Abstract:

Internet technologies within a university space are used to solve various educational tasks such as teaching/learning, independent informative students activities, pedagogical process control. Internet being a special cultural, social, educational space forms a whole structure of personality values, affects a content choice, defines psychological strategies of behavior and peculiarities of education in virtual environment. Network educational activity of Natural Science students is represented by various behavior models of those who interact. Interpersonal communication is described through a correspondence, active groups, electronic speech making and coaching. The second type of interaction looks like information collection which includes data exchange and analysis, data base development, electronic publications, tele tours. There is a third type and that is information search, collective text writing, simulators and social actions. Relevance and practical significance of the study which covers information preferences and motivational guidelines of students as participants of all these interaction types is due to insufficient research of the issue and lack of appropriate diagnostical tools.

The purpose of research is to study information preferences of Natural Science students, to analyze Internet usage motivational structure, to reveal Internet attitude peculiarities from the point of system analysis of personal determinants, which influence the efficiency of Internet technologies in an educational process. Peculiarities of motivational activity regulation are theoretically analyzed, motivation types of technology usage are highlighted. In the empirical research conducted on the basis of two educational establishments (People’s Friendship University of Russia and Moscow State University of Food Production) students of Natural Science participated. There were 180 people, including 98 females (54,4%) and 82 males (45,6%) averagely aged 20,5. The main methods of the study were questioning, testing, ways of mathematical data adaptation and computer analysis, all of them allowed to look upon this issue in a complex. Information preferences and motivation were studied with the help of authentic author methods (the questionnaire “Information computer technologies usage objectives”, techniques for information computer technologies usage motivation), guidelines peculiarities in terms of network interaction were researched with the help of the questionnaire by P. Davis, adapted by E. Gubenko.

The study results allowed to reveal that Natural Science students show different reasons to use modern technologies. Internet can be perceived as a source of various information, as a means to solve professional, educational and informative tasks, as a way of communication, acceptance, virtual self representation. Students reveal the following gradation of guidelines related to Internet usage in descending order: social comfort, decreased self control, distraction, loneliness. Network activity is polymotivated. Virtual educational space must imply students information preferences. Motivation tendencies comprehension is important for psychological and pedagogical assistance of students.

Keywords:

Motivation, network activity, Internet education, interaction, motive, information source.