You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
I have found the LEARNZ website an invaluable tool to support the learning needs of my class.
It was a lot of fun and very valuable learning. It took a lot of the research and planning out of my hands and allowed me to learn alongside my students.
A lot of learning happened for my Year 3-4 class through the background pages and videos. The trip linked to NZC through Science, Maths, Literacy and KCs. Resources were easy to use, and good to have knowledge imparted by experts.
As this was about Matariki and Navigation, it was of interest to my Maori and Pasifika students and showed them that we valued their stories. Excellent opportunity for all my students to learn in areas that would otherwise be inaccessible and from people they can't access locally.
It added significant context and background to our current Matariki study. The range of experiences, media and personalisation was great! My students really look forward to, enjoy and learn from LEARNZ field trips. Every one they have been on is remembered and has driven a huge amount of new learning.
This field trip is a great experience and learning for students and teachers alike. It caters particularly well to the High Expectation, Inclusion, Cultural diversity and Treaty of Waitangi Principles. All students have access to the knowledge offered by the audio option, and learning of Te Reo words, history and culturally different points of view are being taught.
Students really enjoyed it and were really engaged. They feel able to connect with their history and it has opened up discussions about our own past.
The field trip was a wonderful addition to our Matariki inquiry. The learning crossed several curriculum areas and students really enjoyed using different technologies to support their interests.
This field trip allowed my students to engage with Matariki in a new and interesting way. My students used all the key competencies and were given complete responsibility for sharing their new knowledge; we ended up with 2 raps, a play, a pop-up book and a speech. It was awesome.
Good background and build-up to Matariki. Prompted cultural awareness and discussions.
Fabulous trip; excellent daily videos that support teaching practice. The Māori aspect was particularly good with the lead up to our Matariki celebrations. Students loved taking part in the web conference, especially having their extra questions also answered.
Trips like this are great because all of the students can access the material, not just the capable readers, as so much of the content is video based. Being able to access the material after the event is also great.
Appropriate as my class was investigating this topic. This is another way to connect my students' learning to a wider community and it let my students see that other kids ask similar questions.
Totally appropriate as we have spent the term focussing on our origins and how our ancestors reached NZ. For the Māori children, in particular, the story of Kupe was perfect.
It integrated well with the NZ Curriculum i.e. Thinking, Managing self, Relating to others, Participating and contributing, High expectations, Treaty of Waitangi, and Future focus.
I could quickly look at background and ideas and use those suitable for my Year 2 class. Great for English (use sources of information e.g. videos, to identify form and express ideas), Science (PEB - Astronomical Systems - Matariki) and Social Studies (How the past is important to people | How places are significant to people).
This field trip lent itself so naturally to exploring space in a NZ context. Students loved learning about our sky & our history as navigators.This was powerful for my Māori learners as it showed sophistication they were not previously aware of.
Helped my teaching practice, as this BioBlitz field trip was a helpful tool to differentiate my teaching. Students enjoy a different form of lesson delivery, too.
In this virtual field trip, the students studied creatures while learning about the concepts of biodiversity and conservation so we built our Inquiry around native animals. We decided to go to the Groynes and check out creatures there. We also looked at the wildlife at Willowbank.
Supported all of the KC's, the Nature of Science and the science capabilities.
Pitched at a perfect level for my Year 4/5 class and went well for our place-based focus for the term. It supported and excited my students in an inclusive and well-planned way.
It was an appropriate level of challenge, and was fun and engaging at the same time. My students are buzzing after this experience. and are excited about the next LEARNZ field trip.
Not only did my students enjoy this BioBlitz field trip, they were able to apply their learning to our local area. Having the ability to listen to the background pages being read to them is empowering for my lower ability readers. It means that they can still get the same information and complete the tasks.
It fitted in with our next unit "Living Landscapes" and my students' interets in NZ spiders. It was my first time doing a live web conference and my class and I found it to be enjoyable, especially hearing from the experts, and they learned about the etiquette of that situation.
It linked in to our syndicate camp in the Tangihuas by Whangarei. It backed up our teaching points on why we need to monitor wildlife and trap introduced pets.