You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
BioBlitz
It was really appropriate as we learnt how to do a Bio Blitz in our own backyard - which we did! Helped us in the key Learning Area of Science - provided extra information, motivation and a wider NZ focus on the environment. Also added to the kete of useful add-ons to make my teaching better.
It followed on very well from the inquiry we have been doing into the plants in our local native bush. The most noticeable impact was a increase in our classes' scientific vocab. Great opportunity to communicate and collaborate with others outside of our school.
We have been focussing on collaboration so students used this unit to work together to find information and monitor their own learning. It was easy for the children to navigate and use the website independently.
The learners were excited by the theme of the trip and carried out their own BioBlitz as a result. LEARNZ provides great resources and exciting opportunities for our learners to hear from experts in the field and to see practical applications for their learning.
It fitted in with our next unit "Living Landscapes" and my students' interets in NZ spiders. It was my first time doing a live web conference and my class and I found it to be enjoyable, especially hearing from the experts, and they learned about the etiquette of that situation.
People and Water
The videos were good because they were short and they were 'in the field'. This field trip was part of our "Finding out about water" unit and so it had some useful information. The field trip medium means it is a future-focused way of delivering information and has the potential to connect students to other students' lives while covering a range of learning areas.
Good to have a variety of ways to understand the Water topic such as web conferences, quizzes, background information etc.
Matariki and Navigation
Content was perfect for our topic this term on navigators. The children's sense of belonging and dual heritage was reinforced as we discussed the videos and as our more able readers supported those less able in reading the background pages.
Map my Waahi
The videos with children of a similar age explaining what they were doing, and why, created a real link to the kids in my class and great motivation to take part. The sense of belonging for ALL my class no matter what their heritage was reinforced by the work we undertook as a result of this field trip.
Ahuahu Great Mercury Island
Great reading resource. Fresh and up to date. Great for students to view videos and photos. Brings other places and people to us.
Students said they loved learning about the history of Ahuahu and the eradication of pests (dear to their hearts) and really enjoyed learning about archaeology, which for most of them was very new.
The archaeology theme helped make my lessons/teaching culturally responsive. I love being part of this learning too. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be on the journey as well!!
More than just a virtual trip for us; as we live in Whitianga it is very relevant for our tamariki on so many levels and the TUIA commemoration adds to that. The nature of LEARNZ means you can utilise the resources how you see fit, and it is easy to adapt to be appropriate no matter the level of your students.
Our unit had a strong Maori Achievement focus - we really appreciate the links that the field trip allowed us to make to early Maori, and the cultural DNA of being explorers and innovators. This allowed us to link to the learning competencies and vision of the NZC.
Our ākonga learned heaps about archaeology and sustainablility. All of the Key Competencies were used when engaging with this mahi. We appreciated how Māori culture was woven through as well.
Culturally significant and interesting material for my Year 7/8 class, that also helped us focus on the Key Competencies. I would like to thank the LEARNZ team for providing such a fun, interesting, hands on and informative resource to add to my teaching! Thank you for helping me love my job even more!!
This field trip has enabled many classes in our school to access really important learning about a significant local place. The material provided insight into conservation and historical concepts relevant to all new Zealanders. Our students gained an excellent understanding of these concepts thanks to this field trip, which has led to our own potential pest control project here at Whitianga Estuary.
The values of ecological sustainability and inquiry stand out. Future focus Principle. Connected life-long learners. Postive feedback from Māori and Pakeha students alike. Lots of links to our Year 8 Science program, especially Nature of Science, helping students understand how science takes place in the real world.
The diaries, photos and captions made my Year 2 class aware of the history of another area, so they could relate it to our own area.
Rail Safety
This field trip was very effective for my class because we have a railway line close to our school and within our community. I really wish I had to opportunity to learn in this way when I was at school. Everyday the tamariki in my class look look forward to accessing the new information, watching the web conferences and speaking to experts or listening to the audios.
Sustainable Seas
My 7 to 11 year olds all got something out of this trip. It integrated science, literacy, social science and math beautifully. My Maori and Pacific students were rapt to see the te reo aspect.
Absolute perfect mix of Living World Science and Sustainability/Social Studies aspect that tied in well with our Inquiry. Curated to make life simple for teachers and very engaging for students, especially when putting their own questions to experts.
Thank you for such an engaging and worthwhile week of learning, complete with extra activities. It has really helped to make Seaweek one to remember! Our class cannot wait for our next Tour!
The children were focused for the entire live conference and the conversation that was generated afterwards was great. A great lead in to our next topic - Our Local Ponds. Thank you to those of you who make these conferences possible.
Marine Reserves
Students were curious about Marine Reserves and I used this opportunity to introduce this topic for those interested in learning about sustainability. The 2 case studies were useful for ākonga to learn about being a citizen scientist in our own local area. In the next 6 weeks we will have further study and 2 field trips of our own.