(May 4, 2012) The results are in, and we have one grand prize winner and three runners-up for the CICERO Kids Free Trial contest. The two-month contest was to promote AIHE's newest product, CICERO Kids. To enter, fans simply signed up for a free trial during March or April and were automatically entered. The winners were drawn randomly from a pool of over 400, coming from Alabama, Mississippi, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Charles Keller, a 3rd & 4th Grade Teacher at Renaissance Academy in Phoenixville, PA, is the grand prize winner for the CICERO Kids contest!

He has won a new Sony Tablet S and a lifetime subscription to CICERO Kids. Congratulations, Charles! Here are Charles' thoughts about the contest and CICERO Kids:

"Our Dean of Students sent the teachers an email about the contest. While it's always nice to win something, I was more intrigued about Cicero Kids and what it could offer our students. I have a personal love of history, and I am always looking for additional resources to bring this content to life in my classroom. Cicero Kids does just that, and the students love the chance to use technology to enhance their understanding of the material. Winning the contest is truly the icing on the cake. Thanks AIHE!!"

Three runners-up were also awarded a free annual subscription to CICERO Kids:

1. Teresa Nguyen, Alabama
2. Dr. Amy Drummond, Mississippi
3. Fonda Simmons, New Jersey

To sign up for our CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook® contest in May and June, check back for more details on our Facebook page shortly.

With the March update, AIHE implemented technology from ReadSpeaker to add a text-to-speech feature to our new CICERO Kids online curriculum. The addition of text-to-speech will assist beginning and struggling readers by not only reading page contents to them but also by highlighting words as they are read!

Check out a free demo at cicerokids.com/readspeaker_demo!

Learn more from the ReadSpeaker blog page for a Q&A with two of AIHE's staff discussing the benefits of text-to-speech technology for children.

The SIIA CODiE Awards for 2012 have been announced and AIHE has two products named as finalists!

AIHE has been named a finalist for the following two products:

Best Social Sciences Instructional Solution

Best Social Sciences Instructional Solution

The SIIA CODiE Awards recognize excellence in the business software, digital content, and education technology industries. All nominated products and services receive a thorough review from seasoned industry experts who can identify strengths and give significant insights for improvements. In 27 years, SIIA has recognized more than 1,000 companies for achieving greatness in industries that expect innovative thinking and demand market validation.

About SIIA

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to the leading companies setting the pace for the digital age.

PRINCIPAL MISSION:

• Promote the Industry: SIIA promotes the common interests of the software and digital content industry as a whole, as well as its component parts.
• 
  Protect the Industry: SIIA protects the intellectual property of member companies, and advocates a legal and regulatory environment that benefits the entire industry.
• 
  Inform the Industry: SIIA informs the industry and the broader public by serving as a resource on trends, technologies, policies and related issues that affect member firms and demonstrate the contribution of the industry to the broader economy.

New Jersey created an Amistad Commission in August 2002 to ensure that the complex role of slavery and the contributions of African-Americans were embedded in history lessons taught to the state's schoolchildren.

[Click to read the full article]

Anthony Fitzpatrick recently presented to teachers from the American History Rocks! Liberty Fellowship across western Oklahoma on the progressive era, industrialization and America's role in the world

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Dr. Kevin T. Brady, Ph.D., CEO of the American Institute for History Education, LLC, was interviewed by SmartCEO for their special technology section.

Click here to read the full article!

Kevin T. Brady is the president and founder of the Swedesboro-based American Institute for History Education. The group develops teacher-friendly curricula and training designed to raise the standards of history education in elementary, middle and high schools

He has a doctorate in history from Temple University and is on the board of directors for the New Jersey Council for the Social Studies

Click here to read the full article!

CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook™ has been awarded the AEP 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award, the highest standard for quality, professional educational resources, for Social Studies Curriculum in the 6-8 grade category.

The Association of Educational Publishers' annual awards program and its seal of excellence are widely recognized by educators, administrators, and parents as a mark of outstanding educational value. 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.

Cheltenham High School won the first annual American Heroes in History Bowl at Hershey May 14.

The event, sponsored by Franklin's Opus and hosted by the Hershey Hotel, was held as part of the National Heroes Day celebration.

The History Bowl was a contest between two high school teams — one from Pennsylvania and one from New Jersey. The Cheltenham team, including students Matt Warden, Jonathan Zevin, Johnathan Bennett, Ruth Saganty, Aaron Marks and alternate Joseph Liss, competed against a team from Millville High School.

The teams competed in a close battle for the coveted Ben Franklin trophy, and both were given one-year access to "CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook," an award-winning teaching U.S. history website.

The contest focused on the students' knowledge of American history and American heroes.

"We were so pleased to have such great participants from Millville and Cheltenham for our inaugural event," said Debbie Brown, managing director of Franklin's Opus, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the teaching of substantive American history.

"We hope that this event fosters a bigger interest in studying American history and the heroes who have helped shape our world," added Dr. Dennis Denenberg, a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of teaching heroes in the classroom.

"We had such a great time on Saturday," said Beth Mansh, the teacher representative from Cheltenham High School. "This event was so well planned, and everything seemed to run like clockwork. It was challenging, tense, exhilarating, entertaining, and just really fun all morning — and the trophy is amazing!"

The entire contest was videotaped and will be rebroadcasted on TeacherTube.com and the Franklin's Opus website (www.franklinsopus.org). TeacherTube.com, a video-based website for teachers and students, was a key sponsor of the event.

May 3, 2011

Swedesboro, NJ — The American Institute for History Education (AIHE) is pleased to announce that CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook™ has been named a finalist in the 2011 AEP Awards, the highest standard for quality, professional educational resources and excellence in education marketing. The Association of Educational Publishers' annual awards program and its seal of excellence are widely recognized by educators, administrators, and parents as a mark of outstanding educational value.

CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook™ is a 2011 finalist in the Distinguished Achievement Awards (DAAs) for all three audience groups (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) in the Social Studies category. The DAAs are judged according to category (Curriculum, Periodicals, Professional Development, and Technology), subject area, and grade level. Entries are evaluated on traits such as efficacy, usability, and overall educational value. The full list of finalists for this year's DAAs is posted online at www.AEPweb.org/awards/finalists.htm

Distinguished Achievement Award winners will be announced at the AEP Awards Banquet & Gala, June 8 at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC.

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.

Find out more about CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook™ at http://www.cicerohistory.com/.