You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
I love how it helps my (secondary school) students see that they are part of a bigger picture and enforces the idea that small changes from individuals amount to big changes. Perfect for our topic of sustainability and worked in really well with the Sustainable Seas virtual field trip.
Hand-picked videos for my senior science class to show practical applications of theory. They help link an NCEA chemistry topic to the real world and show participation of science in the local community.
Good to have a variety of ways to understand the Water topic such as web conferences, quizzes, background information etc.
The videos were good because they were short and they were 'in the field'. This field trip was part of our "Finding out about water" unit and so it had some useful information. The field trip medium means it is a future-focused way of delivering information and has the potential to connect students to other students' lives while covering a range of learning areas.
This Water field trip fitted in well with our inquiry related to weather and it introduced the children to a variety of physical geography concepts and exmaples. It fostered curiosity and all the core competencies, and it effectively integrated a variety of curriculum areas.
The course was great for student engagement and they had fun learning about farming and irrigation.
The material was definitely at an appropriate level for my Year 7-8 class. It tied in with our Science focus and enabled students to explore places that they would not usually see. It also gives them a chance to "meet" and work with outside teachers and experts.
We planned a trip to discover Canterbury based on this virtual field trip. It was good for the students to meet real life experts and it was good to follow Andrew's progress via daily updates online.
The field trip encouraged my students to think more deeply about the topic while reflecting on what they already knew.
I loved the way it generated discussion and encouraged inquiry so my students really thought about how we use and manage water. I also love how the students can access the material themselves and monitor their own interest in the before and after work.
The LEARNZ delivery method made it easier to work alongside students with their learning rather than in front of them. Students have been engaged and motivated to ask questions and wonder about things.
It fitted well with our Sustainability Social Studies topic.
Year 4-5 student comment: "It is interesting because the people know stuff that we don't know - it's good to read and watch the videos about it."
Love the fact that the articles have an audio feature so children with low reading levels can be included too. The field trip connected to what we were learning in class and it provided a good hook-in ... and they got to learn from experts.
Appropriate and effective, especially for Kaitiakitanga. Students particularly liked looking and watching the updates.
Year 4-5 student comment: "Doing this field trip was interesting because I was learning about irrigators and water on earth".
We used the videos to connect with our conceptual learning topic of sharing our world. Appropriate and effective.
The variety of activities, materials and the actual (live) web conferences added value to our inquiry about water (wai). The way the topic was presented enabled my (predominantly Māori) students to put their own words to it, to explain it.
Allowed students to access information they would have struggled to find themselves and inspired independent study on questions students raised. This is an excellent multimedia resource with differentiated learning that supports an inclusive curriculum.
LEARNZ field trips like this expose my students to things (places, concepts, experts etc) that they would not otherwise be exposed to.
Very interesting and well explained. It helped my students to think about all the different users of the water and encouraged them to discuss it with whanau.
We are learning about sustainability and this was a good trip to take.
The LEARNZ field trips are a fantastic way to expose students to learning that they may not otherwise have, at places they wouldn't normally go to, while giving them the opportunity to get information from experts.
This topic of this virtual field trip study supports our values of kaitiakitanga. Very appropriate, being a school of students who are sea people, and an interesting form of learning for isolated schools like ours.
Fitted in well with Sea Week and had good information that suited our context for Year 9. Also provided our students of various ethnicity a good opportunity to learn associated Māori vocabulary.