VOA慢速英语:When a Textbook Is Online, Not on Paper

Electronic books have changed the way many people read for pleasure. Now online textbooks are changing the way some students learn and some teachers teach.
电子图书已经改变了许多人娱乐性阅读的方式。现在，网上课本正改变一些学生的学习方式和一些老师的教学方式。

More than one hundred seventy-five thousand students attend the public schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside Washington. Last year, the school system used digital books in fifteen schools. This school year, middle schools and high schools changed from printed to electronic textbooks in their social studies classes.
17.5万多名学生就读于华盛顿郊外的弗吉尼亚州的费尔法克斯县的公立学校。去年，该学区的15所学校采用数字化的图书。本学年，初中和高中社科类课程已经从印刷课本改为电子书。

Luke Rosa is a history teacher at Falls Church High School. His students work on school laptop computers. He explains the idea to them this way.
Luke Rosa是在瀑布教堂高中的一名历史老师。他的学生在学校的笔记本电脑上学习。他解释了对于这种方式的想法。

LUKE ROSA: "I mean, it's just like a regular textbook, except it's got it all online."
LUKE ROSA：“我的意思是，不计它连接网络，它就像一本普通的教科书。”

Peter Noonan, an assistant superintendent of schools, says with electronic textbooks, publishers can quickly update the content with the latest information.
Peter Noonan，学区的一名助理总监，他说，通过电子教科书，出版商可以快速更新最新的内容。”
 
PETER NOONAN: "The world's changing consistently. And the online textbooks can change right along with the events that are happening."
PETER NOONAN：“世界不断在变化，网络教科书可以与时事同步更新。”

Digital books also cost less than printed textbooks, he says.
他说，数字图书的成本低于印刷课本。

PETER NOONAN: "Usually it's in the neighborhood of between fifty and seventy dollars to buy a textbook for each student, which adds up to roughly eight million dollars for all of our students in Fairfax County. We actually have purchased all of the online textbooks for our students for just under six million dollars."
PETER NOONAN：“通常，为每个学生购买一本课本大约需要50到70美元，费尔法克斯县全部学生加起来大概要800万美元。实际上，我们为学生们购买的所有电子书还略低于600万美元。”

So what do students think?
那么，学生们怎么想呢？

MELANIE REUTER: "I don't have to carry a textbook around, so that's nice."
MELANIE REUTER：“我不用再随身携带教科书了，所以这很好。”

MARIA STEPHANY: "I don't like it because the Internet sometimes, its like, doesn't work."
MARIA STEPHANY：“我不喜欢它，因为网络有时候不能正常工作。”

BRIAN TRAN: "You can highlight your work. You can leave notes on your work and it'll all be saved onto your account. It's a lot better than a regular textbook."
BRIAN TRAN：“你可以在你的作业中标记重点，你可以在你的作业上做笔记，而且所有这一切都保存在你的用户名下。它比普通教科书好得多。”

Social studies teacher Michael Bambara says the e-book he uses in his government class is better than a printed textbook. He likes the way it has materials for students with different levels of reading skills.
社会学科教师Michael Bambara说，他在政治学课程中使用的电子书比印刷课本更好。他喜欢电子书能够为不同阅读水平的学生提供素材的方式。

MICHAEL BAMBARA: "Particularly this book, that I use in government has differentiated reading levels. So a person can individualize their learning and I can individualize their instruction."
MICHAEL BAMBARA：“特别是这本，我在政治学课程中使用的电子书使用了差异化的阅读水平。这样每个人都可以个性化学习，我也可以对他们进行个性化指导。”

But the students also need access to the Internet when they are not at school. About ten percent of students in Fairfax County do not have a computer or online access at home. Stephen Castillo is one of them.
但是，当学生们不在学校时还需要接入互联网。费尔法克斯县大约10%的学生家里没有电脑或网络。Stephen Castillo就是其中之一。

STEPHEN CASTILLO: "Pretty much I go to, like, the library, I guess, or go to a friend's house."
STEPHEN CASTILLO：“多数时间我是都去图书馆或朋友家。”

Public libraries in the county have free Internet. There are also after-school computer labs as well as computer clubhouses supported by the county. Middle school student Slieman Hakim is happy about that. He says his family has to share a single computer at home.
该县公共图书馆可以免费上网。而且该县支持提供的课后电脑机房以及电脑会所。中学生Slieman Hakim对此非常高兴。他说，他的家人在家中共享一台计算机。

SLIEMAN HAKIM: "All of my family works on a computer, my sister and me both do our homework on it. So I come here to do my homework. It's good."
SLIEMAN HAKIM：“我们全家人共用一台电脑。我妹妹和我都要在电脑上做功课。所以我来这里做功课，这很好。”

Other school systems in the area are also considering online textbooks. In Prince George's County, Maryland, a survey showed that sixty percent of students have computer access at home. Curriculum Director Gladys Whitehead says an e-book test project is being planned.
该地区的其它学区也在考虑使用网络教科书。马里兰州乔治王子县的一项调查显示，60%的学生家里有电脑接入。课程主任Gladys Whitehead称，一个电子书的测试项目正在规划中。

GLADYS WHITEHEAD: "Next year we'll just have a pilot with probably one classroom and one subject area, so that we can see, you know, what issues will come up with complete online access."
GLADYS WHITEHEAD：“明年我们将有可能有一个教室和一个学科领域的试点，。这样我们可以看到，你知道的，采用完全在线访问会出现哪些问题。”