In many of the backlash stories recently, a certain argument seems to be repeated that asks why schools and investors should be sinking millions into creating educational resources (i.e., MOOCs) that we all know just benefit older, educated, professional lifelong learners who already have so much, vs. using those same resources to advance the education of the neediest. Over time people become increasingly impatient with this charge and have only just started to figure out why.
在最近出現(xiàn)的許多關(guān)于大規(guī)模在線開放課程退潮的文章中，有一個(gè)備受關(guān)注的爭(zhēng)論話題，即為什么高校和投資商要耗資數(shù)百萬，為那些中老年的、受過良好教育的、專業(yè)的終身學(xué)習(xí)者創(chuàng)造更多的教育資源（即大規(guī)模在線開放課程）——既然他們已經(jīng)享受了足夠多的教育資源，而不是為那些最需要進(jìn)一步接受教育的人創(chuàng)造教育資源。如今人們已經(jīng)對(duì)這種質(zhì)疑感到厭煩，開始試著解釋其中的原因。

For starters, let's take as a given that the upwards of 75-80 percent of people who currently take MOOC classes already have a degree (sometimes more than one) and could probably find other ways to learn some of the things they've been studying even if MOOCs didn't exist.
首先，讓我們假設(shè)在當(dāng)今大規(guī)模在線開放課程平臺(tái)上的學(xué)員中有超過75%-80%已經(jīng)獲得了一種（乃至兩種）學(xué)位，即使沒有在線課程平臺(tái)，他們也可以通過其他途徑學(xué)習(xí)。

At the very least, this means that one-fifth to one-quarter of students enrolled in a MOOC do not fit this demographic. Now as a fraction, that's pretty small. But if you apply it to the number of people taking a massive online course, that means we're talking about thousands and thousands of young students who are taking advantage of the educational opportunities they might not otherwise have access to.
這至少意味著，有五分之一到四分之一的學(xué)員并不屬于上述的學(xué)究范疇。這些人所占的比例或許很小，但是如果你將這一比例換算成學(xué)習(xí)在線課程的實(shí)際人數(shù)，這意味著成千上萬的青年學(xué)子在享受著在線學(xué)習(xí)的裨益，而這可能是他們接受高等教育的唯一途徑。

Then there is the fallacy of assuming whatever MOOCs are today is what they must always be. But just because today's student body is mostly older and better educated than the people the MOOC makers thought they would originally be serving, that doesn't mean more younger people won't gravitate to them over time.
其次，認(rèn)為大規(guī)模在線開放課程的當(dāng)今發(fā)展現(xiàn)狀會(huì)一成不變，這是一種謬誤。雖然當(dāng)前在線課程平臺(tái)上的學(xué)員大多是受過高等教育的中老年學(xué)究，而不像課程平臺(tái)供應(yīng)商們最初設(shè)想的那樣更多的為急需教育資源的青年學(xué)子服務(wù)。這并不意味著，將來不會(huì)有更多的青年學(xué)子被在線課程所吸引。

In the meantime, who is better to serve as a beta tester for these programs than a student using them as the only means they will ever have to learn a subject.
同時(shí)，對(duì)于大規(guī)模在線開放課程的諸多實(shí)驗(yàn)項(xiàng)目來說，最合適的測(cè)試員莫過于那些只能通過在線平臺(tái)才能學(xué)習(xí)相關(guān)知識(shí)的青年學(xué)生。

As a final thought, I'm also not convinced that the number of self-directed learners who can benefit from MOOCs is finite or static. In fact, if the MOOC experiment yields nothing more than a better understanding of what kind of people succeed in these independent learning environments, perhaps that insight can be boiled down into a set of resources and tools that could improve educational outcomes across all grade and income levels.
最后作為總結(jié)，我認(rèn)為那些通過在線課程平臺(tái)自主學(xué)習(xí)的學(xué)生人數(shù)還會(huì)不斷增加，不斷變化。事實(shí)上，如果說大規(guī)模在線課程平臺(tái)正是這樣一塊試金石，通過它人們能更清楚的了解到什么樣的人才能在自主的學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境中取得成功，那么，為了使更多的人具備成功的素質(zhì)，人們更應(yīng)該大力開發(fā)各種能全面提升各社會(huì)階層受教育水平的在線教育資源和教育手段。