VOA慢速英語：電腦程序是否能幫助師生們?
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Can Computer Programs Help Students, Teachers?
電腦程序是否能幫助師生們?
Junior Alvarado was worried when he began his first year at a public charter high school in Washington, DC. He often struggled in his math classes and earned poor grades in middle school.
阿拉瓦多在華盛頓特區(qū)一所特許公立高中剛上高一時很擔(dān)心。他數(shù)學(xué)學(xué)得不好，在中學(xué)時成績不佳。
But the teachers at the Washington Leadership Academy used computer programs to identify the areas he was weak in and design a learning plan just for him.
但是華盛頓領(lǐng)導(dǎo)學(xué)院的老師們利用電腦程序來確定他的薄弱環(huán)節(jié)，并為他量身定做了一個學(xué)習(xí)計劃。
As Alvarado started geometry in his second year of high school last week, he says he felt much better about his math skills.
阿爾瓦多上周進入高中第二學(xué)年開始學(xué)習(xí)幾何時，他說他感覺自己的數(shù)學(xué)技能有所進步。
"For me personalized learning is having classes set at your level," the 15-year-old said, in between lessons. "They explain the problem step by step, it wouldn't be as fast. It will be at your [speed]."
這位15歲的學(xué)生在課間表示：“對我來說，人性化學(xué)習(xí)就是按自己的水平上課。他們一步步解釋問題，不會那么快。就是按照你自己的速度。”
Many schools in the United States struggle to raise the high school graduation rate. They also have difficulty helping many minority and low-income students perform at the same level as others. So many educators see digital technology as a way of solving these problems.
美國很多學(xué)校都在努力提高高中畢業(yè)率。他們在幫助少數(shù)族裔和低收入家庭的學(xué)生群體獲得同其他學(xué)生同等表現(xiàn)方面也存在困難。所以很多教育家將數(shù)字化技術(shù)視為解決這些問題的辦法。
Personalized learning
個性化學(xué)習(xí)
The use of technology in schools is part of a larger idea of personalized learning. This idea has been gaining popularity in recent years.
在學(xué)校中利用科技是個性化學(xué)習(xí)這一更大概念的一部分。這一概念近年來頗受歡迎。
Personalized learning is a way of teaching centered around the interests and needs of individual students instead of entire classes as a whole. It includes flexible learning environments, specially-designed education plans, and letting students help decide what and how they learn.
個性化學(xué)習(xí)是圍繞學(xué)生個體興趣和需要，而不是全班一體的的一種教學(xué)方式。它包括靈活的教學(xué)環(huán)境、特別定制的教育方案以及讓學(xué)生們幫助決定他們學(xué)什么以及怎么學(xué)。
Under the Obama administration, the Education Department put $500 million into personalized learning programs in 68 school districts. These programs served almost 500,000 students in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have also invested heavily in digital tools and other student-centered methods.
奧巴馬當(dāng)政時期，美國教育部為68個學(xué)區(qū)推行個性化學(xué)習(xí)項目投入了5千美元。這些項目服務(wù)了美國13個州以及華盛頓特區(qū)的近50萬名學(xué)生。像比爾和梅琳達·蓋茨基金會等組織也在數(shù)字化工具和其它以學(xué)生為中心的教學(xué)方法上投入巨資。
The International Association for K-12 Online Learning supports the growth of education technology. It claims that up to 10 percent of all of America's public schools now use some form of personalized learning.
K-12在線學(xué)習(xí)國際協(xié)會支持教育科技的發(fā)展。該協(xié)會聲稱，高達10%的美國公立學(xué)校目前采用了某種個性化學(xué)習(xí)形式。
Rhode Island plans to spend $2 million to become the first U.S. state to make teaching in all of its schools individualized. And current U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos also supports personalized learning.
羅德島州計劃花費2百萬美元成為美國首個在所有學(xué)校采用個性化教學(xué)的州。美國現(xiàn)任教育部長貝絲迪·德沃斯(Betsy DeVos)也支持個性化學(xué)習(xí)。
Supporters say traditional methods, where teachers just speak at the front of the class and test students all at once, do not match the modern world.
