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Teacher testimonials

Antarctica

Led to better engagement and met the learning towards taumata 5 tikanga ā-iwi marau in the TMOA. Outcomes for my kura were evident and supported our kura value system or mātāpono, kaitiakitanga (guardianship of our earth mother Papatuānuku) and rangatiratanga (self-determination that comes from our own actions).

Kararaina Iasona from Te Kura Maori o Porirua

The trips like Antarctica are fantastic. It enables all children no matter what ethnicity or socioeconomic group to explore the world. My teaching practice has been transformed as LEARNZ allows me to present learning with a digital approach, using multiple computers and devices and guiding students in combination with Google Classroom.

Pamela McDowell from Westbrook School

Listening to someone who was there reinforced how close we are to Antarctica and viewing the videos diaries really focused the students into the whole experience. The readings and activities made students manage their time appropriately.

Ian Timo from Linwood College

The LEARNZ personnel and experts feel like real friends or students' own personal teacher, which helps to make the learning experiences very potent. They field trips like Antarctica are great and I just love the work you all do to make them interesting and engaging. Thank you.

Lesley Johnston from Firth School

Students said it was great because it simulated going to Antartica and it was awesome seeing (our ambassador) BuzzBee there. It was easy to set up my programme using Google classroom so students and their families could see what was happening whenever they wanted.

Cheryl Dunick from Spring Creek School

The context of this Antarctica learning trip was helpful to discuss the ESS topic (L5): Earth systems. Students learnt lots of new things about Antarctica and sea ice formation, with some good extra teaching material and activities to extend students.

Nataliia Kravchenko from Te Awamutu College

Great resource with a variety of media. Very comprehensive, providing students with another layer of learning material connected to real world around them.

Roland Gorlich from Arahoe School

I really enjoy the learnz trips. My class loved learning about preservation and discovery in Antarctica. It delved into the deeper questions. 

Gina Matheson from Marshall Laing School

Catered to the needs of all students. Tasks were easily differentiated for all curriculum levels. Great opportunity for students to make connections with the wider community.

Christina Fortes from Hay Park School

It was in line with our learning focus for this year of being a fully digital classroom. Online help was all good.

Jennifer Barrow from Kaniere School

LEARNZ is a great way to study a topic using a medium that is accessible to all, even my low vision student and those with poor reading skills. The Antarctica field trip supported the science and social studies areas of the curriculum and much more, such as the key competencies.

Carolyn Thelning from Weston School

My class of all boys love the LEARNZ background readings and activities; their non-fiction reading levels have all improved. They like the fact that they can work at their level and at their own pace. They all love science and anything (like LEARNZ) that helps develop their understanding of how our world works.

Angela Moeke from St Patrick's Catholic School Taupo

It made the students aware of the value of the work done in Antarctica, both in the past and in the present, more effectively than just reading about it.

Jacinta Drummond from Mount Hutt College

Students love them (LEARNZ field trips) - they are engaging, use real life contexts which have an impact on students' lives, encourage whanau involvement. Fabulous resource.

Caroline Arnold from Lepperton School

It has taken my students to new worlds of understanding, given them purpose and focus to read and write about a 'real-life' topic that is of interest to them.

Alice Keeling from Springston School

We integrated the learning across all curriculum areas, which was easily done. All my students enjoy learning in this way and the background reading was perfect for my Year 4 class.

Jacqueline Barrett from Westbrook School

It definitely ticked the boxes. A great topic. We enjoyed all that was on offer.

Lorena McStay from Templeton School

We loved the field trip! Thanks so much for all that you do. It is such an engaging way to connect with various areas of the curriculum.

Sarah Trethewey from Katikati Primary School

Real life engagement with scientists on ice was interesting - great for students to see what we had been studying in real life.

Vanessa Carnevale from Waiheke High School

Having all of the Antarctica resources together makes it very easy for students to self-explore the parts of the topic they are especially interested in. The real benefit for us has been having all of the audio with the readings for my lower readers; they prefer to listen and the NZ accent of the reader is a bonus.

