Unit 5 Education

Text A Education in Cyberspace

Unit 5 Education

Text A Education in Cyberspace

Text A Education in Cyberspace

• 1. Teaching Objectives• 2. Teaching Procedures

- Before Reading

- Language Points

- After Reading

Text A : Teaching Objectives• Grasp the main idea and structure of the

text;• Master the language points and

grammatical structures in the text;• Be familiar with the structure of a

paragraph; write a short composition with proper topic sentence.

Before Reading

Brain storm

Warm-up question

Part division

Skimming and scanning

What words will occur to you whenever we mention “Education”?

Text A : Before reading

Let’s have a brainstorm

Education

knowledge

discipline

classroomlecture

teacher

university

school

playground

student homework

study

subject

semester

diploma degree

bachelor

master

doctor

undergraduate

freshman graduation

What can you infer from these pictures?

Warm-up question Work in groups. Thinking about the

following question. Share your ideas.

What do you know about cyber-education? What’s your opinion on this new type of education?

Text A : Before reading

Text A : Part Division of the Text

Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas

1 1~3

2 4~9

3 10-17

4 18-20

Being a Guide on the Side, I have succeeded in getting my students to communicate their ideas actively and think critically, which is something I find hard to achieve in traditional campus education.

As a virtual professor, I teach without personally meeting my students.

Cyber-teaching reflects the nature of a true liberal education as is defined by Plato, and it is well received by the participants.

I teach in cyberspace.

Text A : skimming and scanning Read Text A, then answer the following

questions 1.What does the author live for?1.What does the author live for?

2.Why does the author say she teaches 2.Why does the author say she teaches nowhere?nowhere?

Where does the author teach?Where does the author teach?

What does she teach?What does she teach?

How does she teach?How does she teach?

3. How does cyber-education benefit students?3. How does cyber-education benefit students?

4. What is the author’s view of traditional 4. What is the author’s view of traditional American education?American education?

Text A

Language Points

On a recent business trip a man asked me what I did for a living. I replied that I wrote and taught college courses.

“Oh?” he said. “Where do you teach?”

A peculiarly honest answer came out of my mouth before I could think. “Nowhere,” I said.

Education in Cyberspace Vicky Phillips

paras 1~3

我不假思索，老老实实地答道。

paras 4

It’s true. Since 1990 I have taught and counseled for what a friend of mine calls “keyboard colleges” —distance-learning degree programs. Where I teach is inside that electrically charged space that lies between my phone jack and the home computers of a group of generally older-than-average college students.

My students are generally older than the average college students. I teach them not in the traditional lecture rooms, but on the Internet where I am linked with them via their home phone lines and modems.

paras 5~6

• In 1990, I designed America’s first online counseling center for distance learners. Since then I’ve worked with more than 7,000 learners online. I’ve flunked a few of them. I’ve never personally met any of them.

• For want of a clearer explanation of my career situation, I told the man who inquired that I teach in cyberspace. “I’m a virtual professor,” I tried explaining. “Distance learning ... online degree programs ... virtual universities.”

•

paras 7

• The man’s face remained as blank as a clear summer sky. I couldn’t tell whether he was silent out of respect or keen confusion. I imagined both to be the case, so I settled in to explain what I have to explain frequently these days: the decline of the American college campus and the rise of the American educational mind — as I see it.

1. What figure of speech is used here? Simile. More examples: …sing like an angel …sleep as sound as a log …be as brave as a lion

那人的脸上仍旧一片茫然。

Para 8~9

• Distance learning, or educational programs where pupil and professor never meet face-to-face, are nothing new. Sir Isaac Pitman of Bath, England, hit upon the idea of having rural residents learn secretarial skills by translating the Bible into shorthand, then mailing these translations back to him for grading. He began doing this in 1840. And he made mounds of money doing it.

• I don’t teach shorthand; I teach psychology and career development. I write many of my own lessons, though, just as Sir Isaac had to do. My post is the World Wide Web. I post assignments to electronic bulletin boards and send graded papers across the international phone lines in tariff-free e-mail packets. I convene classes and give lectures in online chat rooms when need be.

Para 10~12

• Is this any way to dispense with a real college education? Can people learn without sitting in neat rows in a lecture room listening to the professor — the Sage on the Stage?

• Yes, absolutely. Why not? In fact, while many people find it hard to imagine a college with no campus, I nowadays find it hard to imagine teaching anywhere other than in the liberal freedom that is cyberspace.

• In cyberspace, I listen, read, comment and reflect on what my students have to say — each of them in turn. What they know, they must communicate to me in words. They cannot sit passively in the back row twiddling their mental thumbs as the clock ticks away. They must think; and horror of horrors, they must write. Thinking and writing: Aren’t these the hallmarks of a classically educated mind?

讲坛上的圣人

paras 13~15

• I know my students not by their faces or their seat position in a vast lecture auditorium; I know them by the words and ideas they express in their weekly assignments, which everyone reads online.

• I am not a Sage on the Stage — I am more a Guide on the Side. Often what the students “say” or write to one another, or the way they incorporate their work and career ideas into their papers and debates with each other, is more practically inspiring than any help I could provide them with.

