VOA慢速英语:What Online Teens Consider 'Research'

Teachers say the digital age has had a good influence -- and a not-so-good influence -- on this generation of American teenagers. More than 2,000 middle and high school teachers took an online survey. Researchers also spoke with teachers in focus groups.
教师们称，对美国青少年一代来说，数字时代的影响喜忧兼备。2000多所中学和高中的教师参加了网络调查，研究人员还同重点小组的教师进行了交流。
 
Three-quarters of the teachers said the Internet and digital search tools have had a “mostly positive” effect on their students’ research habits and skills. But 87 percent agreed that these technologies are creating an “easily distracted generation with short attention spans.” And 64 percent said the technologies “do more to distract students than to help them academically.” Many students think "doing research” now means just doing a quick search on Google.
四分之三的教师称，网络和数字研究工具在很多情况下对学生的研究习惯和技能有帮助，但87%的教师称这些技术使得青少年容易被干扰，注意力转瞬即逝。而64%的教师表示，科技更多的是使学生分心而不是在学业上帮助他们。许多学生认为现在做研究只是到谷歌上快速搜索。
 
The Pew Internet Project did the survey with the College Board and the National Writing Project. A majority of the teachers came from Advanced Placement classes, which provide college-level work for high school students.
皮尤互联网项目同大学委员会和国家写作项目合作完成了这项调查，大部分教师来自为高中生提供大学水平功课的大学先修课程班级。
 
Judy Buchanan is deputy director of the National Writing Project and a co-author of the report. Ms. Buchanan says digital research tools are helping students learn more, and learn faster.
朱迪•布坎南是国家写作项目副主任，也是这份报告的合作作者，布坎南女士称，数字化研究工具有助于学生们学到更多，学得更快。
 
“Teachers really embrace these tools because they are ways to make some of learning exciting and engaging. Young people embrace these tools. And the goal is to really help them become creators of content, and meaningful content, and not just sort of consumers.”
“老师们喜欢这些工具，因为它们使得一些课程更有趣，参与性更强。年轻人喜欢这些工具。而我们的目标是真正帮助学生们成为有意义内容的创作者，而不只是消费者。”
 
But one problem the survey found is that many students are lacking in digital literacy. In other words, they trust too much of the information they find on the Internet. Judy Buchanan says these students have not developed the skills they need to judge the quality of online information.
但调查中发现了一个问题，许多学生缺少数字素养，也就是说，他们过于相信在网络上找到的信息。朱迪•布坎南说这些学生不具备评价网络信息质量的技能。
 
“It’s just a lot to learn about how to discern credible sources. And it’s something that really has to be taught and paid attention to. It’s like everything else -- in a world in which things can happen quickly, you really do need to have a way to step back, reflect and analyze the information you have. And teachers can do a lot to teach that.”
“要会识别可靠信息来源，还需要学习很多。这才是真正需要教给他们的，也是值得注意的。 这和其它事物一样，世界瞬息万变，你必须有能力对自己掌握的信息站在局外思考，以及对它们进行反思和分析。老师们也下了功夫教学生这方面的技能。”
 
Another problem the survey found is blamed on something that might not seem like a problem at all: being able to quickly find information online. Teachers say the result is a reduction in the desire and ability of their students to work hard to find answers. They say students are overly dependent on search engines and do not make enough use of printed books or research librarians.
调查发现的另一个问题可能看起来并不像是问题，也就是，学生们能够快速在网络上寻找到信息。教师们表示，其结果就是学生们的求知欲和努力寻找答案的能力都有所下降。他们说学生过于依赖搜索引擎，没有很好地利用印刷书籍和图书馆。
 
Many teachers are also concerned that the Internet makes it easy for students to copy work done by others instead of using their own abilities.
许多教师还担心，互联网让学生们更容易复制他人的成果，而不是发挥自身的能力。