Which new education technology companies are most innovative and most likely to succeed? Each year, the Education Division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) spotlights new companies and products in the education technology market with a semi-annual Innovation Incubator Awards Competition.

The most recent round of winners was announced at the SIIA Education Business Forum on December 10th at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in New York City.

edWeb.net and MCH Strategic Data co-sponsored the presentation of the Educators’ Choice Award for the best new company/product by hosting an online presentation by each of the Innovation Incubator Finalists and an online voting option for educators all across the country.

The winner of the Educators Choice Award was Crack the Books from the Mobile Education Store. Crack the Books is a digital interactive book series designed to foster reading comprehension and student engagement through adjustable reading levels and hundreds of high interest interactive elements.

The runner up for the Educators Choice Award was Listen Current. Listen Current brings authentic voices and engaging non-fiction stories to the classroom. They curate the best of public radio to keep teaching connected to the real world and build student listening skills at the same time.

“We are delighted to help SIIA reach our edWeb members to seek out their opinion and votes on the Innovation Incubator Finalists, ” said Lisa Schmucki, founder and CEO of edWeb.net.

“The Educators Choice Award is part of our mission to bring the voice of the educator into our industry forums,” said Karen Billings, vice president for SIIA’s Education Division. “Educators and their students are the ultimate users of these innovations.”

SIIA’s Innovation Incubator program identifies and supports entrepreneurs in their development and distribution of innovative learning technologies. The program began in 2006 and has provided incubation for dozens of successful products and companies in their efforts to improve education through the use of software, digital content, and related technologies.