芝麻街和IBM開發(fā)詞匯應(yīng)用程序

李明娟

摘自： breakingnewsenglish.com

Sesame Workshop （the company behind the hugely successful childrens TV show Sesame Street） and IBM have teamed up to create a revolutionary3 new app for kids to learn vocabulary. They have created the first vocabulary learning app powered by IBMs artificial intelligence software. The app discovers for itself a childs current reading level and vocabulary range， and then uses its algorithms4 to challenge the child with appropriate， new vocabulary to improve the childs skills. It personalizes5 the learning experience for children. As the child continues to use the app， it will make sure that he or she has learned and understood the new words before introducing more and tailored6 vocabulary items.

芝麻街工作室（極其成功的一部兒童電視連續(xù)劇《芝麻街》的制作公司）與IBM組隊(duì)合作開發(fā)出一個具有革命性意義的新應(yīng)用軟件，讓孩子們用來學(xué)習(xí)詞匯。他們已經(jīng)創(chuàng)造出了第一個由IBM的人工智能軟件提供動力的詞匯學(xué)習(xí)應(yīng)用軟件。這款應(yīng)用軟件能自動測出一個兒童當(dāng)前的閱讀水平和詞匯量，然后用自己的算法讓他/她學(xué)一些（難度）合適的新詞，讓他/她通過這類挑戰(zhàn)來增強(qiáng)各項(xiàng)（語言）技能。這讓兒童的學(xué)習(xí)體驗(yàn)變得很個性化。兒童持續(xù)地使用這個應(yīng)用軟件，就能保證在接觸到更多的量身定做式的詞匯前，他/她已經(jīng)學(xué)會和理解了（之前的）新詞。

IBM says it has just completed a pilot program testing the app. It collected 18，000 multiplechoice assessments7 given to kindergarteners over a twoweek period. The researchers said the results were very promising8. They said some of the words the kids learned are supposed to be learned at a much later age. The children could also use these words in context. Sesame Workshop CEO Jeffrey Dunn said： “We expect to develop the next generation of tailored learning tools...Educational technology like the platform weve created...is a promising new way for learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom， and were excited to explore it further.”

IBM表示該公司已經(jīng)剛剛完成了一項(xiàng)試點(diǎn)工程來測試這款應(yīng)用軟件。在兩個多星期的時間里，收集了18000道選擇測試題給幼兒園的小朋友做。研究者們說測試的結(jié)果顯示這個應(yīng)用很有前途。他們說孩子們所學(xué)的詞有些是應(yīng)該在年齡更大一些的時候才學(xué)的。孩子們同樣能在語境中使用這些詞。芝麻街工作室的執(zhí)行總裁杰弗里·鄧恩表示：“我們期望能開發(fā)出下一代的定制學(xué)習(xí)工具……類似我們創(chuàng)造出的這個平臺的教育技術(shù)……是一個提供課堂內(nèi)外學(xué)習(xí)機(jī)會的很有前景的新方式。我們非常興奮，會繼續(xù)研究和探索它。”endprint