Nintendo Teaches with Art Academy DS

Nintendo of America is teaming with visual arts educators across the United States to give students a fresh, fun way to study drawing and painting techniques. As part of a unique relationship between Nintendo and the National Art Education Association (NAEA), art teachers in elementary, middle and high school classrooms have been provided with hand-held Nintendo DSi XL systems and copies of Art Academy, which offers interactive art tutorials for budding artists of any background or skill level. Last month, the hardware and software were distributed to select teachers who are participating in the programme, inviting them to discover interesting ways to incorporate Art Academy into creative classroom activities.

Created exclusively for the Nintendo DS, Art Academy lets students enjoy lessons on subjects such as colour, shading and perspective. Using the Nintendo DS stylus just like a paintbrush or pencil, they can practice and develop skills that transfer easily to real-world art materials. In addition to guided tutorials, students can let their own creativity run wild in Free Paint mode, which lets them draw or paint whatever comes to mind.

The abundance of visual images being displayed through technology is transforming the ways art education in schools can be presented to students. In today's schools, an emphasis is still placed on rational and analytic subjects like math and science. Art class is one of the few places where kids can exercise their creativity and develop flexible forms of thinking to build additional skills for their future. We are thrilled that the incorporation of Nintendo's Art Academy into the classroom provides students with another creative outlet that supports teaching and learning in art, and the students agree.
- Deborah B. Reeve, EdD, NAEA Executive Director.

Cubed3 rated Art Arcademy: Learn Painting and Drawing Techniques with Step-by-Step Training 9/10 last year; be sure to read the extensive review here.