You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
100% engagement! Lots of discussions both in the classroom and in homes. Really good for the children to see the teams on the videos talking about work place treaties, working together, effective communication and all the things we talk about at in the classroom - quite a few lightbulb moments for students.
The field trip generated a lot of relevant questions and fitted in with the science, technology and english topics that we are covering. The field trip provided access to an area of interest and at a level of expertise that I would not be able to provide any other way. The online support section was comprehensive and the introduction to the fieldtrip on Adobe Connect was informative and well run.
Supported the oral language key competencies and enabled science to be integrated in the reading programme.
Served to show the variety of options available as an engineer and that there is a requirement for qualifications. Reinforced science, maths and English as important subjects.
The field trip about the Waterview Connection was particularly interesting for some of my boys with an engineering bent, and they asked some good questions. The time-lapse video and pictures were particularly engaging for the class and they really enjoyed the detailed information available on the website about Alice the TBM.
It is structured really well and it gives the children and authentic context within which they can learn. It was appropriate for my class because we are living within a citywide rebuild (Christchurch) so the planning and implementation of infrastructure is completely relevant. It motivated many of them to log on at home to support their learning.
A large number of my boys had visited the Waterview Connection project - they found the field trip very interesting, which sparked enthusiastic discussions. It also provided another tool to engage my boys to read and write in a real life context.
Related closely to our transport topic for the term, which had a technology focus. High levels of student engagement in this topic, very interesting. The children also enjoy doing the interactive activities.
Really got us thinking about cars, traffic, air polution (in the tunnels) and safe alternatives like cycling. Very engaging and relevant material, presented well.
This is amazing! It has created some excellent discussion amongst our class. My class would have loved to see Alice in action live but your virtual accounts are a brilliant substitute!
It was appropriate for us since we live in West Auckland and the students travel near the Waterview area. The students were fascinated with the work that Alice does. I will use LEARNZ again as it is an important digital learning community that encourages the students to collaborate and expand their learning in their own time.
High engagement in the elements presented. Great stimulation for discussion and further investigation. A powerful extension to our EOTC programme.
We thought the field trip was friendly, effective and interesting. Waterview project is local to our school and the Year 8 girls were interested in the development.
Because it is our backyard it was very useful for the children to understand fully how huge this project is. A really good link to our Inquiry topic and the careers work we have been doing.
Students learned more about a huge project that is occurring in their local area and have an interest and awareness that can be built on as the project continues, either in school or with their families. Our Year 4-6 children have shown huge interest in accessing the video content and audioconferences in free time, and have actively asked for extra time to do this with their Netbooks.
The students get to see places they often would not get to see. They are introduced to amazing concepts and get to think about how this may affect them in the future. We used the easy background information which was very well suited to our Year 5 class.
This field trip made us all think about population in cities, progress in transport and caring about environmental issues, and it really made the students unpack the information given and think about their open ended questions. Our students attend an isolated, rural school and enjoy learning about the technologies used in the cities and our global world. This was our first time participating and I would do it again.
LEARNZ is a great way to engage students and take them places that it is not possible to go any other way. Videos and images allowed the class to interact with the field trip in an engaging way,
Great visual learning, auditory learning, and inquiry learning. I like the way Māori words are put into every context of the trip.
Very well rounded experiences. Used partly to prepare for a visit to our local Marae and learning about Matariki. Visual experiences great for class.
We have been researching about Captain Cook and we are also preparing for a Marae visit so components of the field trip have been particularly relevant. The easy background pages and the associated activities were just right for my Year 4 class. It is always interesting to learn from Shelley and Andrew while they are on location. The students develop a connection with them, particularly if they participate in an audio conference.
Highly engaging and extremely usable! Students gained in constructing questions to put to experts. Interpreting and making meaning of a variety of language and symbols, managing self, relating to others and also developed a wealth of knowledge about the topic.
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.
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.
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.