DEVELOPING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ DIGITAL COMPETENCES IN HIGHER EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT

Nataliya Belenkova¹*, Irina Kruse^2
1Associate Professor, RUDN University, RUSSIA, belenkovanm@gmail.com
²Associate Professor, RUDN University, RUSSIA, kruseirina@rambler.ru
*Corresponding Author

Abstract

Information communication technologies and media resources have been incorporated into various social areas, education including. The use of modern technologies and software results in a great change in the content and forms of training and teaching. Contemporary communication tools give a great opportunity to use specific types of tasks aimed at self-regulation and development of the students' skills. Training media competences in various settings has become a part of the higher education curricula. Moreover, media resources provide interactive studying, the communicative approach to studying and simulation of the situations of real life. Information communication technologies and media resources stimulate visual components of the students’ mentality, associative and logical thinking, focus on the creative component of the educational process. But, to realize all these essential features into teaching practice, trainers, instructors, and educators should have a certain level of proficiency in the application of computer technologies and software in education.
The Increasing implementation of modern tools and resources resulted in the change of the social and professional roles of a teacher and a student, the interpretation of tasks and ways of assessment. The students’ independent and creative activity also enhances.

The integration of the tools and resources mentioned above in higher education and professional training; the implementation of the new educational paradigm determines the goal of the research: to evaluate the teacher’s willingness and readiness to work with a variety of media resources and technologies in modern educational environment; to assess the teachers’ proficiency level of media competences.
The research findings can be used in training educators, instructors, and teachers; Continuing Professional Development courses; teaching practice of the learners in all settings, improvement of the curricula.

Keywords: media resources, digital competences, information communication technologies, professional training; skills development.