YooHoo, Heather!!

This came thru my email today and it remeindedme of this post. I don’t now if it pertains but here goes:

Since 1996, Insight Technical Education has been a family-run business that supplies unique, high-quality educational materials around the world. Their materials are used in homeschool, public school, and industrial applications. In addition to books, they also offer CAD programs and drafting tools. Insight Technical Education has just introduced Complete-A-Sketch Advanced. Now, let’s talk with the creator of the Insight Technical Education™ books, Mel Peterman.

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TOS: Please share with us a little about how you began producing your book line.

ITE: The concept used in Complete-A-Sketch books was conceived out of a necessity for me to teach my oldest son art. We had started homeschooling and the full responsibility could not rest with my wife. Art is a subject that I have been exposed to and enjoy. It was decided that I would teach our son. I needed a way to teach him to draw what he saw. One day I was working on a drawing for a machinery manufacturer, and I was drawing some trucks and equipment that I knew would interest my son. I brought it home and worked with him. The Complete-A-Sketch concept was born. Because he was young and did not understand perspective, I created only two-dimensional sketches for him at first.

TOS: How can the Complete-A-Sketch books help a children learn to draw?

ITE: The idea is that we learn best by doing. The first step is to look at the complete sketch that is in the upper left-hand corner of each sheet. This is the key to the incomplete sketch that is in the center of the page. The student draws freehand over all the lines and intersections, filling in the missing details and sections. This allows for guided practice. The concept is that the student can practice this as much as they want or need to. Once they feel comfortable, they draw the project in an open space or on a blank sheet of paper. Complete-A-Sketch helps the student develop fine motor skills, while also learning to pay attention to details.

TOS: Tell us more about Vision-Dexterity-Focus, a product geared for those needing vision therapy.

ITE: Vision-Dexterity-Focus is a specialized Complete-A-Sketch. It is specifically created to help people of all ages with some vision difficulties. It is a book that was created as a direct result of input from parents and vision therapists. The reviews have been glowing! Vision-Dexterity-Focus is a great value as it is a modified compilation of Complete-A-Sketch 1, 2, and 3. However, the images are bolder, the lines thicker, there are more helps, and there is less detail. Some vision therapy art books cost as much as $500 per book, so many parents buy this book so their student has affordable materials to work with.

TOS: Your line of merchandise has expanded to cover drafting and graphic design. These are very unique products for the homeschool market. Can you tell us a little more about them?

ITE: Yes, the line has expanded a great deal over the years. As far as I know, our line of products are the only books that are designed to help children to teach themselves. In most cases, a teacher simply is not required, even for the advanced topics in our high school materials. Both Practical Drafting and Practical Graphic Design are natural extensions of the Complete-A-Sketch series. We also offer a course in Practical Accounting, which presents a feared subject in a clear and concise manner. It was created because it is a critical subject that touches everyone’s life at some point.

TOS: Can you give a breakdown of the age recommendations for each product that you currently publish?

ITE: The ages are just guidelines, anyone can do any book at any time. The challenge of the books does increase in order.

Complete-A-Sketch Volume 1 – Orthographic, ages 5 and up / elementary

Complete-A-Sketch Volume 2 – Isometric, ages 7 and up / elementary

Complete-A-Sketch Volume 3 – Perspective, ages 9 and up / elementary

Complete-A-Sketch Advanced – ages 10 and up / middle school

Complete-A-Sketch Vision-Dexterity-Focus – ages 5 and up / all

Practical Drafting – ages 13 and up / junior high through high school

Practical Graphic Design – ages 13 and up / junior high through high school

Practical Accounting Fundamentals – ages 13 and up / junior high through high school

TOS: Are there plans for future items to be added to the line of Insight Technical Education™ books?

ITE: Yes. I am working on a Complete-A-Sketch Professional at this time. I plan to have it out mid-summer or so, but there is not a fixed date at this time. I also plan to produce Complete-A-Sketch Vision-Dexterity-Focus Professional in the near future. The plan is to expand the product lines as it is possible and as it makes sense.

The Old Schoolhouse would like to thank Mr. Peterman for taking the time to explain this unique line of books to you. We’re very excited to share the news that there are self-teaching books on the topics of drafting and graphic design available for use in your homeschool. Check out the ITE books available in the Schoolhouse Store.

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Complete-A-Sketch was initially created to introduce children to the technical side of art. There are many art courses available for children. Complete-A-Sketch is different from all of them. The primary focus of this Volume is orthographic or a flat two-dimensional line art. Volume 2’s focus is Isometric and Volume 3’s is Perspective. They can be purchased individually or as a complete set.

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Advanced™ Complete-A-Sketch is more than just another Complete-A-Sketch, it is a launch pad to learning more than sketching. Advanced introduces advanced sketching methods, drafting concepts, orthographic, isometric, multi-view drawings, engineering concepts and more. Advanced bridges the gap between the other Complete-A-Sketch books and Practical Drafting. Advanced has been created to take advantage of the power of Acrobat® and the Internet.

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Vision-Dexterity-Focus™ is a great all-in-one package. Vision-Dexterity-Focus was developed specifically for the challenged learner, with input from parents and vision therapy professionals. This book contains most of the art used in volumes one through three of the Complete-A-Sketch series with some new and unique art. It contains orthographic, isometric, and perspective projects.

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Practical Drafting™ uses the proven, hands-on, self-study methods used in the Complete-A-Sketch series and is reproducible as it applies. The student learns by observing, reasoning, and doing real work. Practical Drafting is geared to be used by students without outside instruction. The basic intent of Practical Drafting is to introduce students to the basic principles of drafting and to awaken the student to the possibilities of career options. Drafting is just one tool that is used in many different engineering, construction, and technical fields.

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To view all products by Insight Technical Education, click HERE.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

I realized there was no connection to the products info. so here:

http://www.sixbranches.com/

Rachel