Dive Brief:

• A partnership between massive open online course platform EdX and the National Summer Learning Association will bring dozens of courses to the EdX library to combat summer learning loss.

• Campus Technology reports that the set of 60 free courses includes computer science, programming, pre-university calculus, high school advanced placement physics, and college-level psychology.

• EdX hopes the availability of free, online courses will curb the summer slide for high school and college students and offer adult learners an opportunity for continued learning, according to the article.

Dive Insight:

Summer learning loss is a significant problem for educators. Students who leave classrooms and campuses in the spring and don’t participate in enrichment activities over the summer or engage with course materials in any way often return in the fall with atrophied skills. In college, this is most worrisome for students mid-way through a course sequence when summer hits. With publicity help from the National Summer Learning Association, these EdX courses could take off among students who are aware of the dangers of the summer slide and interested in combating them. That would make educators’ jobs in the fall at least a little bit easier.