| Pros |
Cons |
| Initiating students’ independence in knowledge acquisition and solution of educational problems. E-learning makes students independent subjects of learning activities. With e-learning, students take more responsibility for the outcomes and planning of their learning activities. |
Students with a low level of independence and organizational abilities have poor academic achievements and lower effectiveness of their learning activities in general. |
| The use of information technology in higher education leads to increased learning efficiency through changing the level of individualization and differentiation, the use of additional motifs. In many cases, the use of modern electronic textbooks enhances differentiation in students’ learning through the use of tools and technologies leading to the choice of tasks of different difficulty levels. Consequently, higher-achieving students continue their independent studies, while students, who do badly, return to the material studied insufficiently. |
Individualization shortens the time allocated for live dialogic communication (teachers and students, students and students) which is scarce as it is. Students lack practice in dialogic communication, in wording their thoughts in professional language. However, according to psychological research, monological self-communication, known as independent thinking, cannot be developed without enough practice in dialogic communication. |
| While working on the computer, personal regulation of mental activity undergoes certain changes: protective mechanisms of the person are enhanced, the person is more likely to set achievable goals, control mechanisms are rearranged, the sphere of motivation is transformed. By working on the motivational sphere, one can control goal formation. |
Due to the lack of social experience and live communication, maladaptive coping strategies can occur in one’s behavioral, cognitive, and emotional spheres. Persistent avoidance of social contacts can be observed as well as passive behavior, and refusal to solve problems by oneself. |
| The development of reflexive knowledge enables students to make an informed conclusion about the success or falsity of their educational activity. Internal feedback encourages students to reflect, and works as impetus for further actions, enabling to evaluate and correct the learning outcomes. |
Due to the reduced practice of social interaction and communication, emotional and social intelligence decrease. The ability to correctly assess behavior and emotions of people and to predict the course of events, basing on the past experience, is likely to take place. |
| Qualitative characteristics of cognitive processes change. Computer environment generates such features of thinking as originality, flexibility, coherence as well as its structural properties. These features correspond to the cognitive processes related to creative activities and problem solving. Thus, understanding the essence of phenomena and tactics of problem solving are described as the ability to perceive seemingly obvious facts in a new way, to find ways to connect things which seem unrelated at first sight, to find original connections between new and old information. |
Negative impact on the psycho-emotional sphere. Information technologies can have a negative impact on the mental state of students while they work with electronic textbooks which can cause serious violations of the psychic sphere. |
