You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
People and Water
Allowed students to access information they would have struggled to find themselves and inspired independent study on questions students raised. This is an excellent multimedia resource with differentiated learning that supports an inclusive curriculum.
We used the videos to connect with our conceptual learning topic of sharing our world. Appropriate and effective.
Appropriate and effective, especially for Kaitiakitanga. Students particularly liked looking and watching the updates.
The videos were good because they were short and they were 'in the field'. This field trip was part of our "Finding out about water" unit and so it had some useful information. The field trip medium means it is a future-focused way of delivering information and has the potential to connect students to other students' lives while covering a range of learning areas.
Good to have a variety of ways to understand the Water topic such as web conferences, quizzes, background information etc.
Rail Safety
Brought NZC alive e.g. "Participating and contributing" to create questions, as well as "Relating to others" by practising asking questions of experts. A sense of community and commitment extended from class group to wider world. Extended student view of He Waka Eke Noa.
Ahuahu Great Mercury Island
We got some great deep learning happening and it brought up a lot of questions from the students. During the learning there was a lot of reference to language as well as values; both the NZC ones and our own school ones.
It put tikanga Maori into a real-life situation. Videos were especially interesting. Good way of showing how kaupapa Maori ways relate to modern conservationist thinking in NZ.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the field trip to Ahuahu Great Mercury Island. Although it was a virtual trip, the concept of interacting with real people, animals and landscape made it seem very real and helped them to connect their learning. Sending an ambassador was awesome for the students too! Principles, Values, Key Competencies and Learning Areas of the NZ Curriculum were all very well supported in the field trip.
This class is a bilingual class. We particularly appreciate the integration of matauranga Maori approaches into LEARNZ field trips, such as this one. This field trip was particularly good at supporting curiosity and helping support our ideas about culturally located curriculum and Maori achievement.
Great reading resource. Fresh and up to date. Great for students to view videos and photos. Brings other places and people to us.
Students said they loved learning about the history of Ahuahu and the eradication of pests (dear to their hearts) and really enjoyed learning about archaeology, which for most of them was very new.
The archaeology theme helped make my lessons/teaching culturally responsive. I love being part of this learning too. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be on the journey as well!!
More than just a virtual trip for us; as we live in Whitianga it is very relevant for our tamariki on so many levels and the TUIA commemoration adds to that. The nature of LEARNZ means you can utilise the resources how you see fit, and it is easy to adapt to be appropriate no matter the level of your students.
Our unit had a strong Maori Achievement focus - we really appreciate the links that the field trip allowed us to make to early Maori, and the cultural DNA of being explorers and innovators. This allowed us to link to the learning competencies and vision of the NZC.
Matariki and Navigation
My students loved it - it sparked lots of independent learning and sharing learning with whānau about Matariki. We fully participated in the web conferences, both as a listening class and as a speaking class.
It fitted in exactly with what we are studying, and my students really responded well to hearing information from different people and in different ways. The web conferences were particularly empowering and transforming for my four dyslexic learners, as their questions were chosen as "best and deepest".
Loved it! I have used LEARNZ field trips before but not with an ambassador, which just made it! This field trip was also incredibly empowering for our Maori and Pasifika learners!
In the web conferences, I find the guest speakers and hearing the other schools' questions makes our learning authentic and relateable.
All aspects outlined in the planning for this field trip were easy to connect to the NZ Curriculum documentation. The newsletters were informative and useful, but I also found what I needed in the online help. My students have already asked when our next LEARNZ trip will be.
The class were motivated and excited by the learning, as the field trip gave students the opportunity to strengthen their own identity and cultural connections/ whakapapa. In addition, I tried new ICT aspects linked to the field trip and explored the concepts of 'Cultural Narratives' and 'Social Mapping'.
Totally appropriate as we have spent the term focussing on our origins and how our ancestors reached NZ. For the Māori children, in particular, the story of Kupe was perfect.
Trips like this are great because all of the students can access the material, not just the capable readers, as so much of the content is video based. Being able to access the material after the event is also great.
This field trip allowed my students to engage with Matariki in a new and interesting way. My students used all the key competencies and were given complete responsibility for sharing their new knowledge; we ended up with 2 raps, a play, a pop-up book and a speech. It was awesome.
This field trip is a great experience and learning for students and teachers alike. It caters particularly well to the High Expectation, Inclusion, Cultural diversity and Treaty of Waitangi Principles. All students have access to the knowledge offered by the audio option, and learning of Te Reo words, history and culturally different points of view are being taught.
