Holt Releases Online Social Studies Textbooks; First of Its Kind Integrates Print and Technology

Business Wire, June 18, 2002

Business Editors/Education Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2002

In keeping with their commitment to develop innovative, effective classroom resources, Holt, Rinehart and Winston announced today the release of their Holt Online Learning social studies textbook series for grades six through 12. The Holt series is the first of its kind to seamlessly integrate print and technology components giving students and teachers a choice of media. Books in the Holt series include Call to Freedom; People, Places, and Change; The American Nation; World Geography Today; World History: The Human Journey; and American Civics.

"In the past we have developed multimedia and technology resources to support our print textbooks," said Holt President, Judy Fowler. "This latest product release is very exciting because it sets a new standard for what an online textbook and supporting materials should offer."

The Holt online textbooks go beyond merely delivering text on a Web site. Each online textbook boosts student interaction and relates history to current events with many exclusive and unique tools such as CNNfyi/CNN Student News. Holt is the only major textbook company to include current events research tools online. The online textbooks also include Interactive Time Lines, Interactive Maps, the Holt Researcher Online, the Holt Grapher, Homework Practice Online, Standardized Test Preparation and project-based portfolio activities.

Holt's textbooks and multimedia resources have always been noted for their engaging content and readability. The Holt Online Learning social studies textbooks maintain that standard. "We designed the entire social studies series with a focus on reading strategies," said Pam Nelson, senior vice president of marketing. "We applied our experience with reading strategies to this online series. The result is an open, friendly, and readable interactive text that greatly improves comprehension."

Resources to help teachers benchmark student learning are also integrated into the Holt Online Learning series. For example, an Interactive Notebook prompts students to answer questions throughout the text, allowing teachers to monitor student progress closely. "We're putting a really powerful tool in the hands of the teachers," said Bob Cassel, vice president of social studies at Holt. "We've made it easy for them to check a single student's understanding of an entire section or an entire class's understanding of a single question."

The new social studies series is one of Holt's growing portfolio of products that sets a new standard for integrating print and technology for middle and high school students and teachers. Holt also offers print and online textbooks and rich multimedia curricula including teacher planning tools such as the One Stop Planner(R) with Test Generator and CD-ROM products in all subject areas.

About Holt, Rinehart and Winston

Holt, Rinehart and Winston is a leading publisher of textbooks and educational materials for grades six through 12 and is part of Harcourt, Inc., a global education provider serving students and teachers in PreK through grade 12, adult learners, and readers of all ages. The Harcourt companies are Harcourt School Publishers, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Harcourt Supplemental Publishers (including the Rigby and Steck-Vaughn imprints), Harcourt Educational Measurement, The Psychological Corporation, Harcourt Interactive Technology, Classroom Connect, Harcourt Canada, Harcourt Religion Publishers, and Harcourt Trade Publishers. For further information, please visit www.hrw.com or www.harcourt.com.

Harcourt, Inc. is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc.

About Reed Elsevier

Reed Elsevier Group plc (www.reedelsevier.com) is a world-leading publisher and information provider. It is owned equally by Reed Elsevier PLC (NYSE: RUK) and Reed Elsevier NV (NYSE: ENL). Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high value and flexible information solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet. Building on its strong position in key markets and its established brands and content, the company is investing aggressively in the migration of its portfolio to electronic delivery, with links to a wide range of content-related services and transactional capabilities.