You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
Whats the Plan Stan?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Linked to emergency procedures practised during the year. Online, current, and relevant to curriculum.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
A great resource for reading and inquiry. Students really enjoy the reading and activities.
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.
Waterview Connection
My ESOL and Maori students are very engaged and a typical query I get is when is our NEXT trip!
The field trip was excellent for both genders. Great for students to learn about how their voice and contribution can help shape the future.
Excellent for future focus, development, problem solving, and technology.
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.
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.
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.
Supported the oral language key competencies and enabled science to be integrated in the reading programme.
Garden Bird Survey
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.
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.
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.
Timely and relevant.
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.
Was an awesome collaborative and digital experience for chn.
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.
Fantastic link to the Great Kererū Count. Helped support learning in class and our participation in the count itself.
Suited the inquiry process the students were about to begin locally. Supported our classroom based programme - good ideas that we could follow.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Great. We used it to plan our own Kereru Count field trip.
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.
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.
Helped to get students actively involved and participating in science and suitability projects.
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.
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.
Provided wonderment and awe !!!! The akonga loved it - fantastic. Amazing PD for me, too.
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.
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.
Geohazards
This Learnz Geohazards site allowed my students to work at their own pace and helped them to become drivers of their own learning.
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.
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.
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.