You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
He Hokinga Whakaaro
We have been researching about Captain Cook and we are also preparing for a Marae visit so components of the field trip have been particularly relevant. The easy background pages and the associated activities were just right for my Year 4 class. It is always interesting to learn from Shelley and Andrew while they are on location. The students develop a connection with them, particularly if they participate in an audio conference.
Very well rounded experiences. Used partly to prepare for a visit to our local Marae and learning about Matariki. Visual experiences great for class.
Great visual learning, auditory learning, and inquiry learning. I like the way Māori words are put into every context of the trip.
Terrific for the immersion phase of Inquiry. Children very motivated to go off and research independently. Just a stunning resource which enhances the quality of teaching and learning in my room tremendously!
High level of student engagement, interesting topics that are relevant to students' lives. Videos are always pitched at a good level, interesting - many of my students access them at home too.
This particular topic had all my students absolutely hooked - the 95% Maori students in my class felt it was about them and supported their culture and their own learning. I love the Inquiry focus, the research skills LEARNZ offers, the range of learning styles - with background information, diaries, audio conferences, images. All students are catered for.
Most appropriate for my Year 7&8 class. Incredibly effective in terms of meeting the desired Learning Outcomes. The most engaging learning experience the children could have.
Argo Floats
The children could connect what they learnt to their previous learning about Marine Environments. The information was really accessible through the video clips and Google Earth. We shared a video clip on our Blog so parents could also learn about the Argo Floats.
Extremely effective. Activated higher order questioning and students engaged in inquiry learning and we as a class had great discussion from the Argo Floats field trip. Keeping things simple with the live audioconferences was great. Easy for me to connect, thanks.
It is a very interactive resource and students don't have to leave the classroom to learn about specific topics in their own country.
They learnt a lot and I hear them telling others all about it. Loved the connection to the sea and the environment.
None of the students had done a trip before but now they are hooked. Some children chose to read texts again for homework. They were very interested in all the readings about the Argo floats; the students have a very positive view of what scientists are doing and learning about our oceans.
The videos and photo gallery were very popular. The children had access to tablets, which were well used as the children investigated the information supplied independently. The children enjoyed the field trip and have a much better understanding of the Argo Floats than if they had used in-class resources only.
It was fantastic. Highly engaging for our children and added another dimension to their learning. As well as gaining an understanding of Argo Floats, students also gained an insight into scientific research and careers as a scientist.
It is AWESOME! Students were engaged and intrigued by the ARGO floats field trip. They had heaps of questions and the trip enabled them to extend their critical thinking skills. The interactive nature of the website means that students can work through the material at their own pace and level. The field trips give the students the opportunity to interact with people who are experts in their field and find out information first-hand.
A group of nine Year 6 extension maths students took part in this field trip. They made gains in a wide variety of skills, especially from taking part in the audioconferences. The field trip broadened their knowledge about data collecting, and how different countries collaborate by working together to investigate the data.
It is a modern way of getting the children engaged in their learning. The children are now a lot more knowledgeable, geographically - they can identify oceans, understand currents etc. Being part of an audio conference allowed children to ask questions at their level.
Our class was fully engaged with this topic. This is a great way to connect students to environments that are more difficult to access.
Generated a lot of questions and interesting discussion after a term of learning about water and rivers. The activities provide just enough information to allow students to think and ask questions. I find the field trips allow for a range of learning opportunities and experiences for our students.
Very successful with my Year 13 Scholarship Science class. I was able to use the excellent information provided to construct a short study of the use of floats. From that we worked on questions that I constructed around Argo float data that we downloaded.
Harbours and Estuaries
It linked well with our focus on global issues and water use. It caters for a range of abilities and now that we have more devices allows students to work at their level. The live links created more reality and interest to begin with. Great stuff.
It helped my students understand about estuaries as they had no knowledge of what they were before we read about them and participated in the audioconference. Two of my students with ASD are highly excited and showing the site to their whanau, which is great. The Te Reo content and Maori perspectives in the texts and from Guest experts is also excellent and much appreciated.
