Analysis of the effectiveness of the use of information resources by students of the national research university "BelSU" in the course of educational activities

At the beginning of the 21st century, Russia signed the Bologna Declaration, which led to a rapid increase in the information process in the education system, and, consequently, led to the need for students to be able to use information resources efficiently in the process of cognitive and educational activities. It is necessary to understand that the education system is a holistic and open process, which is not limited only to the teacher, educational and reference materials. The modern education system is a wide open information field.

That is why, there is a great interest on the part of the administrative apparatus of universities in the formation of a high-quality and diverse information space, because if such a space is well built, then the student can definitely solve the problem of obtaining correct information on their request.

For a detailed study of the process of forming the information space, an analysis was conducted among students on the example of the National Research University "BelSU".

To obtain the results of the study, a questionnaire was conducted among students of the National Research University "BelSU". The questionnaire included 16 questions, including passport questions, which helped us to consider the features of the use of information resources by students in the process of studying at the university. In total, 100 people took part in the study, including 64 women and 36 men. The age of respondents is limited to the range from 17 to 30 years. Most of them are in the age group from 17 to 19 years.

As for the resources that students most often use to search and work with information, the respondents most often use: online libraries (38%), the website of the National Research University "BelSU" (27%), Open Education programs (27%), manuals, books (4%), other (4%). This distribution may be due to the fact that in the online space, the material necessary for training is quite easy to find.

As part of the study, we found that the main gadgets that students use to search for educational information are mobile phones and laptops. It is quite an understandable choice, because now almost everyone has a smartphone at hand, which allows you to easily find any information of interest anywhere, at any time, and if it comes to preparing for an academic lesson or writing a particular work, it is more convenient for a student to use a portable computer, which allows you to work not only from home.

We also found out which online educational resources are most often used by students in the course of their studies. The following sites were the most popular among young people: Wikipedia (21%), Google (15%), Google Scholar (15%), BiblioClub.ru (12%), StudFiles.net (11%) (see Chart 1). The popularity of these resources is due to the fact that these sites have a fairly easy search engine.

Chart 1. Distribution of respondents responses to the question: "What online educational resources do you use most often?"

Our research showed that 61% of students use online educational platforms daily, 35% of students use educational platforms several times a week, and 4% of students use online educational platforms once a month. It is worth noting that most students strive to continuously receive educational information.

100% of students noted that the Internet provides significant assistance in the learning process. None of the students replied that the Internet does not help them to carry out their educational activities. Based on this, we can conclude that the popularization of educational Internet resources is observed among students.

As part of the study, we found out that the main sources of information at the BelSU among students are: teachers, friends, classmates (41%), groups in social networks (35%), the university website (13%), rumors (1%), 10% of respondents found it difficult to answer (see Chart 2). As a result of the analysis of the data, we came to the conclusion that the main flow of information students receive with the help of oral communication skills.

Chart 2. Distribution of respondents answers to the question: "What, in your opinion, is the main source of information in the National Research University "BelSU" among students?"

In the course of the research, we found that students, within the framework of the website of the National Research University "BelSU", would like to receive more information about scientific events, grant support for social projects and research developments, academic mobility programs and vacancies for internships in an equal percentage (20%). 11% of respondents do not have enough information about master classes and open lectures, 8% would be useful links to scientific works of all teachers.

Also in the course of the study, we invited respondents to make their suggestions for improving the site. The survey participants suggested the following: to make a more user-friendly interface (41%), to change the design (25%), to modernize the menu for applicants (10%), to add exam tickets (10%), to add vacancies for students (13%), to introduce the category "Memes from teachers" (1%). Based on these suggestions, we can say that it is important for modern students to have a convenient and easy-to-use website, as well as to pay attention to the design of the website they use.

Currently, one of the conditions for the competitiveness of an educational institution is the availability of a convenient, correctly filled and compact unified information space. In this regard, the main tasks of the information space of the university are:

1) Transfer of data containing knowledge, data and information;

2) Formation of the interaction environment;

3) Raising the level of legal awareness of employees and students (through the opening of regulatory documentation).