A new programming teaching system debuted at TSU three years ago, simultaneously with the launch of the pilot bachelor's programs at the Higher IT School (HITs). Three years of experience using this system made it possible to modify and use it in other programs, and on September 1, 2020, the updated version of the system, in the form of an educational platform, began to operate.
The platform helps students to organize independent study of classical programming, which, in turn, speeds up the process of training IT specialists. Thus, in just one year HITS students master the entire volume of knowledge that stretches over four years in a set of different disciplines in classical programs.
The new version of the educational platform was developed at TSU as part of the creation of the Digital University.
- When we launched the first class of HITs students, we really needed nonstandard approaches that would provide a different quality of education. One of our experiments was with the Ejudge system for organizing programming learning. As practice has shown, this approach was very successful - students began to actively use it from the first classes, - explained Oleg Zmeev, TSU Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation, Academic Director of HITs.
Currently the standard disciplines in programming usually are like this: the teacher gives lectures, conducts practice, and spends most of their time on presenting material that students can easily find on the Internet. On the TSU platform, the main emphasis is on the practical skills of software development. This improves the quality of education and helps to build individual educational trajectories. The role of the teacher is reduced to clarifying the problematic points, and students have the opportunity to independently master the course, even at home.
The platform is presented in the form of a website, where a university teacher forms a group of students and compiles individual educational programs from the content embedded in it. Students solve classical programming problems and create their first programs, gradually moving from the basics to genetics and the algorithms that underlie neural networks.
An educational platform based on the "learning by doing" principle is available to all universities, with different programs. Its current version can be found at https://code.hits.university. At the moment, there are classes for specific educational programs; in the near future, a class for general use is planned.
Thanks to the new model, third-year students at the TSU Higher IT School begin their professional careers in real companies in the digital economy that are partners of the school.
