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Informatics and education

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No 9 (2021)
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PEDAGOGICAL ASSESSMENTS AND TESTS

31-39 325
Abstract

The article presents and comprehends the results of an independent assessment of several digital skills of students of general education organizations. The problem of assessing digital skills is relevant the PISA international research on the quality of education, which includes the study of this competence various aspects. Digital literacy is a strategic education system direction of the Russian Federation, the Perm Region, and the city of Perm.

The study provides an assessment of the digital skills of eighth graders in terms of the computational thinking and safe behaviorin a digital environment (sample of schoolchildren in the city of Perm).

The research is based on a competence-based approach, consideration of digital skills in the context of assessing functional literacy, the use of big data for making management decisions in education, approaches to implementing an independent assessment in education.

The most scarce trainees’ skills in the aspects of digital security and computational thinking are highlighted: critical attitude to information on the Internet; selection of Internet sources for a practical task; assessment of the capabilities of digital tools for solving practical problems. The study shows the need to improve the training of students in the use of digital technologies for solving practical problems. The authors formulate recommendations for the training of teachers of general education organizations teaching various subjects, as well as students studying in pedagogical areas of training. The revealed deficient skills of students show the need to improve the methods of teaching informatics.

The authors emphasize the need to comprehend the problem of independent assessment of digital skills as an interdisciplinary problem affecting general pedagogy, teaching methods of informatics, pedagogy of vocational education, meta-pedagogy and metamethodology, big data analysis for making management decisions in education.

40-46 466
Abstract

Predicting the educational success of students is one of the actual tasks of the intellectual analysis of educational data. In this article, two research issues are considered: improving the quality of the university students’ academic performance prediction model and implementation the developed model into the real university educational process. The models predicting academic performance are based on XGBoost algorithm and the linear regression algorithm. According to the results of the study, it was revealed that data on the use of electronic and university libraries make it possible to improve the quality of predicting the students’ academic performance, and also confirm the fact that monitoring the students’ academic performance in dynamics is more informative in making managerial decisions in the educational process than the absolute values of the academic performance results. The models for predicting the students’ academic performance studied in this work can be used in educational institutions of higher education for the timely identification of at-risk students, providing feedback to students and teachers regarding the educational success of students and managing the educational process.

PEDAGOGICAL EXPERIENCE

5-22 397
Abstract

The purpose of the article is to assess the accessibility of electronic educational resources (EER) published in the university Moodle Learning Management System (LMS). The analysis involved 22 EERs in mathematical and information technology disciplines, located in the Moodle LMS of the V. I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University. The examination algorithm included analysis using the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE) and expert analysis of web accessibility using visual, auditory and manual methods based on 89 checklist attributes. In the result of the analysis, multiple accessibility errors of the Moodle platform and the EERs hosted on it were found. The most serious platform problems include: lack of compatibility with text browsers; errors of reproduction by screen readers; errors of content reproduction on mobile devices. The list of accessibility errors made by the authors of EERs includes: incorrect design of hyperlinks (22.7 % of the EERs); lack of subtitles (13.6 %), transcripts (22.7 %), synopses of video lectures (27.3 %); lack of alternative descriptions for figures (68.2 %); time limit for tests (9.1 %); lack of special markup for mathematical notation (36.4 %) and program code (13.6 %), etc. Results of the survey show need in training of EERs’ authors in technologies for developing accessible educational web content. It is advisable to familiarize web developers deploying an LMS at universities with the basics of web accessibility, LMS accessibility functions and modules in order to select the most suitable platform, determine and install the required set of accessibility tools. Before launching all EERs should be subject to mandatory examination for compliance with the web accessibility guidelines.

23-30 405
Abstract

The article presents the experience of organizing the use of wearable electronic devices (fitness trackers) by schoolchildren to solve the problem of low physical activity. The existing methods of motivating schoolchildren to increase the level of physical activity do not give the desired result. Physical education classes in school cannot compensate for the movement deficit. During extracurricular hours, most schoolchildren also cannot organize their physical activity independently and choose sedentary types of leisure. One way to tackle the problem is to encourage the use of fitness trackers. The use of fitness trackers allows the teacher to monitor the level of physical activity of schoolchildren, analyze the achievements jointly, and help organize the physical activity of schoolchildren outside the classroom. To solve the problem, the authors of the article have developed two experimental programs of supplementary education for schoolchildren with the use of fitness trackers. The first program involves the regular, supervised use of fitness trackers in animation training. The second program includes training assignments for assembling and testing fitness trackers in the course of programming training. The second program showed higher efficiency. For the statistical assessment of the results of the educational programs implementation, the Wilcoxon T-test was used. The implementation of educational programs led to increase of the level of physical activity of students by 7–15 %. The authors give recommendations on the use of fitness trackers in the supplementary education system.

FOREIGN EXPERIENCE

47-54 409
Abstract

The e-learning environment known as VES (the Virtual Education Space) was created at the University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski” in Bulgaria step by step for years as each subsequent version was built on the previous one. Initially a learning system called DeLC (the Distributed e-Learning Center) has been implemented to support blended and independent learning at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at the university. DeLC was a successful project, but we identified some problems, connected with interactions between the virtual and the physical world where in fact the learning process takes place. In the following period, we started the development of ViPS (the Virtual Physical Space) based on concepts of CPSS (Cyber-Physical-Social System) and IoT (Internet of Things). VES is the ViPS adaptation to education. VES is the successor to DeLC, it provides e-learning content and e-learning education services for planning, organizing, and conducting the learning process at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of the University of Plovdiv.

VES supports various forms of e-learning such as blended learning, self-paced learning, lifelong learning, inclusive and game-based learning (GBL). The following aspects of VES are essential: 1) users are the focus of attention; 2) physical “things” are virtualized; 3) there is integration between the virtual and the physical worlds. Since ViPS is developed as a CPSS ecosystem, users are the focus of attention. This determines the need to develop personal assistants to participate in the processes of the ViPS space on behalf of and in the interest of users. Three intelligent agents are modeled in VES: an internal educational agent, an external educational agent, and a career consultant. MATE (the Multi-Agent Testing Environment) is a component supported in the ViPS space for training and testing of students in a game-based manner. MATE is a set of autonomous agents, each one of which has responsibilities in the common architecture that arise from training and testing needs.

As a CPSS space, VES introduces new approaches and scenarios to solve complex problems in the field of e-learning. VES provides a reference architecture, which can be adapted for various forms of education supported by information and communication technologies.

INFORMATIZATION OF EDUCATION

55-62 450
Abstract

The article actualizes the need to develop software for modeling relational databases for use in the process of teaching students of technical specialties in disciplines related to databases.

The problem is considered from the point of view of assessing modern software used in the process of teaching students database design skills. Based on the shortcomings identified during the software review, a number of requirements for the actual software were determined. Formed key requirements are mobility, accessibility, versatility and openness of the development platform.

The article describes the process of solving key problems that arose during the implementation of a project to develop a web application for modeling relational databases in accordance with the generated requirements. The practical implementation of the following functions is sequentially considered: creation of a logical relational data model, creation of a physical data model, direct engineering into relational database software. The main technological solutions used in the development of a web application to ensure the qualities specified in the condition are described.

The result of the work is the successful testing of the development results in the process of creating a real web application, both within the framework of laboratory and practical work in the disciplines “Design and administration of databases” and “Data management”, and at the stage of writing graduate works for technical directions of training.



ISSN 0234-0453 (Print)
ISSN 2658-7769 (Online)