You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
The topic tied in nicely with our class health focus on 'being in the waka' and working together. Although many of my students didn't connect culturally to this field trip, it was a new experience for them and therefore was engaging.
The content was engaging and this was evident in the thinking that took place and the work produced by all my students, who absolutely loved this trip regardless of their abilities or interests. For our Maori students this was a particularly awesome experience and it was also great to look at hauora from the angle of working together to crew the waka.
Very relevant to our Term Two inquiry about Māoritanga and how it is shared and celebrated in NZ. I use LEARNZ withy my class because I am always able to find something that suits the children's interests, and the real-life situations are so relevant and motivating.
It (the virtual field trip) allowed our students to be involved and part of something that wouldn't be attainable in a normal classroom setting. It totally enhanced my learning programme and enabled me to get support and guidance using the NZ curriculum.
Outstanding and supports student development in all areas. High interest and enthusiasm to learn. Wonderful context for our polynesian/maori majority students as connections are made with how their ancestors made significant migrations.
Anything to do with Culture is well received by our Maori students! Also covered all the Key Competencies. Was fantastic to be able to be a part of the field trip. Our students loved it!
An interesting style of learning - lots of potential. This has been a great experience as a teacher and for the class.
While all students benefit from the material, I found this one to be especially relevant to our local Maori students. It was also very useful as part of our reading programme when used with a graphic organiser for finding, selecting and retrieving relevant information.
This field trip supported the key competencies and learning areas well.
Was topical and at appropriate level for my student. Encouraged good discussion and gave excellent information. Student said "That was great. Can we do another one?"
The visual content helped quite a lot of discussion. So many real life experiences that the children can piggy back onto. The Field Trip was an asset for all the class. Thank you.
We had been involved in the Geohazards VFT so the children were well briefed and ready to take part in ShakeOut. The class really looks forward to taking part in the LEARNZ trips.
It broadened students' thinking and understanding of the large scale of the event and excited them about the topic. The ability to access information, colleagues and a world which we otherwise wouldn't have access to makes the learning process really meaningful.
All my students could relate to the information according to individual ability and interest levels. LEARNZ opens up a whole new dimension of making outdoor teaching a reality.
LEARNZ is doing a brilliant job and this is a fantastic resource for all teachers and students. Excellent contextual learning, and made really good links to the NZC. I loved how there was appropriate Māori and Pasifika language included to support our learners, while the inclusion of both easy and more difficult support materials allows for differentiation.
This field trip was a short mini-unit to prepare students for the national shake out drill and was in addition to our School Curriculum plan.
Relevant to topic at school and it was all current. Great tool.
It supported the Shakeout event we were participating in. It also supported the curriculum well. Visuals are excellent and information is current. The videos led to good discussions and recall of prior knowledge.
The kids thought it was a cool way to learn and they also said that the Shakeout drill now made a lot more sense i.e. why we do it. We found that the variety of different ways the information was presented made it interesting and accessible for all levels.
Enjoyable to hear first hand accounts - made it more real for the children.
The field trip allowed children to think deeply about emergencies, which was relevant to what we were learning in class about preparing an emergency plan. It was real life experiences from children to children which was great and the children were engaged because it was with other learners at their level.
It was good to have a child's perspective in the videos and background pages were good science information. The field trip enabled and empowered students to have an understanding of others' experiences and the impact these experiences have on themselves and the world in which they live.
The field trip connected the students to issues about earthquakes in a practical way. It was also great to connect with children who have been in earthquakes - this gave a realism and reality to the trip. Andrew (the LEARNZ Teacher) is marvellous - he really helps to ignite curiosity in the students.
The content was very appropriate as they were able to relate it to their own experiences, having experienced a 5.8 earthquake the night before. The audioconference was an excellent opportunity to focus on asking quality questions with a purpose and to interact with experts.
The field trip was a great lead in to the Shake Out drill earlier today and complimented our topic on civil defence. Related well to Science - Natural disasters as well as civil defence and emergency management.