You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
This was a brilliant trip for my class. They gained a sense of guardianship responsibility for kauri. The videos were absolutely wonderful and students loved reading the diary entries also. The field trip enabled me to transport my students to a distant place, at no cost, in order to show them first hand some real NZ based learning. Students feel they know Andrew and Egbert and are keen to do more trips.
Engaging and relevant. My tamariki loved learning about the kauri. The field trip allowed them to engage with and utilise the learning we were doing in the classroom.
It brings things alive for the kids, as many are visual learners. Fabulous to learn from experts. It covered participating and contributing beautifully, and we also connected it to "Understanding about Science".
The kids really enjoyed it and were well supported on the website, as they we able to navigate to find their way around to answer questions they had generated. I was able to take different aspects for different abilities in the class. We also followed up with a visit in our local area to a native bush stand.
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.
It is visual, relevant, easy to access, and makes good use of technology to be virtually there. Very relevant and topical in Northland.
Wonderful guided learning with experts to interact with and the real time learning makes it relevant, engaging and applicable. My class found the level appropriate (they are year 6). The delivery was manageable for all students. It fitted our theme study around NZ bush and our camp in the bush.
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.
It illustrated clearly community engagement, ecological sustainability, participating and contributing. Students were interested. It also helped in the Nature of Science ... seeing how the community can work with the scientists on an issue.
Fun, engaging, easy to use once you get your head around it all, kids love it, lots of different technology options. Some great info to challenge gifted and talented learners. Great to see the inclusion of Maori vocab.
It gave them the sense of being there, and the children were motivated and empowered to make a difference. The children loved watching the videos, and it made the whole learning process more authentic.
It was easy, engaging and grabbed the students attention. Covered all areas well as we were able to use it as a hook in, therefore allowing students to explore further in areas of interest as well as share with the wider school and community.
Resources that we used were excellent, thought provoking and have my whole class sold on taking care of kauri. Teaching kit very helpful, well thought out, age appropriate.
Related to our personal environment, local issues, and experiences at camp. Very relevant to developing a MLE and BYOD environment. Combined literacy, science, social science. Andrew (the LEARNZ Teacher) was friendly, engaging, and related well to students and experts.
Linking a community issue with young adults (in this way with LEARNZ), has been empowering for the students. They are able to contribute to conversations outside the classroom using science and cultural based knowledge.
Easy to access and structured well for independent work. Just the right level and interest.
Contributes to learning objective for both Earth and Space Science L2 internal and external assessment. Helped as part of the inquiry process with student-led learning. Good opportunity for managing self.
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.
The field trip helped to make the content very relevant and allowed the students to feel like they were getting first hand experience.
... brought the curriculum to life. Opened the eyes of the class to all the interesting things going on around them.
Excellent resource that can be picked up by all students or just one who wants to delve into an area at a greater intensity. Self regulated, great background to an area of interest.
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.
Helped make content relevant to my Year 10 students. Great for the visual learners!
Supported L6 of the Science curriculum, in particular the ESS standards, plus Nature of Science for my Year 12 Science class. Video conversations enabled the "real"world into the classroom - the presenters are more than talking heads, as they have a wealth of background knowledge and make learning fun.
Students gained through the Science strand - Nature of Science - How scientists work.