You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
Ahuahu Great Mercury Island
Our ākonga learned heaps about archaeology and sustainablility. All of the Key Competencies were used when engaging with this mahi. We appreciated how Māori culture was woven through as well.
Culturally significant and interesting material for my Year 7/8 class, that also helped us focus on the Key Competencies. I would like to thank the LEARNZ team for providing such a fun, interesting, hands on and informative resource to add to my teaching! Thank you for helping me love my job even more!!
This field trip has enabled many classes in our school to access really important learning about a significant local place. The material provided insight into conservation and historical concepts relevant to all new Zealanders. Our students gained an excellent understanding of these concepts thanks to this field trip, which has led to our own potential pest control project here at Whitianga Estuary.
The values of ecological sustainability and inquiry stand out. Future focus Principle. Connected life-long learners. Postive feedback from Māori and Pakeha students alike. Lots of links to our Year 8 Science program, especially Nature of Science, helping students understand how science takes place in the real world.
The diaries, photos and captions made my Year 2 class aware of the history of another area, so they could relate it to our own area.
Rail Safety
This field trip was very effective for my class because we have a railway line close to our school and within our community. I really wish I had to opportunity to learn in this way when I was at school. Everyday the tamariki in my class look look forward to accessing the new information, watching the web conferences and speaking to experts or listening to the audios.
Sustainable Seas
My 7 to 11 year olds all got something out of this trip. It integrated science, literacy, social science and math beautifully. My Maori and Pacific students were rapt to see the te reo aspect.
Absolute perfect mix of Living World Science and Sustainability/Social Studies aspect that tied in well with our Inquiry. Curated to make life simple for teachers and very engaging for students, especially when putting their own questions to experts.
Thank you for such an engaging and worthwhile week of learning, complete with extra activities. It has really helped to make Seaweek one to remember! Our class cannot wait for our next Tour!
The children were focused for the entire live conference and the conversation that was generated afterwards was great. A great lead in to our next topic - Our Local Ponds. Thank you to those of you who make these conferences possible.
Great for my class - they really enjoyed the trip, as it was fun and informative. I have been a member for many years and all my students love the LEARNZ programme.
I felt that the live feeds were aimed at a younger audience than my Year 13 Geography class but the resources and background pages are excellent.
Great for students to be connecting with expert scientists. They also find the videos and photos engaging and interesting. I loved how the concepts and values overarched the science, social studies and english learning areas. Nice to have the links to Te Ao Māori highlighted in a genuine, meaningful way.
Spot on for our Inquiry context. So good to have it online after the trip is finished. Children enjoyed the 'real' places we are seeing.
The highlight of the trip was the web conference and the class being able to ask their burning questions. My whole teaching team were all very impressed with the field trip and with the level of motivation and engagement it evoked in our students.
Highly engaging, targeted the Principles, Values, Key Competencies, Learning Areas and Vision of the NZ Curriculum very well. Fantastic resource!
We explored the sustainable use of this area (Nelson) of NZ. We were really interested in the types of fish that were examined and dissected by the experts.
It consolidated what we are undertaking with our inquiry unit.
Appropriate topic to implement the Principles, KC and Vision of the NZC with Year 10 class. Variety of learning activities, useful support and help.
Marine Reserves
Students were curious about Marine Reserves and I used this opportunity to introduce this topic for those interested in learning about sustainability. The 2 case studies were useful for ākonga to learn about being a citizen scientist in our own local area. In the next 6 weeks we will have further study and 2 field trips of our own.
Sometimes we cannot offer our own EOTC experiences so LEARNZ Virtual Field Trips are a great way to show the students, instead of just reading about it or hearing it from the teachers. Students find it motivating and enjoyable. The videos are specific and not just general videos that may be found online. Andrew talks to the students through the camera and makes them feel a part of the trip.
As we live in a coastal area, the Marine Reserves Field trip was perfect. Very relevant. The field trips are great to motivate lower level learners, as well as keeping high fliers engaged.
The videos are a great way to ensure all learners gain from the lessons. The chance to identify with a person and watch what they are doing (in their work) really connects with the students.
The learning was well suited to the needs of my Year 7 & 8 class. My Maori and Pasifika students valued being able to integrate their own prior knowledge of sea life into this field trip inquiry.
