Higher education in Russia is actively encouraged to use blended learning as a response to main trends of modern education oriented to a competency-based approach, paradigm shift to students' self-study training, transfer from the principle of "one education for a lifetime" to "lifelong learning throughout a lifetime", freedom of university choice, academic mobility, education computerization and usage of new information. The efficacy of blended learning however doesn't consist in simple integration of online component with traditional face-to-face classes. Tutor-mediated support is a key element of any blended course and it is able to provide the more effective use of technology. The article presents the idea of online tutoring that supports and enhances blended learning. We focus mainly on stresses and special duties placed on the tutor to cater effectively for all the needs of course participants.

Metaheuristic algorithms are important tools that in recent years have been used extensively in several fields. In engineering, there is a big amount of problems that can be solved from an optimization point of view. This paper is an introduction of how metaheuristics can be used to solve complex problems of engineering. Their use produces accurate results in problems that are computationally expensive. Experimental results support the performance obtained by the selected algorithms in such specific problems as digital filter design, image processing and solar cells design.

No abstract