You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand

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.
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.
The students were highly motivated throughout this field trip. A fantastic resource that can be used easily within any classroom setting to support classroom programmes around skills and attitudes we are fostering with our children.
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.
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.
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.
Fantastic links to the science curriculum AOs - lots of learning due high interest and combination of videos and great background information. Learnz is real world and happening at the moment. Where else can you get this sort of access to scientists and researchers?
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.
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.
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.
It motivated my top reading group. It was well organised, informative and something different to use as a reading tool/experience.
My students have a different view of the world we live in after this field trip. My students love the field trips.
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.
The field trip supported the development of Key Competencies, and provided up-to-date information relevant to Education for Sustainability.
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.
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.
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.
Provided real meaning and connections to topical subjects like global warming. There was a high level of interest about Antarctica from the students.
Seeing people passionate about their interest is so encouraging for kids. We were focusing on fossils and limestone of North Otago, so it was useful comparing with Waitomo.
This field trip tied in nicely with our Science topic this term. Students were highly engaged throughout the field trip and are highly passionate about using LEARNZ in the classroom.
Fantastic - we were going to Waitomo on our field trip, and the timing and content could NOT have been better. Greatly improved audioconferences - the backchannel improved engagement, and the kids were highly interested in hearing their questions asked over the Internet, and the immediate responses.
Easy to use loads of resources, visual and device friendly, mascot was great connector. My students enjoyed the 4 language options as this included every student except my Kiribati one. Being able to put questions to experts in the live audio conference as well as in the back channel chat was great.
It built nicely onto our class trip to Oamaru airport. Children were engaged - videos and activities were much enjoyed. Audioconferences are a great way to engage the children - developing and asking their own questions is great.
Great outside of the classroom learning and the kids love the fact that it is a virtual trip.
For many it was very engaging, and they especially enjoyed learning about customs as well as how an airport works and the many types of jobs that people do there. Students enjoy learning online - they love the videos and love seeing their ambassador and getting updates from him.