Oxford University Press announces Curriculum Online accreditation for the Oxford DNB

Online learning resources centre launched

Oxford University Press announces that from March 2006 schools in England will be able to subscribe to the online edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography using their e-learning credits.

The news comes after Curriculum Online confirmed that the Oxford DNB, published by Oxford University Press, supports teaching and learning at Key Stages 3 and 4. The accreditation will be formally announced at the Historical Association's Centenary Conference for Secondary Teachers which will be held at Bristol's Empire and Commonwealth Museum on Saturday 4 March.

Curriculum Online's decision means that more teachers and pupils than ever before will be able to use the Oxford DNB's vast collection of 50,000 authoritative and lively essays on 55,000 men and women who shaped all aspects of British history and culture over 2400 years.

As well as the individual biographies—from politicians to poets, and scientists to sportspeople—the online Dictionary will enable teachers and students to plan projects and coursework by discovering groups of people with shared histories: for example, those who lived in the same place, who shaped well-known events from the Norman Conquest to the Suez crisis, or who were noteworthy in the same profession, be they monarchs, explorers, criminals or inventors.

The Oxford DNB is also announcing the launch of its new learning resources area.

Learning resources include:

• guides for teachers on what the Oxford DNB can contribute to teaching history, English, ICT, and citizenship at secondary level
• sample lesson plans for pupils in years 7—11 on topics such as individuals in history, Britain at the time of the Gunpowder Plot, and changing trends in medieval and early modern medical practice
• ideas for personal projects and coursework using the online dictionary's powerful search facilities
• details of thousands of links to the sites of the Oxford DNB's partners.

Dr Lawrence Goldman, Editor of the Oxford DNB, says:

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography has long been recognized as an essential resource for studying the people who shaped every walk of British history from Roman times to the 21st century. We are very pleased that Curriculum Online agrees that the dictionary also has much to offer secondary teachers and pupils studying history, English, citizenship or ICT at Key Stages 3 and 4. I hope the launch of our new Learning Resources—together with Curriculum Online's accreditation—will provide many ideas for teaching and studying, and that the Dictionary's reputation for wide-ranging and high quality biographies will make it a trusted, helpful, and fun resource in schools across England.

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