Anant Agarwal: Why massively open online courses (still) matter

翻译人员: Sailin Lu 校对人员: 晨星 徐

I'd like to reimagine education.

我想要重新定义教育

The last year

去年

has seen the invention of a new four-letter word.

出现了一个新的四字单词

It starts with an M.

以M开头的缩写词

MOOC: massive open online courses.

MOOC：大规模网络公开课

Many organizations

许多机构

are offering these online courses

陆续提供这些网络课程

to students all over the world, in the millions, for free.

免费提供给全世界数以百万计的学生

Anybody who has an Internet connection

任何能够连接到因特网的人

and the will to learn can access these great courses

如果想要学习这些课程，可以访问

from excellent universities

这些名校名课

and get a credential at the end of it.

并在课程结束时获得专业证书

Now, in this discussion today,

在接下来的讨论中

I'm going to focus

我会将话题集中在

on a different aspect of MOOCs.

网络公开课的另一面

We are taking what we are learning

我们大范围的吸收所学的知识

and the technologies we are developing in the large

大范围的开发技术

and applying them in the small

却小面积的应用

to create a blended model of education

创造了一种混合的教育模式

to really reinvent and reimagine

真正意义上地重新确立和重新定义

what we do in the classroom.

教室里的教学内容

Now, our classrooms could use change.

我们的教室需要改变

So, here's a classroom

这是一间教室

at this little three-letter institute

其所属的教育机构有三个字母组成

in the Northeast of America, MIT.

即美国东北部的MIT

And this was a classroom about 50 or 60 years ago,

这是五六十年代的一间教室

and this is a classroom today.

而这是目前使用的教室

What's changed?

有什么变化吗

The seats are in color.

座位有了颜色

Whoop-de-do.

呕吼

Education really hasn't changed

教育模式根本未曾改变过

in the past 500 years.

过去的500年内

The last big innovation in education

教育领域里最近的一个大革新

was the printing press and the textbooks.

是印刷机和教科书

Everything else has changed around us.

生活中一切其他的事物都在改变

You know, from healthcare to transportation,

从医疗业到运输业

everything is different, but education hasn't changed.

一切都有所变化，但是教育领域仍保持原样

It's also been a real issue in terms of access.

在是否有机会接受教育上，这也是个切实的问题

So what you see here

你看到的这张图片

is not a rock concert.

不是什么摇滚音乐会

And the person you see at the end of the stage

讲台中间的那个人

is not Madonna.

不是麦当娜

This is a classroom

这是一间教室

at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

位于尼日利亚的奥巴费米亚沃洛沃大学

Now, we've all heard of distance education,

我们都听说过远程教育

but the students way in the back,

但是坐在后面的学生

200 feet away from the instructor,

离这位讲师有200英尺(61米)

I think they are undergoing long-distance education.

我认为他们正在接受真正意义上的远距离教育

Now, I really believe

现在，我真的相信

that we can transform education,

我们可以转变教育模式

both in quality and scale and access,

无论在质量上，规模上还是教育权利上

through technology.

通过技术手段来转变

For example, at edX,

比如，在edX网站上

we are trying to transform education

我们正试着改变教育领域

through online technologies.

通过在线技术

Given education has been calcified for 500 years,

鉴于这500年来，教育已经僵化

we really cannot think about reengineering it,

我们不能对它进行再造

micromanaging it.

和微观管理

We really have to completely reimagine it.

事实上，我们需要彻底地重新定义

It's like going from ox carts to the airplane.

就像从乘牛车到坐飞机

Even the infrastructure has to change.

即使要改变基础设施

Everything has to change.

要改变一切

We need to go from lectures on the blackboard

我们需要从板书教育

to online exercises, online videos.

转变成在线练习、 在线视频

We have to go to interactive virtual laboratories

我们要使用互动型虚拟实验室

and gamification.

和游戏化模式

We have to go to completely online grading

我们应当完全在线评分

and peer interaction and discussion boards.

在线与同伴互动和在线讨论

Everything really has to change.

的确，一切都要改变

So at edX and a number of other organizations,

所以在edX网站和一些其他的组织

we are applying these technologies to education

我们将这些技术应用于教育

through MOOCs to really increase access to education.

通过MOOCs，真正增加人们受教育的机会

And you heard of this example,

大家应听说过这个事例

where, when we launched our very first course --

当时我们推出了第一档课程

and this was an MIT-hard

麻省理工学院的

circuits and electronics course --

电路与电子技术课程

about a year and a half ago,

大约一年半以前

155,000 students from 162 countries

来自162个国家的155,000名学生

enrolled in this course.

