You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand

It gave them the sense of being there, and the children were motivated and empowered to make a difference. The children loved watching the videos, and it made the whole learning process more authentic.
We used this field trip to help us cover our Deep Learning Topic of Past and Present. it was very helpful in many aspects as we also wanted a science based focus in this area. The activities and background pages were useful for self management.
They (LEARNZ virtual field trips) are informative and they reinforce what I am teaching. We had watched with real disappointment the Kauri Grove in Cambridge and our local area die in last year's drought.
Linking a community issue with young adults (in this way with LEARNZ), has been empowering for the students. They are able to contribute to conversations outside the classroom using science and cultural based knowledge.
Easy to access and structured well for independent work. Just the right level and interest.
We live in the north and are surrounded by Kauri trees. Our students are now aware that kauri trees are under threat as they did not know this initially. I feel science is a very important part of the curriculum and want to encourage students to interact with the New Zealand environment. We are now going to visit the local bush and observe our trees.
Fitted in very well with our non-fiction reading strategies and gave information that we weren't aware of. Also topical with the news broadcast about Coromandel.
Kauri is one of our taonga, and this field trip supported our role as tangata whenua and kaitiaki. A great resource and easy to use with the class who learnt so much about the kauri and the disease affecting it.
Students were motivated by the field trip and made gains in reading, research, and critical thinking.
The visual and aural activities of the virtual fieldtrips, real time and recorded, are an immediate way to bring the wider environment into the classroom. The field trips and their material are flexible enough to give opportunities for a variety of uses in the classroom.
Great that kauri dieback was in the news, while we were studying it on the virtual field trip. Good integration with Literacy, Te Reo, Key Competencies, Science, and Environmental Education. Wide range of topics, relevant, real life and happening now.
... upon completion and reflection the most impact was on the areas of our Key Competencies. Absolutely without a doubt the field trip supported the true essence of our NZC. The children became kauri experts and were keen to cometogether as the Kauri Class and learn. It promoted true collaboration and it was thoroughly enjoyable for both the children and myself.
Photos generated a lot of discussion.
We found it an effective way to learn. It focussed us on our work and was more interesting than just picking up a book. We would use LEARNZ again because we get to learn more about what's outside of our local community.
LEARNZ adds a rich IT experience to the class learning, that relates to local topics and utilises local expertise very well.
Linked through te reo me nga tikanga Maori - caring for our environment. Redwood Forest is in our area so able to connect to it through this field trip. Related to the NZ Curriculum - Community engagement, Cultural diversity, Future focus and the Vision - Confident, Connected, Informed, Contribuors.
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!
Used for Science/Geography/Earth sciences - natural disasters as well as Maths/Science - data collection and interpretation.
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.
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.
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 was perfect. Another tool in a teacher's basket of learning activities. It put into a familiar context (we live in the Bay) the material we were learning about. Relevant visuals and they loved the ambassador, as did all our students even the big year 12 students!
The class had just completed an Earth Science unit and this VFT (Virtual Field Trip) was like the icing on the cake. I am not aware of a more effective and powerful learning medium. The Key Competency of Thinking by constructing questions to put to experts during Audioconferences was most effective.
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.