Changes in social life and culture require a restructuring of the system of training specialists, the development of new technologies in education that implement human training with the necessary social and professional competencies. With the development of new information technologies, the range of information services is expanding, and conditions are being created for the formation of a single global information and educational space.

Currently, distance learning is increasingly used at various levels of education. This is due to the fact that distance learning as an innovative educational process using information and computer technologies helps students realize their own educational goals aimed at personal development. When using distance learning, not only knowledge becomes significant, but most importantly, the ability to apply it to solve specific life problems, ways to acquire knowledge and its successful use in various life situations, as well as the ability to make responsible, reasoned decisions [1].

In a modern university, significant changes are taking place in teaching activities: the place and role of the teacher in the educational process and his main functions are changing. The content of pedagogical activity in the innovative educational process differs significantly from the traditional one. The center of gravity when using new information technologies is gradually transferred to the student, who is actively building his learning process. In this regard, new teaching methods, new approaches to organizing and conducting seminars and lectures, as well as independent work, come to the fore.

The main task of a modern teacher is to intensify the educational process, to ensure that students are involved in work at all stages of activity, to arouse in them the need to work, to gain knowledge through labor independently or under the guidance of a teacher [2].

The peculiarity of the current state of education is determined by the fact that as a result of the growth of social activity and the constant change of technologies in industry, structural changes in the economy lead to the rapid obsolescence of acquired professional knowledge and their loss of relevance. A graduate of an educational institution finds himself unclaimed or unprepared for new socio-economic requirements. There is a need for additional education and retraining, training and retraining in the process of labor and social activities.

The experience of various countries in the development of information and communication technologies shows that today it is necessary to pay significant attention to the development of scientific and methodological support. Among the directions and areas of use of information and communication technologies, an important role is given to the creation of a unified information environment, including the necessary information resources for various purposes and means of communication. In many countries, the higher education system uses an integrated approach to the development of new information and telecommunication technologies, including:

— mastering new forms and methods of teaching based on modern technologies;

— creation of centers for training and advanced training of teachers;

— preparation of educational and methodological materials;

— ensuring the quality of knowledge.

Among the key directions and areas of use of new information technologies in distance teaching, a special role is given to the creation of a unified information environment, which includes the necessary information resources for various purposes and means of communication [3].

Today, educational materials presented in electronic form are widely used. Electronic materials are used in distance learning and must have software to interact with the learning support system (LSS). Computer learning support systems (Learning Management System) provide students with controlled access to educational materials, enable the teacher to manage the learning process and monitor its effectiveness, and support educational and organizational activities. The LSS must meet the following requirements [4]:

— comply with international standards;

— have multifunctional management of the educational process;

— ensure an optimal balance between the capabilities of educational materials (multimedia, interactivity) and the technical means necessary for this;

— allow language localization;

— be accessible to users of any level of computer literacy.

The standards regulate the interaction between LSS and educational material, as well as the structure and software environments for creating the educational materials themselves. Standardized LSS can be used to form an interconnected learning space for many educational institutions. Such systems correspond to the concept of creating an international network of Open Education. They provide an opportunity to apply not only their own educational developments. But there is also a large volume of educational materials created all over the world [5].

In the conditions of modern development of education, the use of the most promising technologies and information processing systems is of utmost importance. The knowledge and skills of a teacher in the use of information and telecommunication technologies are a determining factor in the informatization of teaching activities.

The advent of computers not only expands the intellectual capabilities of mankind, but also undermines the foundation of interpersonal communication and, as a consequence of this, sometimes damages a person’s thinking abilities. At the same time, one can benefit from the ability to consciously think like a computer, analogous to a computer program or algorithm, where everything happens sequentially, step by step, literally mechanically. There are many situations where this style of thinking is useful. The presence of computers can significantly enrich mental activity not only technically, but also conceptually, influencing people’s thinking. The advice to think like a computer opens up a new way of approaching thinking.

Existing systems for training and retraining teachers generally lag behind the rapid development of technologies and the possibilities of their use for educational purposes. In the learning process using pedagogical innovations, the teacher performs the functions of an organizer of the cognitive process in which information is transmitted in a distance teaching format [6].

In the new conditions of distance learning, the role of the teacher changes significantly. It is necessary to implement the preparation and conduct of the educational process using distance learning technologies, for example, on-line. He is entrusted with such functions as coordinating the cognitive process in a virtual environment, adjusting the taught course, consulting in the preparation of an individual curriculum, and managing educational projects. At the same time, the methods by which the learning process is managed take on a fundamentally new meaning.

In the process of personal communication, the teacher can present educational material to students taking into account their individual characteristics. Informal, human contact or contact learning facilitates the learning process. Using the on-line mode for teaching allows you to save time for the teacher and students, but with such a presentation of educational material, the teacher is forced to set up interactive contact to communicate with the student via the Internet.

The role of the teacher becomes much more complicated, since distance learning is based on non-contact interaction between teacher and student. Despite the fact that this type of training is fundamentally based on the idea of individualizing learning, the lack of contact creates certain difficulties:

— limits the possibilities of advisory assistance;

— limits the possibilities of group research and project work;

— learning always has a reproductive nature;

— there is no human factor, which is often very necessary.

True, modern telecommunications tools make it possible to receive all the necessary recommendations, but in this case, it is the student who activates the learning process and initiates commutative contact. A teacher participating in distance learning has the opportunity to realize his talent as a teacher in the “production” of teaching materials for distance learning. The material prepared by the teacher must have an accessible presentation, while the student must receive knowledge in a memorable form, as if talking with the teacher. The degree of perception of educational material by students depends on the ability to convey personal conviction and emotional energy using a virtual component. But the success of educational events significantly depends on how great the student’s interest is in trying to get a positive result [7].

For distance learning, the presence of feedback is very important, and the presence of distance support from the teacher, for example, in the form of mentoring, determines the leading role of the teacher in the distance process of self-study.

To summarize, we can say that distance education technologies should complement traditional contact learning. Live communication and contact with highly qualified specialists and with nature itself cannot be replaced by any virtual reality. Modification of the traditional learning process into learning in a virtual environment requires a radical revision of the requirements that are placed on the teacher and the system of its training.