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Testimonials

Freshwater Ecology

It tied in with our statistics unit, collecting data and using it to make a difference and to advise. My class love when they can view things through the data projector and it was helpful to generate discussion. Students were kept motivated and were also interested in the jobs available in this field. LEARNZ fits with all learners.

Caroline Arthur from Opawa School

Students gained an appreciation of the ‘bigger picture’, of how clean water or polluted water affects so many things. Students really enjoyed it - it was aimed at their level.

Sharon Joyce from Kuratau School

As we are going to all these places for our school camp in September it was awesome to give them some background and really light the fire of the students. The activities were at the right level and there was a range of interesting things to do. The kids were very enthusiastic and were looking forward to each new day and what was happening to the experts. The learning they got from it was very real. I have got some amazing writing from the students as they try to explain complex terms like ecology and such like. It was a really good experience for me and my class, they learnt a lot about the topic and themselves. Brilliant. Have already recommended to many colleagues both in my school and at other schools.

Gregory New from Rukuhia School

LEARNZ field trips are resource rich and they are scaffolded really well. Layer upon layer of information goes on and children pick up knowledge directly and through class discussion. This field trip has motivated me to come back for more.

Jan Thompson from Banks Avenue School

Having a variety of reading levels and activities helped the children to participate well. I have Pasifika children who thoroughly enjoyed the trip and participated fully - even forming the questions and talking on the audio conference. It gave us an opportunity to do some learning that was way outside our resources and actual ability to 'be there'. It gave a wider perspective to our thinking about water.

Jane Sutherland from Cornestone Christian School

Through the LEARNZ programme my students are developing more complex questioning skills and thinking critically about New Zealand and World issues. Lots of opportunities to gain skills in reading and writing, as well as in the Key Competencies.

Shelley Galloway from Mt Somers Springburn School

The experience that my students got was fabulous. They gained skills in manaakitanga, independent learning, and the ability to refine questions through inquiry. All my students, in particular my boys, thoroughly enjoyed the activities  Beforehand, a lot of my students did not understand the magnitude of sustainability but there was lots of information that helped students understand it in the context of freshwater ecology. As a bi lingual class my students enjoyed using the Māori kupu in our word wall, using them in conversations with their peers and asking lots of questions about the Māori kupu in general.

Trina Bennett from Finlayson Park School

We particularly enjoy the videos and questions, as they are effective at any time. Followed on from our water study and reinforced our learning around water ecosystems. The field trips have relevance even when they don't exactly fit a planned topic. I am hooked!

Maureen Robertson from Verran Primary School

We were teaching about NZ Rivers as a module class, combining Science and Social Studies, so it fitted the achievement objectives perfectly for our subject areas. Awesome!

Sarah Barge from Mountainview High School

Outstanding programme. Children were able to visit another locality and compare it to our work with DoC on our local river. Added an extra dimension to our Inquiry. Our special needs students enjoyed the visuals and were able to contribute to class discussions.

Julie O'Neill from Opawa School

Our students loved being able to manage their own learning from the website and being introduced to new experiences such as the audio conferences. Great for the learners who have difficulties with literacy - easy background and listening features are excellent for them.

Susan Andrews from Cashmere Primary School

It is real time, here and now as well as New Zealand info and presenters which all makes it more authentic learning for children. The field trips offer current visual, aural and authentic learning for children, without a huge amount of time and preparation on the teachers part. The teacher can learn along side the children.  It's easy to access, well planned and organised and encourages a passion for our beautiful country.

Anneke Esselbrugge from Rukuhia School

Supports the school curriculum in innovative ways. We live in this area and students recognised many visual features and people interviewed. It reinforced classroom learnings as it linked to this term's curriculum studies.

Helen Gibson from Hilltop School

Wetland Biodiversity

Very hands on feeling to videos and a very good learning experience all up! One of my sons loves animals and the outdoors. Living in New Zealand we all should know about the importance of these areas.

Hannelie van der Linde from Van der Linde Family Home School

Students were engaged. They went on to the website in their own time, of their own accord as well as at school and shared this learning with their families. It was great having the different levels (L.1-2 and L.2-3) to chose from with the activities so I could cater for the different needs in my classroom. Having an ambassador was also very engaging for students. Great coverage of a topic. Easy to use. Engaging. Student led learning. Caters for different levels. Māori content. ICT use. Good effective learning.

Te Ireland from Karoro School

Supported inquiry questions. Connections were made between areas visited on the virtual field trip and local known areas. Questions that accompanied videos matched the questions students had in discussions.

Gabriel Hawke from St Mary's School (Hastings)

Key competencies were all addressed through the use of this field trip and it was easy use the material to differentiate for different learners. The LEARNZ trips are motivating for students and supporting for teachers. They are broad enough to use as the basis for many Inquiry topics and versatile enough to use over a long or short period. 

Leone Baylis from Fairburn School

The content and style of learning is so engaging for the children. Love the strong Science focus. It was a good field trip to compare local, national and global - it lent itself really well to discussion.

Jan Thompson from Banks Avenue School

The field trip dove-tailed nicely with a trip we made to a wildlife reserve and reading material covered in class. Students were able to make connections with prior learning and consider some of the threats to wildlife with a view to how they could make changes or take action to make a difference. I have learners with a range of needs and some particularly benefit from having learning presented digitally.

Cara Carser from Westburn School

Great for our integrated units. Fun and engaging. Allows students to greater understand ICT and the topic at the same time. I was able to adapt the materials and information provided so that it aligned with our school values, structure and learning areas we are focusing on at the moment. Fantastic and well organised. Thank you.

Patrick Wyatt from Weedons School

You bring the outside world to us! Boys especially are absorbed by the videos and discussions with scientists - you help turn them on to learning. The field trip helped us connect and participate with our community and is making science real and meaningful.

Jennifer Kitchin from Weston School

Very purposeful learning. Supported our bi-cultural focus. Supported different learning styles. Found it very easy to incorporate into our long term plan and to integrate across learning areas. 

Amanda Ferguson from Wakanui School

Students were asked about the KC's they used during this field trip and they unanimously said: Thinking, Relating to Others, Participating and Contributing, and Managing Self. They also said they enjoy the enthusiasm of the presenters, especially Andrew (the LEARNZ Teacher).

Seuga Frost from Ohau School

Real life visuals and information were very specific and had a greater impact on my students and myself then scrolling through unlimited amounts of information via search engines. It supported my students learning with in-depth knowledge on worldwide topics from within New Zealand. Learnz caters for all learning needs. Totally appropriate.

Nick Sakaria from Finlayson Park School

Utilised the focus on te reo and cultural-history aspect of biodiversity. Students enjoyed the field trip as part of our ecology topic -they engaged well with the learning and were willing to contribute.

Lucy Meagher from Havelock North High School

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