You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Testimonials
Antarctica
My class of all boys love the LEARNZ background readings and activities; their non-fiction reading levels have all improved. They like the fact that they can work at their level and at their own pace. They all love science and anything (like LEARNZ) that helps develop their understanding of how our world works.
Angela Moeke from St Patrick's Catholic School Taupo
It has been one of the best units I have taught in my 16 years of teaching - I would recommend it to anyone. I do think that it has been particularly successful in my classroom because we signed up for the extras such as the ambassador and the audio conferencing - that's what really made it come alive for me and the children in my class.
Samantha Edwards from Kenakena School
This is an effective and engaging part of my literacy programme. My Pasifika students, in particular, are much more engaged with a Learnz field trip than other academic activities. Especially relevant in meeting the vision of the NZ Curriculum.
John Brunton from Marshall Laing School
We used the Inquiry method to study Antarctica and we loved it! Shelley's videos created lots for discussion. Brilliant!
Allison Cotter from Newtown School
Excellent presentation and a great learning experience for the students. Students really enjoyed a different approach to learning and it was good that the weaker readers were able to participate.
Susan Dane from Elm Park School
LEARNZ is a great way to study a topic using a medium that is accessible to all, even my low vision student and those with poor reading skills. The Antarctica field trip supported the science and social studies areas of the curriculum and much more, such as the key competencies.
Carolyn Thelning from Weston School
Excellent source of information for the students, aimed at their level, well presented and easy for the students to access and work with. Students found it extremely interesting and they learnt plenty of new things about Antarctica.
Susan Dane from Elm Park 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
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
It was a great way to learn about people places and animals without actually being there.
Jennifer Barrow from Karoro School
Students became very curious with lots of wonderings about Antarctica and they decided that science is really cool. The field trip made for fun learning and helped us use the i-pads and laptops more effectively for independent research.
Paula O'Neill from New River Primary
It was in line with our learning focus for this year of being a fully digital classroom. Online help was all good.
Jennifer Barrow from Kaniere School
Children loved every part of the experience- thoroughly engaging. Really cool for the students to be able to participate with a group outside of their immediate context!
Ruth Millett from Upper Harbour Primary 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
Engages the students. Interesting material which covers a breadth of issues and topic areas. Students gained an understanding of the Antarctic food web.
Michael Reed from Loburn School
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
Caves Critters and Karst
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
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
Airport
It was such an engaging learning experience for my Year 9 class. This was my first experience (with a LEARNZ field trip) and I was so pleased it was a success.
Maria Connelly from Ellesmere College
Suited all students regardless of their knowledge of International airports. All were interested in the behind-the-scenes look at how an airport works.
Gabriel Hawke from St Mary's School (Hastings)
The field trips work for independent and well as peer work. They ignited passions the students didn't even know they have! I have a number of low ability readers in my class, being able to listen to the text is fantastic.
Marcia Ferguson from Rosebank School (Balclutha)
The field trip was a great way for the students to use technology to access information. They could decide what they wanted to find out about Airports and this gave them choices in their learning. I like the interactive nature of the field trips and having an ambassador creates a great connection for the children. Great multilevel materials for all levels.
Jennifer Barrow from Karoro School