Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, represent one of the most momentous—and contentious—changes to higher education in decades. But the debate over the free Internet classes has been a conspicuously fact-free zone. While techno-utopians tout MOOCs’ potential to topple barriers to college educations for disadvantaged people worldwide and skeptics warn of the downsides to automated instruction, neither side has been able to point to reliable data to support its claims.
大规模在线开放课程的兴起可谓是近十年来高等教育领域最重大，也最具争议的变革之一。对免费网络课程的论战已经逐渐失去意义，成为一个各说各有理的僵局。技术空想家们鼓吹大规模在线课程将能够为全球范围内享受不到教育资源的人们打通高等教育的屏障，而怀疑者们则警告人们，机械录制的课程讲授自有其缺陷。无论论战的哪一方都不能举出可靠的数据来支持自己的观点。

So our team at the University of Pennsylvania decided to inject some empiricism into the discussion. Surveying people who have enrolled in a MOOC offered by the university and completed at least one full lecture, we collected nearly 35,000 responses from students hailing from around the world.
所以我们这支来自宾夕法尼亚大学的团队决定为这场论战加入一些经验的元素。我们对注册本校提供的大规模在线公开课程、并听完了至少一堂课的学员进行了调查，收到来自全球各地的3.5万份问卷回复。

From the survey results, a clear portrait emerges: MOOCs, at least thus far, are serving the world’s haves more than its have-nots. A disproportionate number of MOOC students are already well-educated. Globally, they’re predominately male and currently employed; they’re also older than you might expect. Far more enrollees view them as a diversion than they do as a means to a college degree or a new job.
根据调查结果，我们得出了明确结论：至少从目前的情况来，大规模在线课程所服务的更多的是社会资源丰富的人群，而不是社会资源匮乏的人群。绝大多数MOOC的学员实际上已经接受过良好的教育。从全球的平均数据来看，这些学员主要为男性，在职状态；他们也不像人们预计的那样年轻。许多注册学员都将在线课程看作是一种消遣，而不是将其作为获得大学学历的手段，或者找到工作的途径。

Taking advantage of the opportunities that MOOCs offer requires an extensive ecosystem: sufficient schooling to be able to follow college-level material, consistent access to the Web, reliable electricity.
要享受大规模在线课程平台所提供的种种教育机会，需要一整条先决条件链的支持：入学前必须具备足够的知识储备、才能够适应相当于大学水平的教学内容，必须能够长时间上网，必须拥有可靠的电力供应。

Eventually, the courses may come closer to fulfilling the promises-but for such a transformation to begin, basic access to education and technology will have to improve first.
也许日后终有一天，在线课程会越来越能够满足人们的教育需求——但是要完成这种转变，人们必须先提供充足的基础性教育资源并且进一步发展教育信息技术。