OVERVIEW OF MODERN PLATFORMS FOR DEVELOPING ONLINE TRAINING COURSES

The current state of the education system requires new approaches to the organization of learning. Thus, informatization of the education system and society as a whole provides the introduction of new interactive technologies in the educational process, as well as individualization of learning. Nowadays, distance learning is becoming widespread, which makes it necessary to search for new methods and means of learning. One of such means of learning is online training courses. 

Online courses are a system of mass continuous self-learning and general information sharing. In addition, massive open online courses allow the learner to choose their own pace of learning and complete a specific set of tasks. For the teacher, the use of online courses provides an opportunity to build an individual learning trajectory for the student, as well as to track the student's results. It is important to note that the use of online courses in teaching allows to deepen students' knowledge and can be used as additional material when mastering academic subjects [2]. Massive open online courses are an interactive learning tool that contains not only textual information, but also video lessons, knowledge control system, as well as the possibility of receiving advice from the teacher. Online courses as a means of learning allow to realize the system of «lifelong learning» [1]. 

Developing an online course is a task that involves working in different areas. It is necessary to pay special attention to the content of educational materials, as it is the core of the training course, and it is necessary to choose an online platform for course development, which will meet the purpose and objectives of the course being developed, and will have a clear interface for both the developer and the user. The content of the course should correspond to the educational objectives and expected subject learning outcomes [3]. 

Nowadays there is a great variety of platforms for online course development. Let's consider the advantages and disadvantages of online platforms and analyze their functionality.

SkillSpace. The developers of this platform cite multitasking as its main advantage. In one interface, the developer has the ability to create a video course, publish materials, plan homework assignments, develop monitoring materials and track progress, launch newsletters, and organize communication with students. This platform provides the ability to integrate with other services, for example, to organize webinars in Zoom within a course, and to set up analytics from Google or Yandex.

The platform has a clear Russian-language interface for both the developer and the user, however, there is a significant disadvantage: the free “Start” tariff allows you to develop only one course and invite ten new students per month. Paid tariffs give the developer more opportunities, but they have a high cost. 

Stepik. This platform is a database of ready-made courses, both paid and free, which can be taken by the user, and also gives the opportunity to create online courses for training. It is important to note that the platform is free to create courses that do not involve payment for the listener. To develop a course, you need to register a personal account. The platform has an intuitive interface and offers a tutorial module for the development of the first course. The platform provides tools for communication, collecting statistics for students. It is possible to embed both text and visual material, as well as video lectures. If we consider the platform from the point of view of creating controlling materials, it is important to note that on the platform you can create test tasks of various types with automatic checking. After completing the task, the student can open comments, where he can discuss his solution with the teacher or other students. The platform offers great opportunities for developing programming courses, as it has a built-in module for checking program codes in different programming languages. After completing the course, certificates of completion can be issued to the learners. The platform allows you to enroll an unlimited number of users in the course. A paid version is also available on the platform, but, in our opinion, the free version meets all the requirements for developing an online course.  Another advantage is the mobile application for students, which allows access to the course from both computers and phones. The disadvantages of the course include difficulties in organizing quality feedback from the teacher. 

Moodle. This platform allows to combine text documents, presentations and videos into a single course that can be accessed by all learners or a specific group. Moodle has a built-in editor for creating tests. 15 types of tasks are offered as standard, ranging from choosing the correct option to drag-and-drop objects. To prevent cheating, you can set time limits and limit the number of attempts. The system automatically checks answers, marks errors and displays the final score. The platform also provides the ability to share comments with the teacher and other learners. It is important to note that this platform is free. The disadvantages are that to start using Moodle, you need to install the platform on your server or use the cloud version.

Thus, there are many different platforms for developing online training courses. When choosing a platform, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the subject, the possibilities of the organization and the requirements for the organization of control of students' knowledge. One thing that remains unified is the fact that online learning courses are a modern learning tool that allows to individualize the learning process and make it more interactive and accessible.