A great resource for NZ teachers and students. As always, this Marine Reserves virtual field trip infused all the Key Competencies and the Vision of the NZ Curriculum.
We used this for writing, enviro links and Sea Week connections. It helped engage the students and they loved having an ambassador to follow.
We cannot easily get out on actual fieldtrips so this is an especially good alternative. Integrated well with our Sustainability course.
Taking part in this field trip has empowered my students and motivated them to give back to their own community by raising money for EMR at Goat Island. It has also helped me to be more flexible in my teaching.
Map my Waahi
Linked beautifully with the Principles, Values, Key Competencies, Learning Areas and Vision of the NZ Curriculum. My Maori children, in particular, enjoyed learning more about their origins.
A LEARNZ trip like this keeps learning exciting and interesting. Makes you feel connected to the world outside the classroom.
This field trip has covered such a big range from maths and new technologies to geography, personal family trees and history. All students have been involved and have learnt a lot about mapping skills and just general new initiatives that are out there, such as TourBuilder. Creating family backgrounds and sharing those is a great activity for inclusion and cultural diversity.
Prompted me to explore mapping with my class. We mainly used the background material and explored concepts using maps of our own area.
Great extension and authenticity to our mapping unit; loved learning about Tourbuilder. Numerous entry points to the NZ Curriculum e.g Maths, Inquiry, KC's, Values, Agency, Digital Technologies. Loved the Māori perspective in the Thursday web conference.
All the students were engaged, especially my Maori and Pacific Island students who were empowered by this resource. I am always looking for different ways to engage the class and LEARNZ never fails to deliver. Thank you.
It enabled us to connect with other students around New Zealand.
This trip gave different students a chance to shine and it linked strongly to cultural competencies. LEARNZ helps me link my teaching to what is actually going on for us in New Zealand, and keeps lessons and unit plans real.
This trip provided opportunities and learning for my class that we would not have otherwise been able to access.
It fitted in perfectly with our "Our Place" inquiry with high levels of engagement in this meaningful and authentic activity. Having each learner research and share their cultural heritage and ancestry has been enlightening and empowering. Using the digital tool Tour Builder and Google earth to map their waahi (ancestral journey) incorporated the new strands of the Technology curriculum with learners designing and creating using digital technology, not just consuming.
The option for viewing the videos etc. at a time that does not conflict with other school commitments, is extremely valuable. Contributed to student agency so class members could be self managing, collaborative and use their literacy and numeracy skills in authentic and rich contexts.
This trip created a lot of 'wondering' moments and also helped raise the profile of reo Māori in my class. It really supported cultural diversity, which is something that our school and Kāhui Ako has been focussing on.
BioBlitz
Stimulated students to look at environmental issues and biodiversity in our local area. From a teacher's perspective it was a simple way to get children engaged in learning using a digital tool.
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.
The BioBlitz trip was an excellent activity in terms of supporting NZ Curriculum objectives in Science and Ecology for Levels 3 and 4. Science is a way of explaining the world and scientists work together to support their ideas. Ecology - students can see how organisms are adapted to their environment.
The Bioblitz field trip allowed our tamariki to further explore their learning context (insects) and to add to their understanding of an area of the science curriculum. The format of the field trip meant that what the children had already learned was given relevance and promoted further inquiry, conversations, excitement and engagement in this context.
Great way to extend learners in science and mathematics. Adjustable for Years 1-6. Lots of Key Competencies.
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.
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 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.
People and Water
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.
It fitted well with our Sustainability Social Studies topic.
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.
LEARNZ field trips like this expose my students to things (places, concepts, experts etc) that they would not otherwise be exposed to.
Year 4-5 student comment: "Doing this field trip was interesting because I was learning about irrigators and water on earth".
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."
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.
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.
It was effective to tune students into ideas they had not thought of, and wonder. The virtual field trip is a good way to leave the classroom without the big cost.
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.
The field trip encouraged my students to think more deeply about the topic while reflecting on what they already knew.
The course was great for student engagement and they had fun learning about farming and irrigation.
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 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.
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.
Year 4-5 student comment: "It made me think of lots more questions".
Matariki and Navigation
This was a wonderful field trip which linked with our classroom learning. The kids particularly enjoyed watching the web conferences.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
The topic linked into our current Integrated Inquiry. Great resources on the website that the kids enjoyed interacting with.
