EDUCATIONAL POTENTIAL OF MASS OPEN ONLINE COURSES (MOOC) IN THE FORMATION OF SPECIALISTS

Abstract

The article investigates the potential of mass open online courses (MOOCs) in the formation of specialists and identifies the ways to improve the quality of education in an online environment. The possibilities of optimizing teaching methods, course structure, assessment system and interaction between students in the context of MOOCs are investigated. The article includes an overview of previous research in this area, as well as the work of domestic and foreign scientists studying various aspects of MOOCs, including characteristics, student’s satisfaction and pedagogical aspects of MOOC training. The research methodology is based on theoretical methods, such as analysis of scientific and pedagogical sources and generalization of the results of previous studies, as well as empirical methods, including data analysis and research on the practical use of MOOCs. With the rapid development of digital technologies, the question of studying the real number of Internet users in the world and the dynamics of their growth arises. The Worldometers website was used for the study as a reference. With the help of observation and mathematical calculations, the dynamics of changes in the number of Internet users and the number of printed publications in the world have been revealed. The electronic resources of educational institutions of all levels of education that have experience in implementing MOOCs in the educational process are analyzed. The existing digital platforms with mass open online courses in Ukraine are studied. The results of the study are covered in the article. Based on the results of the study, the stages of designing of open online courses have been formed. The article also examines the experience of learning in an online environment by the authors of the article and identifies the differences in the results of theoretical and empirical research. A hypothesis was put forward about the reasons for the difference in the results of the study. In the process of further searching for practical cases of the implementation of MOOCs in the educational process, a successful state project with the best performance indicators was found. Ways to improve the quality of education in the online environment are also identified and proposed. The results of this study can be useful for developing strategies for improving the educational environment and training specialists in Ukraine and abroad.