• My average college “kid” is 40 years old. More than a few are in their 50s or 60s. They are telecommuting to campus because they could not, or would not, uproot their careers and kids or grandkids to move to a college campus — an entity modeled after the learning monasteries of medieval times.

Para 16

Many of them know what they are talking about. Even more so, they know why they came back to college to learn. A cyber-education suits them because it respects their abilities to define for themselves what knowledge is and to go after it. It encourages them to argue their points and their perspectives without the interference of a professor, who might be tempted to step in to “calm down” or “refocus” an otherwise wonderfully enlightening classroom debate.

…… 可能会情不自禁地介入他们的争论，把原本很有启发性的课堂讨论“平息”或者“引到别的话题上去”。

Para 17

They are experiencing something very different from the traditional factory model of American education, in which everyone on the assembly line is delivered the same standardized units of information (lectures and textbooks) and then must pass the same quality inspection (objective exams). This factory model — where students sit in neat rows, holding up their hands for permission to speak, clock-watching their way through textbooks and lectures that are broken into discrete bits of knowledge — has never been shown to be an effective way to learn. It has, however, been proven to be a convenient way for colleges to record on transcripts that a standard body of

knowledge has been duly delivered.

Para 18

Maybe teaching a liberal arts curriculum via a virtual environment makes more sense to me because it brings me back to what I learned to be a true liberal arts education. Studying philosophy in Athens, Greece, I was taught that to learn anything, one had to throw away textbooks and notebooks — mere memory tools — and instead rely on one’s native ability to think critically.

Para 19

While my cyber-students do have textbooks, the books are learning aids; they are not the only pool of knowledge the students will drink from. Instead, they will learn also from the collaborative efforts of online debates, conferences and papers. They will think about what they have to say, and they will come to class each week amazingly prepared to argue and type their way toward insight.

通过键盘上的交流获取真知

Para 20

• The virtual university: Oddly enough, it’s just what a classical philosopher like Plato would have practiced — had there been an Internet way back then. Me? I’m in favor of less learning taking place on a campus and more that happens in the minds of the participants.

The author used the mood here to .emphasizes the advantages of the virtual education.

subjunctive

虚拟大学兴许正是柏拉图这样的古典哲学家喜欢授课的地方 —— 假如他那个时期有因特网的话

Para 1~3

• E.g. Molly is behaving rather peculiarly. 莫莉现在的行为很古怪。

• The streets were peculiarly quiet for the time of day.

peculiarly: adv. especially; strangely

Para 4

counsel: v. to give advice, especially on social or personal problems

e.g. The police have provided experts to counsel local people affected by the tragedy.

汉译英：听从长辈的劝告吧。Listen to the counsel of your elders.

这些动词均有“劝告”，“忠告”，“警告”之意。 正式用词，语气比 advise 强一些，侧重指对重要问题提出的劝 告、建议或咨询。 普通用词，泛指劝告，不涉及对方是否听从劝告。 主要指针对潜在危险而提出的警告，含告诫别人小心从事的意味。 含义与 caution 相同，但语气较重，尤指就某个严重的后果给人警 告。

CF: counsel, advise, caution, warn

counsel

advisecautionwarn

Para5-6

• flunk: v. (infml) especially AmE to give someone low marks on a test so that they fail it; fail (an examination or study course)

I flunked my second year exams and was lucky not to be thrown out of college.

Her not following the instructions flunked her.

flunk out 除名，退学

Para5-6

• for want of: • for lack of, because of a lack of

e.g. If we fail it won’t be for want of trying (= We have tried even if we fail).

汉译英：因无事可做，我只好待在家里看电视。

For want of anything better to do I watched television at home.

fill / meet / satisfy a want 满足需要minister to sb’s want 满足某人的需要in want of 需要……

Para5-6

• virtual adj. • made, done, seen etc. on the Internet or a computer,

rather than in the real world

He has made some friends in the virtual world through the Internet.

网络购物 / 银行 : virtual shopping/banking

Para 7

• be the case: to be the actual state of affairs; to be true

e.g. He said he’d been cheated out of all his money, but that’s not the case.

a case in point 有关的实例， 例证in any case 无论如何，不管怎样in case of 假如，如果发生in no case 无论如何不，决不

Collocation:

Para 10~12

• …the Sage on the Stage…

What does “the Sage on the Stage” mean?

This is a term commonly used in the teaching research field to refer to the teacher who plays a dominant role in the classroom. Its opposite term is “the Guide on the Side,” which suggests a learner-centred teaching approach.

Para 10~12

What they know, they must communicate to me in words.

What’s the grammatical function of “What they know” ?

“What they know,” which serves as the object of the verb “communicate,” is put at the beginning of the sentence to achieve emphasis.

Para 10~12

They cannot sit passively in the back row twiddling their mental thumbs as the clock ticks away.

1.What does “twiddling their mental thumbs” mean?

to do little or nothing; be idle

2. What can we infer from the sentence?

Studying online is different from that in the conventional classroom. Students should do something actively instead of sitting in the back idling.

