TEACHING TEACHERS TO USE TECHNOLOGIES VIA USING TECHNOLOGIES: THE POTENTIAL OF BLENDED LEARNING

The epoch of information challenges all spheres of human activity including education: it has to be modernized to meet the demands of a new society. Information and communication technologies (ICT) should become part and parcel of education. In Russia a lot is being done to computerize and "Internetize" schools and universities. But to get all technologies to work it is necessary to train teachers to use them properly for didactic purposes. Still, there is no national curriculum/educational standard for universities which includes the development of ICT-competence of prospective teachers. The same refers to in-service teachers in terms of their mandatory professional development. The problem of ICT teacher training is being solved locally, by separate educational establishments. This paper addresses the experience of Moscow State University in developing and implementing a course for teachers on integrating ICT in Foreign Language Teaching (FLT), its concept being to teach both didactic theory and the practical skills of using the technologies in the language classroom. Thus, the content of the course is a blend of theory and practice. The structure is also a blend of a traditional face-to-face mode of learning and e-learning while selfstudying in a virtual learning environment created for the course. The course consists of several modules, each containing a "theoretical" and "practical" part. The former is presented by a short interactive lecture on the theme of the module, the latter is a hands-on training seminar on mastering this or that Web 2.0 tool or application. The underlying philosophy of the course is social constructivism. Students interact with learning material, with the teacher and among themselves. A survey showed the success of the course and a high level of students' satisfaction. The experience discussed can be considered and recommended as a model to transform traditional university lecture - type courses into a blended format.