支持者表示，傳統(tǒng)教學(xué)方法是老師們站在臺上講課，并且同時測驗全部學(xué)生，這與現(xiàn)代世界不符。
Ken Wagner is the Rhode Island Education Commissioner. He said, "The economy needs kids who are creative problem solvers, who synthesize information, [form] and express a point of view."
肯·瓦格納是羅德島州的教育專員。他說，“當(dāng)今經(jīng)濟需要孩子們創(chuàng)造性解決問題、綜合信息并表達觀點。”
At Washington Leadership Academy, educators use computer programs to collect information on students' performance. This information helps teachers follow their students' progress and make changes to lessons that meet students' individual needs. That way students are able to master subjects at their own speed.
在華盛頓領(lǐng)導(dǎo)學(xué)院，教育工作者們利用電腦程序收集學(xué)生們學(xué)習(xí)表現(xiàn)相關(guān)信息。這些信息有助于教師們跟蹤學(xué)生們的進步，并對課程做出改變來滿足學(xué)生們的個性需求。這樣，學(xué)生們就能以自身進度掌握各門課程。
In English classes, for example, students reading below their level would have the same books or reading materials as their classmates. But complex words in the reading materials would have notes helping explain the words shown on the students' computer screens.
例如在英語課程中，閱讀水平低的學(xué)生們也跟其它同學(xué)一樣使用相同的書本或閱讀材料。但是閱讀材料中的復(fù)雜詞匯會在學(xué)生的電腦屏幕上顯示注釋，幫助解釋這些單詞的意思。
Joseph Webb is the principal who helped establish the Washington Leadership Academy last year. The school serves about 200 mostly African American students from high-poverty and high-risk areas in Washington, D.C. He says the digital tools help teachers identify problems students are facing before they become too serious.
約瑟夫·韋伯(Joseph Webb)是去年幫助建立華盛頓領(lǐng)導(dǎo)學(xué)院的校長。該學(xué)校為來自華盛頓特區(qū)極度貧困和高風(fēng)險地區(qū)的200多名主要為非裔美國人的學(xué)生提供服務(wù)。他說數(shù)字化工具幫助老師們在問題變得嚴(yán)重之前確定學(xué)生們面臨的問題。
"We can [solve them] right then and there; we don't have to wait for the problem to come to us," he said.
他說：“我們可以當(dāng)時解決問題，不用等到問題出現(xiàn)到自己身上。”
Too early to tell
言之過早
Still, many researchers say it is too early to tell if personalized learning works better than traditional teaching.
然而，很多研究人員表示，現(xiàn)在就說個性化教學(xué)比傳統(tǒng)教學(xué)更好尚言之過早。
The Rand Corporation recently did a study of personalized learning and found that it only led to small improvements. It found only a 3-percentile improvement in math and even smaller improvements in reading compared to schools with traditional teaching methods. Some students also complained group work in personalized learning classes was more difficult as each student had different tasks to complete.
蘭德公司最近對個性化學(xué)習(xí)進行了研究，發(fā)現(xiàn)它只能產(chǎn)生些微改善。與采用傳統(tǒng)教學(xué)方法的學(xué)校相比，它在數(shù)學(xué)上只有3%的改善，在閱讀上改善更小。有些學(xué)生還抱怨個性化學(xué)習(xí)班級的小組討論更難，因為每個學(xué)生要完成不同的任務(wù)。
In addition, experts in children's health say the overuse of technology presents other problems. They warn that too much time looking at screens can damage face-to-face relationships and young people's interest in physical activity.
此外，兒童健康專家表示，過度使用科技也帶來了其它問題。他們警告說，過多時間看著屏幕會損害面對面的人際關(guān)系以及年輕人對體育鍛煉的興趣。
Some teachers have their doubts as well. Marla Kilfoyle is the executive director of the Badass Teachers Association, an education activist group. She admits that technology can be helpful in the classroom in many ways. But she argues that no computer program should ever replace the personal touch, support and inspiration teachers give their students.
有些老師也有各自的疑問。Marla Kilfoyle是壞蛋教師協(xié)會的執(zhí)行主任，這是一個教育活動家組織。她承認(rèn)，科技在教室里有多方面用途。但是她認(rèn)為，任何電腦程序都不能取代教師對學(xué)生們的接觸、支持和啟發(fā)。
"That human element is very important when children learn," Kilfoyle said.
