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

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.
This unit linked with our topic of sustainability and enabled cross curricular learning in a digital context. This type of learning resource helps students to work at their level, irrespective of where they start and their reading ability.
It was a great way to learn about people places and animals without actually being there.
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.
This is a rich experience for students who know NZ but are often living offshore.
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.
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.
Engages the students. Interesting material which covers a breadth of issues and topic areas. Students gained an understanding of the Antarctic food web.
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.
The field trip was extremely appropriate and challenging. Very effective. My class really got into it - it was so well organised for teachers and students.
I really enjoy the learnz trips. My class loved learning about preservation and discovery in Antarctica. It delved into the deeper questions.
The students were highly motivated throughout this field trip. A fantastic resource that can be used easily within any classroom setting to support classroom programmes around skills and attitudes we are fostering with our children.
I thought LEARNZ did a great job of mixing up content that covered multiple curriculum areas in a logical and accessible way. Most of the time my Year 8-9 class were engaged and absorbed by what was happening. Well done.
Great for students to have new people connecting to them in a different way, linking many aspects of the curriculum in a real setting.
Great resource with a variety of media. Very comprehensive, providing students with another layer of learning material connected to real world around them.
Linked well to our inquiry this term on Ecosystems and Science.
Fantastic links to the science curriculum AOs - lots of learning due high interest and combination of videos and great background information. Learnz is real world and happening at the moment. Where else can you get this sort of access to scientists and researchers?
Having all of the Antarctica resources together makes it very easy for students to self-explore the parts of the topic they are especially interested in. The real benefit for us has been having all of the audio with the readings for my lower readers; they prefer to listen and the NZ accent of the reader is a bonus.
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.
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.
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.
Was impressed with how my children were engaged in the videos and ambassador updates. Although my class is Year 2, I was able to cater the activities and videos for their ability.
My class loves being part of the field trips, watching the teachers on the videos and listening to real people in real life situations. We were learning about transport with a technology focus so it was a very interesting topic for the children, pitched at a good level.
The audioconferences put our students in contact with other NZ kids - connects them to their peers. Students were fascinated by the videos of behind the scenes at the airport.
I had a careers focus with my Year 7&8 class and I could not have chosen a more effective venue than an airport. The LEARNZ experience cannot be matched for engagement and student enthusiasm.