You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
This field trip fitted in perfectly with our philosophy and values as an enviro-school. As a Y1-8 sole charge school everyone was able to access the field trip at some level and we were able to do all the activities together as there was so much photo and video content for the less able readers, yet those more interested could read the texts for greater detail.
It was fantastic - my students learnt so much about the birds in our backyard and also about our native birds. I have used LEARNZ for many years now and it is the first thing I look at when planning my year, for either inquiry units or pure units that I can cover on real kiwi issues that the kids can understand.
It allowed students to work independently and collaboratively depending on their age. It encourgaged values - respecting our environment. And met a need for science.
Ticks every box! The key competencies are embedded throughout the learning for a LEARNZ Virtual Field Trip. Student motivation is always high and there is a good mixture of technology along with literacy.
Great variety of ecology concepts covered in the virtual field trip each day for my Year 9 students. Many opportunities for students to manage themselves and work through the activities in preparation for the field trip.
The materials to support learning prior to the field trip were very appropriate and provided coherence between learning areas in a real-world context. Reinforced students' understanding of the interconnectedness of flora and fauna while being part of a nationwide survey that was meaningful to them.
Timely and relevant.
It gave a context for learning - becoming a civilian scientist contributing to a wider project. It linked to our school big idea of Nurturing Our Nature, encompassing science and social science (responsibility and impact).
Being a Citizen Scientist was extremely valuable and hit many curriculum areas, especially science, maths, art and language. We have been prompted by student feedback to move onto healthy environments and Maori aspects as well.
The children were motivated by being part of a New Zealand wide project. The resources provided at different levels and also with the facility to listen to the text, make it accessible by everyone in my class - this is so valuable.
These trips are fantastic. Students absolutely love them. Meets lots of areas of the curriculum - science, arts, english (reading, writing, speaking), maths.
This field trip immediately captured the interest of my tauira (students). As well as encouraging participation in science, it could also be seen in a cultural context of Ngā Tamariki ā Tānemahuta – The Children of Tānemahuta.
When taking part students had to manage self, a Key Competency, to find out more information and research the bird of their interest.
Being a country school with a strong environmental focus, this was a perfect field trip for our class. The field trip particularly supported curiosity, ecological sustainability, participating and contributing, integrity, citizen science, and community engagement.
This field trip aligned perfectly with out native bird inquiry this term, and gave great background information to support what we had already been learning. It was motivating and engaging - now the students are starting to have a real connection to the LEARNZ team and the process (of a virtual field trip).
Students became very involved in finding out about birds in our school grounds.
It was absolutely excellent! It was very appropriate for the citizenship in Science that we are learning about, and is perfect for an authentic context to reinforce teaching of the science capabilities and the Nature of Science.