You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Testimonials
Antarctica
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.
Lesley Johnston from Firth School
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.
Maureen Robertson from Verran Primary School
The idea of virtually going to Antarctic created such a buzz and a HUGE level of engagement. It's great the way LEARNZ leaders connect with students - they present everything in such an accessible way but have high expectations that students can and will be able to understand fairly sophisticated concepts.
Christine Hailes from North Street School
It motivated my top reading group. It was well organised, informative and something different to use as a reading tool/experience.
Heather Mangan from St Joseph's School (Upper Hutt)
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.
Deirdre Hutton from Holy Family School Wanaka
My curriculum focus was supported fully by the LEARNZ Antarctica programme and two NIWA scientists visiting the class in person helped no end to endorse what we had learned. Some students were able to really drive their own learning, while having the two levels for reading enabled some of my less able readers to participate more fully.
Valerie Moratti from Havelock North Intermediate
Catered to the needs of all students. Tasks were easily differentiated for all curriculum levels. Great opportunity for students to make connections with the wider community.
Christina Fortes from Hay Park School
The students particularly enjoyed the videos and the quizzes. They also commented on how much they liked how the diaries were written as if they were there. This LEARNZ Antarctica trip fitted in well with the Nature of Science aspects of questioning and using vocabulary that we were focussing on.
Lauren Milnes from Ngatimoti School
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.
Fiona Mackley from Alexandra School
I thought LEARNZ did a great job of mixing up content that covered multiple curriculum areas in a logical and accessible way. Most of the time my Year 8-9 class were engaged and absorbed by what was happening. Well done.
Adrian Humm from Ruawai College
I really enjoy the learnz trips. My class loved learning about preservation and discovery in Antarctica. It delved into the deeper questions.
Gina Matheson from Marshall Laing School
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.
Adrianne Harding from Ross Intermediate
Having all of the Antarctica resources together makes it very easy for students to self-explore the parts of the topic they are especially interested in. The real benefit for us has been having all of the audio with the readings for my lower readers; they prefer to listen and the NZ accent of the reader is a bonus.
Lisa O'Connor from St Teresa's School Featherston
Great resource with a variety of media. Very comprehensive, providing students with another layer of learning material connected to real world around them.
Roland Gorlich from Arahoe School
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.
Graham Elsmore from Christian Renewal School
Linked well to our inquiry this term on Ecosystems and Science.
Jillian Adams from Trentham School
It was great to have people there in real time - it connected the students to the context. It was fantastic where they could type questions to the experts even though they didn't have a speaking role.
Sarah Prescott from Waimate High School
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.
Pam McDowell from Westbrook School
Caves Critters and Karst
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.
Marcia Ferguson from Rosebank School (Balclutha)
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.
David Hanah from Knighton Normal School
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.
Jennifer Kitchin from Weston School
Airport
Excellent self paced real world learning. Great to have multi media resources students could relate to. Individual support and emails made the programme more accessible for our Special Needs Class.
Kevin Mellon from Sommerville School
We had a fabulous visit to New Plymouth Domestic airport as well as the virtual field trip to Christchurch International Airport. We had lots of fun and the virtual field trip provided a good range of activities.
Caroline Arnold from Lepperton School
Was incredibly engaging for the students. They learnt a lot more about digital citizenship as well as working together in a community group. They also found out a lot about what goes on when they arrive in a country and in regards to the process of an airport.
Paul O'Halloran from St Joseph's School (Upper Hutt)
Best when you build an inquiry unit around the Field Trip. Being able to ask questions using Back Channel was particularly useful during audioconferences. Great to have access to experts that you would otherwise not have access to. The video footage and commentaries were a perfect length.
Rachel O'Connell from Lawrence Area School