FEATURES OF THE ELECTIVE COURSE “FOUNDATIONS OF INFORMATION CULTURE” IN BACHELORS’ EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM “SECONDARY EDUCATION (THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE)”

In the context of integration of the Ukrainian education into the European educational space future teachers’ information culture as a phenomenon, as well as the search and testing of the effective ways of its formation, remain to be topical issues for pedagogical theory and practice. The content, forms and methods of realization of the author’s technology of information culture formation are reflected in the course “Foundations of information culture”. The elective is a component of bachelors’ educational and professional training program “Secondary Education (The English Language and Literature)” at TNPU. Along with other components, the course promotes the formation of integral competency, a number of general and professional competencies, and also reaching certain program learning outcomes of professional training. The purpose of the article is to analyze and disseminate the experience of teaching an elective course, which aims to form the basis of information culture of future teachers of foreign languages, and outline the prospects for its use in corresponding future educational and professional training programs. The article discusses “the past” of the course, analyzes the first curriculum, thematic content, changes in study programs which have been made up to present. The paper also discusses “the present” of the elective, and outlines prospects as for teaching it in the future.

Along with the phenomenon of «information culture of a future teacher», the issue of its effective formation remains topical [2; 5]. In the course of work on the dissertation research [3] we have developed technology for the formation of information culture, the content, forms and methods of implementation of which are reflected in the course «Fundamentals of Information Culture». For over 10 years the elective has been taught at the Department of Foreign Languages at Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University.
The purpose of the article is to analyze and disseminate the experience of teaching an elective course, which aims to form the basis of information culture of future teachers of foreign languages, and outline the prospects for its use in corresponding future educational and professional training programs.
The process of course design and development, later described in [4], included certain steps to be taken by providing answers to the following questions: What is the learning environment? What educational tools and facilities are available? Who is going to be taught? Where and when will the students study the course? What do we want our students to learn? What modules, topics are to be studied? How will learners be assessed? Let us discuss the steps mentioned in more details. During the design and development of the сourse the following situation was typical of educational institutions: lack of modern educational and methodological literature and experience as for the formation of future teachers' information culture, the use of traditional tools and techniques could not provide the desired result. There were cases when a teacher, technically able to create a presentation, for example, in MS Power Point, did not know about the possibilities of using this technology in the classroom, didactic features of the organization of such projects, etc. The same situation was with MS Excel, multimedia programs (the ability to play, record and edit audiovisual materials), e-learning systems on CDs, and so on.
When a question about the best time for the course to be taught arose, the limited experience of other universities at that time (2006)(2007)(2008) demonstrated, that similar courses were taught to graduates, which besides certain advantages, also had disadvantages, with the main one lying in the fact that knowledge and skills obtained and formed within the course are in demand considerably earlier. For this reason the elective was included into the study plan for first-year students.
To know the target group of students better a study of their initial level of information culture was carried out. A part of it was done in a form of a questionnaire, part of which is presented next. Diagnostics of the level of formation of information culture among students stated to its low level. We see the reason in the little efficiency of traditional means of forming information culture.
The following was kept in mind while working on the content of the elective: Teaching and learning are to be done in accordance with continuity and interconnectedness of issues under discussion.
The theoretical, lecture part of the course "Foundations of Information Culture" includes consideration of the problem of pedagogical content of the concept of "information culture" , and aims to form students' basic knowledge of this phenomenon and its structural components, levels and means of formation.
The practical part of the course is focused on the formation of students' basic skills and abilities of "pedagogically reasonable" work with information and computer technologies. The topics of seminars and practical classes include consideration and discussion of problems of informatization of society, education, the content of the work of a modern teacher with a computer.
Audiovisual programs and tools are extremely effective in learning languages, so the teacher needs to have at least a basic understanding of the software for recording, edi ting and playing audio and video formats of multimedia files.
Programs for creating multimedia presentations are also an important element of the work of a modern teacher, primarily due to the ability to integrate audio and video materials into documents and presentations. Relevant topics of the practical part of the course provide students with mastering the basic techniques of preparing presentations.
In modern universities, the electronic library and the Intranet are an important source of information for students, and therefore future teachers need to know the principles of the local network and to be able to work with electronic versions of courses and manuals. Based on the knowledge gained during the study of the university course of informatics in th e field of Internet work (acquaintance with the methods of navigation and information retrieval on the Internet), in the practical part of the course students master the content of modern teachers' work in WWW, as described in [1], in particular, retrieving and storing information for further use in the educational process, methods of working with e-mail, translation on the Internet, features of organization and operation of web forums, blogs, personal pages of teachers, work with local history material on the Web, acquaintance with linguodidactic Internet resources, etc.
The objective of the elective set as forming the foundations of students' information culture, and the tasks of providing theoretical knowledge and practical skills having been put, the curriculum was developed. Let us discuss certain aspects regarding it. The curriculum was structured into 2 credits, which, in their turn, included 6 content modules. The content modules were distributed in the following way: Content module 1. The essence of information, information processes in the context of the professional activity of a modern teacher.