The students were very motivated and learned many new things. They have changed their attitude to estuaries in our area. They particularly enjoyed the audioconferences and twitter - audioconferences are fantastic. I like the contact with scientists and other experts. Good links with careers education and Nature of Science.
The material was age appropriate (particularly liked the audio links, reading the material). The participation levels at school and at home were a lot higher than usual because material was readily accessible and easy to read and understand. Audio conferences were excellent. Having the few visual photographs kept some of my less focussed kids engaged, as did the summary sheets that they had in front of them. I was surprised at just how much they picked up. It was great to be able to ask questions via the backchannel and get immediate responses - the kids loved that.
Appropriate as an introduction to harbour ecology. Made for a useful comparison to our own harbour. My Year 12 Science students were able to compare and contrast both ecological and social values of the harbours.
It has provided us with a valuable resource about a local area and allowed children to ask local experts some questions. The information was easy for the children to understand and the videos were very informative.
Perfect for my class level. Children were engaged and gained environmental knowledge and inspiration to care for the local area. Useful resource with great planning and layout. Catered to a variety of learning styles. A valuable learning tool that engages the children in a different way. Easy to follow lessons with realistic and interesting follow up activities.
Memorial Park
Definitely appropriate to my Year 6 class, especially as it was local and all knew the area well.
I have a boys only class and they were all very interested in what was happening and how it related to WW1. It was inclusive for all students and could be adapted to cater for all needs. The audio conference was a new concept for my class and they enjoyed coming up with questions and then asking them live.
The material was pitched at the right level for year 7/8s and linked into our ANZAC day topic. It is a fantastic resource, easy to use and understand, and it compliments reading, writing and inquiry programmes. It is great to have the real world contexts for children to engage in.
Best comment was from a student who is going to Wellington and is planning to go and take a look at the construction site. It covered a range of curriculum areas and also looked at beliefs and attitudes. There was some challenging new vocabulary in this topic which was very good for the students. Other language keywords were great for low level NESB student.
Highly engaging, complimented our topic "Our Place". Supported many literacy skills, thinking, reflecting, questioning, discovering.
We had looked at the videos from Memorial Park 1 as a warm up exercise, so this followed on perfectly. After watching the videos from last November, had a student in Wellington for the weekend and was interested enough to take parents to see what was happening with the park, to update class before the 2nd LEARNZ visit. LEARNZ field trips have become an important part of learning in my senior class. Regardless of ability, students are loving the experiences.
The flow on from Memorial Park 1 through to 2 was good. Looking forward to the next one. The use of some of the technical language was great. Love the interactive nature of the field trips - especially the Twitter updates! The diaries are always interesting.
Kauri
My class always enjoys the Learnz Field Trips, regardless of the trip we enrol in. The LEARNZ teachers are so enthusiastic, it really teaches the children things that I can't.
The field trip was yet another way to utilise the tools in our digital classroom. My recommendation to colleagues is this resource, while valuable when it links to current teaching and learning, has also proven to be excellent for use with smaller groups to extend critical thinking and learning linked to a real context.
LEARNZ adds a rich IT experience to the class learning, that relates to local topics and utilises local expertise very well.
The visual and aural activities of the virtual fieldtrips, real time and recorded, are an immediate way to bring the wider environment into the classroom. The field trips and their material are flexible enough to give opportunities for a variety of uses in the classroom.
Easy to access and structured well for independent work. Just the right level and interest.
Resources that we used were excellent, thought provoking and have my whole class sold on taking care of kauri. Teaching kit very helpful, well thought out, age appropriate.
Wonderful guided learning with experts to interact with and the real time learning makes it relevant, engaging and applicable. My class found the level appropriate (they are year 6). The delivery was manageable for all students. It fitted our theme study around NZ bush and our camp in the bush.
The kids really enjoyed it and were well supported on the website, as they we able to navigate to find their way around to answer questions they had generated. I was able to take different aspects for different abilities in the class. We also followed up with a visit in our local area to a native bush stand.
This was a brilliant trip for my class. They gained a sense of guardianship responsibility for kauri. The videos were absolutely wonderful and students loved reading the diary entries also. The field trip enabled me to transport my students to a distant place, at no cost, in order to show them first hand some real NZ based learning. Students feel they know Andrew and Egbert and are keen to do more trips.
