In Higher Education, a Focus on Technology

By STEVE LOHR(UFSC- 2014)

Book Four Corners (Level 2B)

Unit 8: Fun in the City

Lesson B: I’d recommend going… (Pages 78 and 79)

Do you know how the school years are devided in the United States of America?

Também é válido saber que neste país, o Ensino Médio corresponde

a 4 anos:

Freshman year = 9º ano equivalente no Brasil

Sophomore year= 1º ano

Junior year= 2º ano

Senior year= 3º ano

E seguimos...

First Level: Undergraduate

A student who is attending a college or university and has not earned a

bachelor’s degree, is studying at the undergraduate level.

Second Level: Graduate in Pursuit of a Master’s Degree

Presently, a college or university graduate with a bachelor’s degree

may want to seriously think about graduate study in order to enter

certain professions or advance their career. This degree is usually

mandatory for higher-level positions in library science, engineering,

behavioral health and education.

Third Level: Graduate in Pursuit of a Doctorate Degree

Many graduate schools consider the attainment of a master’s degree

the first step towards earning a PhD (doctorate).

The Smartest Kids in the WorldA New York Times bestseller, “The Smartest

Kids” was selected by The Economist, The

Washington Post, The New York Times and

Amazon.com as one of the most notable

books of 2013.

In a handful of nations, virtually all children

are learning to make complex arguments

and solve problems they’ve never seen

before. They are learning to think, in other

words. What is it like to be a child in these

new education superpowers?

In a global quest to find answers for our own children, author and Time

journalist Amanda Ripley follows three Americans embedded in these

countries for one year. Kim, 15, raises $10,000 so she can move from

Oklahoma to Finland; Eric, 18, exchanges an upscale Minnesota suburb

for a booming South Korean city; and Tom, 17, leaves a historic

Pennsylvania village for a gritty city in Poland.

Their stories, along with groundbreaking research into what works

worldwide, reveal a pattern of startling transformation: none of these

places had many “smart” kids a few decades ago. They had changed.

Teaching had become more serious; parents had focused on what

mattered; and children had bought into the promise of education. A

reporting tour, “The Smartest Kids” is a book about building resilience in

a new world—as told by the young Americans with the most at stake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEn-auke7wM

The education gap facing the nation’s work force is evident in the

numbers. Most new jobs will require more than a high school education, yet

fewer than half of Americans under 30 have a postsecondary degree of any

kind. Recent state budget cuts, education experts agree, promise to make

closing that gap even more difficult.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora

Hewlett Foundation, and four nonprofit education organizations are beginning

an ambitious initiative to address that challenge by accelerating the

development and use of online learning tools.

An initial $20 million round of money, from the Gates Foundation,

will be for postsecondary online courses, particularly ones tailored for

community colleges and low-income young people. Another round of grants,

for high school programs, is scheduled for next year.

In Higher Education, a Focus on Technology

Just how effective technology can be in improving education — by

making students more effective, more engaged learners — is a subject of

debate. To date, education research shows that good teachers matter a lot, class

size may be less important than once thought and nothing improves student

performance as much as one-on-one human tutoring.

If technology is well designed, experts say, it can help tailor the

learning experience to individual students, facilitate student-teacher

collaboration, and assist teachers in monitoring student performance each day

and in quickly fine-tuning lessons.

The potential benefits of technology are greater as students become

older, more independent learners. Making that point, Mr. Gates said in an

interview that for children from kindergarten to about fifth grade “the idea

that you stick them in front of a computer is ludicrous.”

1. No trecho do terceiro parágrafo – (...) particularlyones tailored for community colleges and low-incomeyoung people. – a palavra tailored pode sersubstituída, sem alteração do sentido do texto, por

a. studied.

b. adapted.

c. bought.

d. sold.

e. lent.

2. No terceiro parágrafo, o pronome ones em – (...) particularly ones tailored for community colleges and low-income young people. – refere-se a:

a. high school programs.

b. low-income young people.

c. postsecondary online courses.

d. the Gates and Hewlett Foundations.

e. an initial $ 20 million round of money.

3. A opinião de Bill Gates acerca do uso de tecnologia para ensinar crianças, do jardim da infância à quinta série, é de que

a. esses alunos não são suficientemente independentes para tirar o melhor proveito desses recursos.

b. as crianças do jardim da infância à quinta série não têm paciência para ficar sentadas em frente a um computador.

c. o uso da tecnologia, nos primeiros anos de vida de uma criança, pode prejudicar o seu desenvolvimento mental.

d. o uso de tecnologia pode dificultar a atuação do professor, pois as crianças se distraem com os recursos tecnológicos.

e. crianças provenientes de escolas comunitárias são as que devem receber a maior parcela dos recursos que a sua fundação destina a esse fim.

4. De acordo com o texto, é correto afirmar que

a. a tecnologia pode ser uma importante ferramentaauxiliadora para o professor, especialmente quandousada com alunos mais velhos.

b. o uso de tecnologia é muito mais importante noscursos de especialização do que nos cursos degraduação.

c. ter um curso superior tem sido condição essencialpara se obter uma colocação no mercado de trabalho.

d. o uso de tecnologia em sala de aula é menosimportante no processo educacional do que o tamanhodas classes.

e. cursos de pós-graduação na área de tecnologia são osque mais têm se desenvolvido.

5. If you had to move to the USA now, in what grade would you fit?

6. How many years does the American “Ensino Médio” last and what

are the terms used to name each one?

7. After you finish your studies at school and wishes to keep studying,

what are the possible levels to take?

8. What were the names of the three Young Americans who moved

from their country to study? How old were they and what country did

they go to?

9. In your opinion is Education in crisis? Is it only in Brazil? Explain it.

10 Give a suggestion about what can be done to change this situation.

COMPLETE AS ATIVIDADES DA PÁGINA 78 E 79 DO LIVRO FOUR CORNERS.

GET TO WORK! – ENGLISHHOMEWORK