FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ABC-CLIO Schools Expands the Role of Online History Reference
Resources to Help Transform Teaching and Learning

Santa Barbara, CA — September 21, 2005 — August 19, 2005, was an historic day for ABC-CLIO, the award-winning history reference publisher. That afternoon, on National Public Radio's (NPR) All Things Considered newscast, interviewer Robert Siegel spoke with Jeremy Gypton, a social studies teacher at Empire High School in Vail, Arizona. Their topic? Empire High's decision to use online resources to transform their history curriculum.

As part of that interview, Gypton used ABC-CLIO Schools' subscription websites as the prime example of the reasons his school made this landmark decision. Said Gypton during the interview, “[Our students] are used to being able to reach out and view one topic from 20 different angles as opposed to the one angle that a textbook would present. ABC-CLIO [has] digitized all their resource material into a very, very easy to use, extraordinarily comprehensive series of websites. [They have a] powerful search function that allows me to direct [my students] to specific documents or essays on specific topics, pictures, maps, audio, video—you name it.”

Once the interview was over, the momentum began to build quickly, with the story picked up by the Associated Press, eSchool News, and other local, regional, and professional media outlets. Said ABC-CLIO president, Becky Snyder, “This is exciting and encouraging to educators and educational publishers alike, because we share the goal of giving students the opportunity to explore and excel. Publishers and educational technology pundits have long predicted that online and rich media resources have the power to extend instruction and we're beginning to see that happen more quickly in schools across the United States and around the world. National news coverage like the NPR story shines important light on some of the positive changes taking place in our schools and curriculum.”

Now celebrating its 50th year as a publisher of history reference resources, ABC-CLIO Schools provides award-winning social studies subscription websites to secondary schools across the nation. The six core sites currently offered are American History, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, World History: The Modern Era, American Government, State Geography, and World Geography. The company also plans to release a series of websites focused on particular topics, beginning with United States at War: Understanding Conflict and Society, to be released this fall, and a website addressing current events and issues, which will be available in 2006.

The websites combine thousands of primary and secondary sources, lessons, overviews and activities that provide context with current events. The websites support librarians in their efforts to help educators make the teaching of history dynamic, engaging, and relevant for students. In addition, these 21st century resources help students build essential research and critical thinking skills.

According to ABC-CLIO, thousands of schools are currently subscribing to one or more of their curriculum- and standards-aligned websites, which leverage the benefits of technology to transform the teaching, learning, and researching of history. These resources have been adopted statewide in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, and Utah. Major urban schools districts have subscribed as well, including those in Denver, Colorado and Houston, Texas.

ABC-CLIO Schools' subscription websites have been designed to answer more rigorous curriculum standards and to meet the expectations of 21st century students who have grown up as technology users. The websites also offer students and teachers these advantages:

• Content that is continuously reviewed and updated to reflect both new history scholarship and current events
  
• Multimedia presentations that integrate audio, streaming video, interactive timeline and map graphics, primary source documents and imagery, and comparative analytical tools
  
• Multiple ways to access information and to research specific topics, right from the computer
  
• The opportunity to engage in active history research, through historical inquiry and analysis, rather than passive review of single-source history summaries
  

Representatives of ABC-CLIO also note that the subscription websites have worked to bring classrooms and school libraries closer together, because these resources have merged curriculum and reference. As a result, students and teachers alike enjoy on-demand access to materials that have typically been available only in a library setting.

While the NPR story focused on Empire High School's decision to transform its history curriculum, several other schools around the country are also making similar moves. Jim Masker, a social studies teacher at Cate School in Carpenteria, California, notes, “With their wealth of primary sources, critical thinking activities, and daily news articles, the ABC-CLIO Schools websites help us guide our students in becoming social scientists—examining different interpretations, choosing between resources, synthesizing information, and shaping and communicating their opinions.” Joyce Valenza, a library media specialist from Springfield Township High School in Pennsylvania, notes, “The ABC-CLIO Schools websites help us move beyond the textbook to a resource-based curriculum.”

Becky Snyder, ABC-CLIO's president, said, “In developing these resources, we've made educators and students part of the team, joining our history scholars and researchers, and technical specialists, to create resources that incorporate context to support understanding, a variety of perspectives, and better ways to access information. We're pleased to continue to play a role in improving history teaching, learning, and research.”