注册了这档课程

And we had no marketing budget.

当时我们没有营销预算

Now, 155,000 is a big number.

155,000是个大数目

This number is bigger

这个数字大于

than the total number of alumni of MIT

麻省理工学院的校友总数

in its 150-year history.

自其150年前建校以来

7,200 students passed the course,

7,200 学生通过了这个课程

and this was a hard course.

而且这个课程很难

7,200 is also a big number.

7,200 也是个大数目

If I were to teach at MIT two semesters every year,

如果我在麻省理工学院任教每年两个学期

I would have to teach for 40 years

要40年

before I could teach this many students.

才能教到这么多学生

Now these large numbers

这些大数目

are just one part of the story.

都只是故事的一部分而已

So today, I want to discuss a different aspect,

所以今天，我想讨论一个不同的方面

the other side of MOOCs,

大规模网络公开课的另一面

take a different perspective.

以一个不一样的视角

We are taking what we develop and learn in the large

我们将大量拓展和学习到的知识

and applying it in the small

应用在局部

to the classroom, to create a blended model of learning.

到教室里来创建混合的学习模式

But before I go into that, let me tell you a story.

但在谈到那之前，我先讲一个故事

When my daughter turned 13, became a teenager,

我女儿满13 岁时，步入少年时期

she stopped speaking English,

她讲的不再是英语

and she began speaking this new language.

而是开始说这种新的语言

I call it teen-lish.

我称之为少年语言

It's a digital language.

它是一种数字式的语言

It's got two sounds: a grunt and a silence.

它有两种声音：咕哝声和沉默

"Honey, come over for dinner."

“亲爱的，过来吃饭”

"Hmm."

“嗯”

"Did you hear me?"

“听见我说的话了吗”

Silence. (Laughter)

沉默（笑声）

"Can you listen to me?"

“能听见我说话吗?”

"Hmm."

“嗯”

So we had a real issue with communicating,

因此，我们有一个沟通方面的切实问题

and we were just not communicating,

我们根本不是在沟通

until one day I had this epiphany.

直到有一天我才有此顿悟

I texted her. (Laughter)

我发短信给她（笑声）

I got an instant response.

得到一个即时的回应

I said, no, that must have been by accident.

我说，不，那肯定是偶然

She must have thought, you know,

你知道，她得想想

some friend of hers was calling her.

她的一些朋友在叫她

So I texted her again. Boom, another response.

所以我再次给她发短信 再一次回应

I said, this is great.

我说，这太棒了

And so since then, our life has changed.

于是，从那时起，我们的生活已经改变了

I text her, she responds.

我发短信 她回应

It's just been absolutely great.

这种模式一直都非常好

(Applause)

（掌声）

So our millennial generation

我们的千禧一代

is built differently.

成长方式有所不同

Now, I'm older, and my youthful looks might belie that,

现在，我老了，这一点与我年轻的外表并不相称

but I'm not in the millennial generation.

但我不是千禧一代

But our kids are really different.

但我们的孩子真的不一样

The millennial generation is completely comfortable

千禧一代完全适应

with online technology.

在线技术

So why are we fighting it in the classroom?

那么我们为什么不在教室里使用这种技术呢

Let's not fight it. Let's embrace it.

不要再反对它，让我们接受它

In fact, I believe -- and I have two fat thumbs,

事实上 我有两个肥胖的拇指

I can't text very well --

编辑短信并不容易

but I'm willing to bet that with evolution,

但我敢说，在进化的过程中

our kids and their grandchildren

我们的孩子和他们的子孙

will develop really, really little, itty-bitty thumbs

将发育成很小，甚至极小的拇指

to text much better,

以便更好地编辑信息

that evolution will fix all of that stuff.

这种进化将改变诸如此类的东西

But what if we embraced technology,

但如果我们使用在线技术

embraced the millennial generation's

接受千禧一代

natural predilections,

天生的优待

and really think about creating these online technologies,

真正去创建这些在线技术

blend them into their lives.

将其融入他们的生活，会怎样呢

So here's what we can do.

这就是我们能够做到的

So rather than driving our kids into a classroom,

与其把孩子送进教室

herding them out there at 8 o'clock in the morning --

让他们在早上8点钟赶到教室

I hated going to class at 8 o'clock in the morning,

我以前就讨厌在早上8点钟上课

so why are we forcing our kids to do that?

所以我们为什么要强迫孩子们这样做呢

So instead what you do

倒不如

is you have them watch videos

让他们观看视频

and do interactive exercises

做互动性的练习

in the comfort of their dorm rooms, in their bedroom,

在舒适的宿舍、卧室

in the dining room, in the bathroom,

餐厅、浴室

wherever they're most creative.

