You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Testimonials
Wetland Biodiversity
Linked closely to students understanding their immediate environment while involved in EOTC (school camp in this case). I see students engaged in the topic when involved with LEARNZ plus they tend to find more information and other areas of interest linking to the particular topic.
Jason Shaw from Geraldine High School
Set at the perfect level for My Class of year 7/8 students. They took in so much information! There are lots of different ways the students are engaged through text, video, listening, and interacting. It was good to have the Māori aspects included in the Wetlands study.
Amy Clode from Grantlea Downs School
Easy to use and great resources. The 2 levels of background pages were appropriate. Short videos with questions meant students didn't get bored.
Abbey Reith from Timaru Boys' High School
The answers were in-depth from the three experts for the areas that we are investigating. An easy way to conduct a field trip. Also very accessible for those with learning challenges.
Ross Nicholson from Rangiora New Life School
I used this trip as part of my reading programme. Using ICT helped the children who were more visual learners. It enabled the children (Year 4-6) to use and improve their reading strategies across the curriculum. It motivated the children in their learning and was enjoyable for them. It put learning into an authentic context and gave the students easy access to experts who could extend their understanding.
Katryn Russell from Gore Main School
We enjoyed the audio conferences - the children who were involved in them will never forget that experience. This was the first time I have been on a virtual field trip and was pleasantly surprised at how much 5 year olds were able to get from it. Having Percy the Pukeko go as our ambassador helped the 5 year olds follow along. There was also lots of discussion to and fro between the children and parents.
Deborah Lamont from Methven School
The quality of resources is exemplary. Being able to access audio to support the readings is crucial for a number of learners in my class. The field trip met all of the learning intentions outlined by the LEARNZ overview and opened new lines of discussion and knowledge for all students.
Beverley Kemp from Karoro School
9 out of 10 of my children felt that they enjoyed this way of learning, and I can see a deeper curiosity for the world around them. They were able to take away more information than I thought possible.
Vicki Brookes from Fernside School
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
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
Ability to have contact with scientists and other experts provides an authentic learning experience. We were able to learn about other wetlands and compare them to our local wetlands. Great background information and resources. Thank you!
Sonjia Campbell from Mercury Bay Area School
The videos make it easy for all students to access and understand what is happening. Material was accessible for different learning styles. Students really enjoyed it, they were able to ask questions and get answers, it encouraged deeper critical thinking and students worked cooperatively to learn.
Shelley Galloway from Mt Somers Springburn School
Thank you, this was fantastic for my class. It worked well with our topic. Children were able to undertake this independently and were able to answer the questions after watching the videos.
Kirsty White from Grantlea Downs School
Student engagement in LEARNZ field trips is always high - they had also recently visited a local wetland. The knowledge students gain from listening to experts, developing questions, reading and viewing the videos and diaries is compelling learning! Highly motivating for students and teacher workload is reduced!
Lynn Burrell from Tangowahine 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
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
It provided further background for our ecology unit and class trip work. The field trip was appropriate for my class studying the wetland biome in New Zealand and we would use more of the resources next time, but this was a good beginning, looking at the videos and the photos.
Joanne Eason from Cathedral Grammar School
Love the SOLO Taxonomy integration - that is the kind of thing we love! Great model for us of how to use such tools. The field trip was part of our Wonderful Wetlands term focus. We also went for an afternoon to Travis Wetlands in Christchurch. Good contrast of virtual and hands on. LEARNZ gives access to environments and experts that are pure quality.
Megan Feller from Elmwood Normal School
Great to see and hear interaction and questions from students of other schools, which set high expectations for my class with questioning. The support material is excellent and students are able to connect with Science community in real contexts.
Rosemary Benns from Rangeview Intermediate
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
It is an amazing opportunity for the students to able to experience natural NZ. As this is our first virtual field trip we are busy exploring and familiarising ourselves with the website and using it as a warm up for Kauri (the next field trip).
Leane Barry from Glen Innes School
The children were fascinated by the virtual field trip videos. They learnt a lot of new ideas and words and talked about it for days. The field trip was effective as it showed our students that other people did what we do.
Frances Grover from Te Mahia 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
Students have learned so much and they have become overnight advocates for wetlands. The LEARNZ programme really enhanced the pronunciation of Maori place names, values and importance of early Maori traditions to our lives today.
Joanne Phillips from Te Mata School Havelock North
The field trip supported all of the Key Competencies, attitudes and values of the NZ Curriculum, and our own school Curriculum.
Lorraine Southey from Pirinoa School