You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
Natural Hazards
This virtual field trip took my teaching to another level - I have integrated LEARNZ into my Google Classroom environment and this is brilliant. Students enjoyed the ability to ask questions during web conferences and appreciated being able to go back and review them.
It encouraged a purposeful use of digital devices. The children found it very interesting to hear the scientists, see the location and the work that is being done. It brought everything to life for them.
As a individual teacher, I could never hope to organise and present learning opportunities to students as well as the Learnz team does. The natural hazards topic was very engaging for the students and the LEARNZ trip provided variety to my teaching programme and suited my e-learning class.
The timing and content of the field trip was appropriate for my Year 9 class and they were all engaged, especially in the live web conference. I thought the virtual field trip was a valuable experience; both for the students and for my professional development.
The virtual field trip encouraged my Year 9 students to manage themselves, and helped develop their critical thinking skills.
The field trip allowed the children to dig deeper than just volcanism in Iceland. Students followed up with research on NZ Geology and experimenting making ther own lava, like Ben does in his lab!
I loved that the children were involved in creating the content by writing the questions for Ben and Shelley. Matched our inquiry concept of "Change" perfectly. Encouraged lots of 21st century skills and great learning.
It was at a perfect level for Level 3 to 4 of the Curriculum with extension opportunities. We participated live in one web conference but being able to replay all the web conferences was awesome! Took away the need for all the paperwork now needed for any outdoor education trip!
It has been fantastic for children to speak with experts. Sending our ambassador this time just made it all so real. Such an excellent teaching resource. Nothing like it anywhere else.
It was effective and was presented in such a way that it was really enjoyable, and the learning appropriate. LEARNZ trips give a great insight into the world and allow us to see and learn things we otherwise would not. Great learning tool - making learning real.
It got the children thinking about volcanoes and earthquakes in NZ. Clear topics and answers were in kid talk.
From the NZC, all Principles, Values covered in the programme, Key Competencies all used to reinforce learning; Science - natural hazards - future focus.
The resources and information from this field trip are going to continue to be useful for the rest of this term. The connections that are made for our students to see others involved and other parts of our country/world are fantastic.
Gave us some great connections and real life examples of what we have been reading, talking and doing experiments about. It tapped into a lot of natural interest we have in our class, especially following our visit to a geyser at Te Puia.
Very engaging for Year 7 & 8 students. Students had a lot of opportunities to direct their own learning using the Chromebooks; they were managing self. This was my first LEARNZ trip so really pleased to discover this is another way to bring science into the classroom in such a real way.
My class were able to learn at their own level and pace, at the same time exploring the Principle of Learning to Learn and reflecting on how best they learned. Great to see my students raise their level of questioning and their confidence and independence since our first LEARNZ web conferences, on the previous field trip.
The children love these experiences. This was such a great follow up to the earlier Kaikoura earthquake field trip and built into our own study of Natural Disasters. It has added to our deep and thorough learning. Can't wait for the next one.
Ecological Restoration
My students loved it and felt quite special being one of the speaking schools. Engagement was high with all students - it was also a great catalyst for some reluctant writers. The site and learning is structured in a way that promotes self-management and critical thinking. It also sparked a lot of genuine interest around meaningful projects in our local area.
Learnz virtual field trips are an integral part of our programme - students look forward to each one. What's the Plan, Stan? led to research around a range of topics - particularly in response to Web Conferences. Special needs students can access ALL aspects of the tour. Maori students are able to add context and their own ideas and understanding, from talks by representatives of local iwi.
Great for Participation and Connections, knowing our native flora and fauna are at risk, so students are feeling more compelled to change habits and do something about it.
The students found it extremely engaging as part of our "Learning for Life" inquiry, which linked into our "Leaves of Green" project. Students particularly liked the daily videos.
Whats the Plan Stan?
All New Zealanders need to know this info - new immigrants were quite surprised by some of it. Ticks all of the boxes. Allows my diverse learners to engage in their own style with the material, which frees me up to move around and have quality conversations about the topic with each of the students - no crowd control needed! Brilliant!
My class enjoyed the little videos and learnt heaps about earthquakes. Linked well to managing self and community. It involves the children with things outside the classroom - connects them to real life NZ.
Linked very well with our school ShakeOut focus. Great for building Participating and Contributing, and Self-Management in students. Good design in that I can pick-and-choose what is useful for my class.
We were involved in the Nationwide 'Shake it Out' and this added value to the day. LEARNZ is a 'one stop shop' for me - it means I do not have to spend hours surfing on the internet to support my learning programmes.