任何使他们最具创造力的场所

Then they come into the classroom

然后他们再来到教室

for some in-person interaction.

在人与人之间做一些真实的互动

They can have discussions amongst themselves.

他们可以相互讨论

They can solve problems together.

可以一起解决问题

They can work with the professor

他们可以与教授合作

and have the professor answer their questions.

并且有教授解答他们的问题

In fact, with edX, when we were teaching our first course

事实上，当我们第一次将课程传到edX上时

on circuits and electronics around the world,

让整个世界都能学到电路与电子技术这门课

this was happening unbeknownst to us.

并不知道会发生这样的事

Two high school teachers

两名高中教师

at the Sant High School in Mongolia

在蒙古国的桑特高中

had flipped their classroom,

已经转变了他们的课堂教学模式

and they were using our video lectures

他们使用我们视频讲座

and interactive exercises,

和交互式练习

where the learners in the high school,

这所高中的学生

15-year-olds, mind you,

要知道，是15岁的学生

would go and do these things in their own homes

会在自己的家园做这些

and they would come into class,

会进入课堂

and as you see from this image here,

就像你看到的这幅图片

they would interact with each other

他们彼此进行交流

and do some physical laboratory work.

做一些物理实验

And the only way we discovered this

我们发现这些的唯一途径

was they wrote a blog

就是通过他们写的博客

and we happened to stumble upon that blog.

我们碰巧发现了这个博客

We were also doing other pilots.

我们也在做其他的试验

So we did a pilot experimental blended courses,

我们做了一个试验性的混合实验课程

working with San Jose State University in California,

同加利福尼亚州的圣何塞州立大学合作

again, with the circuits and electronics course.

再一次关于电路与电子技术

You'll hear that a lot. That course has become

你将多次听到这门课 该课程已成为

sort of like our petri dish of learning.

我们获取知识的培养皿

So there, the students would, again,

在那里，学生们会再次

the instructors flipped the classroom,

在经过老师改造的课堂教学模式中

blended online and in person,

将在线教学和课堂教学相结合

and the results were staggering.

结果令人吃惊

Now don't take these results to the bank just yet.

到目前为止这些结果还不够真实

Just wait a little bit longer as we experiment with this some more,

还得等我们对此进行更长时间的试验

but the early results are incredible.

但早期的结果已经叫人觉得不可思议

So traditionally, semester upon semester,

用传统的教学方式，一个学期接一个学期

for the past several years, this course,

在过去几年里，这门课

again, a hard course,

这门难学的课

had a failure rate of about 40 to 41 percent

大约有40 %到41%的失败率

every semester.

每个学期

With this blended class late last year,

去年年底的这种混合教学

the failure rate fell to nine percent.

将失败率降到9%

So the results can be extremely, extremely good.

这种结果可以说是非常非常好

Now before we go too far into this,

在我们深入探讨之前

I'd like to spend some time discussing

我想花些时间讨论

some key ideas.

一些核心观念

What are some key ideas

是什么样的核心想法

that makes all of this work?

使这一切如此奏效

One idea is active learning.

一个观点是主动学习

The idea here is, rather than have students

这个观点，不是说让学生

walk into class and watch lectures,

走进课堂，听讲座

we replace this with what we call lessons.

而是用课程来代替

Lessons are interleaved sequences

这类课程包括连续分节的教学视频

of videos and interactive exercises.

和互动练习

So a student might watch a five-, seven-minute video

所以学生可能看一段五分钟或七分钟的视频

and follow that with an interactive exercise.

并按视频内容做互动练习

Think of this as the ultimate Socratization of education.

把它看做是终极的苏格拉底式教育

You teach by asking questions.

通过提问来教学

And this is a form of learning

这是一种学习形式

called active learning,

叫做主动学习

and really promoted by a very early paper, in 1972,

早期文件显示，这种学习方法在1972年

by Craik and Lockhart,

经由克雷克和洛克哈特推行而兴起

where they said and discovered

他们提出并发现

that learning and retention really relates strongly

学习和持久记忆

to the depth of mental processing.

与大脑加工知识过程的深度大有关系

Students learn much better

学生会学得更好

when they are interacting with the material.

如果他们结合这些学习资料

The second idea is self-pacing.

第二个观点是自定步调学习

Now, when I went to a lecture hall,

我一旦进入讲堂

and if you were like me,

如果你是像我一样

by the fifth minute I would lose the professor.

