The Issues of digital environment functioning

The domestic school is of the opinion that the digitalization of education is fundamentally changing not only the tools of the teacher and student, but also focuses on new learning outcomes that meet the needs of the new digital economy. Some Russian authors in the understanding of digital education are limited to the inclusion of new digital tools for teachers and students (V.N. Pogodin [6], N.Yu. Ignatova [3], M.E. Kushnir, I.Yu. Travkin [8]). However, recent research reflects a deeper understanding of the digitalization of education.

A.M. Kondakov and A.A. Kostyleva define digital education as an educational activity aimed at developing digital data processing skills for interaction in a new sociocultural situation. The central place is given to the pupil, who receives competent support from teachers in building an individual learning path [4].

M.E. Vajndorf-Sysoeva and M.L. Subocheva are of the opinion that “digital education is traditional education in a new digital format with the mandatory use of digital resources” [1].

The main issue today is the content of digital education. A modern school should train such a graduate who will have a certain set of digital literacy and will be aimed at getting education in a highly developed information society throughout his life [2], [10].

According to the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard, the digital educational environment implies the systematic nature of the inclusion of ICT tools in the process of achieving meta-subject and subject learning outcomes. In addition, the digital educational environment is becoming a communication platform that ensures the interaction of participants in the educational process and an effective form of educational management [9].

Taking into account the above, in the context of this study, the digital educational environment is considered as a rapidly developing educational platform that meets the latest requirements of the education system in the context of information and communication interaction of all participants in the educational process.

The main structural components of the digital educational environment are: effective management with the help of digital resources and funding mechanisms; technological means of ICT (computer classes, personal computers, interactive whiteboards); a system of digital pedagogical tools and teaching methods; digital competencies of the teaching staff.

To create a digital educational environment in an educational organization, a number of requirements must be met [Table]:

• provide the necessary technical means;
• introduce ICT into the system of training in all academic subjects and areas;
• identify the level of readiness of the teaching staff to operate with digital competencies;
• create the necessary conditions for the use of computers and other digital sources at all levels of pedagogical activity;
• create open access to the corporate and global network.

Table

Main Components of Digital Educational Environment

For further consideration, we present an analysis of the state of each structural component of the digital educational system on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region.

I take into account the indicators until 2020, there are 1,523 educational institutions of general education in the Sverdlovsk region. The volume of incoming funds increases annually, so in 2020 there was an increase in funding by 6%, and in 2021 – already by 7%.

The number of personal computers used to monitor and manage educational organizations increased by 4% in 2020, and already in 2021 it increased by only 2%.

The number of personal computers used for educational purposes has a similar downward trend. In 2020, there was an increase in the number of computers by 4.3%, while in 2021 it was only by 2.7%.

Next, we analyze the level of computer literacy of teachers. Unfortunately, with the transition to digital format, routine work began to take even more time from the teacher, which he could spend on retraining and mastering new digital technologies. In this situation, teachers need fairly prompt technical support and good advice from a technical specialist.

In the Sverdlovsk Region, the program for the retraining of teaching staff is being implemented by the Institute for the Development of Education. Recently, the Institute has been implementing the Distance Learning School project, but this project covers only 4% of educational organizations in the Sverdlovsk region, and only 1.8% of students are active participants in the Institute's digital projects.

The Ministry of Education is increasingly introducing information technologies into the educational process, and this affects all participants in the educational process. The uninterrupted interaction of participants is carried out through the effective operation of all components of the CSP, the main of which are effective management and financing; technological means of ICT; a system of digital pedagogical tools and teaching methods; digital competencies of the teaching staff.

Possession of digital technologies by teachers, their skillful implementation at all stages of the educational process provides favorable conditions for the formation of digital skills of students, which, today, is a strategic task at the state level.