FORMING READINESS OF FUTURE SOFTWARE ENGINEERS FOR USING DISTANCE EDUCATION TECHNOLOGIES: PRACTICAL ASPECT

Abstract

The article deals with the results of the pedagogical experiment which involved future software engineers within the framework of the university curriculum. The experiment was aimed at forming special knowledge and skills of implementing distance education technologies in future professional activities. The focal point of the article is the pedagogical facilities which contribute to preparing future software engineers for using distance education technologies. The main pedagogical facilities of its formation are as follows: activation of motivationally-reflexive students' activities; students' involvement in using distance education technologies within the academic activity organization and development of learning and teaching mate- of the remote support of disciplines; providing students with the system of knowledge and skills concerning the usage of distance education technologies; immersion of the students into distance education software development with the help of inter-subject communications. The activation of motivationally-reflexive students' activities was aimed at shaping students' motivation to succeed, positive attitude towards collaboration in definite projects, as well as their striving to self-improvement. Students' involvement in using distance education technologies within the academic activity organization and development of learning and teaching materials of the remote support of disciplines required creating some facilities necessary for getting skills of dealing with distance education courses. So, electronic support of the disciplines based on distance education technologies has been created. Moreover, the students were invited to take part in some pedagogical projects within the framework of which they had to present systematized teaching materials for every sections of the discipline currently studied. Providing students with the system of knowledge and skills concerning the usage of distance education technologies was achieved in the course of special discipline "Distance education technologies in professional environment" dedicated to the future software engineers. Its main aim was to form the future programmers' general theoretic and expert knowledge in the field of distance education technologies. The pedagogical facility, called "immersion of the students into distance education software development with the help of intersubject communications" was connected with active involvement of the future software engineers to join the development staff of the software, aimed at enabling favourable environment for implementing distance education technologies in the academic activity. Implementation of every facility required organizing several special activities which allowed to get values of the variables, which have been used afterwards in assessing the level of the future software engineers preparedness for using distance education technologies in their professional activities.