You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
Antarctica
This was an amazing way to make the learning come alive for our study of Antarctica. Very effective - personalised the learning.
Linked well to our inquiry this term on Ecosystems and Science.
The students particularly enjoyed the videos and the quizzes. They also commented on how much they liked how the diaries were written as if they were there. This LEARNZ Antarctica trip fitted in well with the Nature of Science aspects of questioning and using vocabulary that we were focussing on.
The idea of virtually going to Antarctic created such a buzz and a HUGE level of engagement. It's great the way LEARNZ leaders connect with students - they present everything in such an accessible way but have high expectations that students can and will be able to understand fairly sophisticated concepts.
This is an effective and engaging part of my literacy programme. My Pasifika students, in particular, are much more engaged with a Learnz field trip than other academic activities. Especially relevant in meeting the vision of the NZ Curriculum.
This LEARNZ Antarctica field trip has given me the confidence to continue to integrate digital technology into my programmes. My class were very engaged in their learning and it was well integrated through Literacy, Science and Mathematics.
Whats the Plan Stan?
The amount of information my students learn in these mini units is impressive and they generally retain more knowledge this way. Thanks for all the effort you put in. Saves on my planning too.
Learnz virtual field trips are an integral part of our programme - students look forward to each one. What's the Plan, Stan? led to research around a range of topics - particularly in response to Web Conferences. Special needs students can access ALL aspects of the tour. Maori students are able to add context and their own ideas and understanding, from talks by representatives of local iwi.
All New Zealanders need to know this info - new immigrants were quite surprised by some of it. Ticks all of the boxes. Allows my diverse learners to engage in their own style with the material, which frees me up to move around and have quality conversations about the topic with each of the students - no crowd control needed! Brilliant!
My class enjoyed the little videos and learnt heaps about earthquakes. Linked well to managing self and community. It involves the children with things outside the classroom - connects them to real life NZ.
Linked very well with our school ShakeOut focus. Great for building Participating and Contributing, and Self-Management in students. Good design in that I can pick-and-choose what is useful for my class.
We were involved in the Nationwide 'Shake it Out' and this added value to the day. LEARNZ is a 'one stop shop' for me - it means I do not have to spend hours surfing on the internet to support my learning programmes.
I find the teacher support section very helpful and have never thought, "I wish they had this here". Students were able to read and understand the easy background information and were able to discuss the ideas put forward, then form evacuation plans for school and home.
Field trips like these help build connected, lifelong, sustainable learners.
Very useful for convincing children that we really do need to prepare for a disaster. Being an e-learning class, we made a disaster plan for our own family. The variety of content is more engaging than normal classroom activities, and this helps to motivate priority learners.
Freshwater Ecology
This method of learning was highly suited to a select group of my Year 9 students as it allowed them to self-manage, focus on learning, and at a later stage 'practice' through an EOTC field trip to a local freshwater stream. Excellent and most effective.
Students who watched videos were motivated to set up a fresh water tank at school. Good science, reinforcing concepts of food webs and freshwater ecosystems.
We were teaching about NZ Rivers as a module class, combining Science and Social Studies, so it fitted the achievement objectives perfectly for our subject areas. Awesome!
Natural Hazards
This field trip along with the last allowed our learners to ask questions, be inquisitive and actively involved in what is happening in our world.
Maori students enjoyed learning Maori words related to the topic; they felt included and their culture appreciated. The field trip supported our learning about planet Earth, especially in comparison between NZ and Iceland.
Interesting insight into volcanoes and earthquakes. Kids were amazed to learn about other countries with the similar to NZ geological issues. Activities were interesting.
Captivating videos and learning activities about planet Earth. Thanks for the project!
Linked well into our unit on puia and maunga, with good information in the background pages and activities. Dipping into videos was useful. Fitted well with our unit, which is assessing Earth Systems at Level 4/5 of the NZC. It also allowed for participation and contribution for both the KCs and the NoS branch of Pūtaiao.
It was really engaging and held the students' interest. The online support was fabulous, as there was a lot of support and different material and ideas.
The field trip gave my students a good hook into volcanoes and natural hazards. It supported the science learning area well. Watching the scientist's plane trip sparked my kids curiousity, as did the trip up the volcano.
