Design and development of elective course on cryptography using webinar technology
Authors: Ignatenko Natalia V. 
Published: January 2021

Problem and purpose. The article deals with studies of the effectiveness of the use of an elective course in teaching cryptography based on webinar technology. As part of the reform of the Russian education system, the central place is occupied by the professional self-determination of high school students (grades 9-11). One of the key areas in this process is profiling. The main function of profiling is to create conditions for teaching high school students based on their professional interests. Thanks to the introduction of elective courses into the educational process, which are a mandatory component of profile and pre-profile training, the implementation of the profiling function has become possible. In addition, an equally important goal of elective courses is to meet the individual educational needs, inclinations and interests of each student. The very technology of organizing and conducting webinars is considered in sufficient detail by G.V. Torgashin, V.V. Nazarova, O.I. Meshcheryakova, O.Yu. Isakov and others. These works note not only the promising use of this technology, but also its potential for teaching schoolchildren. But the experience of using the technology of webinars in the training system in computer science, in particular in teaching cryptography, has not been sufficiently considered. All this determined the relevance of the article. The problem of the article is determined by the revealed contradiction between the need for effective teaching of cryptography, the significant educational potential of webinar technology, on the one hand, and the absence of a methodology for teaching cryptography based on webinar technology, on the other hand. The need to eliminate the revealed contradiction indicates the relevance of the study and determines its problem. The purpose of the article is to describe approaches to the development of an elective course on teaching cryptography, containing specially designed practice-oriented tasks, based on webinar technology. Methodology. The methodological basis was the analysis of key competencies, the classifications of which are presented in the scientific works of such researchers as I.A. Zimnyaya, E.Ya. Kogan, A.V. Khutorskoy, etc., one of the main competencies is informational, the formation of which acts as an indispensable condition for the success of many types of human activities living in a modern information society. The experience of teaching the section of cryptography in a school computer science course is considered in works by A.V. Evlampiev, E.M. Kuznetsov, K.Yu. Dragina and others and clearly demonstrates the insufficient attention paid to this section. Approaches to improving the content of the informatics course, taking into account modern trends, including cryptography, big data, information and cybersecurity, are studied in the works of N.A. Razumova, I.M. Tonkikh, M.M. Komarov, V.I. Ledovskaya and others. The very technology of organizing and conducting webinars is considered in sufficient detail by scientists G.V. Torgashin, V.V. Nazarova, O.I. Meshcheryakova, O.Yu. Isakov and others. Results. The possibility and expediency of using the technology of webinars when organizing training within the framework of an elective course on the study of cryptography by high school students has been substantiated. A model has been created and a prototype of an elective cryptography training course using webinar technology has been developed, including a specially developed system of practice-oriented tasks. Criteria for the selection, development and systematization of practice-oriented cryptography tasks involving the use of webinar technology have been determined. Conclusion. The results allowed to conclude that the informatization of education is becoming effective through the use of webinar technology for teaching cryptography as part of an elective course based on the organization of remote work of schoolchildren, the use of online lectures and practical classes, a technological cycle with feedback and reflection on learning outcomes, system solutions specially designed practice-oriented tasks. The proposed system of practice-oriented tasks, including tasks for encrypting and decrypting various messages, contributes to the effectiveness of teaching cryptography, preparing students for life and work in the information society.