Testimonials

Linking a community issue with young adults (in this way with LEARNZ), has been empowering for the students. They are able to contribute to conversations outside the classroom using science and cultural based knowledge.

It illustrated clearly community engagement, ecological sustainability, participating and contributing. Students were interested. It also helped in the Nature of Science ... seeing how the community can work with the scientists on an issue.

They (LEARNZ virtual field trips) are informative and they reinforce what I am teaching. We had watched with real disappointment the Kauri Grove in Cambridge and our local area die in last year's drought.

The field trip was yet another way to utilise the tools in our digital classroom. My recommendation to colleagues is this resource, while valuable when it links to current teaching and learning, has also proven to be excellent for use with smaller groups to extend critical thinking and learning linked to a real context.

We live in the north and are surrounded by Kauri trees. Our students are now aware that kauri trees are under threat as they did not know this initially. I feel science is a very important part of the curriculum and want to encourage students to interact with the New Zealand environment. We are now going to visit the local bush and observe our trees.

Students were motivated by the field trip and made gains in reading, research, and critical thinking.

My class always enjoys the Learnz Field Trips, regardless of the trip we enrol in. The LEARNZ teachers are so enthusiastic, it really teaches the children things that I can't.

Our topic this term is actually civil defence and I used this field trip as motivation. Living on the lower slopes of Mt Taranaki the volcano parts were our particular focus and as my class are year 2-4 we used the fabulous videos and the photos in the gallery. The class have gained a huge understanding even from what we have used. There was a lot of information they could access with a little guidance, and they really enjoyed it. It was also easily accessed by the special needs children with their teacher aides.

Level of language in the resources was perfect for my wide-range ability Year 10s. The format encourages persistence and allows students to work at their own pace, through material that engages them, testing their knowledge without lots of writing! Parents were able to view the material and this was a valuable opportunity to engage our community.

The lessons and resources targeted the students learning needs while challenging their thinking. It supported my kids' knowledge, future learners, sharing of information and becoming 21st century learners ... connected learners.