VOA慢速英語:What Online Teens Consider 'Research'

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report in Special English.

這里是美國之音慢速英語教育報道。

Teachers say the digital age has had a good influence -- and a not-so-good influence -- on this generation of American teenagers. More than 2,000 middle and high school teachers took an online survey. Researchers also spoke with teachers in focus groups.

教師們說，數(shù)字化時代對這一代美國青少年的影響有好有壞。2000多名初中和高中教師參與了網(wǎng)上調查。研究人員還同重點小組的教師進行了交流。

Three-quarters of the teachers said the Internet and digital search tools have had a "mostly positive" effect on their students' research habits and skills. But 87 percent agreed that these technologies are creating an "easily distracted generation with short attention spans." And 64 percent said the technologies "do more to distract students than to help them academically." Many students think "doing research" now means just doing a quick search on Google.

3/4的教師說，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和數(shù)字搜索工具對學生的研究習慣和技巧大多是正面影響。但87%的教師贊同這些技術正在產(chǎn)生“易受干擾、注意力短暫的一代人”。而64%的教師表示，科技更多的是使學生分心而不是在學業(yè)上幫助他們。許多學生認為現(xiàn)在做研究只是到谷歌上快速檢索。

The Pew Internet Project did the survey with the College Board and the National Writing Project. A majority of the teachers came from Advanced Placement classes, which provide college-level work for high school students.

皮尤互聯(lián)網(wǎng)項目聯(lián)合美國大學理事會和美國國家寫作項目展開了這次調查。大部分教師來自為高中生提供大學水平功課的大學先修課程班級。

Judy Buchanan is deputy director of the National Writing Project and a co-author of the report. Ms. Buchanan says digital research tools are helping students learn more, and learn faster.

朱迪·布坎南(Judy Buchanan)是美國國家寫作項目的副主任，也是該報告的合著者。 布坎南女士表示，數(shù)字化研究工具有助于學生們學到更多，學得更快。

"Teachers really embrace these tools because they are ways to make some of learning exciting and engaging. Young people embrace these tools. And the goal is to really help them become creators of content, and meaningful content, and not just sort of consumers."

她說，“教師們接受這些工具是因為它們讓學習變得有趣、有吸引力。年輕人也接受這些工具。而我們的目標是真正幫助學生們成為有意義內容的創(chuàng)作者，而不只是消費者。”

But one problem the survey found is that many students are lacking in digital literacy. In other words, they trust too much of the information they find on the Internet. Judy Buchanan says these students have not developed the skills they need to judge the quality of online information.

但調查中發(fā)現(xiàn)的一個問題是，許多學生缺乏數(shù)字素養(yǎng)。換句話說，他們過于相信互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上找到的信息。布坎南表示，這些學生尚不具備他們所需的辨別網(wǎng)上信息質量的技能。

"It's just a lot to learn about how to discern credible sources. And it's something that really has to be taught and paid attention to. It's like everything else -- in a world in which things can happen quickly, you really do need to have a way to step back, reflect and analyze the information you have. And teachers can do a lot to teach that."

“學生們學會如何辨別可靠信息來源還有很長的路要走。這才是真正需要教會他們并引起重視的東西。這和其它事物一樣，世界瞬息萬變，你必須有能力對自己掌握的信息站在局外思考，以及對它們進行反思和分析。教師們在這方面有很多事情可以做。”

Another problem the survey found is blamed on something that might not seem like a problem at all: being able to quickly find information online. Teachers say the result is a reduction in the desire and ability of their students to work hard to find answers. They say students are overly dependent on search engines and do not make enough use of printed books or research librarians.

調查發(fā)現(xiàn)的另一個問題可能歸咎于一些看上去完全不像是問題的東西，即學生們能夠在網(wǎng)上快速找到信息。教師們表示，其結果就是學生們的求知欲和努力尋找答案的能力都有所下降。他們說學生們過于依賴搜索引擎，沒有很好地利用印刷書籍或圖書館。

Many teachers are also concerned that the Internet makes it easy for students to copy work done by others instead of using their own abilities.

許多教師還擔心，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)使得學生更容易抄襲他人成果，而不是發(fā)揮自己的能力。