Ties in so well with the guiding principles - Education for sustainability, Treaty of Waitangi etc. My Year 4 children were engaged and able to relate this field trip to our term concept of Turangawaewae. Content interesting and informative. Well presented as usual by Andrew with passion. Children with different learning styles are well catered for and my special needs children are also keen to engage in this type of online learning.
We are in a reasonably remote area and it is great that we can interact with other schools. The Web Quest was fantastic for a range of abilities. LEARNZ is wonderful for those students who learn in different ways e.g. listening (and they can refer back to recordings to check information). We are now interested in "adopting" a local reseve and planting some natives, including kauri.
As an Enviro school it is wonderful to be interfacing with experts in the field on real issues in real time. Some of my students go onto Learnz to explore further as additional home learning. Great to hear them educating their parents about what's happening to our mighty taonga, Kauri. LEARNZ is the most marvellous educational resource for NZ teachers. This is my 14th year with Learnz and I get great great support if I need it. The staff are truly amazing at every level.
Engaging and can be tailored to the specific needs of a small group of students. Uses all of the Key Competencies. Enabled students to self regulate their learning.
My students enjoyed it and learnt so much. They were inspired and did their own projects on kauri dieback. They learnt to do inquiry learning. They enjoyed the videos and doing the activities to test their knowledge.
Fun, engaging, easy to use once you get your head around it all, kids love it, lots of different technology options. Some great info to challenge gifted and talented learners. Great to see the inclusion of Maori vocab.
Hearing from experts is fantastic from a multi-layer perspective - from learning about future careers (scientists, DOC rangers, visitor centre staff) to the significance of the kauri to NZ was excellent. The (bilingual class) children really enjoyed hearing guest speakers present in Te Reo, present their mihi and hear first hand how important the kauri was and is to them.
Engaging and relevant. My tamariki loved learning about the kauri. The field trip allowed them to engage with and utilise the learning we were doing in the classroom.
We found it an effective way to learn. It focussed us on our work and was more interesting than just picking up a book. We would use LEARNZ again because we get to learn more about what's outside of our local community.
Students were motivated by the field trip and made gains in reading, research, and critical thinking.
Adds to the learning experiences of our topic studies. We are studying kauri dieback using the "Keep Kauri Standing - Kauri Dieback" school resource so this trip supported that learning. It visited some of the areas we had already learned about and added some information from experts that helped to answer some of the questions we had.
Photos generated a lot of discussion.
Fitted in very well with our non-fiction reading strategies and gave information that we weren't aware of. Also topical with the news broadcast about Coromandel.
We live in the north and are surrounded by Kauri trees. Our students are now aware that kauri trees are under threat as they did not know this initially. I feel science is a very important part of the curriculum and want to encourage students to interact with the New Zealand environment. We are now going to visit the local bush and observe our trees.
They (LEARNZ virtual field trips) are informative and they reinforce what I am teaching. We had watched with real disappointment the Kauri Grove in Cambridge and our local area die in last year's drought.
Very informative as to what is happening on our doorstep, and we did not know about it. We are now going to contact DOC in our area and finding out more that we can do to help locally. All children saw things they related to, and saw the relevance of what they were learning. Nice to have the extra background from maori perspective.
It provided a quality opportunity for integrating eLearning into the Inquiry programme. As part of our inquiry we will be researching possible sites at school and in our local area to plant several Kauri. I really like the questions and activities for further inquiry in the green boxes at the bottom of the Background pages. The videos also provided excellent class discussion with the questions that were attached to each video. Many children revisited the videos frequently during the trip.
Easy to implement and a wide variety of resources to choose from. We made a kauri forest in our class with tracks and did some science experiments. Being hands on the students really enjoyed the new learning and have retained the information well.
The virtual field trip worked well for my mixed ability y9 science class. It engaged the students and it was relevant to the curriculum. The class enjoyed the wide range of activities. One of my students is a boarder, who has iwi connections, with the far north and kauri forests - the kauri are taonga to her iwi. She was very engaged in this unit of work.
