You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
Wetland Biodiversity
Very hands on feeling to videos and a very good learning experience all up! One of my sons loves animals and the outdoors. Living in New Zealand we all should know about the importance of these areas.
This is awesome (one student, Jack, many times over)! Being my first Learnz fieldtrip I was a learner too, and found it well prepared with invaluable information to add to our Wetlands unit. The managing self aspect came into play here as well for my Year 4-8 class.
Opera
It was an opportunity for students to experience something they may not have ever been able to, had it not been for this field trip.
The children really enjoyed this unit, as there was lots of awesome information relevant to them putting on our school production next term. I will use LEARNZ again because I love the field trips!
Smart Motorways
Traffic in Auckland is a big part of our lives so my boys could relate to this topic in real life. The background pages, pictures and videos held their attention. My boys enjoyed the smart motorways trip - they learned so much.
The brilliant thing about this field trip is that it used a wide variety of media to hook the students in. One student even said "I didn't know that motorways were so interesting". There was something for every style of learning and all Key Competencies came into play as students worked together and individually to complete components of this field trip.
The children loved this field trip. We integrated it into our reading programme where we focussed on the reading strategies of: Summarisation, Synthesising, Making Connections, Inference. The structure of the field trips makes my life easy as far as planning goes. The fact that the children can log on at home is great. The parents love logging on and listening to the audio conferences.
It was an engaging way to up skill students by involving them in an audio conference and getting their parents to complete a public survey. It was also a great way to understand changes occurring to our local motorway.
The class found it effective as the resources invited collaboration and discussion. It was a new context that demonstrated science in action. Learning areas could all be linked and the key competency of self management was explored.
My son has a keen interest in engineering and this was a fantastic opportunity to go behind the scenes of motorway infrastructure and find out how a smart motorway works. He found the videos very interesting, particularly the one about construction and planning.
We were able to relate this situation to those we know more about in Auckland. As our topic for the year is responding to challenges, we were able to see how this is being effected in the area of transport.
Appreciate the personal interest taken by the (LEARNZ) teachers to get our school on-board and recognized. It really opened up a field that is related to real life. Broadens our experiences and much cheaper than an onsite visit, although the latter is not to be overlooked. Some sites are not accessible to general public.
The students were motivated by the fact that this was real time learning about a new technology in NZ. Helped to inspire the students into inquiry based projects related to our term's concept of 'Movement'.
Covers real life examples for the maths learning area. The field trip encourages independence and enterprise and promotes confidence. It also allows learners to collaborate and work in a group.
We are studying Structures and Smart Motorways tied in well with our schoolwide topic. The field trip made the children think at a deeper level and apply knowledge gained to other areas of the curriculum. The activities and videos supported the context well. The children enjoyed sharing what they had learned on the Field Trip with their families at home.
The smart motorway is a great example of looking at significant issues, with a Future Focus, that involve our citizens and how the problem of traffic is being tackled globally. It was great to have the activity sheets to record our thinking while we were listening to the audio conference.
High Country
Exceptionally appropriate for this age group - particularly the videos, web board and photos. The class also loved having Walt (the class mascot) there.
The field trips meet the needs of lots of learners and enables multi level learning on the same topic. I like the ability to easily revise, and work can be looked at outside the classroom. Excellent links to key competencies, self management, use of 21st century learning environment.
Antarctica
The field trip supported the development of Key Competencies, and provided up-to-date information relevant to Education for Sustainability.
The LEARNZ virtual journey to Antarctica was great because EOTC is not possible in Antarctica for a school classroom to do for real. The opportunity to hear real scientists talk to the LEARNZ representative, Shelley Hersy, was very valuable and also helped us form some of our science goals.
For my Year 4 class enjoyed the learning experience. The virtual field trip raised their awareness of how special and unique Antarctica is and made them think about being the guardians of the area.
This field trip was very appropriate for my Year 4 class as we used it under the theme of Kaitiakitanga. I feel the effectiveness (of the virtual field trip) can be gauged by the involvement and the questions asked by the children, and this Antarctica study has really had them enthused and doing independent research of their own. It is fascinating to discover how much knowledge the children take home and discuss with their families.
Very appropriate for year 7/8 students. They absolutely loved being able to look at the resources, especially the photo/video content. It gave maximum opportunity to discuss what they were looking at and learning.
