You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Testimonials
Antarctica
The idea of virtually going to Antarctic created such a buzz and a HUGE level of engagement. It's great the way LEARNZ leaders connect with students - they present everything in such an accessible way but have high expectations that students can and will be able to understand fairly sophisticated concepts.
Christine Hailes from North Street School
Great for Nature of Science. Also enviroscience topics. The kids were really interested - we found all the science fascinating and it was delivered in a way that made it understandable for the class. Also just the glimpse into life in the Antarctic.
Deirdre Hutton from Holy Family School Wanaka
The 'real-time' trip increased motivation for students and hooked them into their learning. The virtual relationship with Shelley was a highlight. A class visit from David Wallace, who visited Antarctica in 2012, reinforced all the students had seen and inquired about through LEARNZ.
Kathleen McIsaac from Cambridge East School
Students became very curious with lots of wonderings about Antarctica and they decided that science is really cool. The field trip made for fun learning and helped us use the i-pads and laptops more effectively for independent research.
Paula O'Neill from New River Primary
It was in line with our learning focus for this year of being a fully digital classroom. Online help was all good.
Jennifer Barrow from Kaniere School
The students particularly enjoyed the videos and the quizzes. They also commented on how much they liked how the diaries were written as if they were there. This LEARNZ Antarctica trip fitted in well with the Nature of Science aspects of questioning and using vocabulary that we were focussing on.
Lauren Milnes from Ngatimoti School
My Year 3-4 students found the field trip extremely interesting, particularly as we had an ambassador join Shelley on the trip, too. We used the background pages for our reading programme and used the videos. There was a high degree of curiosity from the students, and their questions were answered at their level.
Fiona Mackley from Alexandra School
WOW, what a powerful learning tool the Audio Conference was - our extension Year 3-4 students were so engaged in listening and learning that they didn't make a sound.
Joanne Drake from Geraldine Primary School
My curriculum focus was supported fully by the LEARNZ Antarctica programme and two NIWA scientists visiting the class in person helped no end to endorse what we had learned. Some students were able to really drive their own learning, while having the two levels for reading enabled some of my less able readers to participate more fully.
Valerie Moratti from Havelock North Intermediate
Catered to the needs of all students. Tasks were easily differentiated for all curriculum levels. Great opportunity for students to make connections with the wider community.
Christina Fortes from Hay Park School
Very appropriate for year 7/8 students. They absolutely loved being able to look at the resources, especially the photo/video content. It gave maximum opportunity to discuss what they were looking at and learning.
Adrianne Harding from Ross Intermediate
The field trip was very effective, especially from the view point of engagement and motivation as the students felt it was relevant and real.
Jeremy Shroff from Glendowie School
I thought LEARNZ did a great job of mixing up content that covered multiple curriculum areas in a logical and accessible way. Most of the time my Year 8-9 class were engaged and absorbed by what was happening. Well done.
Adrian Humm from Ruawai College
I really enjoy the learnz trips. My class loved learning about preservation and discovery in Antarctica. It delved into the deeper questions.
Gina Matheson from Marshall Laing School
Linked well to our inquiry this term on Ecosystems and Science.
Jillian Adams from Trentham School
This field trip was very appropriate for my Year 4 class as we used it under the theme of Kaitiakitanga. I feel the effectiveness (of the virtual field trip) can be gauged by the involvement and the questions asked by the children, and this Antarctica study has really had them enthused and doing independent research of their own. It is fascinating to discover how much knowledge the children take home and discuss with their families.
Pam McDowell from Westbrook School
We used the Inquiry method to study Antarctica and we loved it! Shelley's videos created lots for discussion. Brilliant!
Allison Cotter from Newtown School
Having all of the Antarctica resources together makes it very easy for students to self-explore the parts of the topic they are especially interested in. The real benefit for us has been having all of the audio with the readings for my lower readers; they prefer to listen and the NZ accent of the reader is a bonus.
Lisa O'Connor from St Teresa's School Featherston
Great resource with a variety of media. Very comprehensive, providing students with another layer of learning material connected to real world around them.
Roland Gorlich from Arahoe School
This was an amazing way to make the learning come alive for our study of Antarctica. Very effective - personalised the learning.
Elley Mullany from Mullany Homeschool
For my Year 4 class enjoyed the learning experience. The virtual field trip raised their awareness of how special and unique Antarctica is and made them think about being the guardians of the area.
Jacqueline Barrett from Westbrook School
It was a great way to learn about people places and animals without actually being there.
Jennifer Barrow from Karoro School
Real life engagement with scientists on ice was interesting - great for students to see what we had been studying in real life.
Vanessa Carnevale from Waiheke High School
The audio conversations were brilliantly done along with the accompanying videos, plus questions being typed and answered while online. I have been intrigued and surprised by how much my young students have taken on board during the trip.
Lesley Johnston from Firth School
The context of this Antarctica learning trip was helpful to discuss the ESS topic (L5): Earth systems. Students learnt lots of new things about Antarctica and sea ice formation, with some good extra teaching material and activities to extend students.
Nataliia Kravchenko from Te Awamutu College