Distance learning in professional education: topical issues

The importance and necessity of introducing distance learning is due to the global situation with coronavirus infection since the beginning of 2020, which resulted in the emergency transition of educational institutions to online mode. The active use of distance learning technologies has changed the concept of the entire education system, its organizational and substantive aspects [4, p. 293]. Therefore, today, studies devoted to the experience of using and interacting between the subjects of the educational process, namely, technologies of distance learning in vocational education, optimization of organizational, substantive and methodological issues in this area are demanded. The research problem is to reveal the actual aspects of distance learning in vocational education. The purpose of the research is to identify topical issues of distance learning in vocational education in modern conditions. The research methods used are analysis, synthesis, generalization. The experimental base is Maykop State Technological University. The research results: the concept of «distance learning» has been disclosed; the concept of distance learning in vocational education has been described; new technological educational trends have been described; the problems of implementation of distance education in modern conditions have been identified. Key findings. Distance learning refers to innovative educational technologies that ensure the availability and quality of the educational process at a distance online; the means of implementing distance learning are learning platforms, Internet resources; distance learning has contributed to the emergence of new technological educational trends: cloud services, massive open online courses, adaptive learning, behavioral analytics, etc. Topical issues of distance learning in vocational education are the quality of professional training of future specialists in a distance format, the lack of generally accepted standards for distance organization and the procedure for assessing students' knowledge, technical difficulties, etc.