CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS

VOL. 81, 2020

A publication of

The Italian Association
of Chemical Engineering
Online at www.cetjournal.it

Guest Editors: Petar S. Varbanov, Qiuwang Wang, Min Zeng, Panos Seferlis, Ting Ma, Jiří J. Klemeš

ISBN 978-88-95608-79-2; ISSN 2283-9216

Development of Information Resources to Ensure Continuing

Education and Knowledge Transfer in Chemical Universities

Anna Makarovaa,*, Elena N. Pavlichevab

aMendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, UNESCO Chair ‘Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development,

125042 Miusskaya sq. 9, Russian Federation
bMSUT "STANKIN", Office for the development of new educational technologies, 127055, Moscow, Vadkovsky lane, 3a,

Russian Federation

annmakarova@mail.ru

Modern education requires the integration of content and learning technologies. Distance learning is not only

an opportunity to study individually, regardless of the place and time, but it is also the opportunity to learn during

the whole life. Development of the resources can provide continuing education and knowledge transfer at

various universities, including chemical. Аll countries over the world there is an increase in the number of remote

students, the number of universities involving them in the educational process is growing as well; a large number

of international educational structures are being created, etc. The relevance of the study is the fact that the

supports of management information processes of distance education is associated with the problem of effective

distribution of system resources which are used in the transmission and processing of educational information.

The aim of this study is a comprehensive analysis and development of methods of resources management in

the organisation and operation of distance education systems. The scientific novelty of research: formalisation

of information management processes in the system of distance education, taking into account the resources

constraints of the educational system and the requirements of effective management. The authors conducted a

study of educational information and reference resources for distance education. Reviewing the results, it is

advisable to focus on the implementation of functional elements that increase the interactivity of the site.

1. Introduction

In the modern world, distance education is rapidly gaining popularity and is more and more being applied at the

compulsory levels. The development of distance learning in the Russian Federation is an acute problem today,

when all the educational organisations of the country are placed into lockdown in order to prevent the spread of

the coronavirus. The quality of education should not decline, but ideally it is expected to be increased, due to

the fact that this is consistent with the scope of sustainable development. The UN adopted the Sustainable

Development Goals in 2015 and Goal No. 4 ‘Quality Education’ is one of them (UN, 2014). On the other hand,

it should be noted that today is the age of technology, which can be characterized by the massive amounts of

data (Martins et al., 2018), which must be properly structured, analysed and accurately presented so that citizens

will be able to take an advantage of this information sets (Morea et al., 2018). Modern education is the integration

of content and learning technologies (Pavlicheva et al., 2019). The understanding of this fact allows to consider

distance education as one of the additional opportunities to form an individual educational plan for each student.

Information and communication technologies modify education at different levels. There are fundamentally new

priorities, identified in the educational activity, the most important of which is the informational support of the

management activity of educational organisations (Pavlicheva, et al., 2019). One of the levels at which

Information and communication technologies played a key role over the past three decades is the management

and distribution of educational resources and the provision of information to students and teachers or professors,

that is often called the Education Management Information System.

Consequently, educational organisations are involved in the implementation of information systems and

technologies that allow more efficient management of their resources. At the same time, information

technologies also allow students to interact actively with the entire area of their courses (professors, study

DOI: 10.3303/CET2081214

Paper Received: 30/04/2020; Revised: 03/07/2020; Accepted: 06/07/2020
Please cite this article as: Makarova A., Pavlicheva E.N., 2020, Development of Information Resources to Ensure Continuing Education and
Knowledge Transfer in Chemical Universities, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 81, 1279-1284 DOI:10.3303/CET2081214

1279

materials, assessments and colleagues), which affects positively the efficiency and success of both parts (Vicent

et al., 2015). One of the functions of information data use consists in supporting decision-making in the field of

educational policy (Davis et al., 2014).

The modern education system in Russia often results in young people not choosing a field which might be

interesting for them in their future studying and working activity. Most Russian students as in other countries

study in the traditional way through programs designed for a wide range of individuals (Martins et al., 2018) and

without taking into account individual characteristics (Collins et al., 2018). Another challenge is the precise

meaning of the word ‘like’, which is difficult to determine between the ages of 7 and 18, people often change

their minds during the learning process (Drewes et al., 2006). A young person’s choice of where to specialise

should be facilitated by a systematic data analysis and include the employment of information technologies.

In addition, an important point in the management of education is the usage of competitive strategies among

students, as well as engaging them in problem-solving in the area of their academic interest. This determines

that the collection, processing and system analysis of the information at university in the modern world is

becoming the basis for the formation of individual student learning strategies. Distance learning is one of the

ways of implementing such approaches.

