Testimonials

It has provided us with a valuable resource about a local area and allowed children to ask local experts some questions. The information was easy for the children to understand and the videos were very informative.

The material was age appropriate (particularly liked the audio links, reading the material).  The participation levels at school and at home were a lot higher than usual because material was readily accessible and easy to read and understand. Audio conferences were excellent. Having the few visual photographs kept some of my less focussed kids engaged, as did the summary sheets that they had in front of them.  I was surprised at just how much they picked up.  It was great to be able to ask questions via the backchannel and get immediate responses - the kids loved that.

It helped my students understand about estuaries as they had no knowledge of what they were before we read about them and participated in the audioconference. Two of my students with ASD are highly excited and showing the site to their whanau, which is great. The Te Reo content and Maori perspectives in the texts and from Guest experts is also excellent and much appreciated.

We linked this topic to our class Māori studies so the Māori children felt the significance of the Kauri to all. The field trip inspired the class, expert on topic made class listen more, audio conferening was a new skill and helped their questioning skills. Class logged on at home to look at resources. Thought ambassador traveling with you was fun. Keen to read next diary.

Hearing from experts is fantastic from a multi-layer perspective - from learning about future careers (scientists, DOC rangers, visitor centre staff) to the significance of the kauri to NZ was excellent. The (bilingual class) children really enjoyed hearing guest speakers present in Te Reo, present their mihi and hear first hand how important the kauri was and is to them.

Engaging and can be tailored to the specific needs of a small group of students. Uses all of the Key Competencies. Enabled students to self regulate their learning.

I used a lot of independent learning time using the background pages which promoted managing self. Also promotes community engagement, future focused thinking. It is well integrated across the curriculum and supports a range of learning types.

Love the fieldtrips as a compliment or stand alone to my programme. Students engaged, differentiated material, connections to things Maori, I could work on my own or with a group.

My 31 mixed-ability children were completely engaged in our study. It was such an authentic context for us, as we are a silver enviroschool and we have three kauri at our school that we are learning to protect. Was great for the children to see real science in action; they were very interested in the laboratory work.

Set at a great level for year 7 and 8 students. A lot of the planning has been organised for you. Great learning experience. Majority of students loved the topic and the quality of the work completed was outstanding.

It is a highly motivating tool for learning. Children were highly engaged about kauri and continue to have discussions about their learning. Saves me as a teacher a lot of time as almost all of the planning and preparing is done for me. Great to be able to "call on the expert" from my classroom. Makes learning very accessible.