My Year 3-4 students found the field trip extremely interesting, particularly as we had an ambassador join Shelley on the trip, too. We used the background pages for our reading programme and used the videos. There was a high degree of curiosity from the students, and their questions were answered at their level.
Great for Nature of Science. Also enviroscience topics. The kids were really interested - we found all the science fascinating and it was delivered in a way that made it understandable for the class. Also just the glimpse into life in the Antarctic.
This field trip supported our science and geography topics. We found the videos very informative. It was great to listen to scientists and the artist giving us a glimpse of what living and working in Antarctica is really like.
It takes us to a place we have never been and experienced before and it gives us more insights of what's happening there. It's incredibly interesting.
Great for students to have new people connecting to them in a different way, linking many aspects of the curriculum in a real setting.
The field trip was extremely appropriate and challenging. Very effective. My class really got into it - it was so well organised for teachers and students.
This is a rich experience for students who know NZ but are often living offshore.
The whole field trip has added a sense of authenticity to student learning. This really is a wonderful way to give us invaluable learning experiences - students have been so engaged and have been thinking of their own experiments to test some of the things that they have learnt.
I run the GATE programme and we do Future Problem Solving so the ecological sustainability was particularly relevant. A great teaching tool which is motivating for students.
Provided real meaning and connections to topical subjects like global warming. There was a high level of interest about Antarctica from the students.
Very effective, especially the videos. Fantastic with much of the planning done for the time-poor teacher. This field trip is fully supportive of Principles, Key values and Competencies as well as learning areas of our curriculum, thanks.
This unit linked with our topic of sustainability and enabled cross curricular learning in a digital context. This type of learning resource helps students to work at their level, irrespective of where they start and their reading ability.
Children loved every part of the experience- thoroughly engaging. Really cool for the students to be able to participate with a group outside of their immediate context!
Excellent source of information for the students, aimed at their level, well presented and easy for the students to access and work with. Students found it extremely interesting and they learnt plenty of new things about Antarctica.
It has been one of the best units I have taught in my 16 years of teaching - I would recommend it to anyone. I do think that it has been particularly successful in my classroom because we signed up for the extras such as the ambassador and the audio conferencing - that's what really made it come alive for me and the children in my class.
My students have a different view of the world we live in after this field trip. My students love the field trips.
You do a great job of preparing and motivating us to engage with the topic. Well structured for all students. Even low achieving readers well engaged. Covered science, values, aspirations and career information.
It was superbly rich with a wide range of activities to select from, to cater for differentiated learning in a class of individuals with multiple learning needs. LEARNZ Field trips have been an intrinsic part of my teaching aand learning programme for many years now. Extremely appropriate.
The audio conversations were brilliantly done along with the accompanying videos, plus questions being typed and answered while online. I have been intrigued and surprised by how much my young students have taken on board during the trip.
ShakeOut
The kids thought it was a cool way to learn and they also said that the Shakeout drill now made a lot more sense i.e. why we do it. We found that the variety of different ways the information was presented made it interesting and accessible for all levels.
This was my first time on LEARNZ and I loved it. Apart from the well-prepared unit as such, the level of motivation for the kids was instant, high and continued through-out the whole series of lessons.
The children saw themselves being part of a wider community, participating with other schools and learning from their questions. It was especially useful to have Te Reo words to complement the learning.
Reinforced other learning on natural disasters, emergency procedures and being prepared.
All my students could relate to the information according to individual ability and interest levels. LEARNZ opens up a whole new dimension of making outdoor teaching a reality.
The visual content helped quite a lot of discussion. So many real life experiences that the children can piggy back onto. The Field Trip was an asset for all the class. Thank you.
The levelled information was great. It also was at an apt time as far as reinforcing evacuation and preparedness as a class/school/whanau. I liked the availability of the videos and audio conferences to review and use, even though the fieldtrip had ended.
Very relevant for year 7 students. I really like the audio voice over which has allowed the lower reading level students to work with a lot of independence, without having to wait for the teacher to say the word / discuss the word / explain context etc.
We used this across the school - very appropriate. It linked well with the main ShakeOut event, managing selves, and collaboration.
Resiliance was a key idea we discussed, as were some of the key competencies and their application in real life situation. Right level, good content.
