VOA慢速英語:Online Classes might Revolutionize Colleges

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語教育報道。

American colleges face what some people are calling a "perfect storm" of problems, college costs are rising, there are not enough jobs for all those completing study programs. Yet employers say they can not find enough workers with technical skills.

美國大學面臨著一些人所謂的“屋漏偏遇連陰雨”的問題，大學學費在漲，畢業(yè)生沒有足夠的就業(yè)機會。然而雇主卻說他們找不到具備相關技能的員工。

One solution may be found in the growing number and quality of online classes, such classes might revolutionize colleges the way the Internet has already changed music, publishing, sales, and other businesses.

數量和質量不斷提高的網上課程可能是解決辦法之一。這類課程可能會徹底改變高校，就像互聯網已經改變了音樂、出版、銷售和其它業(yè)務一樣。

"This is pretty amazing." That is David Evans of the University of Virginia, he is teaching a Computer Science class on the Internet.

“這很了不起。”這是弗吉尼亞大學的大衛(wèi)·埃文斯(David Evans)的評價，他在互聯網上教計算機科學課程。

Many top universities now offer online classes, they teach everything from computer programing to the science of cooking. Many classes are at little or no cost, they are restructured more often than traditional college programs.

現在許多頂尖大學都提供網上課程，教授從電腦編程到烹調的各種課程。許多課程費用很低或免費，這些課程比傳統(tǒng)大學課程調整得更頻繁。

That's important to the millions of students who learn technical and other skills from Lynda.com. Lynda Weinman helped to launch the website, she spoke to VOA on skype.

這對數百萬通過Lynda.com網站學習科技和其它技能的學生來說很重要。琳達·溫曼(Lynda Weinman)幫助推出了這一網站，她通過skype對美國之音表示。

"We can come to market very quickly and we can teach transient skills, so a lot of software is changing constantly and new software is being invented, and those sorts of things cannot easily make their way into college curriculum."

“我們可以非?？焖俚剡M入市場，我們也可以教授短期技能。很多軟件不斷更新，新軟件不斷問世，而這些東西沒法輕易地就進入大學課程。”

At most colleges, a professor or teaching assistant gives a lecture to students, who then do research, study, and homework alone. Student and bloggers John Haber says online classes change everything around.

在大多數高校中，教授或助教給學生們講課，然后學生們獨自研究、學習和做作業(yè)。作為學生和博主的約翰·哈伯(John Haber)表示，網上課程改變了周圍的一切。

"They are watching the lectures at home as homework, recorded lectures, and when they get to class, they are having more active discussions, or interactions with the teachers or working on projects."

他說，“學生們可以把在家觀看錄制的講座當作家庭作業(yè)，當他們上課時，他們就能更積極地討論、與教師互動或做項目。”

John Harber said on skype that he is taking enough online classes to earn a four-year college degree in just one year. Experts say the new technology will have a major effect on colleges. Some predict future classes may be a mix of online lectures and professors helping students work through difficult problems in person.

哈伯通過skype表示，他正在上網上課程，在短短一年時間就能獲得4年制大學學位。專家表示，這項新技術將對高校產生重大影響。有人預測，未來的課程可能會是在線講座和教授面對面幫助學生解決難題相結合。

Georgetown University labor economist Tony Carnevale says he would welcome these changes, he says a college education has to be less costly, and then to skills needed by employers.

喬治敦大學的勞動經濟學家托尼·內瓦萊(Tony Carnevale)表示，他對這些改變表示歡迎。他說，大學教育費用應該更低，同時轉向雇主需要的技能。

"It's really quite clear that more and more people need post-secondary education and training and a lot of them are not getting it. And in cases where they do get it, it doesn't lead to gainful employment. Or it leads to jobs where they don't fully use their talents, and we don't have enough money to buy our way out of this."

他說，“很顯然，越來越多的人需要中學后(post-secondary)教育和培訓卻未能獲得。有時得到了教育卻還是找不到收入豐厚的工作，或者找到的工作無法充分施展自己的才能。同時我們沒有足夠的資金可以投入來改變這一些。”

Chris Cullen is a college marketing expert, he says competition from online schools, and concerns about costs, will change universities.

克里斯·卡倫(Chris Cullen)是一位高校營銷專家，他表示，來自網絡學校的挑戰(zhàn)，以及對費用的關注將會改變大學。

"The consumer demands that you tell me why, give me a reason, to believe that my money, my tuition money is best spent at your institution. What is the return on my investment? What is your value proposition?"

“消費者要求你說清楚，為什么我的學費花在你這個機構最值?我投入后會得到什么回報?你的價值主張是什么?”

Chris Cullen says top universities with strong public images may expand in an online world, but he says less discriminating, less famous schools may struggle to get the interest of students.

卡倫表示，公眾形象很好的世界頂尖大學可能會在網絡上得到擴張，但他表示，知名度不太高的學校可能難以吸引學生的興趣。