Reflection on online education

廣東 李奕群

1At a session in Davos, Salesforce.com (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff and Sean Parker of Facebook (FB) and Napster hosted a round table.Then someone asked me whether online education would have broadened my childhood horizons.

2I had to answer, “No.”What was really important in my education was that at key moments,I was able to predict the next step.And usually I did it with the help of a mentor, or at least someone who'd taken that next step before I did.If online education is going to change outcomes on a global scale, we must think more broadly about students' actual needs.We need to think about their entire educational journey, not just the content or the classes we provide.

3Every student needs the following three things.

4First, the plan.Imagine a child in a poor area trying to make an educational plan out of a series of online courses.It's impossible.In addition to building online classes, some of that money should go toward helping students make plans for their education, with help from advisory staff or current students.

5Second, the peer group.If students don't have peers struggling with the same material at the same time, they're likely to feel lonely and hopeless.Online educational software must become more social, immediate and fun.Imagine what a gift it would be to a student in rural area to connect with other students studying the same material in other parts of the world.

6Third, the mentors.Last fall, I helped create WitsOn, an online community connecting 500 professional women with thousands of college students.Students asked the women questions.Interestingly, we saw many of the professionals eagerly learning from the students.This suggests a giant network of learners, with mentors and mentees learning.

7I'm a big fan of learning online.But computers are not going to help most of people.Education is more than lectures, assignments and exams.It's a means to imagine a different life from the one you're living.Let's give every student a shot at that.

Reading Check

1.What was most important in the author's education?

A.Predicting the future.B.Forming the habit of reading.

C.Receiving online education.D.Meeting some excellent teachers.

2.Where should money go toward according to the author's opinion?

A.Opening online classes.

B.Hiring advisory staff.

C.Donating money to schools.

D.Helping students make plans for their education.

3.What is paragraph 6 mainly about?

A.The problem of the students.

B.The suggestion of the professionals.

C.The disadvantage of the online community.

D.The necessity of building a network between mentors and mentees.

4.What is the author's attitude towards online education?

A.Objective.B.Doubtful.

C.Negative.D.Positive.

?語篇解碼

本文是一篇說明文，講述我們在推行網絡教育的同時，還應該思考學生們的真實需求。

?語言學習

Ⅰ.語料薈萃

語篇單詞host v.作為主人組織；主辦predict v.預言；預測outcome n.結果broadly adv.寬廣地entire adj.全部的；整個的journey n.旅行advisory adj.顧問的；咨詢的staff n.全體職工current adj.當前的peer n. 同輩；同伴；伙伴struggle v.奮斗；努力software n.（計算機）軟件rural adj.鄉村的；似農村的professional n.專業人士；專家eagerly adv.渴望地；熱切地giant adj.巨大的；偉大的lecture n.演講assignment n. 分配；工作____________means n. 方法

（續表）

Ⅱ.語句分析

1.Then someone asked me whether online education would have broadened my childhood horizons.然后有人問我，線上教育是否會拓寬我童年的視野。

【點石成金】本句中，whether引導的是一個賓語從句，意為“是否”。

2.What was really important in my education was that at key moments, I was able to predict the next step.在我的教育中，真正重要的是，在關鍵時刻，我能夠預測到下一步。

【點石成金】本句由兩個從句構成，what 引導的是主語從句，that 引導的是表語從句。

?語言運用

Ⅰ.例句仿寫

1.我來看看她是否在家。

I'll see _________________________________.2.更重要的是我能學到很多的知識。

_________________________________I could learn a lot of knowledge.

Ⅱ.寫作實踐

假定你是李華，你的好友John發郵件向你詢問你對網絡教育的看法，請你給他回一封郵件。內容包括：

1.網絡教育的現狀；

2.你的看法。

注意：

1.詞數80左右；

2.可以適當增加細節，以使行文連貫。

Dear John,

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Yours,

Li Hua