The website fitted perfectly with our current learning about Matariki and the field trip was very engaging. It helped encourage the students to be actively involved in various Matariki events in our area, as they felt confident sharing their newly acquired knowledge as well as asking questions.
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.
Students were excited to go on this virtual field trip and really enjoyed using Google maps. They were motivated to do the activities, which utilised all key competencies and encouraged multiple learning styles.
Excellent that students could replay the web conferences, as they can view later to find answers to their questions and hit the pause button as often as they need.
The kids loved seeing our ambassador and reading her diary. Thank you.
Perfect timing for Matariki. Tamariki were very connected with this field trip. Strong Social Sciences link around cultural ways of knowing.
Great for inquiry learning about Matariki and a good link with Tuia 250. Helpful to be able to replay the videos and do the quizzes to check learning and retention in a fun interactive way.
Perfect fit for our learning. Students really responded to this teaching medium. It met our AO about understanding cultural aspects - stars / navigation, understanding signs and symbols, participating and contributing, and thinking. Also helped a special needs student to shine.
Absolutely fantastic experience. Complimented the work we were doing with School Kit. Supported all key comps, real learning for the kids, integrated into many learning areas, authentic learning.
We were studying Matariki as a whole school so this field trip was fantastic!
Unpacking the apple story
Great to have a primary industry field trip - this provided a great range of videos as starters about the apple production process for Level 3.
We have been learning about sustainability in horticulture, so this was perfect for our class learning and could not have been timed better. The field trip allowed our class to experience the entire industry from a safe environment. It encouraged self-management and enabled us all to rewind our learning.
This Apples field trip was highly inclusive and supported students with different learning styles and learning challenges - great to have reading support on the site. High engagement, helps develop intrinsic motivation in my students as well as inspiring them.
My science students used this apple story to make great connections, which generated a lot of discussion and further research. LEARNZ is a fantastic resource and teaching tool enjoyed by many of my students.
Whats the Plan Stan?
It worked in well with the nationwide earthquake drill and made students think about how to deal with different emergencies. Everything came into the Key Competencies, Health and PE curriculum, and our values at school.
The children love tuning in live and this really motivates them. We had been on the LEARNZ Kaikōura earthquakes trip earlier in the year and this was a great follow up.
Participation helped students to learn to work together as a team, so they were able to formulate appropriate questions to put to the experts. Really created an awareness of the need to have an emergency plan.
Connects with studets' wider lives, and engages the support of their families, whānau, and communities. Another vehicle that can be used to engage students with like-thinking students across the motu.
It was great to have real-life experiences recounted and for students to be able to communicate with scientists. The "What's the Plan, Stan?" topic was relevant, and seeing the conference call made students even more interested.
This field trip linked in really well with our Science Inquiry and the real world nature of the field trip, which the children felt connected to and motivated them to self-direct their learning and go further. I have had excellent learning from my children from the LEARNZ Virtual Field Trips. I think they are fantastic.
Children engaged with this resource and were excited to learn about disasters in this way. Background pages were a great support to the children's learning as they were easy to use as an independent or group or whole class activity, especially with two reading levels and with the read-aloud option.
I used it as part of my independent learning and group reading sessions. This field trip showed the children how they can be managing their own safety.
LEARNZ supports all areas of NZC - a wonderful resource!
The resources were excellent for research and reading tasks, and we learnt the importance of being prepared as we practiced our earthquake drills. Everything supported our unit of inquiry about natural disasters specific to New Zealand and my students valued being able to speak to experts in the field.
This field trip most definitely supported our students in becoming lifelong learners, who develop skills and strategies for real-life situations. Everything is well-researched and my Year 6-8 students and I particularly enjoy the presentation of the video clips.
It helped students to see the key competencies in action in a real life situation outside of the classroom.
Antarctica
My Year 7 & 8 students found the field trip very engaging and effective for many reasons eg. extending knowledge, developing inquiry skills, digital technology. It also covered science and social science well, and variously incorporated the Principles, Values, and Key Competencies of the NZC.
Really enjoyed it! Lots learnt! Very effective - more so for the older kids but what my young enjoyed most was the diaries.
Very appropriate for Year 5/6 students, who loved the 'real' experience. Covers lots of the curriculum areas, from reading groups to individual programmes with students who have special needs. Web site means students can follow up at home and share with family what they have learnt.