JENNIFER SALLS — A high school math teacher in Sparks, Nevada
It is possible to construct good online courses that would support mathematics learning with middle and high school students. However, these courses would not look like most current online courses.
When we imagine an online course, we think of a solitary (孤立的) process in which a student is holed up with his or her computer, watching PowerPoints, paging through screens of text and solving a whole bunch of problems. While learning may be occurring, I suspect that it's short-term with little real understanding of mathematics. There are some students who learn well under these circumstances, but this is not true for the majority of students.
A good online course would take advantage of the many interactive resources. For example, if students were learning to solve equations, they would be directed to solve a carefully arranged set of problems using an interactive program. They would reflect on the interaction and share their observations with others taking the course.
Eventually, the lesson would move students toward solving equations, using their experiences with the interactive program as the jumping-off point. Students could experience real-world problems through video and simulations and use a variety of computer-based tools to solve these problems. Notice that a course like this is not solitary, but highly interactive, and it builds both problem-solving skills and conceptual knowledge.
BRIGID BARRON — A psychologist at Stanford University's School of Education
Whether or not any computing tool used in the classroom will interfere with or energize learning depends on how the teacher organizes its use.
When online courses are well designed, they offer learners and teachers wonderful opportunities. Hybrid models that combine classroom interaction with tools like blogs, podcasts, social networks and discussion forums can engage students in ways that traditional environments do not. When students are given challenging material, asked to carry out research and to create ways to share what they are learning with students from all over the world, engagement goes up.
There are other benefits. Assessment of student learning can be partly automated and designed to provide continuous feedback. When students need assistance, they can be directed to activities that will help them learn. Perhaps most importantly, online courses can help bridge gaps in course offerings within a school district. Many economically challenged schools don't have the resources to provide specialized or advanced courses, but those courses could be offered online.
Many students are already using technology in their own time to learn and create, for their own purposes or for school assignments (作业).If they know where to look, they can access online communities that foster their imagination and offer informal mentorship.
Instead of wondering whether teenagers are too easily distracted by computers, we should be figuring out how we can use digital media to sustain teenagers' interest and their desire to learn.
