You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
The ability to use archived material from previous trips is wonderful. Teachers can encourage interested pupils to use the materials for homework reading - the videos, photos, diaries and related activities are treasure troves for curious students with a passion for knowing more about a particular topic.
We live in a geothermal area so its relevance to our community makes this field trip appropriate. The field trips are a shared social experience that provides the opportunity for students to encounter and explore novel things in an authentic New Zealand setting.
Totally in line with our Disasters topic. Worked well with the Key Competencies we aligned with our unit. Backchannel was great for the class next door.
The videos and background material on the Alpine Fault were useful to the students in their studies of Achievement Standard 1.1 - extreme natural events.
The field trip supported both our social sciences and science learning areas. The students loved the real life content and particularly enjoyed the audio conferences. I like the fact that we can revist the fieldtrip resources throughout our learning unit ... which will come in handy when the students need to research a natural disaster that may occur in our area (Nelson) and how to prepare for it.
Formed the basis of an introduction to AS90952 - Demonstrate understanding of the formation of surface features in New Zealand. Curiosity increased as a result of the first audioconference in particular and led to some interesting off-line questions and discussions.
Great field trip, extremely relevant to our local area and the geohazards we have here. Was informative for my students to learn about the hazards and safety neccessary in our area. Learnt key competencies and also how to be well prepared in case of an emergency. They (LEARNZ virtual field trips) are fantastic and interactive for all that participate not just the students; they are in the now so very relevant for what is happening in our world.
Very appropriate for my multi level and age class. Well supported. The field trip enabled learners to gain knowledge in aspects of geology which they then used in writing and oral language. Students were highly engaged. Excellent resource!
Great content and contexts. A novel approach and a way to bring other voice into my classroom that has great authenticity. Fits well with the specific Learning Objectives for the Disaster unit taught in the Social Studies curriculum.
As an introduction to the the topic, this was based at an ideal level. Students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were able to share new learning. Questions gave them a focus and they were directed to information that helped them build understanding. The programme is set up in such a way that all students were able to participate. The way it is formatted into sections removes barriers for students who would otherwise have found it difficult. Awesome way of extending understanding and knowledge about our country.
Great material, age appropriate, to generate interest and questions. Great engagement. Students gained knowledge of volcanoes and geothermal activity, connected to wider New Zealand.
I have a boys only class and they were all very interested in what was happening and how it related to WW1. It was inclusive for all students and could be adapted to cater for all needs. The audio conference was a new concept for my class and they enjoyed coming up with questions and then asking them live.
Students are continuously thinking and evaluating information they are reading or viewing. They are self managing their learning and using technology to enhance it.
Definitely appropriate to my Year 6 class, especially as it was local and all knew the area well.
The audio conferences and videos were amazing. Perfect for my class. We had all Year 8's do it together and they loved it. My class are already asking about the next one.
A LEARNZ trip has great relevance - it is NZ based, which I like, as this is our students' real world context. Te Ao Maori is often included ... giving validity to the voice of our Maori students in a positive way
Very relevant for the upcoming Anzac celebrations due to take place. The children were engaged and it linked in well with the other activities we were doing during the end of the term.
The theme of this field trip fits in with WW100 for this year. This field trip helped students develop an understanding of how an entire community gets behind a project like Memorial Park. It also encouraged students to think about what happens in our own community.
This field trip will really emphasise to students that memorials and remembering are an essential human condition, and that the Anzac Day commemoration is nationwide. We plan to visit local memorials and attend our local service to tie in with Anzac Day.
Kids were amazed at the thought and influence of soldiers' personal journeys that were included in the design and symbolism in the park. Making connections with schools and viewing questions and listening to responses was great. Kids enjoyed learning about what the experts did to enable the park building project to work.
Linked to Social Sciences and linked well with build up to Anzac unit.
The timing was good. We all want to see it (Pukeahu National War Memorial Park) if we go to Wellington. It was a really good way to learn about Memorial Park. The videos were a good length and gave us a different perspective of the construction. The website was really easy to use and didn't go off to other topics. It was level appropriate.
The flow on from Memorial Park 1 through to 2 was good. Looking forward to the next one. The use of some of the technical language was great. Love the interactive nature of the field trips - especially the Twitter updates! The diaries are always interesting.
This is by far the best learning experience we can offer 21st Century elearners. We use the iPads to follow the virtual field trip from go to whoa. This field trip definitely captured the interest of the boys in the class because it was technical, involving digging machinery, geology and archeology.
We had looked at the videos from Memorial Park 1 as a warm up exercise, so this followed on perfectly. After watching the videos from last November, had a student in Wellington for the weekend and was interested enough to take parents to see what was happening with the park, to update class before the 2nd LEARNZ visit. LEARNZ field trips have become an important part of learning in my senior class. Regardless of ability, students are loving the experiences.