You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand

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.
This is a rich experience for students who know NZ but are often living offshore.
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.
It motivated my top reading group. It was well organised, informative and something different to use as a reading tool/experience.
Children loved every part of the experience- thoroughly engaging. Really cool for the students to be able to participate with a group outside of their immediate context!
This unit linked with our topic of sustainability and enabled cross curricular learning in a digital context. This type of learning resource helps students to work at their level, irrespective of where they start and their reading ability.
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.
The field trip was extremely appropriate and challenging. Very effective. My class really got into it - it was so well organised for teachers and students.
I really enjoy the learnz trips. My class loved learning about preservation and discovery in Antarctica. It delved into the deeper questions.
Linked well to our inquiry this term on Ecosystems and Science.
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.
Great for students to have new people connecting to them in a different way, linking many aspects of the curriculum in a real setting.
Great resource with a variety of media. Very comprehensive, providing students with another layer of learning material connected to real world around them.
This was an amazing way to make the learning come alive for our study of Antarctica. Very effective - personalised the learning.
Real life engagement with scientists on ice was interesting - great for students to see what we had been studying in real life.
It takes us to a place we have never been and experienced before and it gives us more insights of what's happening there. It's incredibly interesting.
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.
It was great to have people there in real time - it connected the students to the context. It was fantastic where they could type questions to the experts even though they didn't have a speaking role.
This field trip tied in nicely with our Science topic this term. Students were highly engaged throughout the field trip and are highly passionate about using LEARNZ in the classroom.
Fantastic - we were going to Waitomo on our field trip, and the timing and content could NOT have been better. Greatly improved audioconferences - the backchannel improved engagement, and the kids were highly interested in hearing their questions asked over the Internet, and the immediate responses.
Seeing people passionate about their interest is so encouraging for kids. We were focusing on fossils and limestone of North Otago, so it was useful comparing with Waitomo.
Excellent self paced real world learning. Great to have multi media resources students could relate to. Individual support and emails made the programme more accessible for our Special Needs Class.
We had a fabulous visit to New Plymouth Domestic airport as well as the virtual field trip to Christchurch International Airport. We had lots of fun and the virtual field trip provided a good range of activities.
Was incredibly engaging for the students. They learnt a lot more about digital citizenship as well as working together in a community group. They also found out a lot about what goes on when they arrive in a country and in regards to the process of an airport.
Best when you build an inquiry unit around the Field Trip. Being able to ask questions using Back Channel was particularly useful during audioconferences. Great to have access to experts that you would otherwise not have access to. The video footage and commentaries were a perfect length.