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

My online (distance) class was focussing on a topic about creativity this term so the Opera Trip was a great complement to this. LEARNZ trips offer rich, pertinent learning about the place we live in.
Allows the students to go beyond their own back door and extend their learning to other areas and experiences that may not be available otherwise. Encouraged the Arts and English curriculum areas and I have noticed my children listening to different music during class time.
The Opera field trip supported the extension of my childrens' experiences and new interests. Who knows how it will unfold and manifest itself in the years to come!
This field trip fitted in with the Arts Curriculum perfectly. I used the background information to teach the children about Opera and its place in NZ culture.
This field trip tied in perfectly with our own school production and really got the ideas and understanding flowing. The videos kept the kids attention and sparked their interest for more.
The field trip supported our study on the Environment and Sustainability and also worked in well with our Zero Waste Education study on Composting. Students were given an insight into landfills and recycling, and the activities gave the students a lot to think about.
It was a great follow on from our litter less lunch inquiry. Good for Social Action, informing our parents about choices when purchasing goods and disposing of the waste.
Fantastic, up-to-date, real time, interactive resource on a current environmental issue. Related well to Social Sciences, L.4, innovation, challenges, people, places and environment. NZC Vision: a greater awareness of how students can be positive, lifelong contributors. Values: linked with innovation, community, ecological sustainability. Principles: community engagement, future focus. Related to all KC's as they were communicating, thinking-inquiry, participating, and completing tasks on time.
As we move to inquiry learning, this is a wonderful tool for supporting teachers - scaffolding our professional development. For students, because there are several ways to access the information our lower ability readers can still complete tasks, supporting their literacy.
This trip gave the students an insight into ecological sustainability. We also tied in a visit from a council person which gave students an insight into our own rubbish process. Students really enjoy watching the videos at home, which can then encourage further discussion on the topics with families.
Looking at Landfills as intro to our Sustainability study and being able to access your fabulous resources and view audio conferences, fitted in so well. Samples (of the landfill liner) sent to us were an extra bonus.
Under our sustainability inquiry during this field trip, students had a say in what they learned (student voice and agency); they were motivated to learn new things and were comfortable about this (personal agency); and they worked in groups to find answers (peer support). Also students are thinking about changes/actions needed in the future (future-focussed learning); and they worked with other students and people in the community who help them learn (connected agency).
Fabulous topic. Very easy and user friendly website, accessible for everyone. Thanks for sending the sample of the liner material used in landfills - it was very effective to see and feel the liner, and it covers a big area of technology.
Very effective as we have been studying zero waste. Students also gained skills in "Participating and Contributing" and "Managing Self".
We are looking at product lifecycle in our design class and it showed what happens to the end of products when put into rubbish, and the importance of designers to design for end of life. It enabled students to critically think through what their consumption produces and it was a great way to show students something without having to physically go.
Many accessed the website at home and shared the parts they enjoyed with their family, which was great. My boys loved the machinery and trucks. Great use of technology and targets students of all abilities.
In a very powerful way students were able to work collaboratively and at their own pace. Practical as our school is isolated rural, 40km from the nearest township and our class is mixed ability Year 6-8.
This trip was fantastic as it made direct links to sustainability and future focus. It was also ideal for our new collaborative teaching techniques which included students recording their ideas on iPads.
Being an Enviro School, this field trip provided real depth to the enviro theme. As an e-learning class, all of the resources were readily available to the students so they could have some 'student choice' in what they did. This is what 'personalised learning' is all about.
As an enviroschool, we found this field trip to perfectly fit our kaupapa and our journey regarding how to deal with waste at school and at home. Also worked very well for two reading groups to engage in synthesising information appropriately.
This field trip was well pitched to my class level,informative and kept the students engaged. The field trip and its sustainability theme supports all learning areas of the curriculum especially science and social studies.
The field trip fitted with our environment and sustainability topic and saved a lot of resource development time which allowed me to focus more on my students learning. The content was readily accessible for my year 9 students and was effective because of the bite-size delivery e.g. short videos and diary entries that did not take too long to read.
The field trip was followed by our trip to the Bromley Recycling Centre. So it ... completed the journey of our rubbish. Our children were engaged in following the trip and it prompted them to ask lots of questions.
Very effective. We were able to consolidate a lot of the learning we had been doing since our trip to the Wellington landfill. It (the virtual field trip) catered to a wide range of students and met the learning of my year 4-6's very well. The students were active participants who were challenged to think critically.
The definition of waste was a fantastic platform for discussion. Getting the layers from the lining of Kate Valley was very cool and made it that bit more interactive.