This virtual field trip took my teaching to another level - I have integrated LEARNZ into my Google Classroom environment and this is brilliant. Students enjoyed the ability to ask questions during web conferences and appreciated being able to go back and review them.
It encouraged a purposeful use of digital devices. The children found it very interesting to hear the scientists, see the location and the work that is being done. It brought everything to life for them.
As a individual teacher, I could never hope to organise and present learning opportunities to students as well as the Learnz team does. The natural hazards topic was very engaging for the students and the LEARNZ trip provided variety to my teaching programme and suited my e-learning class.
The timing and content of the field trip was appropriate for my Year 9 class and they were all engaged, especially in the live web conference. I thought the virtual field trip was a valuable experience; both for the students and for my professional development.
The virtual field trip encouraged my Year 9 students to manage themselves, and helped develop their critical thinking skills.
The field trip allowed the children to dig deeper than just volcanism in Iceland. Students followed up with research on NZ Geology and experimenting making ther own lava, like Ben does in his lab!
I loved that the children were involved in creating the content by writing the questions for Ben and Shelley. Matched our inquiry concept of "Change" perfectly. Encouraged lots of 21st century skills and great learning.
It was at a perfect level for Level 3 to 4 of the Curriculum with extension opportunities. We participated live in one web conference but being able to replay all the web conferences was awesome! Took away the need for all the paperwork now needed for any outdoor education trip!
It has been fantastic for children to speak with experts. Sending our ambassador this time just made it all so real. Such an excellent teaching resource. Nothing like it anywhere else.
It was effective and was presented in such a way that it was really enjoyable, and the learning appropriate. LEARNZ trips give a great insight into the world and allow us to see and learn things we otherwise would not. Great learning tool - making learning real.
It got the children thinking about volcanoes and earthquakes in NZ. Clear topics and answers were in kid talk.
From the NZC, all Principles, Values covered in the programme, Key Competencies all used to reinforce learning; Science - natural hazards - future focus.
The resources and information from this field trip are going to continue to be useful for the rest of this term. The connections that are made for our students to see others involved and other parts of our country/world are fantastic.
Gave us some great connections and real life examples of what we have been reading, talking and doing experiments about. It tapped into a lot of natural interest we have in our class, especially following our visit to a geyser at Te Puia.
Very engaging for Year 7 & 8 students. Students had a lot of opportunities to direct their own learning using the Chromebooks; they were managing self. This was my first LEARNZ trip so really pleased to discover this is another way to bring science into the classroom in such a real way.
My class were able to learn at their own level and pace, at the same time exploring the Principle of Learning to Learn and reflecting on how best they learned. Great to see my students raise their level of questioning and their confidence and independence since our first LEARNZ web conferences, on the previous field trip.
The children love these experiences. This was such a great follow up to the earlier Kaikoura earthquake field trip and built into our own study of Natural Disasters. It has added to our deep and thorough learning. Can't wait for the next one.
We absolutely loved this Iceland field trip and got so much out of it, that it took over a very intense 3 weeks of our learning. The content was so well pitched that all our children from year 1-8 could understand and learn from it.
Participation was great as we got to go Iceland!
This trip generated a huge response and the students loved being in Iceland. I was constantly asked if they could have more time researching-looking at videos and following their own Inquiry trail on this topic. All key competencies were used.
The kids actioning the Key Competencies through a field trip was new and interesting for them.
Absolutely ideal for my year level 3 & 4.
Supported collaboration, inquiry, and taught specific knowledge about the subject.
The experience has provided me with another tool to help teach my students and provide them with another learning tool to learn. Students are beginning to thinking more critically about the world we live in and how it all works. Seeing themselves on screen talking to experts and listening to other schools ask questions, that were answered, was very helpful.
Map my Waahi
The web conferences in particular encouraged my Year 1-8 students to listen carefully to ideas from other schools and the experts, so they could contribute themselves.
This mapping field trip was a great context to explore sustainability and te ao māori.
Children made good connections to previous knowledge and we are now using mapping tools online to record where traps are and their catch rate etc. The field trip tied in nicely to our current inquiry about pest management and previous inquiries into the blue duck and kiwi.
