Mission:
To improve public education by creating and providing high-quality arts content to schools at no charge via the Internet.

Background:
Founded in 2000, the Joy2Learn Foundation provides free arts-related e-presentations to support elementary, middle, and high school curricula in the arts, history, math, science, and English. Each presentation contains video clips of visual and performing artists who introduce their art form, discuss its history, share personal insights, and give a short demonstration. Other features include animated navigation, images, maps, quizzes, and related text. Anyone may view the presentations online after registering, but only teachers and schools are allowed to download higher quality presentations for use in the classroom or by students working individually in a computer lab or at home. Lesson plans designed for teachers in different subject areas will be available in spring 2007.

Outstanding Web Features:
Current e-presentations include "Theater" with actor Hector Elizondo, "At the Piano" with Alan Gampel (executive director of both the foundation and the e-presentations project), "Dancing" with the late Gregory Hines, "Jazz" with Wynton Marsalis, and "Painting" with Elizabeth Murray. The Joy2Learn site also features biographies of participating artists; a feasibility study (funded by the Carnegie Corporation and the Rockefeller and Ford foundations) that analyzes how the presentations are used and how they might be improved; and a list of state departments of education or arts councils nationwide that recommend the e-presentations.