INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN TECHNOLOGY FOR ONLINE COURSES FOR GENERATION Z AS A FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIGITAL EDUCATIONAL ECOSYSTEM

Abstract

The paper focuses on bridging the gap between the linear structure of traditional online courses and the non-linear cognitive needs of Generation Z in the context of the digitalization of education. The purpose of the study is to develop and methodologically substantiate a technology for designing online courses for the current generation of young people within the paradigm of a digital educational ecosystem. The methodological framework includes a praxeological analysis of an online course as a digital educational ecosystem, pedagogical design of the ecosystem, and conceptual modeling of the teacher’s roles within it. The authors propose a technology for designing an online course, which is a cyclic six-stage process. This cycle includes the semantic-target, diagnostic, architectural-design, technological, testing, and analytical-reflective stages. Each subsequent cycle ensures the evolutionary development of the educational environment based on the analysis of digital traces and pedagogical reflection. A new professional identity of the teacher is substantiated, which includes the roles of an environment architect, educational data analyst, and mentor-moderator. It is proved that the digital educational ecosystem designed by the teacher when creating an online course implements the idea of learners’ development through the systematic interaction of its components, due to the conscious and reflective creation of conditions for revealing the individual potential of each learner, taking into account current socio-economic factors. The results of the study can be applied in the system of general, secondary vocational, and higher education when developing electronic educational courses, as well as in the system of additional professional education when implementing programs aimed at creating a digital educational environment.