Art in Action Completes Cutting Edge Online Art Education Program

Aug. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- Art in Action, a leading nonprofit K-12 art education organization, today announced the completion of its comprehensive, masterpiece-based online visual art program with a series of lessons covering Art and The American Experience. The lessons are aimed at educating students in middle and high school and supplement the recently introduced Renaissance Art and Ancient Art lessons. The 12 new online art lessons bring the total number of Art in Action lessons available online to 108 and completes a project of several years’ duration. View a lesson summary at http://www.artinaction.org/lessongroup/lessons/id/13.

"We are pleased to add Art and The American Experience to our comprehensive online art education program,” says Judy Sleeth, Executive Director of Art in Action. “This represents the completion of our ambitious project of making our entire curriculum available both in print and online versions. We believe that our 108 online lessons and their use of multimedia technology are at the cutting edge of art education."

The online lessons feature animated discussions of the masterpieces; video demonstrations of art techniques; wikis for sharing tips and ideas; links to relevant websites, books, and music; spoken instructions; and much more. View a sample lesson at http://www.artinaction.org/lesson/show/id/12.

In the Art and The American Experience lessons, students encounter America through the eyes of realistic artists such as George Caleb Bingham, Dorothea Lange, Grant Wood, and Thomas Hart Benton, as well as in the work of modern artists Roy Lichtenstein and Frank Stella. Students are exposed to a variety of art genres from realistic landscapes and historical portraits to reflections of conceptual psychological ideas and social commentary. Projects include a mixed media collage based on Robert Rauschenberg's combines, watercolor houses inspired by Edward Hopper, an etched door and foil-sculpted figure modeled after a piece by George Segal, and a mixed-media narrative influenced by living artist Flo Oy Wong’s Baby Jack series.

The Art in Action curriculum is consistently praised for empowering teachers and parents to teach art, by providing detailed, easy-to-follow directions for guiding successful discussions and projects. The lessons appeal to many different learning styles, and they enhance student creativity and innovative thinking. The curriculum meets national and state academic standards and integrates with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. It has received a 99.6% user satisfaction rating in recent user surveys.

The Art in Action visual arts program inspires K-12 students to get excited about learning when they meet the Great Masters and create their own masterpieces. The program supports creativity and develops problem solving and critical thinking skills. Art in Action was founded in 1982 and is a nonprofit organization, which fosters the educational development and creativity of children across America through innovative visual arts programs and communities. More information at www.artinaction.org.

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K-12 visual arts education programs: Academic standards-based curriculum for schools and homeschools, lesson-specific art supplies, training of teachers and parent volunteers, school support.