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

My students loved it - it sparked lots of independent learning and sharing learning with whānau about Matariki. We fully participated in the web conferences, both as a listening class and as a speaking class.
This coincided with our Inquiry and the class were fully engaged with the content. The learning is accessible, with differentiated activities that allow the class to learn at their own rate. All the key competencies, principles, values and different learning areas were covered. Promoted inclusion of Māori students, who were encouraged to show their knowledge and share their views.
I have found the LEARNZ website an invaluable tool to support the learning needs of my class.
I could quickly look at background and ideas and use those suitable for my Year 2 class. Great for English (use sources of information e.g. videos, to identify form and express ideas), Science (PEB - Astronomical Systems - Matariki) and Social Studies (How the past is important to people | How places are significant to people).
As this was about Matariki and Navigation, it was of interest to my Maori and Pasifika students and showed them that we valued their stories. Excellent opportunity for all my students to learn in areas that would otherwise be inaccessible and from people they can't access locally.
This field trip is a great experience and learning for students and teachers alike. It caters particularly well to the High Expectation, Inclusion, Cultural diversity and Treaty of Waitangi Principles. All students have access to the knowledge offered by the audio option, and learning of Te Reo words, history and culturally different points of view are being taught.
Students really enjoyed it and were really engaged. They feel able to connect with their history and it has opened up discussions about our own past.
The website fitted perfectly with our current learning about Matariki and the field trip was very engaging. It helped encourage the students to be actively involved in various Matariki events in our area, as they felt confident sharing their newly acquired knowledge as well as asking questions.
This field trip allowed my students to engage with Matariki in a new and interesting way. My students used all the key competencies and were given complete responsibility for sharing their new knowledge; we ended up with 2 raps, a play, a pop-up book and a speech. It was awesome.
This was a wonderful field trip which linked with our classroom learning. The kids particularly enjoyed watching the web conferences.
Good background and build-up to Matariki. Prompted cultural awareness and discussions.
We were studying Matariki as a whole school so this field trip was fantastic!
Trips like this are great because all of the students can access the material, not just the capable readers, as so much of the content is video based. Being able to access the material after the event is also great.
Appropriate as my class was investigating this topic. This is another way to connect my students' learning to a wider community and it let my students see that other kids ask similar questions.
It integrated well with the NZ Curriculum i.e. Thinking, Managing self, Relating to others, Participating and contributing, High expectations, Treaty of Waitangi, and Future focus.
Absolutely fantastic experience. Complimented the work we were doing with School Kit. Supported all key comps, real learning for the kids, integrated into many learning areas, authentic learning.
Totally appropriate as we have spent the term focussing on our origins and how our ancestors reached NZ. For the Māori children, in particular, the story of Kupe was perfect.
The content was pitched perfectly for Year 7 & 8 tamariki. As part of our unit of inquiry based around ecosystems & biodiversity, there were strong curriculum links. The word bank helped build our te reo Māori too.
Helped my teaching practice, as this BioBlitz field trip was a helpful tool to differentiate my teaching. Students enjoy a different form of lesson delivery, too.
In this virtual field trip, the students studied creatures while learning about the concepts of biodiversity and conservation so we built our Inquiry around native animals. We decided to go to the Groynes and check out creatures there. We also looked at the wildlife at Willowbank.
It was an appropriate level of challenge, and was fun and engaging at the same time. My students are buzzing after this experience. and are excited about the next LEARNZ field trip.
Supported all of the KC's, the Nature of Science and the science capabilities.
Not only did my students enjoy this BioBlitz field trip, they were able to apply their learning to our local area. Having the ability to listen to the background pages being read to them is empowering for my lower ability readers. It means that they can still get the same information and complete the tasks.
It linked in to our syndicate camp in the Tangihuas by Whangarei. It backed up our teaching points on why we need to monitor wildlife and trap introduced pets.
Great way to extend learners in science and mathematics. Adjustable for Years 1-6. Lots of Key Competencies.