You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
We were involved in the Nationwide 'Shake it Out' and this added value to the day. LEARNZ is a 'one stop shop' for me - it means I do not have to spend hours surfing on the internet to support my learning programmes.
A LEARNZ field trip is such a great motivator. The visuals meant that all students could participate in this field trip during ShakeOut.
The subject was national and we localised it by making a plan for our schools which we shared with the whole community. The key competency of 'managing self' is very relevant here and the activities and videos were great.
Our students are manly visual learners so through watching the videos they were able to sustain attention longer and retain more information. Also every activity in the field trip, I believe, has in some way reflected the Key Competencies and Values in the Curriculum.
Linked very well with our school ShakeOut focus. Great for building Participating and Contributing, and Self-Management in students. Good design in that I can pick-and-choose what is useful for my class.
The students loved Stan the dog and the way he acted out in the video. This held the younger viewers interest, but also reinforced the learning points. It made online learning very purposeful, more than just a research or processing tool. Talking to someone in Auckland from Picton was very powerful and engaging for learners.
Fitted in well with our civil defence week. Engaged the students. Have recommended to colleagues and our whole team will use this next year.
My class enjoyed the little videos and learnt heaps about earthquakes. Linked well to managing self and community. It involves the children with things outside the classroom - connects them to real life NZ.
It helped students to see the key competencies in action in a real life situation outside of the classroom.
My multi-levelled students thoroughly enjoyed participating in watching the movies and learning through accessing the background pages and quizzes. LEARNZ is a great package of information and up to date footage, that makes usage and planning of the unit very easy for me as a teacher.
All New Zealanders need to know this info - new immigrants were quite surprised by some of it. Ticks all of the boxes. Allows my diverse learners to engage in their own style with the material, which frees me up to move around and have quality conversations about the topic with each of the students - no crowd control needed! Brilliant!
I found the easy background pages appropriate for most students and the ability to have the text read to them was really helpful. Motivating and interesting - my Year 4 students especially enjoyed the videos.
This field trip most definitely supported our students in becoming lifelong learners, who develop skills and strategies for real-life situations. Everything is well-researched and my Year 6-8 students and I particularly enjoy the presentation of the video clips.
Direct connection to what we were studying in our syndicate, all resources in one place, real people and real context helped engage the children in the learning. All resources are New Zealand appropriate and very suitable for my Year 5&6 class. I felt very supported with instant responses to the emails I sent.
Learnz virtual field trips are an integral part of our programme - students look forward to each one. What's the Plan, Stan? led to research around a range of topics - particularly in response to Web Conferences. Special needs students can access ALL aspects of the tour. Maori students are able to add context and their own ideas and understanding, from talks by representatives of local iwi.
The field trips cater for a number of learning styles providing visual, written and audio information. I love using Learnz with my class. Thank you for providing this fabulous resource.
The resources were excellent for research and reading tasks, and we learnt the importance of being prepared as we practiced our earthquake drills. Everything supported our unit of inquiry about natural disasters specific to New Zealand and my students valued being able to speak to experts in the field.
I adapted it to be useful for my Year One class. I concentrated on How to keep ourselves safe during Earthquakes and Tsunamis. It assisted my delivery of interesting authentic material for my students.
It was well organised and at the students' levels so no-one was left behind. They now have a good understanding of what to do next in the case of an emergency.
Allowed us look at geology as well as Civil Defence. Appropriate and effective.
It made my children more aware that floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters don't just happen to other people in other places but can happen anywhere at anytime. Thank you, I am enjoying learning along with my class!
LEARNZ supports all areas of NZC - a wonderful resource!
This was effective, interesting and aimed at the students' ability, with interesting quizzes too. Students learned a lot and they enjoyed the videos, which generated a lot of discussion. It was good not to be the one imparting the information, to have experts explain how things happen.
The field trip was appropriate for our class of Yr 3 students and met many aspects of the NZ curriculum. Students are now highly motivated to find out more about hazards/disasters that are likely to impact them at some stage.
I used it as part of my independent learning and group reading sessions. This field trip showed the children how they can be managing their own safety.