For two years already, undergraduates majoring in 013 “Primary Education” in our university have been studying the new discipline “Methodology of e-Learning in Primary School”. It was implemented in the educational process of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University within the international project EU Erasmus + “Modernization of Pedagogical Higher Education by Innovative Teaching Instruments – MoPED” (No. 586098-EPP-1-2017-1 UA-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP).
According to the developer – Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor Olena Budnyk, the course is aimed at developing students’ digital competence, in particular: the ability to critically evaluate digital content, safe use of digital technologies, communication tools to solve professional pedagogical tasks, ethical behavior in information communication environment. Much of the content is devoted to practical methods of using in the educational process such tools and teaching aids as: research e-learning environments, on-line laboratories, educational games, videos and interactive presentations studying STEAM subjects.
This year’s lectures were held exclusively on-line, and practical modules – in a mixed format. Part of the classes were held at the Center for Innovative Educational Technologies “PNU EcoSystem” using the capabilities of the innovation class as part of the educational ecosystem MoPED. Educational material for students is posted on the Moodle platform, on which 168 full-time and part-time students are registered for the course in 2020.
According to the undergraduates who have already completed the study of “Methodology of e-Learning in Primary School”, the course is extremely relevant in today’s conditions of coronavirus pandemic, because the use of online communication methods to share information with students, e-learning resources and tools are necessary for remote and mixed learning. Students learned to use the best European practices as for the organization of the educational process and noted that these skills and innovative approaches to learning are necessary for the effective professional activity of a modern teacher of the New Ukrainian School.