It broadened students' thinking and understanding of the large scale of the event and excited them about the topic. The ability to access information, colleagues and a world which we otherwise wouldn't have access to makes the learning process really meaningful.
Was topical and at appropriate level for my student. Encouraged good discussion and gave excellent information. Student said "That was great. Can we do another one?"
We are looking at change and our ways to survive. It (the field trip) gave more specialist knowledge to students, that the teacher could not give.
We used the videos and some background pages for discussions.
Very appropriate - supported student learning about earthquakes and doing the ShakeOut drill. Interesting, motivating and flexible - students get a lot from having readings, videos, audioconferences, activities, and photos.
We think this (field trip) was very effective as we are much wiser about what we need to do at school and at home, to be prepared during and after an earthquake. LEARNZ is a remarkable online learning community which allowed us to get information on earthquakes from schoolchildren, parents and teachers.
It helped with critical thinking, managing personal plans and responsibility in a disaster. A great way to have a different teaching medium with other experts to answer questions and supply information.
The content was very appropriate as they were able to relate it to their own experiences, having experienced a 5.8 earthquake the night before. The audioconference was an excellent opportunity to focus on asking quality questions with a purpose and to interact with experts.
The field trip connected the students to issues about earthquakes in a practical way. It was also great to connect with children who have been in earthquakes - this gave a realism and reality to the trip. Andrew (the LEARNZ Teacher) is marvellous - he really helps to ignite curiosity in the students.
It was good to have a child's perspective in the videos and background pages were good science information. The field trip enabled and empowered students to have an understanding of others' experiences and the impact these experiences have on themselves and the world in which they live.
The field trip allowed children to think deeply about emergencies, which was relevant to what we were learning in class about preparing an emergency plan. It was real life experiences from children to children which was great and the children were engaged because it was with other learners at their level.
Enjoyable to hear first hand accounts - made it more real for the children.
It supported the Shakeout event we were participating in. It also supported the curriculum well. Visuals are excellent and information is current. The videos led to good discussions and recall of prior knowledge.
Relevant to topic at school and it was all current. Great tool.
This field trip was a short mini-unit to prepare students for the national shake out drill and was in addition to our School Curriculum plan.
LEARNZ is doing a brilliant job and this is a fantastic resource for all teachers and students. Excellent contextual learning, and made really good links to the NZC. I loved how there was appropriate Māori and Pasifika language included to support our learners, while the inclusion of both easy and more difficult support materials allows for differentiation.
We had been involved in the Geohazards VFT so the children were well briefed and ready to take part in ShakeOut. The class really looks forward to taking part in the LEARNZ trips.
We are a sole charge school of 12 students and I was able to adapt the content to suit all levels within my class. This was our first live field trip and the students really enjoyed it and got a lot from it. There were lots of comments over the week about how 'cool' and 'fun' it was.
My Yr 5&6 class were very engaged with this field trip. The information was easy to access for the students who find reading difficult (great to have an NZ voice reading the background pages), but there was enough for my high achieving students as well. The live audio conferences were very useful - next time we will definitely put ourselves down for a speaking school role!
Great to follow this field trip while preparing for Shake Out on Thursday. Engaging way of learning for students. Lots of great information given and the opportunity to ask questions of experts.
Brilliant! It was my first time but it was a great way to get detailed information from an expert, live. The children in my class were asking loads of questions relating to answers given, which gave them lots of things to think about! The field trip related to "Participating and Contributing", as all my children got involved in thinking about their own emergency kits and some said they needed to get one.
The field trip was a great lead in to the Shake Out drill earlier today and complimented our topic on civil defence. Related well to Science - Natural disasters as well as civil defence and emergency management.
Kea
We used a lot of the information from your field trip for our current unit about developing an enrichment toy for an animal at the zoo, as the Hamilton Zoo has keas to entertain. One comment was: 'This was the most fun research we have ever done!' The kids loved the videos and quizzes and we especially liked the listening option of the background pages for our low readers.
Other than learning about our environment, we also used it in our creative writing unit.
We are currently studying adaptations and how animals/birds suit their habitat so the Kea was a great case study. I find the newsletters great - very detailed and a great prompt in the lead-up to field trips.