Supported our heavy focus on the key competencies and principles as we develop our local curriculum. Interesting, well thought out, engaging, and followed on nicely from other inquiries.
I thought the weaving of both Te Reo and tikanga/Mātauranga Māori was organic and well done. I also found it useful that the appropriate Achievement Objectives were linked to the Resource section of the website. Overall, this field trip supported the NZ Curriculum well.
Helped provide an exciting context for students to learn about mapping. The field trip was presented in an interdisciplinary way which made the learning meaningful. It also supported me as a teacher to provide learning through the use of digital devices, and made learning both fun and engaging.
As we are a Whanau class, it is great to have the glossary and the Cultural mapping context as this relates perfectly to my tamariki. It inspired curiosity and inquiry, especially in relation to Technology and the Nature of Science.
This fieldtrip fitted into our planned learning well as it had a variety of linked objectives. It enabled lower ability readers from my Year 5/6 class to work with a buddy to complete reading and activities for the fieldtrip.
Not only were we able to see mapping and other tasks being done in the field, but being enjoyed. Life long learning was modelled.
The way the field trip was structured caught students attention and kept them interested. The emphasis on local history, starting with Maori legend worked really well. Lots of interest in being able to plot the trip using the mapping tool.
This trip was useful in discussing the topography of New Zealand, prior to guiding the students into thinking about natural disasters as part of our Cause and Effect inquiry. We found the web conferences most helpful.
The students have continued, even after the end of the field trip, to explore their own passions around mapping, e.g. mapping their own whanau story. My Maori students showed full engagement in this trip, especially when listening to the oral stories of the local area. LEARNZ definitely supports my teaching, by providing a wide variety of resources and experts to support the class inquiry learning.
Love the links to tikanga and Maoridom - something that is a focus for us as school right now, but can be hard to do in an authentic way. This field trip helped us to achieve that. Students also hadn't thought of 'mapping' beyond the one on the wall so this opened up a whole new world for them.
Ecological Restoration
My students loved it and felt quite special being one of the speaking schools. Engagement was high with all students - it was also a great catalyst for some reluctant writers. The site and learning is structured in a way that promotes self-management and critical thinking. It also sparked a lot of genuine interest around meaningful projects in our local area.
Great for Participation and Connections, knowing our native flora and fauna are at risk, so students are feeling more compelled to change habits and do something about it.
The students found it extremely engaging as part of our "Learning for Life" inquiry, which linked into our "Leaves of Green" project. Students particularly liked the daily videos.
I have been using LEARNZ for over 10 years - it is so awesome. Extremely beneficial in helping students see real life issues outside of the classroom.
The link to Te Reo vocabulary was great. The videos, ability to listen as well as read the texts, the quizzes and diaries were all great. They encouraged me to hand over responsibility for learning more to the children and gave them ownership of the tasks. Some more introverted children shared some great findings from the field trip.
Excellent resources, great engagement from the learners and provoked good thinking surrounding our own restoration project. Fully supported the science learning areas of Living World (Ecology L1-6) and Planet Earth & Beyond (Earth Systems L3-4).
It was awesome to see students a similar age taking action in their communities. Worked really well with our science focus of protecting and creating habitats.
My class were very engaged in the web conference. This trip supported the science learning area and the children were keen to learn more.
The photos especially helped my ESOL students to learn about New Zealand and its environment. We will be going to Natureland as an actual field trip later in Term 4 and a bird sanctuary, which will reinforce the concepts we have looked at during the Virtual Field trip.
Sustainable Wai
We are looking at our local river and the field trip gave us a context in which we could link our reading programme and link it through science. The class was engaged and went onto the images and background pages during independent learning times. Awesome trip - thanks Andrew and team.
My students love working in pods learning and researching on all the background pages and then seeing the real life videos. To the LEARNZ team thank you for such an awesome resource, that I love using with my students!
It allowed for huge flexibility. Our unit is based around the Place and Environment AOs of the Social Science learning area, and it was perfect. Kids were very engaged and particularly looked forward to the daily videos.
