You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Resiliance was a key idea we discussed, as were some of the key competencies and their application in real life situation. Right level, good content.
Very appropriate - supported student learning about earthquakes and doing the ShakeOut drill. Interesting, motivating and flexible - students get a lot from having readings, videos, audioconferences, activities, and photos.
We used this across the school - very appropriate. It linked well with the main ShakeOut event, managing selves, and collaboration.
My Yr 5&6 class were very engaged with this field trip. The information was easy to access for the students who find reading difficult (great to have an NZ voice reading the background pages), but there was enough for my high achieving students as well. The live audio conferences were very useful - next time we will definitely put ourselves down for a speaking school role!
We used the videos and some background pages for discussions.
Very relevant for year 7 students. I really like the audio voice over which has allowed the lower reading level students to work with a lot of independence, without having to wait for the teacher to say the word / discuss the word / explain context etc.
The kids thought it was a cool way to learn and they also said that the Shakeout drill now made a lot more sense i.e. why we do it. We found that the variety of different ways the information was presented made it interesting and accessible for all levels.
We are a sole charge school of 12 students and I was able to adapt the content to suit all levels within my class. This was our first live field trip and the students really enjoyed it and got a lot from it. There were lots of comments over the week about how 'cool' and 'fun' it was.
We are looking at change and our ways to survive. It (the field trip) gave more specialist knowledge to students, that the teacher could not give.
The levelled information was great. It also was at an apt time as far as reinforcing evacuation and preparedness as a class/school/whanau. I liked the availability of the videos and audio conferences to review and use, even though the fieldtrip had ended.
We had been involved in the Geohazards VFT so the children were well briefed and ready to take part in ShakeOut. The class really looks forward to taking part in the LEARNZ trips.
Was topical and at appropriate level for my student. Encouraged good discussion and gave excellent information. Student said "That was great. Can we do another one?"
The visual content helped quite a lot of discussion. So many real life experiences that the children can piggy back onto. The Field Trip was an asset for all the class. Thank you.
LEARNZ is doing a brilliant job and this is a fantastic resource for all teachers and students. Excellent contextual learning, and made really good links to the NZC. I loved how there was appropriate Māori and Pasifika language included to support our learners, while the inclusion of both easy and more difficult support materials allows for differentiation.
It broadened students' thinking and understanding of the large scale of the event and excited them about the topic. The ability to access information, colleagues and a world which we otherwise wouldn't have access to makes the learning process really meaningful.
All my students could relate to the information according to individual ability and interest levels. LEARNZ opens up a whole new dimension of making outdoor teaching a reality.
It inspired the children to wonder more deeply about the topic and made it 'real' for them going on the field trip. As a first-time user I received fantastic support to have my class connect with Shelly and the scientist to have our questions answered - the whole class was extremely excited about this.
My students learned heaps about kea and the amazing people working with them. Students love these virtual field trips which provide for different levels of learning at the same time. We asked questions, did shared and independent reading, did shared and independent topic writing, art, technology, poetry and incorporated measurement and mapwork into this study topic.
The children learned lots and looked forward each day to seeing and hearing what had happened - kind of like the next chapter in a book! The trip was really well planned and organised and supported the children through the inquiry process fabulously. It ticked all the boxes and more. Thanks.
We used a lot of the information from your field trip for our current unit about developing an enrichment toy for an animal at the zoo, as the Hamilton Zoo has keas to entertain. One comment was: 'This was the most fun research we have ever done!' The kids loved the videos and quizzes and we especially liked the listening option of the background pages for our low readers.
Hugely effective in that everything we wanted the students to do was covered by you in an engaging and motivating way. We covered most areas of the curriculum, as well as fostered a new understanding of what 'virtual' actually means!
Found the SOLO based questions for the videos useful for guiding students, really helping slow starters and students less engaged in science. The activities and quizes were also useful for year 10 science.
Awesome field trip - students loved the videos, taking part in the audio conference etc. Really like how the background reading pages have an audio file - great for my ESOL students and for supporting students at different reading levels.
It was wonderful having a bird students already had contact with to focus our inquiry skills of research, communication and self-regulation. There is an excellent balance of texts and photos which can be related to all the learning needs in my class. The field trip was so relevant and the format easy to use.
We are currently studying adaptations and how animals/birds suit their habitat so the Kea was a great case study. I find the newsletters great - very detailed and a great prompt in the lead-up to field trips.