You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Great for my class - they really enjoyed the trip, as it was fun and informative. I have been a member for many years and all my students love the LEARNZ programme.
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.
Year 10 students used it as part of an inquiry topic. Students enjoyed exploring an area of NZ that most had not visited.
Many areas of the curriculum were covered for me during this field trip. Having the option for the children to listen to the text being read is really helpful, as it gives all children the same opportunity to access the information. The children have learnt a lot and we are now applying this knowledge in our follow up activities.
The highlight of the trip was the web conference and the class being able to ask their burning questions. My whole teaching team were all very impressed with the field trip and with the level of motivation and engagement it evoked in our students.
I appreciate the support these field trips give to my broader teaching programme and the fact they are so accessible. Thank-you!
It consolidated what we are undertaking with our inquiry unit.
Spot on for our Inquiry context. So good to have it online after the trip is finished. Children enjoyed the 'real' places we are seeing.
This was amazing. My students could relate to it and it introduced some excellent topics such as food chains and ecosystems. My students gained a deep understanding of how fragile an ecosysytem is and that all ecosystems are under both natural and human threats.
We explored the sustainable use of this area (Nelson) of NZ. We were really interested in the types of fish that were examined and dissected by the experts.
Great for literacy, using computers in a different way, introduced science thinking and specific vocabualary in Maori and English. It was effective in the sense that it gave me a framework to work within and draw ideas from, as the material was there to guide me.
The children were focused for the entire live conference and the conversation that was generated afterwards was great. A great lead in to our next topic - Our Local Ponds. Thank you to those of you who make these conferences possible.
Supported our study of Tangaroa, based on Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. We all learnt so much, both the students and kaiako. Very informative newsletters made using the site easy.
Encouraged teaching and learning about sustainability. Very informative for students and teachers alike. I used the audio in background pages to support multi level reading in my class.
Thank you for such an engaging and worthwhile week of learning, complete with extra activities. It has really helped to make Seaweek one to remember! Our class cannot wait for our next Tour!
Very useful videos, students enjoyed them. I have got a few dyslexic children so videos and live interviews were really helpful to get them involved in learning.
Encouraged students to use and manipulate technology devices to complement their learning. Especially great for the boys. Enhanced our whole school thematic topic. I look forward to the next field trip. Thank you Learnz.
The field trip certainly connected my students with the NZC. It was an authentic context for children to be involved in, covering all the key competencies, learning areas etc.
It showed the children working as a team in real life situations. I have also used it as part of my group reading material.
Stimulated lots of conversations about participating and contributing, managing self and taking risks. Also how people had to work together and support each other to achieve their goals.
This field trip enabled my students to explore diversity, excellence - aiming high and giving things a go and themes of working together to achieve goals. Really helped in developing a great classroom culture.
We used this field trip to support our learning on hauora/wellbeing and as part of our work looking at respect, responsibility, and community participation. It also linked in with our work on Growth Mindset and goal setting.
The children were really engaged and being able to ask an expert made them feel like they were really on board the Spirit of New Zealand. I particularly found the easy readings great for my Year 4-5 class and used them as the reading programme. Totally satisfied with all that was offered!
The differentiated text pages and supporting photographs and videos ensured all the students had success in their learning. Students absolutely loved participating in the live webinar - the writing they produced after it was inspiring and many students reflected it was the best writing they had ever done.
I loved the way it generated discussion and encouraged inquiry so my students really thought about how we use and manage water. I also love how the students can access the material themselves and monitor their own interest in the before and after work.