Lisa O'Connor from St Teresa's School Featherston

I thought LEARNZ did a great job of mixing up content that covered multiple curriculum areas in a logical and accessible way. Most of the time my Year 8-9 class were engaged and absorbed by what was happening.  Well done.

Adrian Humm from Ruawai College

My curriculum focus was supported fully by the LEARNZ Antarctica programme and two NIWA scientists visiting the class in person helped no end to endorse what we had learned. Some students were able to really drive their own learning, while having the two levels for reading enabled some of my less able readers to participate more fully. 

Valerie Moratti from Havelock North Intermediate

Students became very curious with lots of wonderings about Antarctica and they decided that science is really cool. The field trip made for fun learning and helped us use the i-pads and laptops more effectively for independent research.

Paula O'Neill from New River Primary

Excellent presentation and a great learning experience for the students. Students really enjoyed a different approach to learning and it was good that the weaker readers were able to participate.

Susan Dane from Elm Park School

This was so engaging for our class. This is a great way to bring science alive in the classroom and it led to so many discussions.

Amie-Lee Mills from Te Akau ki Papamoa Primary School

Students were highly engaged, especially by the videos and photos of our ambassador. Students who need extra support with literacy really appreciated the easy to read background material.

Cristy Yonetani from St Mark's School Christchurch

Interactive, engaging and highly motivating. Helps create partnership between home and school as students are extremely keen to share the field trip experiences with their parents.

Karen Edwards from Brightwater School

Rather than just researching independently about Antarctica, the students enjoyed having a variety of tools at their fingertips. The mixture of videos, photos, quiz etc kept students interested and being able to listen to the information rather than having to read it is highly beneficial.

Marcia Karaitiana from West Gore School

This field trip has been the highlight of the year for all the students. Amazing enthusiasm from the whole school.

Emily Wells from St Mark's School Christchurch

It was a very REAL and engaging focus for a lot of different interest groups. Use of the Audio conferences was a first and was very impactful for the students.

Jean Mallinson from Alfriston School

Garden Bird Survey

It was fantastic - my students learnt so much about the birds in our backyard and also about our native birds. I have used LEARNZ for many years now and it is the first thing I look at when planning my year, for either inquiry units or pure units that I can cover on real kiwi issues that the kids can understand.

Daniele Cuthbert from Edgecumbe School

It allowed students to work independently and collaboratively depending on their age. It encourgaged values - respecting our environment. And met a need for science.

Jessica Keay from Ahuroa School

Ticks every box! The key competencies are embedded throughout the learning for a LEARNZ Virtual Field Trip. Student motivation is always high and there is a good mixture of technology along with literacy.

Jacqueline Barrett from Westbrook School

Great variety of ecology concepts covered in the virtual field trip each day for my Year 9 students. Many opportunities for students to manage themselves and work through the activities in preparation for the field trip.

Lucy Meagher from Havelock North High School

The materials to support learning prior to the field trip were very appropriate and provided coherence between learning areas in a real-world context. Reinforced students' understanding of the interconnectedness of flora and fauna while being part of a nationwide survey that was meaningful to them.

Carol Tyson from Hurupaki School

Timely and relevant.

Richard Kerr from ACG Sunderland

Geohazards

We live in a geothermal area so its relevance to our community makes this field trip appropriate. The field trips are a shared social experience that provides the opportunity for students to encounter and explore novel things in an authentic New Zealand setting.

Ngareta Te Whau from Malfroy School

This Learnz Geohazards site allowed my students to work at their own pace and helped them to become drivers of their own learning.

Rachel King from St Mary's School Hokitika

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.

Denise Barrington from Kerikeri Primary School

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.

Karen Mitchell from Carmel College

Whats the Plan Stan?

It was well organised and at the students' levels so no-one was left behind. They now have a good understanding of what to do next in the case of an emergency.

