How Remote Education Is Evolving During the Crisis危机期间的远程教育

约翰·博伊特诺特 韩聪

Over the last decade， online education has grown significantly， especially for adult learners who want to earn a degree or certificate while working full-time. The National Center for Education Statistics （NCES） reported 6.6 million students enrolled in distance education courses at postsecondary institutions1 during the fall of 2017.

Within the last few years， high schools have also started exploring ways to add remote learning options2， including dual-enrollment3 courses in partnership with local community colleges. Although the majority of these courses were offered solely on the high school campus， recent NCES research noted growth in online options.

Fast forward to today， and suddenly online education is no longer optional4. In fact， all schools at all levels must immediately migrate to some type of remote education format. Although some schools had already begun the digital migration， the majority of institutions werent ready. But when faced with the task of making a quick change， online education became a mandated reality.

Our new reality may help push remote education even farther forward. Thanks to the urgency of the situation， technology has stepped up to show educators， students and parents what remote education might soon look like.

Learning management systems

Learning management systems create a seamless5 digital learning environment with all the tools necessary for remote learning. These platforms house front-end areas used by students and parents in addition to back-end areas where teachers and administrators can post assignments， add and change grades and interact with students through virtual classrooms.

Numerous school districts already use this type of platform， allowing parents and students to see assignments and grades. But in the last several months， the learning management systems have become a crucial foundation for building out comprehensive remote education frameworks that integrate other learning tools.

For example， PowerSchool Unified Classroom gives teachers a way to create custom virtual classrooms that connect to a student and parent dashboard6. There are options to incorporate additional recordkeeping tasks for matters such as disciplinarian7 issues， attendance tracking and standardized testing scores. These learning management systems streamline8 communication and work for both schools and students.

The dashboard view shows the teachers current classes， upcoming assignments， messages， grades and other content. The student version has additional features， such as tools to submit assignments， discussion boards and online quizzes and test apps. Each virtual classroom can be enriched with videos， presentations， visuals， and links to other educational resources. Mobile applications make these learning management systems even more accessible.

Immersive learning experiences

Making learning fun is something that challenged teachers long before the current crisis. Another pressing issue has been how to show students certain topics that may be otherwise impossible to illustrate.

Enter virtual reality （VR）， a technology that can provide immersive experiences for the user. VR lets students experience concepts， processes and skills over and over again until they master the subject. A well-built VR educational system could accommodate all development levels while also helping students get more out of the learning experience.

Making VR accessible to educators and students is no easy task. One partnership between Lenovo and Veative Labs seeks to increase accessibility to this new way of learning. Many of Veatives collection of 550 interactive STEM9 modules are now available on Lenovo computers through Lenovos new Distance Learning Solution or on Lenovos VR devices through its new VR Classroom 2.0 solution.

Grades four and up can use the  standards-based modules. They cover areas like science， math， SAT and ACT preparation and Career Technical Education （CTE） pathways10 for health sciences and agriculture.

This immersive education content offers a way for teachers to explain complex concepts through virtual tours and VR modules. The technology also helps teachers and school leaders track progress and create unique learning opportunities for all students.

Online test taking

Another obstacle to progress in remote education has been finding a way to administer tests without cheating. During this current school year， testing authorities were forced to cancel SAT and ACT exams and adapt the Advanced Placement （AP） credits program.

Early solutions already suggest that testing can move online. Already used by some colleges and universities， Proctorio is an online proctoring tool that monitors students who take online tests. This “learning integrity platform” operates as a Chrome browser extension. It combines facial detection technology and a suite of automated tools along with numerous security features to protect student and educational data.

Additionally， Proctorio incorporates plagiarism11 detection to ensure that any content-focused exams—for example， those that require short answers or an essay—only include original student work. Numerous screening tools also help prevent other cheating methods that students might try to employ.

