Summer Learning
The spring semester is over, which means summer is here! A break from school doesn’t mean that you’ll be taking a break from learning, though. Below you’ll find tons of ideas for how to expand your horizon over the summer, even if you’re still under “stay at home” orders. These resources may also be good to keep kiddos occupied while summer group activities are up in the air. Maybe you want to learn to knit or to explore a national park. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn Russian or to visit the British Museum. You can do all of these and more with the awesome sites linked to here. Now go! Learn! What are you waiting for?
Learn a language with Duolingo
Duolingo lessons adapt to your learning style. Exercises are tailored to help you learn and review vocabulary effectively. Duolingo works, and it’s portable! You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play. Start learning here.
Other free language platforms to visit:
Free Language Lessons: Curated by Open Culture
Take a course with edX
edX is the trusted platform for education and learning. Founded by Harvard and MIT, edX is home to more than 20 million learners, the majority of top-ranked universities in the world and industry-leading companies. As a global nonprofit, edX is transforming traditional education, removing the barriers of cost, location and access. Visit the platform here.
Other academic learning platforms: Coursera
Harvard University Free Online Classes
Learn a new skill with SkillShare
Browse thousands of free classes for your career, passions, and everything in between. Classes are taught by the world’s best practitioners in design, business, photography, and more. Begin learning here.
Or learn a new skill with:
DIY and craft with Instructables
Watch educational videos with TEDed
The maker of TED Talks now provides carefully curated educational videos or “lessons worth sharing.” Topics range from Literature and Language, to Mathematics, to Science and Technology. Visit TEDed here to choose between student, educator, or parent view.
Or go to YouTube Learning for curated videos designed for adults and teens to spark curiosity in a wide range of subjects.
Rent a book with Princeton Public Library
The Princeton Library offers a variety of options. They give access to ebooks, audiobooks, virtual classes, tutoring, and much more. As students with a Princeton address your library card is free. Sign up online today! They’ve also curated book lists for adults, kids, and teens (all accessible online). Visit the website here.
Read scholarly books with the National Emergency Library
The National Emergency Library is made possible by the non-profit organization Internet Archive. Their mission is to provide universal access to all knowledge. You can sign up for a free account and view videos, audiobooks, ebooks, and more. The Internet Archive is also accessible for free during non-pandemic times. There is typically a waitlist to “rent,” but under the circumstances they are making extraordinary efforts to make certain collections available for emergency remote teaching, research, and continued learning with libraries and schools being closed. Start reading here!
Another place to view ebooks is Project Gutenburg.
Take a trip through the National Parks
“Get outside, in your home.” Adventure through different national parks with a guide. You can also take a hike with the national parks 360 degree view. Start your adventure here.
Tour an art museum with online collections
- Art Institute of Chicago
- The British Museum
- The Getty
- Google Arts & Culture
- The Guggenheim
- Harvard Art Museum Collections
- The Isamu Noguchi Museum
- LA County Museum
- The Met
- MoMA
- The National Gallery: Washington D.C.
- Norway National Art Museum
- Paris Museums
- The Rijks Museum: Amsterdam
- The Smithsonian
- Stanford University’s Cantor Art Center
- Taipei’s National Palace Museum
- The Tate
Let your kids learn with Open Culture
Open culture has curated a list of resources to keep kids learning and have updated it since COVID-19 began. This isn’t just for your kids. The list also features tools and guides that are suitable for adult learning. “This collection provides a list of free educational resources for K-12 students (kindergarten through high school students) and their parents and teachers. This page is being updated and cleaned up during the COVID-19 crisis.” The list is organized by subject, so you can easily skim through the options available. Some of the resources are self-guided while others offer instructor-guided learning, so there are options for everyone.
Consider taking summer language
Princeton Theological Seminary is offering summer Greek and Hebrew online this summer. Get your language requirement done this summer and do it from your own home.
Complete summer session information is available on the Registrar’s website. The registration deadline is June 1 2020.