You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
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.
The lessons and resources targeted the students learning needs while challenging their thinking. It supported my kids' knowledge, future learners, sharing of information and becoming 21st century learners ... connected learners.
Was at the right level and linked in really well with our Inquiry / science focus of natural disasters - "What's the plan stan?" Good platform to teach the nature of science.
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.
Students gained through the Science strand - Nature of Science - How scientists work.
Used for Science/Geography/Earth sciences - natural disasters as well as Maths/Science - data collection and interpretation.
Learnz field trips allow the students to develop all of the key competencies, principals and values of the NZ curriculum, and complements an innovative learning environment. This Geohazards field trip was very relevant and at an appropriate level for our year 7 and 8 students.
The students now have an increased sense of responsibility and citizenship regarding Geohazards, especially as I was able to completely integrate the learning into my reading and writing programme. The resources are amazing and so perfect because they are about N.Z. and show how scientists work.
This Geohazards virtual field trip hit the nail on the head as a learning tool for Year 8 Earth Science. It has been a great chance for a small rural Northland school to see the wider world, and has broadened my horizons in terms of what is possible with my classes.
Level of language in the resources was perfect for my wide-range ability Year 10s. The format encourages persistence and allows students to work at their own pace, through material that engages them, testing their knowledge without lots of writing! Parents were able to view the material and this was a valuable opportunity to engage our community.
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.
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.
... brought the curriculum to life. Opened the eyes of the class to all the interesting things going on around them.
The field trip helped to make the content very relevant and allowed the students to feel like they were getting first hand experience.
Helped make content relevant to my Year 10 students. Great for the visual learners!
This field trip catered for many learners - with videos and photos to support the learning, it is not all reading. And with the readings being able to be listened to, it allows many lower readers to be involved in the content.
This field trip supported the "Future Focus" principle for my group of Year 6 students, as they were exposed to aspects of the reality of living in a small country that lies on the junction of two tectonic plates. They developed their understanding by making 3D models.
The live link up is great. Great to be able to observe, listen to experts at work. Real life context.
The field trip introduced children to real scientists, gave them ideas and stimulated curiosity. Students came to realise that science occurs in their own back yard, not just overseas.
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.
It gave my students an authentic opportunity to engage with experts and ask quality questions. They were able to link the concepts to their reading and writing as well as engaging with scientific concepts and social studies.
This Learnz Geohazards site allowed my students to work at their own pace and helped them to become drivers of their own learning.
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.
Our topic this term is actually civil defence and I used this field trip as motivation. Living on the lower slopes of Mt Taranaki the volcano parts were our particular focus and as my class are year 2-4 we used the fabulous videos and the photos in the gallery. The class have gained a huge understanding even from what we have used. There was a lot of information they could access with a little guidance, and they really enjoyed it. It was also easily accessed by the special needs children with their teacher aides.
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.