Amanda Carter from Pukekohe Intermediate

Fitted in well with our civil defence week. Engaged the students. Have recommended to colleagues and our whole team will use this next year.

Jayne Senington from Conifer Grove School

Our students are manly visual learners so through watching the videos they were able to sustain attention longer and retain more information. Also every activity in the field trip, I believe, has in some way reflected the Key Competencies and Values in the Curriculum.

Mateja Kotnik from Oaklynn Special School

The fieldtrip background pages allowed my Year 8 class of very diverse abilities to engage at their various levels - at least a quarter of the class really appreciated the audio text! It was also a great opportunity for my students to integrate inquiry learning into our course.

Claudine Tyrrell from Kaikorai Valley College

The field trip really helped the children to think and plan ahead what they would do to keep safe in an emergency. The videos linked to disasters that could happen in our area.

Angela Hunt from Red Beach School

Activities (interactive) are great. Visiting places and discussing in short (video) clips are useful. Students had information at a variety of levels and had access to an expert, allowing teacher to become facilitator.

Kerry Godkin from Red Beach School

It led to a combination of other tasks including preparing their own households in the event of a disaster, getting to know their neighbourhood and even who can assist in times of need. Children can explore the information independently, challenge their understanding with the quizzes and then be encouraged to follow-up with related tasks and websites.

Glynn Hills from Central School

It was like second nature to this term's inquiry and fitted like a glove. It was leveled and delivered at an excellent level and the content was perfect for my Year 8 class.

Heather Williams from Papamoa College

Fitted with our science unit, values of looking after others, and furthered competencies such as speaking and listening and communicating using written language.

Rhonda Beet from Orewa North School

Most children went home and planned emergency supplies and procedures. We integrated reading, mapping, videos, discussing, writing, maths, presenting ideas, as well as health and safety procedures. We had a lot of fun.

Joanne Phillips from Te Mata School Havelock North

All of my students, including Maori Pasifika and ESOL, have good understandings as a result of the LEARNZ What's the plan, Stan field trip. It was helpful having experts answer inquiry questions my student had, and videos helped certain students gain a deeper understanding.

Mary Herlihy from Royal Road School

Tied the emergency drills that we practice in the school into a wide context. It supported the learning we were doing in class.

Aaron Frost from Whitiora School

It got the class thinking deeply about the actualaties that would happen, particularly in our area of Porirua, even though the field trip was based in Auckland. The class enjoyed being part of a New Zealand-wide group during the audio conferences.

Jacqueline Bassett from Paremata School

Totally appropriate for my Y3&4 class, with the children being very engaged with their learning. Love the videos and photos which make the content accessible to all children, no matter their reading ability.

Carolyn Thelning from Weston School

I adapted it to be useful for my Year One class. I concentrated on How to keep ourselves safe during Earthquakes and Tsunamis. It assisted my delivery of interesting authentic material for my students.

Martie Andrew from Awakeri School

Direct connection to what we were studying in our syndicate, all resources in one place, real people and real context helped engage the children in the learning. All resources are New Zealand appropriate and very suitable for my Year 5&6 class. I felt very supported with instant responses to the emails I sent. 

Lisa O'Connor from St Teresa's School Featherston

My multi-levelled students thoroughly enjoyed participating in watching the movies and learning through accessing the background pages and quizzes. LEARNZ is a great package of information and up to date footage, that makes usage and planning of the unit very easy for me as a teacher.

Sabine Hartmann from Karangahake School

The students loved Stan the dog and the way he acted out in the video. This held the younger viewers interest, but also reinforced the learning points. It made online learning very purposeful, more than just a research or processing tool. Talking to someone in Auckland from Picton was very powerful and engaging for learners.

Elizabeth Ives from Picton School

The subject was national and we localised it by making a plan for our schools which we shared with the whole community. The key competency of  'managing self' is very relevant here and the activities and videos were great.