Content module 2. The structure of the information culture of a teacher. Content module 3. Teacher's work with information sources. Content module 4. Means of forming the information culture of a teacher. Content module 5. Application of information and communication technologies in professional activity.
Content module 6. Foundations of computer literacy.
The following topics of seminars and practical classes were to be covered within the elective: 1. Information culture in the modern system of teacher training. 2. The use of information technology in the training of teachers (second half of the twentieth century).
3. PCs and modern operating systems. 4. Multimedia and office technologies in the context of preparation of didactic tools for use in the educational process.
5. Technologies for scanning and processing text and graphic objects. 6. Intranet resources. 7. Internet Resources. 8. Work in a language laboratory. 9. Electronic study courses.
The following topics were to be covered independently within the elective: 1. Studying educational material on the topics: "Information culture", "Information technology in education".
2. Search for additional theoretical material on the topics: "Modern operating systems", "Multimedia and office technologies in the educational process of pedagogical higher education institutions".
3. Work with library catalogs and Internet resources. The suggested assignments as individual tasks included the following: 1. Writing an email. 2. Creating personal web page. 3. Creating a Power Point presentation. 4. Writing a report.
Within all the years the course has been taught, we have become witnesses of rapid development of technology, which, as in a chain reaction, caused the same process in all spheres of life, including education. With the appearance of new gadgets, communication standards the whole educational paradigm started to change. But this process is rather slow, and in order to catch up with the advanced progress in technology, and digital natives, who present-day students actually are, measures must be taken in all spheres and on all stages of education. As for the courses taught in educational institutions, they have to be reviewed, and updated in accordance with the reality and actual need of modern students.
The questionnaire and other instruments used at the beginning of the course demonstrate a change in the level of information culture, being now closer to a medium level on average, and in some cases medium or a little bit higher when it gets to purely technical skills. What the diagnostics also shows is that the students lack knowledge and skills as for work with information, after they find it. They also have little knowledge of how to use their ICT skills and knowledge for studying and future work. And here is when the course "Foundations of Information Culture" should "give a hand". And so it does by regular updates in the study program, content, by enrolling new technologies into teaching and learning practice, by changing accent more into students' practical use of information and digital skills in their studies and future professional activity. If compared to the first study programs, the updated one now includes elements gradually changed and/or added within the last decade. For instance, a look is given to mobile devices and applications for learning and teaching English, and also shooting, editing videos. The course has been registered on Moodle LMS university platform, providing access to the material to a student and teacher regardless of their location. The latter is especially in demand in the context of quarantine, which in 2020 within weeks turned the traditional face 2 face learning into distance one.
Nowadays the elective is a component of educational and professional program of bachelor's training at TNPU. Along with other components, the course promotes the formation of integral competency, which is the ability of a person to solve complex specialized problems and practical problems in education, in learning first foreign language and literature, a second foreign language, using theories and methods of pedagogical science in modern conditions of organization of educational process in educational institutions, a number of general and professional competencies, and also reaching certain program learning outcomes of professional training. The general competencies mentioned are the following: The ability to exercise their rights and responsibilities as members of society, to realize the values of civil (free democratic) society and the need for its sustainable development, the rule of law, human and civil rights in Ukraine.
The ability to learn and continue learning with a significant degree of autonomy to master modern knowledge.
The ability to communicate in Ukrainian both orally and in writing. The ability to apply knowledge in practical situations of professional or educational activities. The ability of abstract thinking, analysis and synthesis. The ability to be critical and self-critical, generate new ideas, work in a team. The ability to use information and communication technologies in today's rapidly-changing conditions.
The professional competencies mentioned above are the following: The ability to determine the main goals and objectives of the educational process and the specifics of the activities of a foreign language teacher in the institutions of secondary education.
The ability to conduct written and oral communication in a foreign language in different registers, according to genre and style variants in order to solve communicative tasks.
The ability to carry out information-analytical work in personal professional activity. The ability to plan, organize, carry out applied micro-research in the subject specialty, systematize, analyze, interpret and present its results.
The ability to do critical analysis, diagnostics and correction of personal pedagogical activity, evaluation of pedagogical experience.
The ability to manage their professional development in the field of learning and teaching foreign languages.
The program learning outcomes are the following: Know and adhere to modern language standards in the state language, English and a second foreign language, use different forms and types of communication in educational activities, choose language tools according to the style, type of communication and language situation.
Use information and communication technologies relevantly to solve complex specialized problems and practical problems in professional activity.
Possess the techniques and methods of information and analytical activities, in particular to retrieve, organize, classify, systematize, critically analyze, interpret, refine and use information in their own professional activities.
Critically evaluate their own teaching and professional research activities, develop and implement an effective strategy for self-development and professional self-improvement.
Let us discuss the content of the present-day course curriculum in more details. Certain topics, mostly of technical nature (structure of a typical computer, scanning and processing texts and pictures, work in Intranet, work with e-mail, registering and developing a personal website, etc.) were excluded from the plan. They are no longer needed to be studied, since, as the introductory testing shows, the students come with the required knowledge and skills developed previously. The elective is still taught to freshmen. There are now 3 ECTS credits and 3 content modules offered to be studied. As for the modules and topics covered within the course, the curriculum of 2020 suggests the following:

Module I. Information and information processes in the context of professional activity of a modern foreign language teacher.
In the classroom, with the help of LMS tools and independently with further discussion in the context of module I the following content is meant to be studied: Key terms and concepts of the course ("information", "culture", "information culture", "information activity", etc.), the essence of information processes, features of professional activity of a foreign language teacher.
Module II. Teacher's information culture.
In the classroom, with the help of LMS tools and independently with further discussion in the context of module II the following content is meant to be studied: The essence of information culture and its components, the concept and definition of the level of formation of information culture, the means of forming information culture.

Module III. The work of a foreign language teacher with information sources and information and communication technologies.
In the classroom, with the help of LMS tools and independently with further discussion in the context of module III the following content is meant to be studied: Work with information, ICT in professional activity; practical application of basic techniques of working with information; The use of the latest ICT in educational activities.
The following lecture topics are to be covered within the elective: 1. Information and information processes in the context of professional activity of a modern foreign language teacher.
2. The essence of teacher's information culture and means of its formation.

3.
Teacher's work with information sources. 4. Modern foreign language teacher's work on the Internet. 5. Multimedia technologies in the professional activity of a foreign language teacher.
The following topics of seminars and practical classes are to be covered within the elective in class and independently: 1. Information and information processes in the context of professional activity of a modern foreign language teacher. Key terms.
3. E-education and its prospects. 4. Information culture of a teacher 5. Teacher's work with information 6. Modern foreign language teacher's work on the Internet 7. Multimedia technologies in the professional activity of a foreign language teacher The suggested topics for individual tasks include the following: Information and information processes in the context of the professional activity of a modern foreign language teacher. Key concepts and terms ("information", "culture", "information inequality", "digital inequality", "information war", "information hunger", "culture", "digitalization of society", "informatization of education").
Information society vs Industrial society. Information society. Signs, features, challenges. E-state. E-Education.
Teacher's information culture. Levels of formation and means of formation of the Teacher's Information Culture.
Teacher's work with information. Foreign language teacher's work on the Internet Foreign language teacher's work in social networks Internet Foreign language teacher's work in Internet messengers Foreign language teacher's work with LMS platforms Foreign language teacher's work with multimedia technologies Foreign language teacher's work with videos and resources (Youtube, TEDx, Instagram, shooting and editing videos) In the process of studying the discipline "Foundations of Information Culture" the following forms of assessment are used: -on-going assessment is carried out in the form of evaluation of the results of educational activities of students in seminars and their performance of tasks of independent work; -module assessment is applied after studying the logically completed part of the discipline, and consists of points accumulated during the study of each module; -final assessment, which is carried out in the form a test at the last seminar.
-The assessment criteria for an individual task include: Substantiation of the topic actuality. Completeness in the disclosure of the topic. Originality and provability of judgments. Presentation of the material. Compliance with the requirements for technical design. The elective course "Foundations of Information culture" is not the only means to be used in order to form a high(er) level of information culture, but it has been a successful attempt to do so along with other subjects aimed at the development of general and professional competencies, and preparing a student for the job market and life in the information society. Course results confirm this statement. In our opinion, the elective will remain efficient for these purposes, as long as it moves with the times and changes in accordance with the upcoming reality and requirements.
Among the perspectives of further research we suggest that improvement of students' and lecturers' level of information culture, as well as new ways of its formation should be further investigated.