英語資源頻道為大家整理的雙語新聞:平板電腦適合用作教學(xué)工具嗎,供大家閱讀參考。
As schools rush to embrace computer tablets as teaching tools, glitches have officials in a few districts rethinking the usefulness and even security of the latest technology trend.
在美國各地的學(xué)校匆匆將平板電腦作為教學(xué)工具之際,隨之而來的一些問題令一些學(xué)區(qū)的官員們開始重新考慮這一新科技趨勢的有用性,甚至是安全程度。
The highest-profile snafu came in Los Angeles, where a $1 billion program -- funded by voter-approved bonds -- to provide Apple Inc. iPads for K-12 students came under fire after some students sidestepped the security system and accessed social media, online games and other content that was supposed to be blocked.
洛杉磯出現(xiàn)的相關(guān)問題受關(guān)注。當(dāng)?shù)赜幸粋€規(guī)模10億美元的項目,向幼兒園至12年級學(xué)生提供蘋果公司(Apple Inc.)的iPad產(chǎn)品,但由于一些學(xué)生越過安全系統(tǒng),使用社交媒體、網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲等原本禁止使用的內(nèi)容,這個項目受到批評。該項目通過經(jīng)投票批準(zhǔn)發(fā)行的債券來提供資金。
The Los Angeles Unified School District temporarily took back thousands of tablets from students at three high schools and required the devices to remain on-campus in all 30 schools where the effort had been rolled out. School board officials called a special meeting for Oct. 29 to assess the $50 million first phase of the program ahead of votes to fund the second and third phases.
洛杉磯聯(lián)合學(xué)區(qū)(Los Angeles Unified School District)暫時從三所高中的學(xué)生手中收回了數(shù)千臺平板電腦,并要求在這個項目已經(jīng)覆蓋到的全部30所學(xué)校,所發(fā)放的平板電腦僅限在校內(nèi)使用。學(xué)校董事會成員定于10月29日召開一個特別會議,在就為該項目第二和第三階段進(jìn)行融資一事舉行投票前,對規(guī)模5,000萬美元的項目第一階段進(jìn)行評估。
Los Angeles school board member Bennett Kayser said the district's initiative was 'hastily planned' and several 'red flags' were overlooked, such as the potential expense of lost or stolen devices and questions about the completeness of the installed curriculum software. 'Technology is a tool, not an end unto itself.'
洛杉磯學(xué)校董事會成員凱澤(Bennett Kayser)說,該校區(qū)在計劃這個項目時操之過急,忽視了一些風(fēng)險,比如設(shè)備丟失或者失竊的潛在成本,內(nèi)置課程軟件完整性也存在質(zhì)疑。他說,科技是一個工具,本身并不是一個目標(biāo)。
The fitful Los Angeles rollout comes as K-12 schools nationwide are expected to spend $9.7 billion on technology in 2013, up from $6 billion in 2003, according to the Center for Digital Education, a national research and advisory institute specializing in education technology trends and policy.
據(jù)美國數(shù)字化教育中心(Center for Digital Education)稱,在洛杉磯斷斷續(xù)續(xù)實施這個項目之際,預(yù)計2013年全美幼兒園至12年級學(xué)校在科技上的支出將達(dá)97億美元,高于2003年的60億美元。美國數(shù)字化教育中心是一個全國性的研究和顧問機構(gòu),專長于教育科技趨勢和政策。
Advocates say new technology may allow teachers to better target students' individual academic levels and learning styles, and engage students who often are bored by the more traditional style of teaching. For example, teachers can watch students writing essays in real time and shoot one a note if she failed to write a proper introduction and another a separate note if she used improper punctuation.
支持者說,新科技或許可以令教師更好的針對學(xué)生的個人學(xué)術(shù)水平和學(xué)習(xí)方式,并且可以吸引那些經(jīng)常對更傳統(tǒng)的授課方式感到厭煩的學(xué)生。比如,教師可以實時觀察學(xué)生的寫作情況,如果發(fā)現(xiàn)哪個學(xué)生的引言寫得不好,或者哪個學(xué)生標(biāo)點用的不對,教師可以給她發(fā)個信息予以提醒。
Leslie Wilson, of the Michigan-based One-to-One Institute, a nonprofit that helps districts implement programs that assign a digital device to every student, said students must learn to be 'creators and producers, not regurgitators and consumers' of information, and technology can hasten those skills. She said laptops, tablets and other such devices can benefit students if they are chosen with student achievement in mind, rather than on the 'glitziness' of the product.
總部設(shè)在密歇根的一對一研究所(One-to-One Institute)的威爾遜(Leslie Wilson)說,學(xué)生們應(yīng)當(dāng)學(xué)著成為信息的創(chuàng)造者和生產(chǎn)者,而不是機械的重復(fù)者和消費者;科技產(chǎn)品能加快這些技能的形成。她說,筆記本電腦和平板電腦等設(shè)備可以令學(xué)生受益,前提是以學(xué)生的成就為出發(fā)點,而不是只看到這些產(chǎn)品的浮華面。一對一研究所是一家非營利性機構(gòu),主要幫助學(xué)區(qū)實施向每位學(xué)生發(fā)放數(shù)字設(shè)備的項目。
Skeptics say schools are racing into the digital promise with little forethought and, in some cases, expecting computer tools to boost academic outcomes even though the research on the issue is inconclusive. Researchers from the University of Southern Maine, for example, found that a program that provided laptops to middle-school students boosted writing scores, while a study by the Texas Center for Educational Research found no difference in test scores between middle-school students who got laptops and those who didn't.
質(zhì)疑者說,學(xué)校爭先恐后的作出數(shù)字產(chǎn)品,基本都沒經(jīng)過事先考慮,一些學(xué)校希望電腦工具能提高教學(xué)效果,而對這個問題的研究還無定論。比如,南緬因大學(xué)(University of Southern Maine)的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),一個向中學(xué)生發(fā)放筆記本電腦的計劃提高了寫作成績;而德州教育研究中心(Texas Center for Educational Research)的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn),獲得筆記本電腦和沒獲得筆記本電腦的中學(xué)生的測驗成績沒有差異。