You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
From the beginning, our learners were very interested and engaged. We overlaid SOLO taxonomy as an activity pathway and for children to set goals and evaluate progress in terms of being supported, self managed or self directed learners. We have found all the Learnz field trips give a great scaffolding for explicit teaching of skills, and effective tools for those children who learn differently, such as oral material and videos to provide information.
Students were engaged, motivated and excited to be taking part, and learnt a great deal from this field trip as it encouraged them to work towards excellence. Participating meant they engaged with the curriculum in English, The Arts (Music, Visual Arts, Dance and Drama), Technology, and with many of the Key Competencies.
Inspired and developed an appreciation for this field of the arts to a group of children from a variety of backgrounds, who all all said they enjoyed it and looked at opera differently now. Marvellous student opportunities - also developed and extended the knowledge of some students for whom music is a personal skill.
Fantastic for my year 5/6 class. They learned so many skills and it was great to apply them to a real-life purpose, putting questions to experts in the audioconference. The field trip was a very effective learning experience for my class, which was added to by attending the dress rehearsal.
This Opera field trip turned out to be a really neat and enjoyable experience for my tauira (students). There was a lot of interest and comment about the careers and qualifications each member held. Major links to The Arts but also to Technology (creating/designing costumes, props, sets) and Health/P.E (rehearsals, nutrition, rest, decision making, looking after each other, relating to others, taking responsibility).
The trip was very effective for my class as we had just finished a school inquiry based on the Invercargill estuary which had been used as the city dump. It inspires students to do something about their environment or begins conversations about how life used to be and how things change, such as the new technology that has been used to make the Kate Valley landfill safe for the environment.
The students were very interested and challenged throughout this virtual field trip. It was very appropriate, as we are completing an Inquiry on "Our Environment". The online support section was comprehensive and well organised.
We used the field trip to plan, implement and evaluate a programme to reduce waste and improve hauora of our school environment. I found the videos and background information very useful for my class and I have used the photos for sequencing ideas for writing. My class loved Andrew's diaries and could connect to him when they viewed the videos. Lots of curriculum links to Health and PE, Social Sciences, English, Science and Key Competencies.
The trip supported the Curriculum values by enabling students to work in differing capacities. LEARNZ gives me the opportunitiy to share experiences from all over NZ with the students in my class whose life experiences may be limited.
Great way to have EOTC without leaving the classroom. Very visual and it was awesome that they sent us a sample of the liner material they use for the landfill.
The field trip supported our study on the Environment and Sustainability and also worked in well with our Zero Waste Education study on Composting. Students were given an insight into landfills and recycling, and the activities gave the students a lot to think about.
Fantastic, up-to-date, real time, interactive resource on a current environmental issue. Related well to Social Sciences, L.4, innovation, challenges, people, places and environment. NZC Vision: a greater awareness of how students can be positive, lifelong contributors. Values: linked with innovation, community, ecological sustainability. Principles: community engagement, future focus. Related to all KC's as they were communicating, thinking-inquiry, participating, and completing tasks on time.
The children all understood and could remember the waste process because of the clarity of the message from the videos.
We are looking at product lifecycle in our design class and it showed what happens to the end of products when put into rubbish, and the importance of designers to design for end of life. It enabled students to critically think through what their consumption produces and it was a great way to show students something without having to physically go.
This trip gave the students an insight into ecological sustainability. We also tied in a visit from a council person which gave students an insight into our own rubbish process. Students really enjoy watching the videos at home, which can then encourage further discussion on the topics with families.
This field trip was so appropriate for my class - they really enjoyed it and were excited to receive the 3 liner samples from the landfill at Kate Valley. As a teacher, this LEARNZ field trip has seen me use more technology in the classroom, while still including activities like interviews and visiting speakers.
In a very powerful way students were able to work collaboratively and at their own pace. Practical as our school is isolated rural, 40km from the nearest township and our class is mixed ability Year 6-8.
The field trip supported our delivery of the curriculum - especially having the ambassador, as he gave an added interest and focus. Students found it user-friendly and easy to access on our Chromebooks.
As an enviroschool, we found this field trip to perfectly fit our kaupapa and our journey regarding how to deal with waste at school and at home. Also worked very well for two reading groups to engage in synthesising information appropriately.
Very effective as we have been studying zero waste. Students also gained skills in "Participating and Contributing" and "Managing Self".
This field trip tied in nicely with our work looking at how we can care for the environment. It also tied in with our maths which included students collecting and analysing their own data about the rubbish we have in our class, at home and around school. The boys in particular were actively engaged; students were amazed at what they didn't actually know about the process that our rubbish goes through.
I love the authenticity of the experience. Being able to tangibly hold something (the liner that was sent to enrolled classes) and discuss the layers of the landfill, it was very powerful and got the kids thinking.
Many accessed the website at home and shared the parts they enjoyed with their family, which was great. My boys loved the machinery and trucks. Great use of technology and targets students of all abilities.
It (the virtual field trip) helped students think about the environment and how they can contribute to looking after it. The topics related to what we were studying and we did't have to leave the school to experience it.
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.