VOA慢速英语-Education Report - Online Learning Grows, but Resear

Full-time¹ virtual schools can now be found in 18 American states. Transcript² of radio broadcast:
25 June 2008

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Forty-two of the fifty American states offered some kind of public online learning this past school year. One state, Michigan, now requires all students to have an online learning experience before they finish high school.
　

Jessica Miller3, 14, demonstrates the process of a virtual school during an information meeting for parents in Columbia, South Carolina

Even the idea of a school has changed since the rise of the Internet in the nineteen nineties.

A new report from the Center for Evaluation⁴ and Education Policy at Indiana University says eighteen states have full-time virtual schools. There are no buildings. All classes are online.

Online learners might work at different times. But there might be set times for class discussions -- by text, voice or video -- and virtual office hours for teachers.

Florida started the first statewide public virtual school in the United States in nineteen ninety-seven.

Today, the Florida Virtual School offers more than ninety courses. Fifty-six thousand students were enrolled⁵ as of December. Almost sixty percent were female. The school’s Web site says each student was enrolled in an average of two classes.

Two-thirds were also enrolled in public or charter schools. Charter schools are privately⁶ operated with public money. Other students are home-schooled or in private school.

Florida Virtual School has now opened the Florida Virtual Global School. Students in other countries pay for classes. Janet Heiking teaches an English class. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her students live as far away as Africa and Japan.

She says they are taking her Advanced Placement class to prepare for attending an American college. They can earn college credits by passing the A.P. test.

So how good are virtual schools? Studies have shown mixed results, as that new report from Indiana University notes.

For example, students at Florida Virtual School earned higher grades than those taking the same courses the traditional way. And they scored higher on a statewide test.

But virtual school students in Kansas and Colorado had lower test scores or performed at a lower level than traditional learners.

Studies also find that virtual schools may not save much in operating costs.

Education experts say the mixed results suggest the need for more research to find the best ways to teach in virtual schools. Also, they say schools of education need to train more teachers to work in both physical and virtual classrooms.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. To learn more about computer-based learning, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Bob Doughty⁷.

1 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

4 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

5 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。