2. The construction of models of the educational process

Education is the transfer in the process of communication of knowledge and experience between those who

possess them and those who acquire them (Bambaeeroo et al., 2017). The educational approach defines

learning as an interconnected activity between teachers and students aimed at implementation of the leading

functions of education. Education, from the point of view of management theory, is the cognitive activity of

students, organised by the professor. The diagram in Figure 1 presents a fully-fledged model of the educational

process.

Figure 1: General model of the educational process at the university

At the first stage of this model is an applicant with his knowledge, skills, competencies, personal qualities

(student's characteristics), at the last - a graduate with additional knowledge, skills, competencies, abilities, as

well as more developed personal qualities. This knowledge and skills should be correlated with the needs of the

employer. Distance learning is not just a form of the educational process, but it can be considered as an essential

part of it. Distance learning is commonly reviewed as a specific mean of organising and managing independent

activity in the educational process. In this regard, distance learning of students is not only aimed at mastering

each discipline, but also at forming a variety of skills of independent work in educational, scientific, professional

activity, the ability to take responsibility, solve problems independently, and find constructive solutions.

When creating an information resource for distance learning to describe the educational process, a framework

model is used. Frameworks refer to structural-linguistic type models and are used for modelling and processing

various knowledge of various objects.

The proposed framework model “Educational activity at the university” consists of frameworks “Student’s

characteristics”, “Single data warehouse”, “Graduate’s characteristics” and “Person in charge”. The

development of the model was carried out with the usage of the conceptual and taxonomic analysis of the

subject area.

In turn, the “Single data warehouse” framework is a network of frameworks - “Student’s academic performance”,

“The system of management of academic disciplines”, “Evaluation management system” etc. The “Student’s

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academic performance” framework consists of two frameworks: “Discipline”, “General number of hours” and

percentage of academic performance. The framework data contains the parameters necessary to determine the

level of student achievement in a particular direction of study (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The "Information about student performance" framework

The “Evaluation management system” framework is a network of frameworks consisting of “Object of verification

and evaluation”, “Criteria for evaluation”, “Subject of evaluation”, “Control”. This framework includes the

characteristics of control over theoretical training and the embodiment of knowledge, skills in practical activities.

Figure 3: The "Distance Learning" framework

The “Distance learning” framework (Figure 3) contains three frameworks - “Form of education”, “Educational

server materials”, and “Electronic dean's office”. This framework contains parameters for establishing interactive

communication between a student and a teacher without ensuring their direct meeting and independent

development of a certain array of information on the chosen discipline with given information technology as

shown in Figure 3.

The “Additional education” framework consists of four frameworks “Program”, “Goal”, “Target”, “Category of

listeners”, “Volume” and such characteristics as content and price. They contain various parameters for

choosing the fulfilment of new professional duties, for obtaining additional qualifications. The “Electronic library”

framework consists of three frameworks “Electronic documents prepared by teachers and staff”, “Electronic

editions”, “Electronic analogues of print media”. These frameworks contain features for searching and obtaining

the necessary literature for students learning. The framework “The system of management of academic

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disciplines” is a network of frameworks consisting of “Module of disciplines”, “Educational program”, “Parts of

disciplines”, and “The system of management of educational process”. These frameworks are interconnected

and contain parameters for the accumulation of new knowledge within the relevant expertise.

The “Individual educational trajectory” framework (Figure 4) consists of three frameworks - the “Selection of the

direction of trajectory” framework, the “Extra data” framework, and the “Educational trajectory” framework.

Figure 4: The "Individual educational trajectory" framework

This framework allows to select, develop and implement an individual educational plan, based on internal

components - additional student data, individual achievements and personal educational interests (the

"Selection of the direction of trajectory" framework), and external components - input testing and generating a

trajectory. The combination of internal educational components and external ones will offer a varied educational

route for each student. During the implementation of the individual educational trajectory of the student,

refinement of individual components may occur, which includes possible adjustment. The development process

of the implementation of individual educational paths is associated with the organisational aspect of the

pedagogical process. First of all, the scale of the formation of individual educational trajectories is important,

most often, the scale is limited to individual educational areas.

A separate module in the teaching of a chemistry student should be open educational e-resources (OER). Here

several implementation methods can be seen: the use of the element of full-time study with the help of

OER; reflection and explanation of the results obtained in studies of other scientists.

Open educational e-resources are quite common now. The study found that online education increased learning

and suggested that students could learn most effectively when they work individually (Davenport et al., 2018). In

distance learning, a large role is played by information resources. And choosing the right information resource

is a complex and difficult task.

3. Selection of educational information and reference resources by quality criteria

Open educational resources, including topics on chemistry, green chemistry and chemical technology, were

considered for comparative analysis. These resources contain the knowledge of the school, university and

professional level. The objects of analysis were both Russian and foreign online publications. All the educational

e-resources are supported by the project of the Federal Center for Information and Educational Resources

(FCIOR), which aims to distribute materials and educational services to all levels and stages of education.

