一、
By almost any measure, there is a boom in Internet-based instruction.
无论如何，网络教学已经十分流行。

In just a few years, 34 percent of American universities have begun offering some form of distance learning (DL), and among the larger schools, it’s closer to 90 percent.
近几年来，有34%的美国大学开始提供不同形式的远程教学，而在较大的大学里，这个数字已经接近90%。

If you doubt the popularity of the trend, you probably haven’t heard of the University of Phoenix.
如果你对这与潮流表示质疑，那么或许你还没有听过凤凰城大学。

It grants degrees entirely on the basis of online instruction. It enrolls 90,000 students, a statistic used to support its claim to be the largest private university in the country.
这所大学的学位都是通过网络教学授予的，目前学生总数为9万人，该数字使之号称是美国最大的私立学校。

While the kinds of instruction offered in these programs will differ, DL usually signifies a course in which the instructors post syllabi (课程大纲), reading assignments, and schedules on Websites, and students send in their assignments by e-mail.
尽管这些课程的具体教学内容不尽相同，但远程教学通常意味着老师会在网站上公布教程大纲，阅读作业和进度安排，而学生通过电子邮件交作业。

Generally speaking, face-to-face communication with an instructor is minimized or eliminated altogether.
一般而言，师生间面对面交流会很少，甚至没有。

The attraction for students might at first seem obvious.
起初，这种教学形式对学生的吸引是显而易见的。

Primarily, there’s the convenience promised by courses on the Net: you can do the work, as they say, in your pajamas (睡衣).
主要是网络课堂很便利，正如其宣传的一般，学生可以穿着睡衣来上学。

But figures indicate that the reduced effort results in a reduced commitment to the course.
然而数据表明，课堂参与的减少导致学生学习不是很努力。

While dropout rates for all freshmen at American universities is around 20 percent, the rate for online students is 35 percent.
美国大学本科新生的退学率约为20%，而对于参加网络教学的学生而言，这个数字达到了35%。

Students themselves seem to understand the weaknesses inherent in the setup.
学生本身也明白这个机制的不足之处。对
In a survey conducted for eCornell, the DL division of Cornell University, less than a third of the respondents expected the quality of the online course to be as good as the classroom course.
康奈尔大学远程教学部的调查结果显示，只有不到三分之一的受访者热认为网络课程的质量和传统课堂一样。

Clearly, from the schools’ perspective, there’s a lot of money to be saved.
无疑，从学校的角度，网络教学能节约大量金钱。

Although some of the more ambitious programs require new investments in severs and networks to support collaborative software, most DL courses can run on existing or minimally upgraded(升级) systems.
尽管部分更艰巨的项目需要新资金的注入来构建服务器的网络以支持协作软件。其余大多数的网络课程都可在现有或略微提升的系统上得以实现。

The more students who enroll in a course but don’t come to campus, the more the schools saves on keeping the lights on in the classrooms, paying doorkeepers, and maintaining parking lots.
网络教学招生越多，学校节约的成本就越多：因为学院不来学校，学校的灯无需开着，不必雇佣门卫，停车场也不用维修。

 And, while there’s evidence that instructors must work harder to run a DL course for a variety of reasons, they won’t be paid any more, and might well be paid less.
同时，有证据显示对于远程教育的导师来说，诸多原因使得他们必须更加努力地授课；也许他们的薪酬不会增加，还有可能减少。