五分钟内就会跟不上这位教授

I wasn't all that smart, and I would be scrambling, taking notes,

我不太聪明，我会焦急的记着笔记

and then I would lose the lecture for the rest of the hour.

然后余下的时间就跟不上了

Instead, wouldn't it be nice with online technologies,

相反，在线教学技术不是很好吗

we offer videos and interactive engagements to students?

我们为学生提供视频和互动式参与

They can hit the pause button.

他们可以按暂停按钮

They can rewind the professor.

可以回放课程

Heck, they can even mute the professor.

甚至，他们可以消音

So this form of self-pacing

这种自定步调的学习形式

can be very helpful to learning.

非常有助于学习

The third idea that we have is instant feedback.

第三个观点是即时反馈

With instant feedback,

有了即时反馈

the computer grades exercises.

计算机可以为练习评分

I mean, how else do you teach 150,000 students?

不然你要怎么教十五万学生

Your computer is grading all the exercises.

您的计算机会对所有练习打分

And we've all submitted homeworks,

我们都曾提交过作业

and your grades come back two weeks later,

你的成绩会在两周后反馈回来

you've forgotten all about it.

那时你已经忘了作业内容

I don't think I've still received some of my homeworks

我认为我不会再收到

from my undergraduate days.

一些本科时期的作业

Some are never graded.

一些永远不会评分的作业

So with instant feedback,

有这样的即时反馈

students can try to apply answers.

学生可以试着填上答案

If they get it wrong, they can get instant feedback.

如果做错了，他们可以获得即时反馈

They can try it again and try it again,

他们可以一次又一次的尝试

and this really becomes much more engaging.

这个过程更加迷人

They get the instant feedback,

他们得到的即时反馈

and this little green check mark that you see here

就是你看到的这个小小的绿色复选标记

is becoming somewhat of a cult symbol at edX.

它成了edX上令人痴迷的符号

Learners are telling us that they go to bed at night

学习者告诉我们他们晚上上床睡觉

dreaming of the green check mark.

都做着绿色对号的梦

In fact, one of our learners

事实上，有一名学习者

who took the circuits course early last year,

去年年初学习了那门电路课程

he then went on to take a software course

接着，他又修了一门伯克利大学的软件课程

from Berkeley at the end of the year,

就在同年年底

and this is what the learner had to say

这位学习者

on our discussion board

在讨论板上提到

when he just started that course

他刚刚开始学那门课的时候

about the green check mark:

关于绿色的复选标记的想法：

"Oh god; have I missed you."

“天啊，我是那么的想念你”

When's the last time you've seen students

你最后一次见到学生

posting comments like this about homework?

对家庭作业发表如此评论是什么时候

My colleague Ed Bertschinger,

我的同事 Ed Bertschinger

who heads up the physics department at MIT,

担任麻省理工学院物理系的主任

has this to say about instant feedback:

曾对即时反馈有这样的说法：

He indicated that instant feedback

他表示，即时反馈

turns teaching moments into learning outcomes.

使教学时刻即时体现出学习成果

The next big idea is gamification.

另一个伟大的理念是游戏化模式

You know, all learners engage really well

所有学习都者都能很好的利用

with interactive videos and so on.

互动式教学视频等等

You know, they would sit down and shoot

他们会整天坐在那拍摄

alien spaceships all day long until they get it.

外星人的宇宙飞船，直到他们拍摄到

So we applied these gamification techniques to learning,

所以我们可以将这些游戏化的技术应用到学习中

and we can build these online laboratories.

我们可以建立在线实验室

How do you teach creativity? How do you teach design?

你如何教会学生发挥创造力？ 你如何教学生学习设计?

We can do this through online labs

我们可以通过在线实验室来实现

and use computing power

使用计算机

to build these online labs.

建立这些在线实验室

So as this little video shows here,

就像这个小小的视频所显示的一样

you can engage students

您可以吸引学生的注意力

much like they design with Legos.

就像他们用乐高进行设计

So here, the learners are building a circuit

在这儿，学习者正在构建一个电路

with Lego-like ease.

像玩乐高一样轻松

And this can also be graded by the computer.

这也可以由计算机来打分

Fifth is peer learning.

第五点是同伴学习

So here, we use discussion forums and discussions

所以，我们使用论坛讨论

and Facebook-like interaction

还有类似脸书的互动

not as a distraction,

不为消遣

but to really help students learn.

而是真正有助于学生学习

Let me tell you a story.

给大家讲一个故事

When we did our circuits course

当我们的电路课程

for the 155,000 students,

要为那155,000 的学生上线时

I didn't sleep for three nights

我连着三个晚上没睡觉

leading up to the launch of the course.