It was wonderful having a bird students already had contact with to focus our inquiry skills of research, communication and self-regulation. There is an excellent balance of texts and photos which can be related to all the learning needs in my class. The field trip was so relevant and the format easy to use.
Found the SOLO based questions for the videos useful for guiding students, really helping slow starters and students less engaged in science. The activities and quizes were also useful for year 10 science.
My students learned heaps about kea and the amazing people working with them. Students love these virtual field trips which provide for different levels of learning at the same time. We asked questions, did shared and independent reading, did shared and independent topic writing, art, technology, poetry and incorporated measurement and mapwork into this study topic.
It inspired the children to wonder more deeply about the topic and made it 'real' for them going on the field trip. As a first-time user I received fantastic support to have my class connect with Shelly and the scientist to have our questions answered - the whole class was extremely excited about this.
This trip was most effective in supporting the theme of 'Kaitiakitanga' for my Year 4 class. The programme supports modern learning approaches very well and combined fabulously with SOLO. The children all loved it and it has really inspired them to want to learn - they were keen to get on the computers each morning to catch up with the latest happenings.
Term one we studied ' Birds of NZ' - this field trip gave us the chance to revisit knowledge and add to it. Students felt actively involved. It also links well to the values, key competencies, learning areas, and principles of NZC
Students thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning about the Kea. Information was appropriate for their age.
The students were excited to actually be a part of the field trip at Arthur's Pass. Parents were very impressed with the kids (on the video). Students were motivated to go to the website in school time and in their own time. It was a good example of how sharing learning in a real context is powerful for students.
We have a strong interest in native birds at our school and this field trip fits in with the value "ecological sustainability" and the "future focus" principle. I've used it as a science context but also as a high-interest and friendly reading and viewing resource.
Genuine interest was shown by students and a high level of engagement. This field trip fully supported NZC in so many ways - probably much easier to list the ways it did not support the curriculum.
The whole class decided that having access to the experts was invaluable (via the audioconferences), and we wouldn't have that access otherwise. Great way of engaging the children and having them learn about our natural environment. Hugely motivating for the children, able to be integrated into all aspects of the curriculum.
Awesome field trip - students loved the videos, taking part in the audio conference etc. Really like how the background reading pages have an audio file - great for my ESOL students and for supporting students at different reading levels.
Hugely effective in that everything we wanted the students to do was covered by you in an engaging and motivating way. We covered most areas of the curriculum, as well as fostered a new understanding of what 'virtual' actually means!
The children learned lots and looked forward each day to seeing and hearing what had happened - kind of like the next chapter in a book! The trip was really well planned and organised and supported the children through the inquiry process fabulously. It ticked all the boxes and more. Thanks.
Geohazards
Used for Science/Geography/Earth sciences - natural disasters as well as Maths/Science - data collection and interpretation.
Virtual Great Walker
Students were really interested in the content which we used as part of our weekly reading programme and to support digital literacy. We also set it up for independent learning so students could gain self-management skills.
Love your Rubbish
The field trip supported our study on the Environment and Sustainability and also worked in well with our Zero Waste Education study on Composting. Students were given an insight into landfills and recycling, and the activities gave the students a lot to think about.
Waterview Connection
Served to show the variety of options available as an engineer and that there is a requirement for qualifications. Reinforced science, maths and English as important subjects.
The field trip generated a lot of relevant questions and fitted in with the science, technology and english topics that we are covering. The field trip provided access to an area of interest and at a level of expertise that I would not be able to provide any other way. The online support section was comprehensive and the introduction to the fieldtrip on Adobe Connect was informative and well run.
Promoted coherence in our school as teachers of physics, Maths, Careers and Techology worked together with groups of Year 10 students to focus on Engineering as a future career. Watching the videos and engaging with the material gave the students a real live experience which left them talking about the tunnel afterwards.
With our school close by to where the concrete is being made, all the children connected with it a some level. A perfect tool for using in the modern digital classroom both in its digital components and because of its very hands on approach. Great support and service from the Learnz team during the build up to being a part of the audio conference.
We have been viewing the videos from the second field trip and children have been totally engrossed. It is something that is happening very close to our school and the planning of the Waterview School playground is also relevant to us.
It supported and extended our current social studies/science (engineering) curriculum areas. The opportunity to go back and view videos again was very useful for my son.