Content was perfect for our topic this term on navigators. The children's sense of belonging and dual heritage was reinforced as we discussed the videos and as our more able readers supported those less able in reading the background pages.
BioBlitz
Supported all of the KC's, the Nature of Science and the science capabilities.
In this virtual field trip, the students studied creatures while learning about the concepts of biodiversity and conservation so we built our Inquiry around native animals. We decided to go to the Groynes and check out creatures there. We also looked at the wildlife at Willowbank.
Helped my teaching practice, as this BioBlitz field trip was a helpful tool to differentiate my teaching. Students enjoy a different form of lesson delivery, too.
The content was pitched perfectly for Year 7 & 8 tamariki. As part of our unit of inquiry based around ecosystems & biodiversity, there were strong curriculum links. The word bank helped build our te reo Māori too.
It was really appropriate as we learnt how to do a Bio Blitz in our own backyard - which we did! Helped us in the key Learning Area of Science - provided extra information, motivation and a wider NZ focus on the environment. Also added to the kete of useful add-ons to make my teaching better.
It followed on very well from the inquiry we have been doing into the plants in our local native bush. The most noticeable impact was a increase in our classes' scientific vocab. Great opportunity to communicate and collaborate with others outside of our school.
We have been focussing on collaboration so students used this unit to work together to find information and monitor their own learning. It was easy for the children to navigate and use the website independently.
The learners were excited by the theme of the trip and carried out their own BioBlitz as a result. LEARNZ provides great resources and exciting opportunities for our learners to hear from experts in the field and to see practical applications for their learning.
It fitted in with our next unit "Living Landscapes" and my students' interets in NZ spiders. It was my first time doing a live web conference and my class and I found it to be enjoyable, especially hearing from the experts, and they learned about the etiquette of that situation.
Map my Waahi
Because of the secondary timetable, I found it more useful for me (than my class) as PD on how to include digital ideas into the classroom. We did create a digital map in the last lesson of term so the field trip inspired me to have a go at something new with my class.
It was great that our students had access to real people; students from other schools and experts. We were most interested in the pepeha sections but used the web conferences (live and replay), the videos, and the activities on the web site.
The videos with children of a similar age explaining what they were doing, and why, created a real link to the kids in my class and great motivation to take part. The sense of belonging for ALL my class no matter what their heritage was reinforced by the work we undertook as a result of this field trip.
Unpacking the apple story
It was really effective. I had some brilliant writing, especially from my Maori and Pasifika students as they knew so much about the topic. Good for reading and maths and also relevant for Science Fair and for our Enviro groups.
As a school our Inquiry was Biosecurity. This was a fantastic resource for the class. The content of the field trip made it accessible for all members of the class; they were all able to experience it.
This "Apples" field trip was very appropriate for my year 7 class. It highlighted at the beginning how little my students know about primary industries but it sparked their interest and lots of wonderings and questions, which has now led students off into their own inquiries. The field trip provided great support for literacy.
Great to have a primary industry field trip and a set of videos that can be used as the basics for Level 3 Apple Production for Year 13 AgHort. Would love more on other primary industry production processes in NZ.
This field trip could not have been timed better, and it allowed our class to experience the entire Apple industry from a safe environment. Invaluable! Perfect for learning about sustainability in horticulture and all the different processes from growing an apple all the way through to marketing.
Sustainable Seas
The reading background pages are well designed, with easier options and the audio button, so every student is included regardless their ability. The scientific content extended learning, the environmental message was strong, and students felt empowered to manage themselves better in protecting our natural environment.
Learnz field trips (like this) help to make the learning context real. The range of field trips is well chosen and covers all interests. It supports the teacher with great background pages and gives students the opportunity to listen to experts. There is something for any culture and special needs.
All students were able to access information and deepen their understanding regardless of their reading level. A great resource with expert knowledge being shared with learners. Opportunities available for students that we can not provide.
It's not like other learning material where recordings are years old - it's happening right here, right now. Great use of technology. It improved my Year 7 students' understanding, which allowed us to branch out into learning about food webs and our local marine area; the Kaipara Harbour.
Provided opportunity for collaborative learning around our current topic inquiry, so encompassing the Key Competencies, particularly Thinking and Managing Self.
This was my first Field trip and it was in the middle of an actual beach trip so we were able to make a lot of links with our learning and real life. The real life connections with experts, the live videos and the interactive activities all supported students to gain agency of their own learning.
The learning was relevant to our own estuary study and at a level my Year 5/6 children understood. This field trip hooked them in; students became curious and built their own scientific understanding of how habitats thrive.