Hilary Spedding from Millers Flat School

This is a fantastic resource for all as there is a lot of information compiled into a number of units. We are ever so grateful for the hard work put into making LEARNZ virtual field trips.

Seuga Frost from Ohau School

At Year 2 level, fire drills, earthquake drills etc need more context, and this field trip provided that. This field trip helped students to become engaged in society by having a better understanding of how good citizens understand and prepare for disasters.

John Brunton from Marshall Laing School

The material was relevant to my students, who could cover as much or as little as they were able to complete. With this field trip I had one able learner supporting a less able learner and they both produced some great work.

Jennifer Barrow from Kaniere School

Motivating and interesting for my Year 4 class. Audio conferences great. They also especially enjoyed the videos and the ability to have text read to them was really helpful.

Gina Wan from Levin East School

Very effective, especially for those students who had the ability to engage in the audio conferences and ask their own questions. This was a great way to immerse my class in lots of information and to initiate lots of discussion. Thank you!

Rachel Hall from Paremata School

Engagement levels were very high, and they were keen to know more following the video conferences, even though we were watching them after they were recorded. The field trip enabled me to support learners with barriers to their learning, e.g. reading, and enabled the class to continue to develop their self-directed/guided learning style.

Anne Rodgers from Hanmer Springs School

Linked to emergency procedures practised during the year. Online, current, and relevant to curriculum.

Helen Gibson from Hilltop School

The trip encouraged a great deal of thinking, with students participating in discussions where they could develop empathy for others in disaster situations. They were able to do lots of reading and writing in a meaningful context.

Caroline Arnold from Lepperton School

It is a great platform for the children to engage with their parents about what they are learning, in this case to get families to talk about how to be prepared. The children love seeing real people in real time. They engage with the learning but also relate it to the people on screen as if they are their friends.

Lesley Johnston from Firth School

The field trip was appropriate for our class of Yr 3 students and met many aspects of the NZ curriculum. Students are now highly motivated to find out more about hazards/disasters that are likely to impact them at some stage.

Jessica Byrne from Rata Street School

It made my children more aware that floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters don't just happen to other people in other places but can happen anywhere at anytime. Thank you, I am enjoying learning along with my class!

Margaret Cassidy from Kaikohe East School

The field trips cater for a number of learning styles providing visual, written and audio information. I love using Learnz with my class. Thank you for providing this fabulous resource. 

Jennifer Barrow from Kaniere School

I found the easy background pages appropriate for most students and the ability to have the text read to them was really helpful. Motivating and interesting - my Year 4 students especially enjoyed the videos.

Gina Wan from Levin East School

A great resource for reading and inquiry. Students really enjoy the reading and activities.

Susan Dane from Elm Park School

Timely reminder of our readiness for an emergency, also tied in our fire drill with the field trip. Gives students access to experts without having to go anywhere, particularly beneficial for our small isolated Y1-8 school.

Nicola Evans from Papanui Junction School

Waterview Connection

My ESOL and Maori students are very engaged and a typical query I get is when is our NEXT trip!

Christine Hailes from North Street School

The field trip was excellent for both genders. Great for students to learn about how their voice and contribution can help shape the future.

Kevin Jones from Te Rapa School

Excellent for future focus, development, problem solving, and technology.

Dorothy Hutton from Columba College

It was appropriate to our Sharing the Planet inquiry, enabling children to have a structure in their learning and learn more than what they would if independent.

Helen Prescott from Glenfield Intermediate

A large number of my boys had visited the Waterview Connection project - they found the field trip very interesting, which sparked enthusiastic discussions. It also provided another tool to engage my boys to read and write in a real life context.

Angela Moeke from St Patrick's Catholic School Taupo

The field trip about the Waterview Connection was particularly interesting for some of my boys with an engineering bent, and they asked some good questions. The time-lapse video and pictures were particularly engaging for the class and they really enjoyed the detailed information available on the website about Alice the TBM. 

