You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand

A neat and different way to engage kids.
A good introductory approach for Extreme Natural Events (for Level 1 Geography). Encompasses a different approach. I rate it. It gathered interest and allowed for better retention of some of the key points than just class notes and activities would provide.
This Geohazards virtual field trip hit the nail on the head as a learning tool for Year 8 Earth Science. It has been a great chance for a small rural Northland school to see the wider world, and has broadened my horizons in terms of what is possible with my classes.
Extremely valid topic for our students, given our locality. Having experts is powerful. The students enjoyed the virtual learning environment and gained skills in cooperation and collaboration. The opportunities to actually be in many of these places is too cost prohibitive, so this provides an authentic learning environment.
We live in a geothermal area so its relevance to our community makes this field trip appropriate. The field trips are a shared social experience that provides the opportunity for students to encounter and explore novel things in an authentic New Zealand setting.
Childern learnt a lot about geohazards in NZ, other than just earthquakes. So easy to incorporate into the programme; can 'take' children to parts of NZ that we are too far away from; can access any time after the trip begins; has good range of material that engages children eg photos and videos and background pages...
Contributes to learning objective for both Earth and Space Science L2 internal and external assessment. Helped as part of the inquiry process with student-led learning. Good opportunity for managing self.
My class were hooked and the videos were great as they helped my kids understand geohazards better (visual). The class are now planning their next steps 'how to prepare'. I will use LEARNZ again as it provides interesting topics that affect my class and ensures they develop their own thinking/questions to explore (what now? what next?). Also oportunities for research, reading and exploring non fiction texts, science case and effect.
... brought the curriculum to life. Opened the eyes of the class to all the interesting things going on around them.
Excellent resource that can be picked up by all students or just one who wants to delve into an area at a greater intensity. Self regulated, great background to an area of interest.
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 flow on from Memorial Park 1 through to 2 was good. Looking forward to the next one. The use of some of the technical language was great. Love the interactive nature of the field trips - especially the Twitter updates! The diaries are always interesting.
We had looked at the videos from Memorial Park 1 as a warm up exercise, so this followed on perfectly. After watching the videos from last November, had a student in Wellington for the weekend and was interested enough to take parents to see what was happening with the park, to update class before the 2nd LEARNZ visit. LEARNZ field trips have become an important part of learning in my senior class. Regardless of ability, students are loving the experiences.
This field trip will really emphasise to students that memorials and remembering are an essential human condition, and that the Anzac Day commemoration is nationwide. We plan to visit local memorials and attend our local service to tie in with Anzac Day.
Highly engaging, complimented our topic "Our Place". Supported many literacy skills, thinking, reflecting, questioning, discovering.
Kids were amazed at the thought and influence of soldiers' personal journeys that were included in the design and symbolism in the park. Making connections with schools and viewing questions and listening to responses was great. Kids enjoyed learning about what the experts did to enable the park building project to work.
Best comment was from a student who is going to Wellington and is planning to go and take a look at the construction site. It covered a range of curriculum areas and also looked at beliefs and attitudes. There was some challenging new vocabulary in this topic which was very good for the students. Other language keywords were great for low level NESB student.
Linked to Social Sciences and linked well with build up to Anzac unit.
This is by far the best learning experience we can offer 21st Century elearners. We use the iPads to follow the virtual field trip from go to whoa. This field trip definitely captured the interest of the boys in the class because it was technical, involving digging machinery, geology and archeology.
The material was pitched at the right level for year 7/8s and linked into our ANZAC day topic. It is a fantastic resource, easy to use and understand, and it compliments reading, writing and inquiry programmes. It is great to have the real world contexts for children to engage in.
Student engagement in this media platform is apparent, they love it! From students who need support through to students who require extension, Learnz field trips have been able to be implemented in the classroom to meet all needs. There was parental involvement and interest in this topic, with more learning conversations happening at home. This programme will be picked up in our senior classroom because of the success and engagement from students in my Year 2-4 class.
I have a boys only class and they were all very interested in what was happening and how it related to WW1. It was inclusive for all students and could be adapted to cater for all needs. The audio conference was a new concept for my class and they enjoyed coming up with questions and then asking them live.
Definitely appropriate to my Year 6 class, especially as it was local and all knew the area well.
Students are continuously thinking and evaluating information they are reading or viewing. They are self managing their learning and using technology to enhance it.
The audio conferences and videos were amazing. Perfect for my class. We had all Year 8's do it together and they loved it. My class are already asking about the next one.