Distance Learning Explodes in Popularity

Distance Learning Explodes in Popularity

 

By Kristen King /©2003,

The Virginian-Pilot, Knight¹ Ridder Newspapers.

Distributed by Tribune Media Services International.

 

Critics worry that distance learning lacks the rigor² of face-to-face instruction, but experts say neither method is inherently better – provided the teacher and course content are both good

 

1

Erin Maple³ had two children, a fulltime job as a receptionist and a nagging⁴ desire to turn her fascination⁵ with biology into a career. Three years later, Maple completed an associate’s degree in science at Tidewater Community College (TCC)—her first step toward a doctorate⁶ in biology. Forty percent of her classes were conducted online, allowing her to fit class time into her already stretched schedule.

 

“I could do my [course]work at 2 a.m. if I wanted,” Maple said. “I could do my homework sitting on the couch and not worry about babysitting.”

 

Maple isn’t the only student capitalizing on the convenience of cyberspace⁷. School officials realize that most of TCC’s students are not typical college students. Rather than entering college directly after high school, the students at Tidewater are working two or more jobs and often have families. Some are deployed⁹ through the military, so they cannot take traditional, face-to-face classes.

 

Easier for teachers, too

 

Teachers are getting more creative in offering courses online. The course offerings via the Internet are expanding to include many fields of study, such as Spanish, algebra¹⁰ and biology.

 

Professor Mike Nickelsburg’s Biology 101 offers coursework online, but students must leave their keyboards three Saturdays a semester for six-hour stints¹² in a laboratory. The professor posts weekly introductions; students then read their textbooks, take a quiz online and e-mail Nickelsburg questions.

 

Robert Ford¹³, an adjunct music appreciation¹⁴ instructor¹⁵, said, “I’m in communication with each student as an individual all the time.” A CD-ROM accompanies the textbook for his course, and his tests ask students to identify musical excerpts¹⁶ — from Beethoven to jazz — that play via computer.

 

Ford also appreciates the convenience. The online format¹⁷ has allowed Ford to teach two courses while playing the trombone in an Ohio symphony.

Vocabulary Focus

nagging (adj) [5nA^iN] describes something, such as a feeling, that continues for a long period of time and is often unpleasant, irritating or annoying

capitalize (v) [kE5pitElaiz] to use a situation to one’s own advantage

deploy⁸ (v) [di5plCi] to move soldiers or equipment to a place where they can be used when they are needed

stint¹¹ (n) [stint] a fixed¹⁸ or limited period of time spent doing a particular job or activity

 

Specialized¹⁹ Terms

associate’s degree (n) 两年制的学士学位 the qualification given to a student by a college after the student successfully completes two years of study

adjunct (adj) 临时的; 支援的 relating to someone who is part of a faculty²⁰ or staff on a temporary or supplementary²¹ basis

远程教学正在蓬勃发展

王涵恩  译

 

批评者担心远程教学没有面授那么严格，但是专家说，只要提供好的老师和教学内容，两种教学方式并无高下之分。

1   

艾琳·麦波有两个小孩、一份接线员的全职工作和一个长久的心愿，想将她对生物学的着迷变成职业。3年后，麦波在潮水社区大学完成了一个两年的理科学士课程——这是她朝着生物博士学位迈进的第一步。40%的课程都在网络上进行，使她能在已经十分紧凑的时间表中安排一些上课时间。   

麦波说道：“只要我想，我可以在凌晨两点上课。我可以坐在沙发上做功课，而不用担心请临时保姆。”

麦波不是唯一利用网络之便的学生。潮水社区大学的官员意识到该校大多数学生都不是一般大学生：这些学生并非在高中毕业后直接进入大学，他们不但身兼两到三份工作，而且通常都有家；还有些是派驻在外的军人，因此他们不能上传统的面授课程。

 

老师也更省事   

老师在网络上开课的做法日益创新。网络所提供的课程也囊括了许多领域的学问，例如西班牙文、代数及生物学。

麦可·尼可斯伯格教授的“生物101”课程有网络教学，但是学生必须在一个学期中抽出3个星期六离开计算机键盘，到实验室进行6个小时的实验。教授会贴出每周的课程介绍；学生接下来便自己读教科书、在网络上考小考，以及利用电子邮件问尼可斯伯格教授问题。   

罗伯乐·福特是一位音乐鉴赏课程的兼职讲师，他说：“我随时都以个人身份与每一位学生沟通交流。”他这堂课的教科书附带了一片光盘，而他的考试则要求学生分辨不同的音乐片段，从贝多芬到爵士音乐都有，经由电脑播放。

福特也很感激其便利性。这种网络形式的教学，让福特可以在教两堂课的同时，还能在一个俄亥俄州的交响乐团里演奏长号。

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

3 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

4 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

6 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

7 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

8 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 algebra   

n.代数学

参考例句：

• He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
• The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。

11 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

12 stints   

n.定额工作( stint的名词复数 )；定量；限额；慷慨地做某事

参考例句：

• He stints himself in [of] sleep. 他节制睡眠。 来自辞典例句
• She never stints herself of money to buy books for her children. 她从不吝惜掏钱让子女们买书。 来自互联网

13 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

14 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

15 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

16 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

17 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

18 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

19 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

20 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

21 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。