The “New Age” of research in Educational Technology: A Focus onLearning EnvironmentsThe ideas of carefully designing instruction, varying the formats in which information is presented to students, and building interactive simulations lead naturally to the idea of constructing entire “Learning Environments”, in which the student has unprecedented freedom to act. Increasingly today, researchers in educational technology study students working in complete learning environments. Learning Environments can either be entirely natural, or they can be artificial, existing only through the agency of technology.Of course, learning always takes place in an environment. In the eighteenth century, Rousseau (1762) argued that the most effective and socially appropriate education arose from a student’s interaction with Nature------the natural environment. More recently, educators have proposed that a modified natural environment can serve to meet more specific learning objectives, through cognitive (Brown et al. , 1989) or professional and vocational (Lave & Wenger , 1991) apprenticeships. Apprentices work in a natural environment that has either been modified for pedagogical purposes , or within which the apprentice’s freedom to act is limited , so that, in accordance with good instructional design, apprentices’learning can be guided to bring about knowledge construction. Schools are also learning environments. However, they are recent on the scale of human history and quite artificial (Winn & Windschitl , 2001) .More often than not, all that students learn in them is how to be students (Brown , 1997).Many technology------supported learning environments simulate some aspect of the natural environment. This allows learning to be “authentic”, engaging students in projects that have some meaningful connection with problems that exist in the real, nonsimulated world. Because most authentic real --- world activities involve more than one person, it follows that most technology-supported learning environments include people in addition to the student, confirming that learning occurs socially. Current theories of learning and instruction acknowledge the social natural oflearning (Vygotsky, 1978). Many current educational research projects study social interaction as a promoter of learning, often through the agency of learning communities created with the Internet (Gordin et al. ,1996; Malarney ,2000).翻译：教育技术研究的“新时代”：聚焦学习环境周密地设计教学，改变信息呈现给学生的形式，以及构建交互模式等观念自然而然引发了建构整体“学习环境”的理念，在这种整体学习环境下，学生拥有史无前例的自由去学习。
目前，教育技术研究者越来越多地研究学生在整体学习环境下的学习。
学习环境可能是完全能自然的，或是通过技术而实现的人工环境。
当然，学习总是发生在某种环境下。
在18世纪，卢梭（1762）认为最有效且适应社会的教育源自学生与自然（自然环境）的交互。
近年来，教育家提出，经过改造的自然环境通过采用认知学徒（Brown et al. , 1989）或专业与职业学徒（Lave &Wenger, 1991）的方式，能满足更多特定目标的学习。
学徒要么在根据教学目标而修改的自然环境下工作，要么在行动自由受到一定限制的自然环境下工作，以便通过良好的教学设计引导学徒的学习，实现知识建构。
学校也是学习环境。
但是，它们不过是人类历史长河中的新事物，而且完全是人造的（Winn 和Windschitl , 2001）。
更多时候，学生在其中学到的只是如何做学生(Brown, 1997)。
许多技术支持的学习环境模拟了自然环境的某些方面。
这使得学习变得“真实”，让学生参与到项目中，这些项目与真实的、非模拟世界的问题有某些充满意义的关联。
许多真实世界的活动不知牵涉某一个人，大多数技术支持下的学习环境不仅包括学生，还包括许多人，从而证实了学习的社会化。