引领课程上线

I told my TAs, okay, 24/7,

我每时每刻都在告诉我的助教们

we're going to be up

人数会上涨的

monitoring the forum, answering questions.

监测论坛 回答问题

They had answered questions for 100 students.

他们解答了100 名学生提出的问题

How do you do that for 150,000?

面对15万学生要怎么办

So one night I'm sitting up there, at 2 a.m. at night,

一天晚上我坐在那，凌晨两点钟

and I think there's this question

思考一个

from a student from Pakistan,

巴基斯坦的学生提出的问题

and he asked a question, and I said,

他问了一个问题

okay, let me go and type up an answer,

我想 好吧 就去键入一个答案吧

I don't type all that fast,

我可以慢点写

and I begin typing up the answer,

然后我开始键入答案

and before I can finish,

还没写完

another student from Egypt popped in with an answer,

另一名埃及的学生就弹出了一个答案

not quite right, so I'm fixing the answer,

不完全正确 所以我就完善了一下

and before I can finish, a student from the U.S.

我还没有改完 又有一个来自美国的学生

had popped in with a different answer.

突然弹出了一个不同的答案

And then I sat back, fascinated.

然后我坐回去，被吸引住了

Boom, boom, boom, boom, the students were

砰 砰 砰 砰 学生之间

discussing and interacting with each other,

相互讨论交流

and by 4 a.m. that night, I'm totally fascinated,

那天凌晨四点 我完全入迷了

having this epiphany,

他们渐渐顿悟

and by 4 a.m. in the morning,

到早上4点钟

they had discovered the right answer.

他们发现了正确的答案

And all I had to do was go and bless it,

我能做的就是去赞美一下

"Good answer."

"答得好"

So this is absolutely amazing,

这太让人惊讶了

where students are learning from each other,

学生之间彼此学习

and they're telling us that they are learning

这告诉我们他们是

by teaching.

因教而学

Now this is all not just in the future.

这一切不是只存在于未来

This is happening today.

今天也同样在发生

So we are applying these blended learning pilots

所以我们将这些混合学习模式试验应用到

in a number of universities and high schools around the world,

世界各地的一些大学和高中

from Tsinghua in China

从中国的清华大学

to the National University of Mongolia in Mongolia

到蒙古的蒙古国立大学

to Berkeley in California --

到加州的伯克利大学

all over the world.

到整个世界

And these kinds of technologies really help,

这种类型的技术

the blended model can really help

这种混合教学模式可以真正帮助

revolutionize education.

改革教育领域

It can also solve a practical problem of MOOCs,

它也能解决大规模网络公开课的实际问题

the business aspect.

在其商业方面

We can also license these MOOC courses

我们还可以授权这些网络公开课

to other universities,

面向其他的大学

and therein lies a revenue model for MOOCs,

其中蕴藏着MOOCs的收益模式

where the university that licenses it with the professor

那些授权使用的大学 其任课教授

can use these online courses

可以使用这些在线课程

like the next-generation textbook.

就像下一代的教科书

They can use as much or as little as they like,

他们可以想用多少就用多少

and it becomes a tool in the teacher's arsenal.

它就是老师武器库中的一个工具

Finally, I would like to have you

最后，我想要大家

dream with me for a little bit.

与我一起想象一小会儿

I would like us to really reimagine education.

我希望能够真正重新定义教育

We will have to move from lecture halls to e-spaces.

我们将会有从讲堂转移到电子空间

We have to move from books to tablets

我们要从使用书本转移到使用平板电脑

like the Aakash in India

就像印度的Aakash平板电脑

or the Raspberry Pi, 20 dollars.

或20美元的树莓派电脑

The Aakash is 40 dollars.

Aakash平板售价40美元

We have to move from bricks-and-mortar school buildings

我们要从砖泥构筑的学校建筑转移到

to digital dormitories.

数字化房间

But I think at the end of the day,

但我想终有一天

I think we will still need one lecture hall

我们仍然需要一个课堂

in our universities.

保留在大学里

Otherwise, how else do we tell our grandchildren

否则我们要怎样告诉我们的子孙

that your grandparents sat in that room

你们的爷爷奶奶当初就坐在那个房间里

in neat little rows like cornstalks

一排一排整齐的就像田里的玉米杆

and watched this professor at the end

然后在后排看着教授

talk about content and, you know,

讲授知识 知道吗

you didn't even have a rewind button?

你根本没有后退键可以按

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you. Thank you. (Applause)

谢谢 谢谢（掌声）