Modern Tools for Increasing the Effectiveness of Distance Education in the Conditions of Digitalization

Abstract

The current stage of developing digital technologies creates favorable conditions for intensifying the improvement of innovative distance education tools, the need for which is due to the intensification of the latest challenges and dangers. The research purpose is to substantiate the theoretical and applied principles of identifying the influence of modern tools for increasing the effectiveness of distance education in the conditions of digitalization. The methodological basis of the research includes general scientific and special methods of economic analysis and fundamental scientific investigation, in particular: system analysis, synthesis, scientific abstraction, comparison, analogy, statistical analysis, cluster analysis (k-means method), tabular, graphic, generalization, and systematization. The research results have revealed that the effectiveness of distance education in the conditions of digitalization significantly depends on the country’s development level. It has been found that three groups stand out among European countries, characterized by different levels of digitization and quality of distance education: highly developed countries (Denmark (MID: 0,90–1,00), Estonia (MID: 0,78–0,83), Ireland (MID: 0,76–0,80), Luxembourg (MID: 0,79–1,00), the Netherlands (MID: 0,91–0,95), Germany (MID: 0,81–0,88), Finland (MID: 0,88–0,90), Sweden (MID: 0,83–0,88); countries with an intermediate level of development (Bulgaria (MID: 0,58–0,62), Spain (MID: 0,62–0,64), Cyprus (MID: 0,64–0,67), Lithuania (MID: 0,63–0,66), Malta (MID: 0,64–0,70), Poland (MID: 0,54–0,64), Portugal (MID: 0,61–0,64), Romania (MID: 0,54–0,60), France (MID: 0,73–0,73), the Czech Republic (MID: 0,61–0,64), Slovenia (MID: 0,63–0,65), Azerbaijan (MID: 0,59–0,63) and countries with a low level of development (Greece (MID: 0,48–0,51), Italy (MID: 0,55–0,58), Latvia (MID: 0,55–0,59), Hungary (MID: 0,47–0,52), Slovakia (MID: 0,51–0,55), Croatia (MID: 0,46–0,50), Armenia (MID: 0,47–0,56), Georgia (MID: 0,48–0,50), Moldova (MID: 0,42–0,48), Ukraine (MID: 0,41–0,84). It has been proven that the most common digital tools for increasing the effectiveness of distance education are Viber (86,7%), an educational platform determined by the educational institution (60%), YouTube lessons (39,3%), Skype (13,3%) and Facebook (6%). It is proposed to increase the effectiveness of distance education by deepening society digitalization in countries with a low level of development and providing them with methodological assistance on the part of highly developed countries.