学与教的新近理论认同学习的社会本质（Vygotsky, 1978）。
很多近期的教育研究项目，通过因特网创建的学习社区，将社会互动作为学习的促进者进行研究（Gordin et al. , 1996; Malarney ,2000）。
长句、难句的翻译与解释：1、The ideas of carefully designing instruction, varying the formats in whichinformation is presented to students, and building interactive simulations leadnaturally to the idea of constructing entire “Learning Environments”, in which the student has unprecedented freedom to act.译文：周密地设计教学，改变信息呈现给学生的形式，以及构建交互模式等观念自然而然引发了建构整体“学习环境”的理念，在这种整体学习环境下，学生拥有史无前例的自由去学习。
2、More recently, educators have proposed that a modified natural environmentcan serve to meet more specific learning objectives, through cognitive (Brown et al. , 1989) or professional and vocational (Lave & Wenger , 1991)apprenticeships.译文：近年来，教育家提出，经过改造的自然环境通过采用认知学徒（Brown et al. , 1989）或专业与职业学徒（Lave &Wenger, 1991）的方式，能满足更多特定目标的学习。
3、Because most authentic real --- world activities involve more than one person, it follows that most technology-supported learning environments include people in addition to the student, confirming that learning occurs socially.译文：这使得学习变得“真实”，让学生参与到项目中，这些项目与真实的、非模拟世界的问题有某些充满意义的关联。
许多真实世界的活动不知牵涉某一个人，大多数技术支持下的学习环境不仅包括学生，还包括许多人，从而证实了学习的社会化。
单词：1、varying [英]['veərɪ][美][ˈvɛri, ˈværi]vi.变化；不同，偏离；[生]变异vt.使不同；使多样化；[音乐]变奏2、formats[英]['fɔ:mæts][美]['fɔ:mæts] n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数)；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）3、interactive[英][ˌɪntərˈæktɪv][美][ˌɪntɚˈæktɪv adj.互相作用的，相互影响的；[计]交互式的；互动的n.交互式视频设备4、simulations生词本n.模仿( simulation的名词复数)；模拟；假装；冒充5、naturally[英][ˈnætʃrəli][美][ˈnætʃərəli, ˈnætʃrə-]adv.自然地，表现自然地，顺理成章地；合理地，当然，不用说；生来，天然地；自自然然，不做作地6、constructing[英][kən'strʌktɪŋ][美][kən'strʌktɪŋ] v.修建( construct的现在分词)；构成；组成；（按照数学规则）编制7、unprecedented[英][ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd][美][ʌnˈprɛsɪˌdɛntɪd] adj.前所未有的，无前例的；空前的；无比的；新奇的，崭新的8、artificial[英][ˌɑ:tɪ'fɪʃl][美][ˌɑrtəˈfɪʃəl] adj.人造的；人工的；虚假的，非原产地的；人为的n.人造肥料；<美>假花9、appropriate[英][ə'prəʊprɪət][美][əˈpropriɪt] adj.适当的；恰当的；合适的vt.占用，拨出10、arose[英][ə'rəʊz][美][əˈroz] v.呈现，出现，发生( arise的过去式)；（由…）引起；起身11、interaction[英][ˌɪntər'ækʃn][美][ˌɪntɚˈækʃən]n.一起活动；合作；互相影响；互动复数：interactions12、modified[英]['mɒdɪfaɪd][美]['mɒdəˌfaɪd] adj.改良的，改进的，修正的vt.修饰v.修改，更改( modify的过去式和过去分词)；改变；修饰；缓和13、serve[英][sɜ:v][美][sɚv] vt.& vi.（为…）服务；任（职）；提供；端上vt.招待；（为…）工作；对…有用；向…供应vi.适合；服役；供职；[网球、羽毛球]发球n.网球等发球；发球权；所发的球14、apprenticeships n.学徒身份( apprenticeship的名词复数)；学徒资格；学徒期；见习期15、pedagogical[英][ˌpedə'ɡɒdʒɪkl][美][ˌpɛdəˈɡɑdʒɪkl] adj.教师的，适宜于教师的，教学（法）的(pedagogical)；16、recent[英]['ri:snt][美][ˈrisənt] adj.最近的；新近的；近代的；[地]全新世的17、scale[英][skeɪl][美][skel] n.规模；比例（尺）；鱼鳞；级别vt.测量；攀登；刮去…的鳞片vi.衡量；攀登；（鳞屑）脱落；生水垢18、authentic[英][ɔ:ˈθentɪk][美][ɔˈθɛntɪk] adj.真的，真正的；可信的，可靠的；有根据的；[法]认证了的19、involve[英][ɪn'vɒlv][美][ɪnˈvɑlv] vt.包含；使参与，牵涉；围绕，缠绕；使专心于20、confirming v.批准( confirm的现在分词)；证实；使有效；使巩固21、occurs[英][ə'kɜ:z][美][ə'kɜ:z] v.发生( occur的第三人称单数)；被想起；被发现；（尤指基督教节日与别的节日）适逢同日22、current[英]['kʌrənt][美][ˈkɚrənt, ˈkʌr-]adj.现在的；最近的；流行的；流传的n.趋势；电流；水流；涌流23、promoter[英][prə'məʊtə(r)][美][prəˈmotɚ]n.助长者；发起人；促进者复数：promoters易混淆的单词：Promoter。