Foreign English-language publications participating in the comparative analysis are included in the list of

recommended Green Chemistry Network (GCN), established in 1998 by the Center for Green Chemistry at the

University of York with funding from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

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To assess the quality criteria of educational programs, a methodology based on a scale system was proposed.

Each of the criteria is assessed on from 0 (zero) to 2 (two), where:

• 0 points are awarded in the absence of the criterion assessed at all;

• 1 point is awarded in the case of partial implementation of the assessed criterion;

• 2 points are awarded if the criterion is fully implemented.

The example of results of a comparative analysis of foreign educational e-resources are presented in the Table.

Table 1: Array of results of comparative analysis (Foreign e-resources)

Open Educational

Resources by

School: Chemistry

(CSU Bakersfield,

2020)

Open

Educational

Resources by

Subject

Disciplines (WCC

Library, 2020)

Common

Open

Educational

Resources

(ISKME,

2020)

Open

Educational

Resources (Mt.

SAC Library,

2020)

Chemistry

for life

(ASC, 2020)

1. Criteria for evaluating functionality

Forum 0 0 2 0 0

Visible attendance counter 0 0 0 0 0

Feedback Tools 2 1 2 1 1

Site search Box 2 2 2 2 1

Hyperlinks 2 0 2 2 0

Additional Interactive Tools 2 2 2 2 1

2. Criteria for evaluating the structure of the interface

Hierarchical structure 1 2 2 2 2

Subordinate structure

mapping 0 1 2 0 1

3. Criteria for evaluating the design of the interface

Colour scheme 1 1 2 1 2

Readability of texts on the

proposed background 2 2 2 2 2

Font consistency in headers,

texts, buttons 2 2 2 0 2

4. Criteria for evaluating substantive characteristics

Site presentation (general

description, goals,

objectives) 2 1 2 2 2

Site manual 2 0 1 0 2

Interdisciplinary approach 1 1 2 2 1

The relationship between

local and global 1 1 1 2 1

Total score 20 16 26 18 18

Among the selected criteria for assessing quality, the following criteria are implemented in most of the compared

resources: hierarchical structure - 20 points out of 22; site search window - 17 points out of 22; readability of

tests against the proposed background - 17 points out of 22.

According to the average number of points scored per criterion in the group, the criteria for evaluating the

structure of the interface show the best result. On average, one indicator accounts for 13 points out of 22

possible. The least number of points was gained by such criteria as a forum, a visible traffic counter and a guide

to using the site. On average, indicators for assessing the functionality of educational Internet resources are

rather poorly implemented.

Among the analysed Internet resources, the best in terms of the number of fully implemented evaluation criteria

was the English-language website «Common Open Educational Resources» (ISKME, 2020), which scored 26

points out of 30 possible. The resource gained a leading position immediately according to the criteria for

evaluating functionality and for evaluating the design of the interface. However, the site does not have a visible

attendance counter. Among the Russian-language Internet resources, the site «Unified Collection of Digital

Educational Resources» (EDU, 2020) turned out to be the unrivalled leader, scoring 22 points out of 30.

The least number of points - 9 out of 30 possible - was scored by the Internet portal for Russian-speaking users

«I am going to a chemistry lecture» (J.Chemiya, 2020) in which there are practically no criteria for evaluating

the content characteristics, neither the criteria for evaluating the functionality of the Internet resource.

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A comparative analysis of Russian and foreign educational Internet resources in the chemical field has the most

implemented criteria for evaluating the design and structure of the interface. The criteria for evaluating

functionality, such as having a forum and a visible attendance counter are most poorly implemented.

Taking into consideration the above results of a comparative analysis of educational reference and information

resources in the developed Internet resource in the chemical field, it is advisable to focus on the implementation

of functional elements that increase the interactivity of the site.

4. Conclusions

This article analyses and presents a model of educational activity of the teaching and academic standards at

the majority of universities in the Russian Federation. Frameworks have been proposed to describe a general

model of the educational process at the university. Frameworks describe the components and their

interrelationship for visualisation (Figure 1-4). The core principles must lie at the individual qualities of the

students and the totality of objects and subjects of the educational system. The development of the model was

carried out with the usage of the conceptual and taxonomic analysis of the subject area. One of the essential

components of the frameworks is distance learning that needs to be well-established in order to meet all the

level requirements of the academic educational systems in the majority of countries. It was concluded that open

educational resources play an important role in the remote educational process of chemistry students at all

levels of academic cycles, as long as a student has free access to all the educational materials. The English-

language reference portal “Common Open Educational Resources” (ISKME, 2020) meets the selected criteria

to a greater extent. This portal should be accepted as a model of the structural design of the interface and the

level of content characteristics.

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