Unit 2 English around the world 单元测试（人教版新课标必修1）.docVIP

课时训练(二) .阅读理解 A Moocs(慕课)(massive open online courses)are free，but without tutoring，and are open to anyone，anywhere in the world.The courses are flexible－normally three to five hours of study a week－done at any time，short(5 to 10 weeks)and video-rich.They are also heavily dependent on crowd sourcing：you can discuss a course with fellow students through online forums，discussion boards and peer review.Students dont have to finish the courses，pass assessments or do assignments，but，if they do，they get a certification of participation. The Open University launched FutureLearn，the UKs answer to US platforms such as Coursera，EdX and Udacity，which have been offering Moocs from top US universities for the past two years.The response has been incredible，with more than three million people registering worldwide.Meanwhile，in 2012，Edinburgh University became the first non-US institution to join Courseras partnership，comprising 13 universities.“We already run 50 online masters degrees，so this was a logical expansion，” says Professor Jeff Haywood，Edinburghs vice-principal.“Its an investment in teaching methods research.How am I going to teach introductory philosophy to 100,000 people？Thats what I call educational RD.” He adds，“If you look ahead 10 years，youd expect all students graduating to have taken some online courses，so youve got to research that.Our Moocs are no more in competition with our degrees than a lifelong learning course because they dont carry credits.” Cooperation is key，Haywood stresses.It is far better to offer 20－30 courses in your own areas of expertise(专门技能)and let other institutions do likewise.Professor Mike Sharples，FutureLearns academic lead，goes further: “Weve tied the elements available before into a package of courses offered by leading universities worldwide on a new software platform，with a new way of promoting it and also a new social-learning teaching method.You wont just receive an exam，but be able to discuss and mark each others assignments.” B