You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Testimonials
Waterview Connection
Year 10 classes enjoyed it and thought it worthwhile. Very good for career pathways (a school-wide goal), especially enginnering. Helped the students know what is happening in their local area. Supported NZ Curriculum. Vision - connected, actively involved. Principles - inclusion, community engagement. Values - innovation, inquiry and curiosity, community and participation, ecological sustainability. Key competencies - thinking, managing self, relating to others, participating and contributing. Learning area - real life physics.
Stuart Braithwaite from Lynfield College
The students get to see places they often would not get to see. They are introduced to amazing concepts and get to think about how this may affect them in the future. We used the easy background information which was very well suited to our Year 5 class.
Paula O'Neill from New River Primary School
The field trip was excellent for both genders. Great for students to learn about how their voice and contribution can help shape the future.
Kevin Jones from Te Rapa School
Students learned more about a huge project that is occurring in their local area and have an interest and awareness that can be built on as the project continues, either in school or with their families. Our Year 4-6 children have shown huge interest in accessing the video content and audioconferences in free time, and have actively asked for extra time to do this with their Netbooks.
Jacqueline McGivern from St Therese School (Three Kings)
Students really enjoyed the opportunity to take part in the competition. And really good to gain skills in cross-curriculum links.
Stephen Fennessy from St Andrew's School Timaru
LEARNZ is a great way to engage students and take them places that it is not possible to go any other way. Videos and images allowed the class to interact with the field trip in an engaging way,
Aaron Frost from Pukete School
This field trip made us all think about population in cities, progress in transport and caring about environmental issues, and it really made the students unpack the information given and think about their open ended questions. Our students attend an isolated, rural school and enjoy learning about the technologies used in the cities and our global world. This was our first time participating and I would do it again.
Jennifer Vincent from Marco School
It supported and extended our current social studies/science (engineering) curriculum areas. The opportunity to go back and view videos again was very useful for my son.
Brenda Town from Town Family Home School
My ESOL and Maori students are very engaged and a typical query I get is when is our NEXT trip!
Christine Hailes from North Street School
We have been viewing the videos from the second field trip and children have been totally engrossed. It is something that is happening very close to our school and the planning of the Waterview School playground is also relevant to us.
Heather Mays from Edmonton School
On so many levels, this field trip has enhanced, extended and promoted learning for our students. Fantastic opportunity for students living next door to gain deeper understandings into what is required to achieve this massive project. Multi Language support is awesome. Pictures and videos are particularly important for special needs and also ESOL learners.
Richard Kerr from Avondale Intermediate
With our school close by to where the concrete is being made, all the children connected with it a some level. A perfect tool for using in the modern digital classroom both in its digital components and because of its very hands on approach. Great support and service from the Learnz team during the build up to being a part of the audio conference.
Annette Woodnutt from Sancta Maria Catholic Primary School
Supported the oral language key competencies and enabled science to be integrated in the reading programme.
Tracey Burgess from St Peter's School Beckenham
The vast amount of information, data, videos and teaching resources were incredible. I fully appreciate all the hard work the team puts in to make these learning opportunities so effective.
Graham Elsmore from Christian Renewal School
Promoted coherence in our school as teachers of physics, Maths, Careers and Techology worked together with groups of Year 10 students to focus on Engineering as a future career. Watching the videos and engaging with the material gave the students a real live experience which left them talking about the tunnel afterwards.
Catrin Hughes from Green Bay High School
The field trip generated a lot of relevant questions and fitted in with the science, technology and english topics that we are covering. The field trip provided access to an area of interest and at a level of expertise that I would not be able to provide any other way. The online support section was comprehensive and the introduction to the fieldtrip on Adobe Connect was informative and well run.
Joanna Stevens from Stevens Home School
100% engagement! Lots of discussions both in the classroom and in homes. Really good for the children to see the teams on the videos talking about work place treaties, working together, effective communication and all the things we talk about at in the classroom - quite a few lightbulb moments for students.
Juliet Pendleton from Pt Chevalier School
The field trip about the Waterview Connection was particularly interesting for some of my boys with an engineering bent, and they asked some good questions. The time-lapse video and pictures were particularly engaging for the class and they really enjoyed the detailed information available on the website about Alice the TBM.
Michele Duggan from Whangaparaoa College
He Hokinga Whakaaro
It backed up our camp from last year when we looked at the Waitemata Harbour and we are looking forward to the upcoming LEARNZ field trip to Lake Taupo, continuing our water inquiry. On this field trip, students compared the two harbours which reinforced their learning.
Pamela Furze from Roto-O-Rangi School
Good to get affirmation that other schools in NZ are learning about the First Encounters. Lots of opportunity for role play and integrated learning. The audio recording was most valuable as an addition for those who find difficulty in reading.
Pauline Maclean from St Theresa's School (Plimmerton)
Engaging and interesting for the children - they enjoyed the videos and especially the interactive activities. I loved how the children were really motivated to read and use keywords from the background pages so they could get 100% on the activities! There were also some wonderful gems from the audio conferences which we discussed and learnt from as a class.
Vanessa Cannon from Matua School
We used some of the background pages to support learning about the arrival of Europeans as part of a Treaty of Waitangi unit. We also used the Marae Protocols material and quiz as part of our preparation for a Marae visit. I found the targeted use of specific web pages (on the site) useful for a mixed range of levels.
Jacqueline McGivern from St Therese School (Three Kings)
Most appropriate for my Year 7&8 class. Incredibly effective in terms of meeting the desired Learning Outcomes. The most engaging learning experience the children could have.
Graham Elsmore from Christian Renewal School
This particular topic had all my students absolutely hooked - the 95% Maori students in my class felt it was about them and supported their culture and their own learning. I love the Inquiry focus, the research skills LEARNZ offers, the range of learning styles - with background information, diaries, audio conferences, images. All students are catered for.
Diane Henderson from Ohaeawai School
High level of student engagement, interesting topics that are relevant to students' lives. Videos are always pitched at a good level, interesting - many of my students access them at home too.
Caroline Arnold from Lepperton School