Para 10~12

• tick away: (of time) go by

As we were waiting for the green light at the crossroads, the taxi’s meter kept ticking away.

tick off 给……作标记tick over （工作、活动等）维持原状，进展缓慢

Pattern:

Para 13-15

• uproot: vt. • to make someone leave their home for a new place,

especially when this is difficult or upsetting

The war has uprooted nearly two-thirds of the country’s population.

汉译英：她背井离乡从农场搬到伦敦。

She uprooted herself from the farm and moved to London.

Para 16

• go after: try to obtain or win; chasee.g. Tom and I were going after the same job, so one of us had to choose something else to do.

step in: to become involved in an activity, discussion, or disagreement, sometimes in order to stop trouble

汉译英：他们自己能够解决纠纷，你最好不要干预。They can settle the argument by themselves; you’d better not step in.

Para 16

• enlighten: vt. to explain sth. to someone 解释、启发

e.g. I don’t understand this. Could you enlighten me?

enlighten about/on 就……对……作启发Pattern:

paras 17

n. inspection: the act of inspecting

e.g. to carry out an inspection of sth

I gave the mobile phone a thorough inspection before I bought it.

v. inspect: to look closely at sth/sb, especially to check that everything is satisfactory.

e.g. inspect sb/sth (for sth)

The plants are regularly inspected for disease.

paras 18

bring back: cause to return to the mind 使想起，使记忆。

e.g. The photo taken twenty years ago brings back many fond memories of my stay in London.

近义词： remind sb of sth

• Liberal arts 文科• Science 理科• Engineering 工科

Text A - After Reading

Vocabulary Exercises

Homework

Paragraph Writing

Directions: Choose the suitable words or expressions from the list and complete the following sentences, change the form where necessary.

emphasis virtual hit on/upon turn one’s back on for want of decline reflect on go after resident practically enlighten inspection associate try out oddly enough

1.

2.

3.

4.

It’s not unusual to hear people complaining that educational standards are in rather than on the rise. A large supermarket has just opened on this street. customers, we’ll have to sell up our small store. The local were annoyed with the lack of parking space — that’s why many of them sold their flats and moved to other places. If you find something you really want, you have to it. It’s pointless waiting for it to come to you.

decline______For want of_________

residents________

go after_______

5.

6.

7.

8.

Theoretically, it’s a good idea to live without a car, but

speaking, it would be difficult to manage without

one.

The Internet has created a wonderland for us, but we should

keep in mind the differences between the world and

the real world.

, they have never met each other even though

they’ve been living in the same street for ten years.

I see teaching as an opportunity to students, not

just to give them instructions.

practically________

virtual_____

Oddly enough____________

enlighten________

emphasis virtual hit on/upon turn one’s back on for want of decline reflect on go after resident practically enlighten inspection associate try out oddly enough

9.

10.

He had a suspicion that the certificate was not genuine, but

on close , he realized that it was not forged.

Now that my father has retired, he has much time to

his successes and failures in the past.

inspection_________reflect on________

emphasis virtual hit on/upon turn one’s back on for want of decline reflect on go after resident practically enlighten inspection associate try out oddly enough

Paragraph Writing

What’s in the paragraph? • Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of

information. • It might describe a place, character, or process;

narrate a series of events; compare or contrast two or more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and effects. Regardless of the kind of information they contain, all paragraphs share certain characteristics.

• One of the most important of these is a topic sentence.

• Paragraph=

one topic sentence +

supporting sentences+

a summary or conclusion

What’ s topic sentence?

• A sentence that names the topic of the paragraph and contains a controlling idea is called the topic sentence.

• Topic Sentences =

Topic + Controlling Idea

Most often, the topic is easy, but the question then turns to what you want to say about the topic which is the controlling idea.  Topic sentences should always contain both (1) a topic and (2) a controlling idea.

a topic (in red) a controlling idea (in blue). 

• 1. People can avoid burglaries by taking certain precautions.  (The precautions for?

• 2. There are several advantages to growing up in a small town.  (The advantages of?

• 3. Most US universities require a 550 point TOEFL score for a number of reasons.  (The reasons for?

• 4. Fixing a flat tire on a bicycle is easy if you follow these steps.  (The steps for?

summary

• A good topic sentence should have at least the following features:

• 1. It is a complete sentence.• 2. It contains both a topic and a controlling

idea.• 3.It is neither too general nor too specific.• 4. It tells the reader what to expect in the

paragraph.

Homework• Write an essay entitled “The Significance of Lifelong Education.”

The following outline may be of some help. Please pay attention to the structure of your essay and construct topic sentence for each paragraph.

1. In the past, a college education was enough to ensure a well-paid, much-respected job and a sense of achievement.2. Today, with the increasing competition in our “knowledge society,” it is a must to renew one’s knowledge and upgrade one’s skills constantly. What’s more, a general college education serves only as a passport to lifetime education. 3. The concept of lifelong education finds expression in the slogan “Live and Learn.”

Thank you