DIGITALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN EUROPE: TRENDS AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

Today it is difficult to imagine any sphere of human activity, including education, without the use of information and communication technologies. The digital revolution, which has covered all areas of human life, is striking in its pace and scale. The transition from electronic computers to personal computers took decades, and now similar global changes in technology take place in months. The article analyzes the attitude to the transformational processes of digitalization of higher education in developed European countries. In recent years, we have been discussing not only about informatization and computerization, but also about the fact that the modern world has reached a higher level of technological development – digitalization, which was initially limited to the automation of technologies, the spread of the Internet, mobile communications, social networks, the emergence of smartphones, and the increase in the number of consumers using new technologies. This article examines the process of digitalization of education, outlines the benefits and risks associated with the use of digital technologies in the educational process and the creation of a digital educational environment. In particular, the author focuses on the development of the main trends related to the digitalization of higher education, emphasizing that digitalization causes a fundamental restructuring of higher education, changes the functions and positions of educators and students, and is an irreversible process that needs to be critically reflected upon and accepted. This article discusses the impact of digitalization on the learning process and the benefits of using digital technologies. The advantages include, first of all, wide access of students to information resources of education, the ability to study anytime and anywhere, i.e. ensuring a continuous learning process – lifelong learning. According to many researchers, important advantages of using digital technologies include ensuring transparency of educational organizations; the ability to exercise objective control over the process of completing tasks and optimizing the interaction between teachers and students.