This field trip was excellent and a fantastic opportunity to talk to inspiring, knowledgeable and caring experts. My students now have clarity around the direction for their action plans, therefore the field trip was effective, appropriate and supported the Principles, Values, Key Competencies, Learning Areas and Vision of the NZ Curriculum. Being able to re-watch the web conferences with the additional notes and links is really helpful.
Share the Road
Thorough integration of curriculum elements. For this field trip, we followed a pattern in class inquiry and core subjects.
Roads and road safety and public spaces are a part of everyday life, so it was great to think about and talk about how this effects us and how our behaviour effects others, in a meaningful way. I love, as always, the Learnz topics and the framework provided to have some interesting conversations, share ideas, and expand our knowledge in fun and interesting ways.
It allowed us to complete learning in technology, ICT, science and maths.
Spirit of Adventure
It showed the children working as a team in real life situations. I have also used it as part of my group reading material.
Very useful videos, students enjoyed them. I have got a few dyslexic children so videos and live interviews were really helpful to get them involved in learning.
Kauri
It was easy, engaging and grabbed the students attention. Covered all areas well as we were able to use it as a hook in, therefore allowing students to explore further in areas of interest as well as share with the wider school and community.
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.
Land Sky and Space
My class as a lot of different levels of learning so having Learnz in my reading programme helps with coordinating groups and keeping students interested in Literacy Numeracy and Inquiry. They used thinking in many ways and there were different topics for different learners.
Excellent resource, Learnz is so integrated into our schooling now we call it a learnz week and we have learnz books. We love it.
Adapting after Emergencies
It was topical and led to deeper thinking from my students about coping with an emergency. ALL students from varying abilities could access this interesting and challenging material. The audio option on Background pages was great and well used by my children. My students loved the chance to use and connect with Te Reo in a real context.
Great Safety management ideas came through and layering on what we've learnt in Stan the Plan Learnz. Kia Pakari resource was fantastic. We had some great discussions on how different people help in the community and key messages endorsed such as - have a grab bag etc.
The field trip has been a great next step in learning from experts and hearing stories from our own back yard. Each morning of the field trip the kids have arrived enthused and ready to see what Andrew will be sharing with us today.
This field trip ended our term long unit on preparing for an emergency. It was spot on for my year 4-5 class, giving us a chance to hear from experts and people who experienced the earthquake. It also allowed us to ask questions and clarify our understanding. This has opened another door for me. It was so interesting, meaningful and relevant. It shows how technology can be used to extend learning. The students loved it - all rating the experience 9 or 10 out of 10. Thank you.
Living in Kaikoura it was good for my students to be able to look back and see how far they have come. It is so great to have the work done with linking it to the NZC.
Students were engaged with the topic and it was great having experts to answer their questions. Interactive activities have been helpful to scaffold learning for all students.
This field trip covered Science and Social Sciences and gave the students the information they needed to be able to make personal links to the learning. LEARNZ takes our learning and understanding beyond anything we could hope to offer our students - the field trips are a valuable part of our global learning program.
Matched well with the NZ Curriculum in Social sciences and Planet Earth science. My children did enjoy using the Maori vocab.
Kōkako
My students felt like they were there. It helped my students to connect with real life issues that are occurring now in real time. Great connection with tangata whenua.
This Kōkako field trip heavily support our focus on māori perspectives and tikanga practices surrounding nature and our syndicate mountain. The videos and background sheets are also excellent and catered for the range of levels in my class.
Students interested, good to have Māori view, overall great learning for kids. Relevant and NZ based learning about the Living World and conservation.
LEARNZ field trips like Kōkako are great for inquiry projects to show children another way to find information and to feed into passions.
Authentic context and linked to our inquiry for term 2. Useful for promoting Key Competencies - we used thinking, managing self, participating and contributing.
This field trip was perfect as we are researching New Zealand, in particular birds. It helped us to learn about kōkako but also allowed us to value the kōkako on a personal basis.
Perfect as we were exploring Predator Free NZ as an inquiry unit. Great to see the relevance of our tracking and trapping in our local school bush area. Good that our kids also saw that people have paid jobs doing this work. It's real-life stuff!
The field trip catered for a wide range of abilities. Introductory video, photos and captions were brilliant to help construct questions for the videoconference. I found the SOLO taxonomy excellent. Having the Māori words with the correct pronounciations was fabulous.