Аdvantages and disadvantages of digitalization of liberal education

The relevance of the problem of digitalization of liberal education is caused, on the one hand – by the reduction of classroom classes in the humanities (History, Cultural studies, Foreign language, etc.) in higher school and the demand for autonomous students’ training; оn the other hand – there are advantages of digitalization in the global world, which can enrich and diversify traditional education. The article authors consider that this process has problem areas too. Research objectives are: to consider the means and properties of information educational technologies; to analyze the theoretical works about educational digitalization; to determine advantages and disadvantages of the digital technologies use in the learning process. The main research method is the analysis and synthesis of theoretical research, the presentation of provisions about the functional and motivational aspects of digital technologies; about the need for their use in the educational process at the University. The authors propose to study the historical heritage through information and communication technologies, to focus on notable phenomena of world history, to follow the students’ self-reflection, internal motivation for self-improvement of modern generation, the maximum realization of its potential and high-tech achievements. The empirical material was a long-term experience of teaching the humanities using information and communication technologies at Ogarev Mordovia State University and on postgraduate studies at Research Institute by the Government of the Republic of Mordovia. This article differs from the other researches by the universality of the scientific approach, by the conclusions novelty and schematic visualization of scientific results. The authors clearly presented the advantages of digital technologies, which include many different tools for autonomous learning and simplify the holding of the classes. Thus, it is advisable to use the digital technologies in the educational process.