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The School of the Future?
Kelly Ryan lives in Kentucky in the USA and starts her new school year in August. She doesn’t go back to just one school, but two. As well as ordinary high school, she goes to virtual high school. Kelly wants to study history of art, but her local high school doesn’t teach it. So she’s taking it on the Internet.
Kentucky is one of two states in America at the moment that offer virtual high school classes to all their school students – the other is Florida. This is just the beginning. Virtual schools and universities are starting up all over the world. Some education experts think that in 20 years’ time, there’ll be no more real classrooms – only virtual ones.
So how does virtual school work? When Kelly gets home from regular school she logs on to the Internet on the family computer. On the home page of her course web site she reads any messages from her teacher and other students. On the ‘What’s new’ page the teacher explains what the next piece of work is and where to find out about the subject on the internet. Each student has a virtual course book. Kelly does her work here and only she and her teacher can look at it. She uses e-mail to talk to other students on the course (no more than 25) and her teacher. There is a text page where the teacher puts video clips, pieces of text to read and pictures to look at. Any extra materials, such as books, are sent through the post to Kelly’s home. (1148)
Answer the questions.
1 When does Kelly start her school year?
2 Why does he study at two schools?
3 Are there many schools of this kind in the USA?
4 What is the prediction of some experts about virtual schools?
5 How does virtual school work?
6 What can Kelly find on ‘What’s new’ page?
7 Where does she do her homework?
8 Who can read information in her virtual course book?
9 What extra materials can she use? How does she get them?
10 Does Kelly communicate with other virtual students?
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Technology in Our LivesSuccessful writing
Technology plays a role in all aspects of our lives - the way we work, and the way we live at home. The speed of technological change in the past 100 years has been incredible.
The early telephones were large, and they didn't even have dials or buttons. You picked up a receiver and an operator made the call for you. Nowadays, mobile phones fit in our pockets, and we can use them to make phone calls from anywhere to anywhere.
Modern technology has dramatically improved our lives. Personal computers enable us to create documents, store information, and analyze data - at work or at home. The Internet allows us to send and receive e-mail messages, connects us to the World Wide Web, and allows us to go shopping online from our homes. Miniature cameras that patients can swallow permit doctors to diagnose medical conditions without surgery.
Many people feel, however, that technology has its price. With automated supermarket checkout lines, online banking, and Internet shopping, we can meet our daily needs without having contact with other people. Life with technology can be very lonely! Also, many people are concerned about privacy. Technology makes it possible for companies or the government to monitor our use of the Internet. Our credit card numbers, bank account information, medical information, and other personal data are all stored on computers. Protecting that information will be an important issue in the years ahead. (1203)