Press Release
The First Organization to Receive the ISTE Seal of Alignment at the Proficiency Level for the 2016 Standards for Students, Level Up Village will Exhibit and Demonstrate its Newly Improved Global Communication Platform at Booth 2762
San Antonio, Texas – June 26, 2017 – From the ISTE 2017 Conference in San Antonio, Texas, Level Up Village (LUV) today announced it has added live video chat technology to its Global Communication Platform in order to further enhance the communication and collaboration that takes place between students from across the world in every Level Up Village course. This new functionality is already being piloted by students in the United States and their global partners in Zimbabwe and will be available to Level Up Village students all over the world starting in September of 2017.
“The addition of video chat technology to our Global Communication Platform represents another big step forward in connecting students globally. It allows for real-time communication in addition to the exchange of asynchronous video messages, personal profiles and project collaboration,” said Level Up Village CEO & Co-Founder Amy McCooe. “Our goal is to provide a dynamic and authentic experience for students while giving schools everything they need to facilitate global collaboration between their students and partner students at one of our global partner organizations around the world.”
Collaboration in Real Time
In all Level Up Village courses, students communicate and collaborate with their global partners through the exchange of guided asynchronous video messages to discuss the projects they’re working on together as well as their daily life, school routines and more. They also have the option of creating personal profiles and recording additional videos to share with their global partner information about their interests and their country in a fun, engaging format.
Now – in addition to the asynchronous video exchange, personal profiles and project collaboration – students and their global partners will have the option to chat live.
The new video chat technology is seamlessly integrated into the Platform and will further enhance communication between students. These live exchanges, scheduled by teachers on either end of the collaboration, will also serve as an opportunity for students to further build rapport and understanding with their global partner student across the world.
The video chat uses browser-based WebRTC technology and video streaming via SDK, telecom, network and media servers providing by TokBox. LUV’s global communication platform is based on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure and services.
“With the announcement that Apple will support WebRTC, it has matured into a technology that can be deployed globally and the simplest of devices that support latest generation browsers,” said Toni Monteiro, CTO for Level Up Village. “This will revolutionize how collaboration happens between students, even in the most disadvantaged parts of the world. At Level Up Village, we’re on the leading edge of global communication and collaboration and are making it an everyday reality for students around the world.”
Live Chat Demonstration at ISTE
To check out Level Up Village’s newly improved Global Communication Platform, including the new live chat technology, stop by Booth 2762. Conference attendees will have a chance to demo the live chat technology with LUV’s global partners in Jordan, Nicaragua, Kenya and Argentina and LUV team members at these times:
- Monday 6/26 at 10am, 12:30pm and 3:30pm
- Tuesday 6/27 at 10am, 12:30pm and 3:00pm
- Wednesday 6/28 at 9:30am and 12:00pm
Level Up Village Earns ISTE Seal of Alignment
Not only does Level Up Village provide schools with a comprehensive global education solution, LUV courses also align to several sets of standards including Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ISTE standards. In March, Level Up Village was the first organization to receive the ISTE Seal of Alignment at the Proficiency Level for the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students. ISTE evaluators highlighted alignment in areas including Empowered Learner, Digital Citizen, Knowledge Constructor, Innovative Designer, Computational Thinker, Creative Communicator and Global Collaborator. (Read more about LUV’s ISTE Seal news here.)
Level Up Village is participating in the following ISTE events:
- Sunday, June 25th: ISTE Seal of Alignment Networking Mixer, 4:15-4:45pm, room 217A
- Tuesday, June 27th: ISTE Seal of Alignment Poster Session, 4:00-6:00pm, Table 44 in the Tower View Lobby
- Wednesday, June 28th: Global Playground Poster Session, 10:00am
- Booth #2762 in the Exhibit Hall throughout the week
- ISTE’s Mobile App Game
Benefits of Partnering with Level Up Village
A pioneering provider of Global STEAM (STEM + Arts) enrichment, Level Up Village connects K-9 students from around the world for virtual collaboration and cultural exchange. Level Up Village offers a variety of global STEAM courses covering a wide range of topics, such as CAD & 3D printing, web design, programming and the global water crisis. Students apply design thinking to real-world challenges, conduct experiments and develop prototypes – all while communicating and collaborating with global partner students who are following the same curriculum.
Level Up Village boasts a rapidly growing global network of schools including more than 250 schools across the U.S. and more than 40 global partner organizations (schools and NGOs) in 20+ countries, including Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Ukraine, Nicaragua, Honduras and Brazil.
Schools that partner with Level Up Village receive the following:
- Fully developed, cutting-edge STEAM curricula
- Comprehensive teacher training
- Access to LUV’s growing network of global partners
- Experienced management of the global collaboration process
- Ongoing customer support
In addition, Level Up Village’s U.S. school partners directly sponsor Global STEAM education in developing countries through LUV’s “Take a Class, Give a Class” model.
About Level Up Village
A social impact company based in Old Greenwich, Conn., Level Up Village (LUV) delivers pioneering Global STEAM (STEM + Arts) enrichment courses that promote design thinking and one-to-one collaboration on real-world problems between students from around the world. Launched in 2012, LUV runs courses during school, after-school and in the summer for students at more than 250 U.S. schools, with 40+ Global Partner organizations in more than 20 countries. For more information, visit us at levelupvillage.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter @LevelUpVillage.
Level Up Village is a P21 member, a SETDA merging Private Sector Partner and the first to receive the ISTE Seal of Alignment at the Proficiency Level for the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students. Please see our blog page.
Media Contact:
Andrea Sherman, Director of PR & Communications for Level Up Village andrea@levelupvillage.com
