1 . Education officials and industry experts are debating the future of online learning. The discussion is important because hundreds of universities in the United States have recently moved classes online because of the spread of COVID-19.
For Asha Choksi, the rise of Internet-based or online study programs has led to major improvements in higher education. “It’s actually given a lot more power to students in terms of how, when and where they learn,” the head of research for Pearson Education said.
Classes meet online through video conferencing. In this way, students are able to communicate with each other and their professors even when they are far away from school. However, recent research suggests the majority of college students and professors prefer in-person instruction, because they are concerned that companies supervising online learning programs are not clear about the policies they have with the schools they serve.
“Students see in-class lectures as opportunities to engage with instructors, peers, and content.” the researchers wrote. In-person learning is especially important in fields like healthcare and teaching. Online education can never really take its place, said Stephanie Hall, a fellow with the independent policy research group The Century Foundation. “Students need to experience...what they’re learning about, reading about or hearing about in the classroom. And I don’t know yet the degree to which technology can facilitate that.”
“When schools make agreements with online program managers to run their online programs, they often do not make important information available to students,” Hall said. This includes how much control the company has over the design of the program or whether the faculty leading the classes was involved in their design. In addition, many colleges and universities advertise online programs as a low cost opportunity for students. But in some cases, students attending in-person classes get financial aid and online students do not.
1. What does Choksi think of the online study programs?| A．They promote the development of technology. |
| B．They reform the country’s education system. |
| C．They provide advanced scientific knowledge. |
| D．They offer students more choices in study. |
| A．It is convenient. | B．It costs less to study. |
| C．It can better meet school policies. | D．It can improve students’ communication skills. |
| A．Achieve. | B．Apply. | C．Change. | D．Control. |
| A．Negative. | B．Skeptical. | C．Supportive. | D．Objective. |
2 . Online education has grown fast over the past ten years. The explosion of technology has made teaching outside the traditional classroom possible for teachers and has provided learners with easy access to course materials. Its attractiveness, benefits, and challenges are addressed.
In April, 2005, I was approached by a student who was interested in our doctoral program. However, the first question out of her mouth was, “Do you offer any online courses?” Later that day, as I was reading the conference program guide trying for interesting presentations, I noticed many workshops on web-based learning and online education. I later attended two of those workshops and met several professors from different universities who had either taught online courses for quite some time or who were discovering the best practice for teaching online. These experiences helped me realize at least to some extent the degree of growth in online education.
My responsibilities for the term included gaining more understanding of online education. Consequently, I made several attempts to enrich my knowledge of distance learning and online teaching. I consulted with my colleagues who were teaching online courses. This helped me recognize the importance of getting materials prepared even before the start of a term. I also learned that online courses may consume more time than regular classroom teaching. And I attended several workshops regarding online education and established a network with those who were involved in online programs at other universities. I will consider these people as my consultants as I begin to design my own online course. Also, I conducted a brief survey with 15 students and two faculty members who had taken or taught an online course before to understand their experience. Eventually I completed a literature review which gave me the foundation and the background of understanding the need for online education.
1. What benefits the development of online education?| A．Teachers’ good teaching ability. | B．Lack of traditional classrooms. |
| C．Learners’ access to free courses. | D．The rapid advance of technology. |
| A．To show students’ love for the doctoral program. |
| B．To persuade learners of traditional education. |
| C．To explain the growing trend of online education. |
| D．To predict the future of the teaching career. |
| A．The appetite for knowledge. | B．The professional responsibilities. |
| C．The requirement of research. | D．The colleagues’ encouragement. |
| A．Carefree. | B．Doubtful. | C．Supportive. | D．Unwilling. |
3 . As the COVID-19 forces students to stay home, online learning has seen a sharp rise among students. Since late January, China has delayed starting the new school semester and encouraged students to study at home over safety concerns.
Besides what has been arranged by your schools as your study routine, what can you gain from online learning?
To successfully learn online, you need to dedicate a significant amount of your time, consistently attend the program, concentrate while studying and fully stick to your learning process, just as you would do for a regular course.
To stay on track with your online course, always keep in mind what you hope to complete by the end of it.
A study plan is important to online learning.
When you feel yourself losing concentration, consider taking a short break or sopping for the night.
Taking online courses can be very convenient for many people.
| A．Make a goal. |
| B．It can also offer you a good experience for self-learning. |
| C．Most importantly, you need to plan ahead with a good calendar system. |
| D．Online course companies also adopted special measures to meet students’ demands. |
| E．However, it may be challenging for some to successfully complete their online courses. |
| F．A to-do list is useful to carry out your study plan and to stay on track with your studying. |
| G．It is better to wait until you are able to start afresh rather than waste your time trying to focus. |
