Digitalization as the “new normal” of higher education

The research emphasis of the article is focused on the urgent problem of digitalization of education. Depending on the degree of development of states, the digitalization of education is uneven. In the context of the COVID 19 pandemic, digitalization has accelerated, consolidated and approved the distance learning system, while revealing a number of problems: insufficient technology, lack of appropriate software, unprofessional teaching staff, unwillingness of students to study using distance learning technologies, etc. The article highlights the main barriers to the development and promotion of digitalization of the Russian educational environment in the "new reality". The dependence of the digitalization of the Russian educational environment on internal and external factors determining the competitiveness of universities in providing their services in a digital format is determined. Analysis of the work of higher school teachers during the period of distance learning revealed some patterns. Teachers used traditional forms of work even when switching to a distance format; a significant part of communications with students was carried out through e-mail and popular training sites. Sometimes work with students was limited to issuing a mandatory task, which must be solved on the proposed portals. Some large higher educational institutions have their own specialized corporate portals through which work with students is carried out: lectures, webinars, tests and tests are held. Attention is focused on the gamification of educational activities as an effective teaching tool. A low degree of student involvement in the educational process, weak motivation and the inability to organize effective control of students' knowledge are stated. To enhance the effect of digitalization in education, the above barriers should be removed. © 2020 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.