On May 30 – June 1 Tomsk State University will host the conference #EdCrunch Tomsk, which is the Siberian branch of one of the largest conferences in Europe in new educational technologies – #EdCrunch. Experts in innovative education from Russia, Austria, Netherlands, USA, Colombia, Brazil, Thailand, and other countries will be speakers at the international forum timed to the University’s 140th anniversary. The co-organizers of #EdCrunch Tomsk are National University of Science and Technology MISIS and the Rybakov Fund.
The restructuring of the traditional educational process: the merging of the usual formats with e-learning and the development of technology-based learning will be discussed at the conference.
– Obviously, now we need new educational technologies that relate to the features of the Z generation, – said Eduard Galazhinsky. – Such technologies help to learn faster, more qualitatively, and more productively. The results of research show that if you use a virtual laboratory, then the effectiveness of training increases by 50%, and if you use a real and virtual laboratory, the efficiency of the educational process will double.
TSU timely joined this agenda. Today the University is the leader in developing the subjects of advanced training. Examples of the new approach are the new master’s programs: Digital Humanities, which unites humanities scholars and specialists in applied informatics and software engineering – the pilot program of the Higher IT School, where the organization of teaching has been radically transformed and agile methodology is used, with a flexible plan.
Experts in digital education will come to TSU to share their experience and present the most successful world practices: Johan Wissema, Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Technology in Delft (Netherlands); Rebecca Stein, Executive Director of the Online Learning Initiative of the University of Pennsylvania (USA); Leopold Hamminger, Pedagogy Director, European Virtual High School (Austria); Professor Vorasuang Duangchinda, Director, Office of Online Education, Sripatum University (Thailand); Vasily Tretyakov, Head of the NTI University 20.25 Project; Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISIS; Evgeniya Shamis, Founder and CEO, Sherpa S Pro, founder and project coordinator RuGenerations Generation Theory in Russia (Russia – Brazil); and a number of other Russian and international experts.
– Millenials acquire information in their special way, they grew up with tablets and smartphones in their hands, so they need to be taught in a new way, using the Internet and digital platforms, says Galina Mozhaeva, Director of the Institute of Distance Education of TSU, head of the StrAU Institute of the Human of the Digital Era (IHDE). – The #EdCrunch Conference and its regional branches help to promote ideas and technologies of digital learning. In 2018, TSU will become the first #EdCrunch site in Russia (in October the conference is hosted by Moscow). In my opinion, this is very important, because the dialogue with world experts in digital education helps TSU to monitor the latest trends, respond quickly to the current agenda, and maintain its position of the leader in online education in Russia.