Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – Ministry of Public Education of Uzbekistan and JICA are testing a pilot project on distance education at the school No. 121 in Tashkent city.

After classes, children in the first and second grades sing songs in additional English lessons and dance. In two other classrooms, students actively make some calculus on tablets, and in the third, they learn computer programs.

The picture is not quite ordinary for elementary school, but, at the same time, the atmosphere prevailing here is very involving, it encourages self-knowledge and learning.

All this is a pilot project on distance learning "Continuing Education of Teachers in the Regions Using the Learning Management System", which is being implemented by the Ministry of Education, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japanese company Digital Knowledge.

As part of the project, JICA transferred technical equipment and system support to 14 schools in Uzbekistan, which allows testing the performance of primary school students with an interactive teaching methodology. In education, this is called "Blended Learning." That is, students learn English, mental arithmetic and mathematics through interactive games, special programs and traditional training.

Teacher of English at school No. 121, Makhbuba Ruzieva, said that the school implements three projects - teaching English for children of first and second grades, completing mental arithmetic for students in third and fourth grades, and, finally, teaching mathematics to sixth and seventh graders.

- There are 25 people in each class. At the same time, classes in prescribed areas are held daily after lessons within the circles, she said. Due to the fact that this is a pilot project, it will last only one quarter.

Japanese experts, in collaboration with representatives of the ministry, installed a single system support at the Center for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies in the Field of Public Education, from where all educational programs on tablets and computers are regulated.

It also receives information on student performance from all 14 schools participating in the project. The representative of JICA, Farhod Kurbanov, said that this method allows introducing the principle of equality in education. In addition, classes can take place simultaneously in all schools. At the same time, students in the class of mental arithmetic can be connected with their Japanese peers via Internet connection.

“Using the example of students at school No. 121, we want to show what education should be like in the 21st century,” said Shukhrat Kayumov, director of the Center for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies in the field of public education. - The project allows us to introduce information technology into the learning process and analyze the performance of young children under new conditions.

Although the joint project has a pilot status, it has long-term goals and prospects, namely, the provision of quality education in primary school. Soon, representatives of the Center and the Ministry will study the effectiveness of the Blended Learning method, based on mathematical data issued by a single system. The next steps will be the effective implementation of the project in other schools in Uzbekistan.