Distance learning as an alternative to continuing educationin the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective — to assess the problem and benefits of distance learning as an alternative to continuing education in medical schools of III—IV levels of accreditation in the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methods. Test access to full-text and abstract databases was used, a meta-analysis of modern literature sources was conducted, some of which were selected for more detailed coverage, as well as data on the experience of online teaching methods using at the Department of Phthisiology and Pulmonology of Bukovinian State Medical University. Results and discussion. Google Hangouts Meet (https://meet.google.com) has been selected for online training. The Google Calendar service — https://calendar.google.com — is used to create a training schedule online using the Google Hangouts Meet video conference service. In the educational process during the distance learning at the departments various complexes of educational and methodical support of educational disciplines with elements of explanatory-illustrative and problem-based learning are used. In the control of knowledge during distance learning, the following methods of pedagogical control are used: test, written control (for example, writing answers to questions in a chat to the teacher via Internet technology or student communication via chat with the teacher and group); oral (for example, the use of audio and video conferencing). This method allows you to solve the problem of personal control of knowledge, because in distance learning there may be a situation that the student solves the problem with help of another person. To increase the effectiveness of control of knowledge and skills of students at distance learning it is necessary to use a set of different types and methods of pedagogical control.Conclusions. A new form of distance learning in the modern realities of the COVID-19 pandemic online has been successfully implemented and its implementation continues. A significant disadvantage of such training is the dependence of effective online classes on the established network of Internet communication and the quality of technical support.