The article describes the problems of distance education that emerged during the period of the mass migration of educational organizations to the distance learning technologies instead of classroom activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What forms of education and teaching technology can create the most effective learning environment for students? The author offers his answers to the questions posed by the results of a comparative analysis of the legal and psychological-pedagogical aspects of distance and classroom teaching in a historical perspective. It is noted that the experience gained in the massive use of e-learning technologies allows us to formulate requirements for a roadmap for migration to a qualitatively new level of education by adjusting the approach to the use of IT and the management of educational processes. The aim of the article is to attract the attention of specialists and a wide audience to the possibilities of improving education in the context of the computer revolution.