Before returning to school, students across the country had to learn from home amid the outbreak of COVID-19. Ding Talk, QQ, Zoom and others have been the supporting platforms for online courses.
受新冠肺炎疫情影響，全國各地的學生返校前都在居家學習。釘釘、QQ、Zoom等軟件都成了網(wǎng)課的支持平臺。

But while we’re slowly returning to everyday life, our fast adoption of online resources for teaching has proven that the reality of the cloud classroom might not be far away.
盡管我們正逐漸回歸正常生活，但在線教育資源的迅速應用證明，云課堂的現(xiàn)實或許離我們并不遙遠。

The idea of the cloud classroom, or cloud learning, is that all the required resources for a class are stored and can be accessed via the cloud from anywhere in the world. It will also allow learners to communicate and collaborate on projects in real-time and give educators the chance to integrate more tech-based class activities.
云課堂或者云學習的概念指的是一堂課所需的所有資源都存儲在云端，能在世界上的任何地方進行訪問。這也能讓學習者在項目上進行實時的溝通與合作，并讓教育者有機會加入更高科技的課堂活動。

In an episode of the US animated sitcom The Simpsons, Lisa, the middle child of the Simpson family, imagines herself learning about Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol empire, using a virtual reality (VR) helmet and an AI (artificial intelligence) assistant in the form of Khan, which guides her through her history lesson. While the episode first aired in 1993, this glimpse into the future still holds with the modern-day aspirations of the cloud classroom. With the coming of 5G, cloud computing will unlock a range of exciting technologies in the education field.
在美國動畫情景喜劇《辛普森一家》的一集中，辛普森一家中的老二麗莎幻想自己使用一款虛擬現(xiàn)實頭盔學習蒙古國大汗成吉思汗的相關知識，還有一位可汗形象的人工智能助手指導她的歷史課。雖然這一集早在1993年首播，但這對于未來的一瞥依然與現(xiàn)今人們云課堂的渴望一致。隨著5G技術的到來，云計算將在教育領域解鎖一系列激動人心的科學技術。

Among the best-known technologies is VR. “VR classrooms give students opportunities to raise their hands, ask questions in an organic way,” stated game developer Chance Glasco.
其中最著名的技術便是虛擬現(xiàn)實?！疤摂M現(xiàn)實課堂為學生們提供了一個舉手提問的天然方式，”游戲開發(fā)人員錢斯·格拉斯科如此表示。

According to Forbes, extended reality including virtual, increased, and mixed reality brings immersive learning experiences to students no matter where they are.
《福布斯》雜志認為，包括虛擬、增強、混合現(xiàn)實在內的擴展現(xiàn)實技術的確能為學生們帶來沉浸式的學習體驗，不論他們身處何處。

Another innovation is the engagement of chatbots. This is the AI technology that allows virtual assistants, including Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri, to respond to our requests. Chatbots can be used as a tool to answer questions and deliver focused lectures according to the learner’s needs.
另一個創(chuàng)新之處便是聊天機器人的參與。這一人工智能技術令虛擬助手，如亞馬遜的Alexa，蘋果的Siri等，能夠回應我們的請求。聊天機器人能夠作為回答問題的工具，或者根據(jù)學習者的需求提供目標明確的授課。

According to AI product developer Bernhard Schindlholzer, VR and AI use can allow for “flipped learning”, the idea that learning is done independently, and homework and problem-solving activities are done in class. “[With cloud computing] students are challenged to apply their knowledge to real-world problems … the traditional mode of transferring knowledge and then examining will be a thing of the past,” he stated.
人工智能產品開發(fā)人員伯恩哈德·辛德霍爾澤認為，虛擬現(xiàn)實與人工智能技術能夠實現(xiàn)“翻轉式學習”，這一概念指的是自己獨立完成學習，而在課堂上完成作業(yè)以及解決問題的活動。“在云計算技術下，學生們面臨著在現(xiàn)實問題中應用自身知識的挑戰(zhàn)……傳授和學習知識然后進行考試的傳統(tǒng)模式將會成為過去式，”他說道。

So what do you think of this new cloud classroom teaching model? Do you think you’ll get more out of learning with AI and VR?
那么，你怎么看待這種全新的云課堂教學模式？你覺得自己會在人工智能與虛擬現(xiàn)實的幫助下收獲更多知識嗎？

以上文章內容選自《21世紀學生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀學生英文報高中版》高二799期