31 - ] Comprehension
Upper Intermediate & Advanced
Distance learning is a method of
study that involves using electronic means ( computers , Internet , etc. ) to
receive and send work rather than going to a school or university .
‘Knowledge ,’ according to the
proverb ‘is power’ . And in this electronic age , more and more of our
information is gained not in the classroom , but via media such as the Internet
, CE-ROM and cable TV … all of which are playing a key part in the distance learning
revolution . Here are three figures in this key educational change which is
transforming our lives in the 21st century .
Those who think that distance
learning is a relatively new idea might be surprised to learn that English
educator , Sir Isaac Pitman , had the same idea - only then they were called
correspondence courses - more than 150 years ago . Taking advantage of the
development of a reliable postal system in 1840 , Pitman began teaching
shorthand by mail to thousands of students who did not have time to attend
school . ‘Lessons’ consisted of copying short passages of the Bible in
shorthand , and posting them to Mr. Pitman to be corrected . His brother , Benn
Pitman , introduced the idea to the United States , and the Pitman shorthand
system - which has been adapted to the fifteen other languages - is still one
of the most widely used shorthand systems in the world .
When it was established in
1969 , the Open University offered courses via mail , with the back-up of
regular TV and radio programs shown outside normal broadcast times . Each student
was assigned a tutor who discussed the course work over the phone , and in
group sessions in the evening or at weekends . Thirty years on , the Open
University has expanded to include the Internet , videoconferencing , satellite
broadcast and e-mail . There are no entry qualifications or admission
interviews , and anyone over the age of 18 can follow one of their courses . It
is now Britain’s largest single teaching institution , with more than 200,000
people studying its courses every year , with another 16,000 in other countries
around the world .
After a successful career in
university education , John S. Hendricks entered the TV business and launched
the Discovery Channel - the first cable TV channel exclusively devoted to
documentaries and nature programs - in June 1985 . Today the company’s programs
reach over 150 million subscribers in more than a hundred countries . In an age
where competition for TV audiences has never been tougher , the Discovery
Channel’s high-quality , educational approach continues to defy those who
believe that TV is only about mindless entertainment . The BBC program Walking
with Dinosaurs became the most-watched documentary in TV history when it
was shown on the Discovery Channel in 2000 .
1
-] Who first had the idea of teaching shorthand by correspondence ? How ?
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2
- ] Who too the idea of correspondence courses to the United States ?
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3
- ] What three methods were originally used for course work by the Open
University ?
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4
- ] What entry qualifications are required to do a course at the Open
University ?
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5 -] What type of programs are shown on the Discovery Channel ?
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