Michele Duggan from Whangaparaoa College

Supported the oral language key competencies and enabled science to be integrated in the reading programme.

Tracey Burgess from St Peter's School Beckenham

Kereru Count

Kererū Count was of benefit to me as a teacher to enhance engagement with Maori students in science at both the junior year 9 and senior year 12 class. I also used this field trip with my classes to tie in with DOC Conservation Week.

Lucy Meagher from Havelock North High School

Was an awesome collaborative and digital experience for chn.

Leasa Craw from Morrinsville School

We live in an area where Kererū are of significant importance and this really highlighted this for the students. Covered a wide area of teaching specific NZ values.

Diane Henderson from Ohaeawai School

Fantastic link to the Great Kererū Count. Helped support learning in class and our participation in the count itself.

Alisa Wolsey from St Brendan's School Heretaunga

Suited the inquiry process the students were about to begin locally. Supported our classroom based programme - good ideas that we could follow.

Kent Davis from Wakefield School

This trip was real science in action and my students had buy-in from the start. The videos and real life experiences are very beneficial to the children's learning, opening their eyes to the wider world and I love the way the field trips incorporate aspects of Maori culture and beliefs.

Louise Parker from Twyford School

As I am retiring, I want to thank you for providing this service which I have used for the last 6 years at two different schools.

Barbara Hore from Waikaia School

My students were very engaged in the kererū topic and enjoyed learning about something they could see in their own environment. It aligned with our theme/values this term of tangata whenua - kaitiakitanga. The web site encouraged independent learning and I was also able to use it to enhance our reading and writing programme.

Janice Porter from Kingsway School

The students love the fact that the website format doesn't change from field trip to field trip. When you have chosen the 'right' field trip, there is an increase in student agency. As we live in an area where there are plenty of Kereru, this field trip was very appropriate in the leadup to the Great Kereru Count.

Marcia Karaitiana from St Peter's College Gore

Great. We used it to plan our own Kereru Count field trip.

Ryan Fraser from Maheno School

For my NZ students currently living overseas, it was most effective in raising their awareness of fauna back home and actions some people have taken to help kerer.

Robina Smythe from Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu

It supported teaching about the principles and values of the NZC for this group of 5-10 year old students, who are a part of the school's environmental team. It has been a driver for these students to form connections with those experts in our community who can support their projects, such as biosecurity officers at the regional council and local iwi.

Carol Tyson from Hurupaki School

Helped to get students actively involved and participating in science and suitability projects.

Joshua Morris from Francis Douglas Memorial College

Very appropriate and engaging both due to the focus of the unit and the delivery. Extremely motivating for the students learning. Great to have the personal touch where the children get to interact with Andrew. Very relevant and future focused.

Jillian Evans from Elmwood Normal School

Excellent and effective in students gaining an appreciation of our unique environment. Retiring and I want to thank you for providing this service. I have used it through out many many years of teaching, and have always found it to be of a very high standard.

Barbara Hore from Waikaia School

Provided wonderment and awe !!!! The akonga loved it - fantastic. Amazing PD for me, too.

Emily Wells from St Mark's School Christchurch

Our class name is Kereru and we did the Kereru Count last year, so lots of links - videos etc held our interest, taught us new content, sparked discussion. Future focussed, fits in with our school value of Kaitiakitanga, visions of sustainability and connectedness. Easy access online tool which has real life context. Great.

Tracey Janes from Diamond Harbour School

Students could relate to this, as we have kereru around our school and it was good to find out ways to make sure this continues. Fabulous way to learn about what is really happening in and around our country and then transfer that learning to local communities.

Caroline Arnold from Lepperton School

Love your Rubbish

Effective with real time and current information that covered many facets of inquiry and opened up deeper thinking. Receiving the letter with the liner sample from CWS was fabulous! Established a very tangible connection for students.

Richard Kerr from ACG Sunderland

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