The Role of Cloud Services in the Implementation of Blended Online and Classroom Learning in a Multidisciplinary University

The article considers the role of online cloud services in the integration of blended learning into the educational system of a multidisciplinary university. This is shown by the example of the developed courses in the "Linguistics" training program at Perm National Research Polytechnic University. The author attempts to conceptualize the modern approach to organizing the electronic information and educational environment in the modern system of Russian higher education. The study focuses on the fact that when implementing the environment it is necessary to establish close and flexible interaction between the subjects of the educational process. One of the ways to develop this kind of interaction can be using the training forms that harness the potential of information and communication technologies. The author claims that along with the electronic and distance learning, it is blended learning that allows implementing the most flexible scenarios for developing the electronic information and educational environment. Cloud services play a particularly important role in the implementation of blended learning, providing users with simple and manageable online resources. A rational combination of online and fulltime education is the basis of the presented blended learning models. Their successful implementation in the system of higher education is possible using certain learning management systems. When analyzing the potential of massive open online courses (MOOC), based on the domestic institutional learning management systems, the author concludes that it is hardly possible to consider them the universal tool for organizing the electronic information and educational environment of a modern multidisciplinary university. Based on the example of linguistic courses at PNRPU, the author emphasizes that cloud services, along with MOOC, have several advantages that allow individualizing the process of blended learning in a multidisciplinary university, with a large number of specific educational profiles being implemented. In conclusion, the author states that cloud technologies possess high potential capabilities for blended learning when implementing the electronic information and educational environment of a modern multidisciplinary university.