Kilfoyle表示：“這種人文因素在孩子們學(xué)習(xí)時是非常重要的。”
I'm Lucija Milonig. And I'm Pete Musto.
盧西婭·馬萊尼格報道。皮特·穆斯托報道。
Junior Alvarado was worried when he began his first year at a public charter high school in Washington, DC. He often struggled in his math classes and earned poor grades in middle school.
But the teachers at the Washington Leadership Academy used computer programs to identify the areas he was weak in and design a learning plan just for him.
As Alvarado started geometry in his second year of high school last week, he says he felt much better about his math skills.
“For me personalized learning is having classes set at your level,” the 15-year-old said, in between lessons. “They explain the problem step by step, it wouldn't be as fast. It will be at your [speed].”
Many schools in the United States struggle to raise the high school graduation rate. They also have difficulty helping many minority and low-income students perform at the same level as others. So many educators see digital technology as a way of solving these problems.
Personalized learning
The use of technology in schools is part of a larger idea of personalized learning. This idea has been gaining popularity in recent years.
Personalized learning is a way of teaching centered around the interests and needs of individual students instead of entire classes as a whole. It includes flexible learning environments, specially-designed education plans, and letting students help decide what and how they learn.
Under the Obama administration, the Education Department put $500 million into personalized learning programs in 68 school districts. These programs served almost 500,000 students in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have also invested heavily in digital tools and other student-centered methods.
The International Association for K-12 Online Learning supports the growth of education technology. It claims that up to 10 percent of all of America's public schools now use some form of personalized learning.
Rhode Island plans to spend $2 million to become the first U.S. state to make teaching in all of its schools individualized. And current U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos also supports personalized learning.
Supporters say traditional methods, where teachers just speak at the front of the class and test students all at once, do not match the modern world.
Ken Wagner is the Rhode Island Education Commissioner. He said, “The economy needs kids who are creative problem solvers, who synthesize information, [form] and express a point of view.”
At Washington Leadership Academy, educators use computer programs to collect information on students’ performance. This information helps teachers follow their students’ progress and make changes to lessons that meet students’ individual needs. That way students are able to master subjects at their own speed.
In English classes, for example, students reading below their level would have the same books or reading materials as their classmates. But complex words in the reading materials would have notes helping explain the words shown on the students’ computer screens.
Joseph Webb is the principal who helped establish the Washington Leadership Academy last year. The school serves about 200 mostly African American students from high-poverty and high-risk areas in Washington, D.C. He says the digital tools help teachers identify problems students are facing before they become too serious.
“We can [solve them] right then and there; we don't have to wait for the problem to come to us,” he said.
Too early to tell
Still, many researchers say it is too early to tell if personalized learning works better than traditional teaching.
The Rand Corporation recently did a study of personalized learning and found that it only led to small improvements. It found only a 3-percentile improvement in math and even smaller improvements in reading compared to schools with traditional teaching methods. Some students also complained group work in personalized learning classes was more difficult as each student had different tasks to complete.
In addition, experts in children’s health say the overuse of technology presents other problems. They warn that too much time looking at screens can damage face-to-face relationships and young people’s interest in physical activity.
Some teachers have their doubts as well. Marla Kilfoyle is the executive director of the Badass Teachers Association, an education activist group. She admits that technology can be helpful in the classroom in many ways. But she argues that no computer program should ever replace the personal touch, support and inspirationteachers give their students.
“That human element is very important when children learn,” Kilfoyle said.
I’m Lucija Milonig. And I’m Pete Musto.
______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
charter – n. a document which declares that a city, town, school, or corporation has been established
graduation – n. the act of completing an education program at a school, college, or university
income – n. money that is earned from work, investments, or business
digital – adj. using or characterized by computer technology
flexible – adj. easily changed
district(s) – n. an area or region containing the schools that a school board is in charge of
match – v. to be suited to (someone or something): to go well with (someone or something)
synthesize – v. to combine things in order to make something new
screen(s) – n. the usually flat part of a television or computer monitor that shows the images or text
complain – v. to say or write that you are unhappy, sick, uncomfortable, etc., or that you do not like something
doubt – n. a feeling of being uncertain or unsure about something
inspiration – n. something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create
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