approaches, provision in technological support, regular teacher training and 24/7 tutor support, face-to-face assessment supervised by videoconferencing, practical assignments for every theoretical module, as well as SCORM and IMS conformance.

The different technologies used include:

• Forum, e-conference and chat
• Personal messages system
• Learning schedule or diary (personal and group learning events, learning plans)
• Assessment system
• File exchange system
• Wiki (allows students to exchange information through collaborative effort)
• Glossary
• Virtual classroom
• Module for mobile access
• Competency (skills) management system
• Learning results interpretation and analysis system
• Authoring
• Content authoring tools
• Specialized authoring tools (assessment producers, simulation tools etc.)
• Collaborative authoring environment

Eurasian Open Institute (EOI)

The Eurasian Open Institute (EOI) was established in 1998. It is a member of Russian Association of Business Education, Russian Association of Marketing, Association of Non-governmental Russian Institutions of Higher Education and International Educational Consortium Electronic University. There are more than 3,000 graduate and about 100 postgraduate students at EOI, and the regional network unites as many as 11 branches, 83 representative offices and 75 partners organizations in various regions of Russia and CIS.

The Eurasian Open Institute offers a wide range of professional education programs: undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate and supplementary education, including online programs. In fact, there are more than 350 electronic courses available at EOI.

North-West State Correspondence Technical University

The North-West State Correspondence Technical University (NWTU) was founded in 1930. Today, it is one of the leading Russian universities in the sphere of enigineering education. From the university's inception, its mission has been to give people engaged in production an opportunity to recieve high quality education without significant interruption of their major activities.

The innovative educational environment of NWTU allows training of specialists in the interests of industrial enterprises of the region. An open educational domain of the university is based on the network cooperation of 39 educational centers, which allow people residing on a huge territory to recieve quality professional education. The components of the innovative educational environment of NWTU include:

• a system of determining professional competences;
• a modern methodology of setting up and using information resources;
• traditional and innovative educational technologies;
• a geographically distributed network of educational centers.

The basis for formation of a model of professional competences are the requirements of state educational standards and orders from the enterprises in the region. The choise of educational techniques and their integration into the educational program depend also on the customers' specialities and interests.

Additionally, there is an e-library at NWTU. The main purpose of the library is to provide the educational process with information support in time and in full. The e-library offers an entire set of services in remote servicing of students, and even the graduates of NWTU have an access to the information resources after their graduation.

Openness is the most important feature in the university's educational environment. NWTU was the first Russian HEI to place its video lectures for public access on You Tube and on Corbina. Another unique method that the university uses are the virtual laboratory works and workshops. The virtual laboratory complex of NWTU integrates functions of simulating programs, automated education and control.

Ulyanovsk Consortium of Open Education

The Ulyanovsk Consortium of Open Education (UCOE) is a regional educational association aimed at providing open and continuing education in the Ulyanovsk region. The key member of the association is the Ulyanovsk State Technical University (UlSTU), which provides the succesful implementation of open and continuing education within the region. UlSTU coordinates the association's activities in accordance with the declared mission - to provide open lifelong learning from everywhere and at any time.

The Ulyanovsk Consortium of Open Education embraces educational institutions, university branches and E&T centers providing different levels of education. The School of Business "Career" provides vocational education and training and refreshing courses, the College of Economics and Information Technology secondary vocational education and the Institute of Distance Education higher education.

Students and learners at the Institute of Distance Education have an opportunity to choose one of the suggested learning technologies depending on their individual learning style:

• Case-technology (hard copy) - a form of distance learning based on the use of sets (cases) of text and instructional materials designed to help students to learn the concepts, ideas and develop skills that they need to make progress in the chosen discipline. The course materials and approach used in each discipline differ. Students use the available support in different ways, depending on the circumstances and their own approach to learning.

• Networked learning (e-Learning Systems) - a type of learning in which learners and instructors use computers to exchange messages, engage in dialogue and access resources; the interaction can occur in real-time (synchronously) when learners and instructors are communicating at the same time from different places, or in delayed-time (asynchronously) when they are not linked at the same time. The students also have a traditional pre-assessment consultation. All e-Learning Systems have the hard-copy analogues, the advantages being as follows:
  • Easy access via Internet or mediateques;
  • Knowledge Control System and e-Learning Statistics;
  • Interactivity (forum, chat);
  • Multimedia tools;
  • Just-in-time learning materials adjustment.

• Case-technology (CD-based) - a form of distance learning based on the use of multimedia instructional CDs designed to help students to learn the concepts, ideas and develop skills that they need to make progress in the chosen discipline. It is essential under the circumstances of limited Internet access and low-speed connection. CD eLearning Systems have the following advantages:
  • Place independent learning at home or at workplace without extra costs on Internet;
  • Unique Knowledge Control System and eLearning statistics tool providing data storing and transferring to the tutor;
  • Modern multimedia technologies;
  • Each CD contains a cross-discipline set of course materials.

• Videoconferencing technology - the videoconferencing technology provides students and teachers with the opportunity to expand teaching and learning possibilities. The technology offers faculty the ability to speak to their students, hold external examinations, collaborate with colleagues, extend theoretical and practical classes to remote locations. Students using videoconferencing will, in turn, have experiences in:
  • Learning in an emerging technological environment that prepares students with real world communication skills;
  • Utilizing resources including experts, professionals, remote institutional resources, and other students;
  • Broadening the scope of learning resources.

References

• Brakker, Nadezhda & Kujbyshev, Leonid (2002): The Information Society and Technology in Russia. Cultivate Interactive 8:2002.
• CHECK.point eLearning (2005): Education of the Highest Quality – an Interview with Prof. Yuri Rubin at the Moscow Academy of Finance and Industry.
• Froumin, Isak, Canning, Mary & Vasiliev, Kirill (2003): Russian Federation: E-Learning Policy to Transform Russian Schools. Document of The World Bank.
• The Ministry of Education and Science & The State University - Higher School of Economics (2007): OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education – Country Background Report for the Russian Federation.
• The Russia Development Gateway Project (2001): Russia e-Readiness and e-Needs Assessment.
• Shumilova, Yulia (2007): Implementation of the Bologna Process in Russia: Tomsk Polytechnic University as a case model. A thesis submitted to the Department of Management Studies at University of Tampere.
• United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (2004): Promoting Enabling Environment for Information Society Development in CIS countries. United Nations ICT Task Force Europe and Central Asia Regional Network Series 1.

Relevant websites

• Institute of the Information Society
• Moscow State University for Economics, Statistics and Informatics (MESI)
• National Accreditation Agency
• Russian e-Development Partnership
• Ulyanovsk Consortium of Open Education
• Wikipedia
• The World Bank

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