Still， questions about remote learning remain. Applications and tools will need to continue to evolve to address physical education classes and labs， sports teams and competitions， band and choir and other educational programs. There are also other areas to consider that have little to do with books and tests but are just as crucial—for example， social learning， including playground dynamics， friendships and human connections.           ■

过去10年，在线教育取得长足发展，对于想在全职工作的同时获得学位或证书的成人学习者而言尤其如此。据美国国家教育统计中心（NCES）报告，2017年秋季，有660万名学生注册学习高等院校远程教育课程。

过去几年，中学也开始探寻方法来增加远程学习课程，包括与当地社区学院合作开设双学分课程。尽管这些课程中的大多数都只在中学校内开设，但NCES最近研究发现，在线课程有所增加。

快进到今天，在线教育突然不再是非强制选项。事实上，各级各类学校都必须立即转向某种远程教育形式。过去，虽然有些学校已开始进行数字转型，但大多数学校还没有准备好。然而，在面临快速改变的任务时，在线教育就成了强制性现实。

我们面临的新现实可能有助于推动远程教育更进一步。由于形势紧迫，技术已加速发展，向教育工作者、学生和家长展示远程教育不久后可能呈现的面貌。

学习管理系统

学习管理系统具备远程学习所需的全部工具，为远程学习创造了完美的数字学习环境。这些平台除了有后台区域以供教师和管理人员发布作业、添加和更改成绩，以及通过虚拟教室与学生互动，还包含学生和家长使用的前端区域。

许多学区已在使用这种平台，让家长和学生得以查看作业和成绩。而过去几个月，学习管理系统已成为扩建远程教育综合框架的重要基础;该框架融合了其他学习工具。

例如，动力学校统一教室为教师提供了一种方法，可以创建连接至学生和家长界面的自定义虚拟教室。对于纪律执行、出勤跟踪和标准化测试得分等事项，可以选择另建记录任务。这些学习管理系统简化了学校和学生双方的沟通和工作。

界面显示教师当前的课程、即将发布的作业、消息、成绩和其他内容。学生版还有其他功能，例如提交作业的工具、讨论板、在线测验和测试应用程序。每个虚拟教室都可辅以视频、演示文稿、视觉资料和其他教育资源链接。移动应用程序让这些学习管理系统更易于访问。

沉浸式学习体验

早在当前危机到来之前，如何让学习变得有趣就考验着教师。另一紧迫的问题是，如何向学生展示某些用其他方式无法说明的问题。

于是虚拟现实（VR）登场，这是一种可为用户提供沉浸式体验的技术。VR让学生一遍又一遍地体验概念、过程和技巧，直至其掌握该课程。一个完善的VR教育系统可以顾及各个学习阶段，同时也可以帮助学生从学习体验中获益更多。

让教育工作者和学生都能使用VR并非易事。联想和虚拟创新实验室进行合作，力求这种新型学习方式可面向更多人。现在，虚拟创新实验室集合了550个交互式科学、技术、工程和数学模块，其中许多都可通过联想新推出的远程学习解决方案在其电脑上使用，或者通过联想新推出的VR课堂2.0解决方案在其VR设备上使用。

四年级及以上可以使用基于各种标准的模块。这些模块涵盖科学、数学、美国学业能力倾向测验（SAT）和美国大学入学考试（ACT）備考以及健康科学和农学职业技术教育（CTE）桥梁课程等领域。

这种沉浸式教育内容为教师提供了一种使用虚拟体验和虚拟现实模块解释复杂概念的方法。该技术还可帮助教师和学校领导跟踪进展，并为所有学生创造个性化的学习机会。

在线测验

远程教育发展的另一障碍是始终找不到可以避免考试作弊的方法。在本学年，很多考试机构被迫取消了SAT和ACT考试，并不得不调整大学预修课程学分计划。

早期的解决方案已表明，测验可以移到网上。有些学院和大学已经使用了“监考者”这一在线监考工具，以监督参加在线测验的学生。这一“学习诚信平台”可作为谷歌浏览器的扩展程序来运行，兼具人脸检测技术、成套自动化工具以及众多安全功能，用以保护学生和教育数据。

此外，“监考者”还加入了剽窃检测功能，以确保所有以内容为主的考试——例如那些需要简要作答或写篇文章的考试——只包含学生的原创成果。许多筛查工具也有助于防止学生尝试采用其他方法作弊。

不过，远程学习仍然存在一些问题。应用程序和工具将需要继续发展，以用于体育课和实验室、运动队和体育竞技、乐队和合唱团以及其他教育项目。还有一些领域需要考虑，那些领域与书本和测试没有多大关系，但同样重要，例如社交学习，包括操场互动、交友和人际关系。                     □

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者;单位：郑州大学外国语与国际关系学院）