3 . University educators largely think highly of the wonders of teaching through technology, but skeptics question whether something is lost when professors and lectures rely too heavily on electronic media or when interaction with students takes place remotely — in cyberspace rather than the real space of the classroom. Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, the Professor of Literature at Stanford University, is one such skeptic. “I think this enthusiastic and sometimes childish and blind pushing toward the more technology the better, the more websites the better teacher, and so forth, is very dangerous — is, indeed, suicidal,” he indicates.

However, Gumbrecht warns that there are few, if any, studies either supporting or rejecting the hypothesis that traditional ways of teaching are superior to teaching via the Internet. He says that he could point only to his “intuition that real classroom presence should be maintained,” and emphasizes the need for educators to examine critically where technology serves a useful pedagogical (教学法的) function and where it does not.

Yet, Gumbrecht allows that, for courses in which knowledge transmission is the sole purpose, electronic media probably can do the job well enough. Indeed, given the 20th century’s knowledge explosion and the increasing costs of higher education, using technology as opposed to real-life teachers for the transmission of information is probably inevitable, he admits. In any case, knowledge transmission should not be the core function of the university, he maintains, noting that universities should be places where people confront open questions, places for “intellectual complexity” and “riskful thinking”.

“We are not about finding or transmitting solutions; we are not about recipes; we are not about making intellectual life easy. Confrontation with complexity is what expands your mind. It is something like intellectual gymnastics. And this is what makes you a suitable member of the society.”

Moreover, discussions in the physical presence of others can lead to the intellectual innovation. “There’s a qualitative change, and you don’t know how it happens. Discussions in the physical presence have the capacity of being the catalyst (催化剂) for such intellectual breakthroughs. The possibility of in-classroom teaching — of letting something happen which cannot happen if you teach by the transmission of information — is a strength.”

4 . Online learning is a term used to describe distance courses that are offered over the Internet. The courses cover a wide range of subjects and audiences. This educational method is growing in popularity as an economical method of providing access to education for a large population.

There are two types of online course access: open and restricted. Open access allows actually anyone with an Internet user to view the course material. This type of online learning does not require interaction with an instructor. The material covered can range from very specific instructions to university level courses. This initiative removes the barriers to advanced knowledge and allows anyone with the interest to learn. The other type of online courses are restricted access courses. Restricted access is used to limit the class to registered students. These courses offer instructor interaction and are typically the method used by courses that require grades upon graduation.

It is more efficient for both the educator and the student to access course materials online. From the educator aspect, the course lectures can be recorded once and reused. This greatly reduced the staff time and costs. Meanwhile, online courses allow students to complete coursework from a wide range of locations and remove the time restriction to access course lectures. Students are no longer required to travel to the class and many course materials are included in the fee. The material for online courses has been carefully reviewed and approved before the course is offered. Many introduction and courses do not change, as the material is fixed. As a result, the courses are stable and can be reused as needed.

Technology continues to expand to meet the needs of online students. These tools include mobile audio and video viewers, improved online interactive tests, and tool and course management software. The continued development in this area will further enhance the quality of online courses and encourage more people to further their education.

5 . How to Bridge the Digital Divide in Online Education?

Middle schools and primary schools in China will adopt online education when a lockdown starts, which has been a practice since the outbreak of Covid-19. Nevertheless, digital divide in urban and rural education has emerged. Some students in remote rural areas still have little access to the Internet. In addition, many teachers are not used to online teaching.     1    .

Government agencies and enterprises have taken immediate measures to provide targeted assistance with regard to the basic systems and services divide.     2    . Apart from this, China’s National Cloud-Platform for Educational Resources and Public Service and China Educational Television have been providing free online teaching and learning resources for primary and secondary school students.

    3    . The government has implemented policies of broadband(宽带) speed improvement and financial aid of mobile data payment for poor families. Many enterprises and charities provided support for students and families in need, donating mobile phones and laptops. The communications companies offered data allowance specifically for online classes. Besides, leading Internet companies have also introduced free online classes.

The Ministry of Education and schools have played their part to decrease the digital information literacy(读写能力) divide gap, too. They have either offered online teaching capability training packages or organized training sessions for online teaching.     4    . In the meantime, the public online classes have made high-quality resources from experienced teachers available across the whole country.

Online education during the outbreak of COVID-19 is an unexpected test.     5    . Fortunately, there has been enormous assistance from the government, enterprises and charities to help bridge the digital divide.

7 . On Sept. 1, Paul Miller, a teacher in America, _________ a video on YouTube where he does his take on “I’ll Be There For You,” a song from Friends.

“No one told me school was gonna be this way," Miller sings in a classroom, in _________ to the pandemic and the nationwide _________ of in-person teaching. “I got my lessons ready but students are absent. Though they are _________, we can still have a great year. 'Cause I'll be here for you when you're learning at home."

“_________ our social distance, school will still be great.” Miller continues. Having _________ the reasons why online learning has its _________ Miller jumps into the chorus, telling his students what they can _________. “When back,” he sings. “You really start to shine. No matter what, I'm here for you.”

Miller's video has received over 25,000 views and lots of _________ comments. One wrote: "Teachers are __________ on earth in human form.”

In an __________ with WMTV Miller said he __________ starts off every school year with a song. This year, however, he had to be more creative. The teacher said he's been __________ by the positive responses he's gotten. “Really the __________ we are getting this year is completely beyond __________,” he said. “I have gotten messages from Arizona to India. Apparently, Friends is a very popular show. ”

In the coming era of budget cuts to education, distance learning could become the norm.

The temptation for those in charge of education budgets to trade teachers for technology could be so strong that they ignore     1     disadvantages of distance learning. School facilities are expensive     2    (build). Online classes do not require buildings and each class can host hundreds of people at the same time,     3    (result) in greater savings. But moving away from a traditional classroom     4     a living, breathing human being teaches and interacts with students daily     5    (be) a disaster. Physically attending school has hidden benefits: getting up     6    (early), interacting more with peers, and building better relationships with teachers. Moreover, schools should be more than simple institutions of traditional learning. They are places where students     7    (offer) counseling (咨询) and other support.

Those policy-makers are often fascinated by the latest technology in education and its potential to transform education overnight.     8    , online education does not allow a teacher to keep a struggling student after class and offer help. Educational videos are unable to make eye contact or assess a student’s level of engagement. Given these     9    (expect), schools should not become permanently “remote”. Technology, however     10    (advance), should simply be a tool of a good teacher.