Academics' Choice - New Independent Awards Program Honoring Mind-Building Media and Toys

Academics' Choice™ of Monterey announced today the official launch of its independent, international awards program, honoring mind-building media and toys. After one year of development, hundreds of reviews, and an inaugural winner publication, the Academics' Choice Awards™ (www.AcademicsChoice.com) officially announced its review service open to educational publishers, manufacturers, authors and developers.

Academics' Choice Awards help parents and educators validate claims such as "better thinking" and "educational toy" with a qualified, standardized and objective approach to evaluation. Founded on the premise and scientific fact that individuals can enhance their cognitive abilities throughout their entire lives, Academics' Choice honors only products that develop the mind, improve thinking, and decision-making skills.

The awards market is crowded and big players include Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Awards (a free service), Learning magazine Teachers' Choice Awards (a fee-based service), Parents' Choice (a fee-based service), Creative Child Magazine Awards (a fee-based service), and many others. But Academics' Choice is the only international awards program solely focused on cognitive-development.

The international educational product awards program uses a proprietary point-based evaluation system, rooted in constructivist learning theory, piggybacking on numerous standards, and years of research by educators. The Academics' Choice Advisory Board consists of leading thinkers and graduates from Princeton, Harvard, George Washington University, and other reputable educational institutions. Product-appropriate volunteer reviewers, combined with the brainpower of the Board, determine the coveted winners.

Valérie Touze, the co-founder of Les Trois Elles and creator of Tam and Tao in Numberland, an inaugural award winner, recently said, "…we are very proud. As Montessori teachers we strive to design beautiful educational products and it is always very rewarding to get such recognition."

For additional information about the Academics' Choice international awards program, contact Stephanie Howard or visit www.academicschoice.com.

About Academics' Choice™:
Academics' Choice™ helps consumers find exceptional brain-boosting material. Academics' Choice is the only international awards program designed to bring increased recognition to publishers, manufacturers, independent authors and developers that aim to stimulate cognitive development of the mind. A volunteer panel of product-appropriate judges, including parents, educators, scientists, artists, doctors, nurses, librarians, students and children, evaluate submissions based on educational benefits such as higher-order thinking skills, character building, creative play, durability and originality. The genuine "mind-builders" are recognized with the coveted Academics' Choice Awards™.