There is one day left of summer, in my mind. Sure, there will be fits and starts, some tardy bbq’s, a warm humid day here and there, but for the most part, it’s back to school, work and a busier mindset. The lazy meandering of open plans makes way for rigid deadlines and gmail appointment updates. Personally, it has been a very strange season; the uncertain employment and far too long vacation,  the disastrous mets and the wet cool weather made sure to leave a mark on my memories.  But no season makes me giddier than the autumn, and specifically, September.

Maybe it was because summers in my youth were full of  rerun “happy days”, learning the “facts of life” of “what’s happening” on “little house(s) on the prarie”. I was totally cut off from my school friends who did not live in my neighborhood, and was not fortunate enough to go to summer camp. I read a lot, but living in books all summer can get boring. September was an end to that monotony. Learning new things, hearing new stories, and later in life, meeting new people. 2.5 months away from a social group  you spend so much of your day with is pretty jarring.

It shouldn’t surprise that i hope that summer vacation is decreased and vacations put more in throughout the school year. I can’t recall who, but someone on twitter mentioned how this week is marked by the rush of students in secondary and high school trying to finish their mostly meaningless summer project. I was certainly no different; i can’t remember completing ONE. It’s a futile effort! It doesn’t help by reinforcing ideas or starting students out on new concepts. It’s busy work during the season of unbusy. If we are going to keep this tradition of having this academic death valley, we might as well figure out a better way to get students back into the practice of learning.

(Bias disclosure time: I want to make educational science media for a living. I also may work for an organization that finds new ways to teach using new media, social media and online tools.)

I spent all weekend doing as much learning as possible through the online tutorial service Lynda (i need to get my flash programming on).  I found myself filling every moment i could with another lesson. Now granted, i love tutorials, and Lynda is the best around. It’s ease of use and large library of information made it feel like the first time you found out the public library let you borrow movies and CD’s for free.

I don’t know how most students predominantly learn, but i imagine there is more of a computer component. Square One, 321 Contact, (sadly, just recently) Reading Rainbow and other programming of their ilk have lost their favored status when it comes to supplemental learning and learning appreciation. I think it’s time for a robust online component full of interesting media to learn important science and math ideas targeted at the end of summer. Prime those brains with review and possibly new materials.

This does not have to be about getting important ideas, at first, correct. This data could serve as tools for educators to know what incoming classes may need to focus on in the early going, to get students off on the right foot.  To prod students to complete these exercises and watch that media, incentives can be given. If one does well on the online testing of the review or new lessons, they can forgo one assignment during the  year. If one does not complete the exercises, even with the availability of online access, they may have to complete an extra assignment during the year.

Also, during load screens and other segments between lessons and tests, fun mental exercises like sudoku and other brain teasers can erode the borders between formalized learning and play. To decrease the incidence of cheating, it may be beneficial to emphasize the idea that this is not for a grade. Here, the emphasis is put on completion. That also may take out the stress that is often linked to grades.

Kids, nowadays with the means are online for hours, so, it is probably wise to make some portion of that time period educational. These ideas also give educators the opportunity to see what concepts students may have forgotten during their summer vacation, and that might change the way they teach those ideas. We should start to move away from the notion that learning ends in June, and instead push the idea that it happens all year round, for the rest of our lives.