Fabulous e-learning experience! Very appropriate to our Inquiry theme of Survival. Very effectively presented. Children really enjoyed the videos and questions that were included which helped them focus on key ideas. Enthusiasm overflowed into homework! Love the idea of having background notes read so children of all levels can listen and learn. Really liked the integration of Te Reo. Can be used by a range of learning levels in a variety of ways.
The kids get really engaged with what they are learning about. Because it is real the kids really respond to it. We can make links to what is happening around our area, also.
Set at a great level for year 7 and 8 students. A lot of the planning has been organised for you. Great learning experience. Majority of students loved the topic and the quality of the work completed was outstanding.
We linked this topic to our class Māori studies so the Māori children felt the significance of the Kauri to all. The field trip inspired the class, expert on topic made class listen more, audio conferening was a new skill and helped their questioning skills. Class logged on at home to look at resources. Thought ambassador traveling with you was fun. Keen to read next diary.
Wetland Biodiversity
We were studying a local waterway and were able to compare the bio-diversity between our waterway in the Far North with a fresh waterway in the South Island. The students were motivated to research their topic, find out more about their own community and particularly enjoy the audio conference and following their ambassador.
Supported inquiry questions. Connections were made between areas visited on the virtual field trip and local known areas. Questions that accompanied videos matched the questions students had in discussions.
Great for Maori and Pasifika students and ESOL.
My students loved learning about the animals in the wetlands and why they are important. I have used the field trip integrated into my planning and programme.
We used the field trip as an alternative programme for our advanced readers. The students who undertook this field trip were engaged and interested in the content. We were able to select background information and activities that were suitable, yet challenging enough for our students. The use of video, with the ability to replay and revisit parts to gain a greater understanding, was helpful. They had very little knowledge prior to the 'trip', but demonstrated a great understanding afterwards.
It is such a great resource as all the background research has been completed for teachers and we can rely on it as being factual with the experts involved. Having a face to experts is really important for children. Videos were also most useful for a Y2 & 3 class. We are using it as a context for our Inquiry and this topic complimented our topic as it was local to our school.
Science is an area we are trying to strengthen and this was a perfect opportunity to put the students in a real life context or study. The students were really engaged in the topic. I am looking forward to sharing with my students both the Antarctic and ANZAC Memorial Park trips. Both are topics we were already studying.
The children were fascinated by the virtual field trip videos. They learnt a lot of new ideas and words and talked about it for days. The field trip was effective as it showed our students that other people did what we do.
Love the SOLO Taxonomy integration - that is the kind of thing we love! Great model for us of how to use such tools. The field trip was part of our Wonderful Wetlands term focus. We also went for an afternoon to Travis Wetlands in Christchurch. Good contrast of virtual and hands on. LEARNZ gives access to environments and experts that are pure quality.
Thank you, this was fantastic for my class. It worked well with our topic. Children were able to undertake this independently and were able to answer the questions after watching the videos.
The quality of resources is exemplary. Being able to access audio to support the readings is crucial for a number of learners in my class. The field trip met all of the learning intentions outlined by the LEARNZ overview and opened new lines of discussion and knowledge for all students.
Easy to use and great resources. The 2 levels of background pages were appropriate. Short videos with questions meant students didn't get bored.
Great engagement in our inquiry topic. Great content in differentiated forms. Connected to the environment and groups involved in community. Experts' content was put into language the students could understand.
It saves teachers valuable time. It is great to have the experts and a meaningful context for inquiry learning. My Year 3/4s learnt about braided rivers and were able to develop open questions for the audio conference. It was good to have a voice-over for the background pages. The panoramic section was excellent for making inferences.
We enjoyed the audio conferences - the children who were involved in them will never forget that experience. This was the first time I have been on a virtual field trip and was pleasantly surprised at how much 5 year olds were able to get from it. Having Percy the Pukeko go as our ambassador helped the 5 year olds follow along. There was also lots of discussion to and fro between the children and parents.
Set at the perfect level for My Class of year 7/8 students. They took in so much information! There are lots of different ways the students are engaged through text, video, listening, and interacting. It was good to have the Māori aspects included in the Wetlands study.
