A student examines the name tag she designed and 3D printed in Global Explorers at Princeton Junior School this summer. During the course, she and her classmates also co-designed a solar-powered flashlight with partners in Honduras.
Our mission at Level Up Village (LUV) is to prepare students to become compassionate global citizens, while equipping them with the skills they need to navigate an increasingly global economy. With Level Up Village, your students can learn everything from CAD & 3D printing, to coding video games and animations, to science-centered classes in water chemistry and anatomy – all while collaborating with global partner students!
Here’s what educators are saying about our programs:
Princeton Junior School
“Level Up Village courses naturally align with our school mission at PJS and support the units of inquiry embedded in our curriculum. Participation in these engaging global STEAM courses strengthens critical thinking skills as students investigate relevant, significant world issues and builds intercultural awareness and understanding. Being part of this unique learning community allows children to see that while their lives may appear to be quite different, there are significant commonalities that connect us all, and we have much to learn from each other,” said Susan Weintraub, International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Coordinator. (See this recent article in NJ.com.)
All Saints Academy
“By offering Level Up Village courses at the elementary and middle school levels, we are making great gains toward meeting our STEM and innovation goals. Furthermore, these courses are also helping us meet the goal of developing relationships with local, national, and international STEM partners, to provide students with authentic opportunities to apply, view, and demonstrate knowledge in STEM areas,” said Teacher Heather Womersley. (See Heather’s article about Global Web Designers here.)
Eastern Middle School
“Through using this innovative technology, I saw my students immediately apply their classroom learning to the outside world. I didn’t have to wonder if their knowledge and appreciation of a new culture would stick with them to use at a later time. I didn’t have to wonder if they would remember how to ask effective questions when interacting with others outside of class. Instead, their new learning was reinforced during their next conversation with their global partners,” said Teacher Bridget Suvansri. (See Bridget’s article in Edutopia.)
The Pingry School
“We really wanted to add design thinking into the Lower School curriculum, and this program was the ideal avenue. The design thinking part of this is so cool, but the global connection added to it is really the icing on the cake,” said Teacher Jill Driscoll. (See the full story here.)
Students at The Pingry School conduct an experiment in Global Scientists. Another group of students used materials such as spaghetti, marshmallows and rubber bands to engineer solutions for storybook characters in Global Storybook Engineers.In each course, students communicated with their global partners by exchanging video messages.
Kent Place School
“What we as teachers especially appreciate about this course [Global Storybook Engineers] is that it pairs literacy with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Research shows that when STEM problems have a narrative, real-life story to them, students working on them are more engaged. In addition, combining reading with engineering their own designs leads to a boost in literacy,” said Nathan Lutz, Global Learning Coordinator. (See Nathan’s article here.)
@srajojava we offer classes facilitated by @LevelUpVillage -they are amazing at getting Ss to build global understanding while learning
— Nathan Lutz (he/him/his) (@nathanlutz) October 30, 2015
PS 163, New York City
“These courses opened their eyes to the different ways people live around the world. The students all developed a relationship with their global partners and always looked forward to hearing from them the next week. STEAM skills were encouraged by giving the students the tools they needed to utilize their critical thinking and creativity – through individual work and collaboration,” said Emily Brennan, Teacher & after school coordinator. (See the full story here.)
St. Paul’s School
“It’s clear that the St. Paul’s community understands the importance of making global connections. And it’s up to every one of us to ensure our children receive them. The folks at Level Up Village have provided both innovative STEM curricula and incredible humanitarian venues for us to succeed in reaching our goal; we are most appreciative of their work!” said Mike May, facilitator of the Discovery Center. (See the full story here.)
Biomedical Engineering – Global Doctors Seminar in the Discovery Center@StPaulsSchoolMD pic.twitter.com/ut7COnzMtN
— St. Paul's Athletics (@StPaulsSchoolMD) March 13, 2016
Delbarton School
In January, Delbarton School launched a new foreign language exchange pilot program that connects Arabic II language students with peers at Pioneers Baccalaureate School in Nablus, West Bank.
“We hope to engage culturally and colloquially with native speakers and build relationships using the linguistic tools we have developed. This is the reason students study another language—in order to communicate with another audience. We also firmly believe in the necessity of engaging a diversity of human experience to deepen our ability to empathize, understand ourselves, and interact with other humans—to be global citizens,” said Teacher Zack Tabor. (See the full story in Education World.)
Global STEAM Program Announces First Virtual Arabic Culture Exchange https://t.co/lOlUpQH8U3
— Education World (@education_world) January 20, 2016
Maret School
“Global collaboration contributes to the 3D printing experience by giving students a purpose behind their creations and making them accountable to their global partners as opposed to only being held accountable by their teacher. This course helped my students gain a broader perspective of global issues intellectually and empirically. Students were able to learn from their global partners, work with their global partners, and experience solving real-life issues in a hands-on way, “ said Teacher Jah Jah Bey. (See the full story here.)
The Chapin School
Ms. Agón said that enriching the students’ learning through the direct contact with Spanish-speaking students held immeasurable value. She hopes that these first steps will help to lay the groundwork for the girls becoming global citizens.
“We want to put this in their minds,” she said. “Now that we know what’s happening out there, how can we make a positive impact in someone’s life out there? Giving money isn’t enough; what can we do to make a positive impact?” (See the full story here.)
Girls at Chapin held a live Skype with partners in Nicaragua during their cross-curricular Global Scientists course, which combined Spanish language with the study of water chemistry.
Level Up Village’s pioneering Global STE(A)M enrichment courses promote design thinking and one-to-one collaboration on real-world problems between K-9 students in the U.S. and partner students in developing countries. We provide teachers with fully developed curriculum, teacher training, and innovative collaboration & communication tools to create a truly global learning environment. See this short video on what makes our offerings unique and check out our latest course list. We can have a course up and running for your school in just two weeks’ time. Click here for more information or to schedule a phone call.
