Obrazovanie i Nauka (Jan 2024)
Digital Campus as a tool for teaching English in the era of digital education
Abstract
Introduction. The digital transformation of higher education in Russia has caused the need to revise the approaches to language training of university graduates. Aim. The present research aimed to model a Digital Campus with its services and functions as a tool for language training of students in the era of digital transformation of education. Methodology and research methods. The strategic approach was employed as the leading methodological approach, which in the framework of this study is considered as a potential possibility to implement language education at the university using the “Digital Campus” as an important tool for digital transformation of universities. The research was conducted in three stages, involving 2–3 year students of Togliatti State University (113 participants) and school students of Togliatti (157 participants) from July 2022 to January 2023. Empirical research methods were used: analysis, comparison, generalisation, synthesis, modelling. Stage 1 – collection and analysis of the information presented on the websites of the universities in order to highlight the indicators of the digital development of universities. Stage 2 – a survey of schoolchildren to identify their attitude to university admission; a survey of students to determine their motivation to receive language training through digital tools. Stage 3 – modelling of a Digital Campus, its services and functions for students’ language training. Results. The authors defined the Digital Campus as an environment based on information and educational digital resources and technologies, computer equipment, telecommunication technologies and software, organisational and methodological support, connecting participants in the learning process (teachers, applicants and students, graduates, enterprises/businesses) for distant educational activities and business operations in accordance with personalised request. The data available on universities’ websites were analysed and grouped into seven indicators. The most represented are the services: additional professional education, the use of interactive forms to work with applicants, online support of student and graduate career development, and the project office. Services for the implementation of personalised educational tracks and the digital footprints accumulation during the learning process were less prominent in the course of the research. The results of the survey were the following: there was a general readiness for “applicant – university” interaction through the online environment; a small percentage of divergence of schoolchildren and student opinion regarding their expectations to learn a foreign language online was observed. The Digital Campus and its functions were modelled. Each of the campus services – a student personal account (applicants/students), a teacher personal account, and an employer personal account (enterprises/businesses) – has its own interface and access to the following functional units: “Recruitment and Project System”, “Language Courses”, “Course Designer”, “Resource Management”, “E-Learning System”, “Courses Expertise Centre”. The environment creates unified information and educational space for student language training. Scientific novelty. The approaches to understanding the digital transformation of higher education were systematised, and the indicators of higher education institutions use of digital solutions in the educational process were analytically presented. The article provides the authors’ definition of the Digital Campus. The theoretical significance of the article is in the outline and analytical presentation of existing approaches and trends in the digital transformation of higher education. Practical significance. The Digital Campus is an important tool for the implementation of language training and, unlike the common university website, allows real-time interaction between all participants in the educational process: universities – students – enterprises/businesses. The prospects for the study may be aimed at the development of a Digital Campus for engineering students.
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