The students loved it. It gave me an easy way to extend the knowledge of my more able students while also engaging my less able students. Great for peer work. Because of the way this was set up, I was able to create links to my class page, which encouraged students to access the class page out of school hours. We are also currently in the early stages of Enviro-schools; this helped get students thinking about what is going on around us as well as human impact.
I LOVE the trips, as do my students. They are fun, relevant, interesting, and informative. The videos are fantastic as usual and so informative. Those who are interested were given the class log in details and they are watching the videos at home with family. I have had several comments from parents about how much they are all enjoying them.
The field trip dove-tailed nicely with a trip we made to a wildlife reserve and reading material covered in class. Students were able to make connections with prior learning and consider some of the threats to wildlife with a view to how they could make changes or take action to make a difference. I have learners with a range of needs and some particularly benefit from having learning presented digitally.
Students were engaged. They went on to the website in their own time, of their own accord as well as at school and shared this learning with their families. It was great having the different levels (L.1-2 and L.2-3) to chose from with the activities so I could cater for the different needs in my classroom. Having an ambassador was also very engaging for students. Great coverage of a topic. Easy to use. Engaging. Student led learning. Caters for different levels. Māori content. ICT use. Good effective learning.
It is a great way to motivate students and it was set at the approximate age and interest. The virtual field trip was effective and we are planning a field trip to our local wetland area next term.
The field trips allow me to provide an integrated literacy programme with links across the Curriculum, especially science. Everything that I use to implement the field trip within my classroom programme is clearly laid out and available on the website - thank you!
It was a great learning experience that is still going as an inquiry! I love the interacting that occurs between the LEARNZ teacher and the children. The activities are very child friendly and engaging. The language was able to be learnt and the videos were fantastic to clarify anything. I love the use of Maori words throughout.
It is appropriate for anyone!! We had every level in our primary school- year 0-6 participating this year. It was amazing! We will use LEARNZ again because of the ignition that happens for the kids. Motivational, fun, a way for kids to take their learning home. Loved the quick responses I got from your team when I did participate in the online help.
Provides an interactive online learning website that is safe and relevant to the student's needs and interests, in regards to protecting NZ's wildlife and environment. Māori dictionary and glossary is provided and the relevance to the past use of wetlands to Māori shows respect for their ancestors and the future of NZ.
Comprehensive resources in a local context. My Year 10 student gains: posting a question to an expert, literacy from background reading.
It is an amazing opportunity for the students to able to experience natural NZ. As this is our first virtual field trip we are busy exploring and familiarising ourselves with the website and using it as a warm up for Kauri (the next field trip).
It provided further background for our ecology unit and class trip work. The field trip was appropriate for my class studying the wetland biome in New Zealand and we would use more of the resources next time, but this was a good beginning, looking at the videos and the photos.
The videos make it easy for all students to access and understand what is happening. Material was accessible for different learning styles. Students really enjoyed it, they were able to ask questions and get answers, it encouraged deeper critical thinking and students worked cooperatively to learn.
I used this trip as part of my reading programme. Using ICT helped the children who were more visual learners. It enabled the children (Year 4-6) to use and improve their reading strategies across the curriculum. It motivated the children in their learning and was enjoyable for them. It put learning into an authentic context and gave the students easy access to experts who could extend their understanding.
Stewart Island
Fitted fine with our topic, Taonga. Level 2. Suits the way I like children to learn, and the children gain so much from this sort of online learning. Caters for the range of different children/cultures/needs/learning styles. Able to view the material more than once.
Geohazards
The ability to use archived material from previous trips is wonderful. Teachers can encourage interested pupils to use the materials for homework reading - the videos, photos, diaries and related activities are treasure troves for curious students with a passion for knowing more about a particular topic.
A good introductory approach for Extreme Natural Events (for Level 1 Geography). Encompasses a different approach. I rate it. It gathered interest and allowed for better retention of some of the key points than just class notes and activities would provide.
It was perfect. Another tool in a teacher's basket of learning activities. It put into a familiar context (we live in the Bay) the material we were learning about. Relevant visuals and they loved the ambassador, as did all our students even the big year 12 students!