StudySync Named Finalist in AEP’s Innovation Awards Honoring Excellence in Learning Resources

May 14, 2012 - PRLog -- SONOMA, Calif.  (May 14, 2012) -- BookheadEd Learning, LLC, publisher of StudySync (www.studysync.com), the web-based collaborative curriculum, announced today that its flagship product has been named a finalist in the 2012 AEP Awards, in the “Innovation” category.  Honoring excellence and innovation in the education community, the Awards are the longest-running and most highly regarded recognition program in the industry.

Keeping the focus on innovation, Jay King, StudySync COO, will participate in a panel discussion, Innovation: Lessons from the Front Lines, at AEP’s Content in Context Conference, June 4, in Washington, D.C. Panelists will explore the innovation process — from financing to market analysis to business strategy — and the lessons they discovered as they put their ideas into practice.

For 2012 the AEP Awards were updated to ensure that they remain relevant, recognizing the challenges and needs of education in the 21st Century. Three key principles -- quality content, age appropriateness, and innovation -- drove the judging criteria and evaluation process for selecting finalists and winners.  For a complete list of AEP Awards finalists, go to www.AEPweb.org.

“Each of the finalists represent the highest level of achievement in product development for the education industry,” said EricHamilton, Assistant Director at the American Museum of Natural History and AEP Awards Committee Chair. “In an era where almost anyone can publish and sell their materials, the AEP Awards show the value of professionally developed and vetted learning resources that offer real opportunities for educators to improve student achievement.”

Awards are given in four categories.

1.   The Distinguished Achievement Awards (DAAs), honoring the best in a range of product types and resources used by teachers, parents, and students.  
2.   Innovation Awards, new in 2012, recognizing forward-thinking products that are pioneering changes in the education landscape

3.   Beacon Awards, recognizing outstanding marketing of educational products

4.   Golden Lamp Awards, one of the most prestigious honors in the education industry, highlighting the "best of the best" products for teaching and learning each year in four categories: Periodicals, Professional Development, Supplemental Resources, and Whole Curriculum Programs.

Products were judged in a three-tier process (educator review, professional review, and certification) with only the best materials advancing to the higher rounds.Having products judged first and foremost by educators is critically important because they know best which products will succeed or fail directly in the classroom and ensures that the winners are truly leaders in the field.  All entrants will receive judges’ feedback to help them improve their materials.

AEP Awards Finalists and Winners earn the right to display the AEP Award Seal, nationally recognized by educators, administrators, and parents as a mark of outstanding quality and achievement. Winners will be announced June 5 at AEP's Content in Context Conference in Washington, DC.  For more information and to register, visit www.contentincontext.org.

About the AEP Awards
For more than four decades, the AEP Awards have honored outstanding resources for teaching and learning in all media and for any educational setting. Award winners meet the highest standards for quality, professional content for education and represent the most innovative learning solutions currently on the market.  One of the largest and longest-running programs of its kind, the AEP Awards and its seal of excellence are widely recognized by educators, administrators, and parents as a mark of outstanding educational value. Find out more at www.AEPweb.org/awards.

About BookheadEd Learning, LLC
BookheadEd Learning connects high school and middle school students to the great ideas of mankind through technology, multimedia, and a rich library of classic and modern texts.  StudySync, its award-winning flagship product, uses web-delivered educational tools – including broadcast-quality video, digital media, mobile platforms and social networking —to help teachers inspire higher levels of students’ reading, writing, critical thinking, academic discourse and peer-to-peer collaboration.  StudySync is the recipient of the EDDIE Award from ComputED Gazette, EdTech Digest’s Pacesetter Award and is District Administration Magazine’s “Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products of 2011.” Based in Sonoma, Calif. with an office in Cambridge, Mass., BookheadEd is comprised of educators and experts who believe “Together We’re Smarter.” To learn more about BookheadEd Learning and its StudySync educational platform, visit www.studysync.com.