You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Testimonials
He Hokinga Whakaaro
It backed up our camp from last year when we looked at the Waitemata Harbour and we are looking forward to the upcoming LEARNZ field trip to Lake Taupo, continuing our water inquiry. On this field trip, students compared the two harbours which reinforced their learning.
Pamela Furze from Roto-O-Rangi School
Good to get affirmation that other schools in NZ are learning about the First Encounters. Lots of opportunity for role play and integrated learning. The audio recording was most valuable as an addition for those who find difficulty in reading.
Pauline Maclean from St Theresa's School (Plimmerton)
Engaging and interesting for the children - they enjoyed the videos and especially the interactive activities. I loved how the children were really motivated to read and use keywords from the background pages so they could get 100% on the activities! There were also some wonderful gems from the audio conferences which we discussed and learnt from as a class.
Vanessa Cannon from Matua School
We used some of the background pages to support learning about the arrival of Europeans as part of a Treaty of Waitangi unit. We also used the Marae Protocols material and quiz as part of our preparation for a Marae visit. I found the targeted use of specific web pages (on the site) useful for a mixed range of levels.
Jacqueline McGivern from St Therese School (Three Kings)
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.
Graham Elsmore from Christian Renewal School
Argo Floats
The opportunity to bring the outside world into my classroom is invaluable. Operating a digital classroom means students can work independently on the challenging video questions and choose to follow up with next steps when they want. Students recognised that this trip was really taking them to places they would be unlikely to ever see.
Gabriel Hawke from St Mary's School (Hastings)
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.
Tamsin Haseltine from Napier Girls High School
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.
Anita Phillips from Alfredton School
Our class was fully engaged with this topic. This is a great way to connect students to environments that are more difficult to access.
Debbie Purves from Newtown School
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.
Joanne Mortimer from Weston School
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.
Christine McGill from Queen Margaret College
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.
Shelley Galloway from Mt Somers Springburn School
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.
Julie Wilkinson from Vauxhall School
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.
Carolyn Thelning from Weston School
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.
Sue Hodge from Elm Park School
They learnt a lot and I hear them telling others all about it. Loved the connection to the sea and the environment.
Debra Lydon from Waikari School
Students loved it. Specifically noticed lower level students had high engagement and enjoyed the whole-class, real-world learning.
Henrietta Bell from Mt Somers Springburn School
It is a very interactive resource and students don't have to leave the classroom to learn about specific topics in their own country.
Seuga Frost from Ohau School
Fabulous videos and audio conferences! Loved them! Awesome way to "move the walls" of the classroom and let the students experience and engage in things they never would have the opportunity to otherwise do.
Carol Brieseman from Hampton Hill School
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.
Patricia Weaver from Rapaura School
The students we highly engaged. They love doing the LEARNZ field trips. It has activities that they can use in and out of the classroom, and it promotes a blended learning approach.
Marcia Ferguson from Rosebank School
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.
Katherine Webster from Otatara School
Love the two levels of reading in background pages. Also the audio. Great for students who have dyslexia. All students gained knowledge of the wider world and how scientists collaborate.
Susan Feron from Collingwood Area School
It fitted into the Level 3 Earth & Space Science Oceanography topic very well and extended able students in this Scholarship class. Also an excellent way to gain an understanding of careers in Science as well as current scientific research in NZ.
Linda Haseltine from Napier Girls' High School
Harbours and Estuaries
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.
Sue Hodge from Elm Park School