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

Children really enjoyed learning about kauri dieback. We participated in all three web conferences and I am pleasantly suprised at how much the children learned. The field trip links well to the Key Competencies as well as our school values, and was inclusive of all cultures.
My class always enjoys the Learnz Field Trips, regardless of the trip we enrol in. The LEARNZ teachers are so enthusiastic, it really teaches the children things that I can't.
There is so much in a LEARNZ field trip that it is possible to pick and choose what is most suitable for each class. There is so much motivating stuff to choose from for supporting reading, writing, inquiry, oral language, etc. I like the way that Te Reo is incorporated - this really supports Te Reo in my class.
It was a really good way for students to learn about NZ and what's happening currently and in a manner that they could choose how they participated; some were more independent and others more supported.
My students enjoyed it and learnt so much. They were inspired and did their own projects on kauri dieback. They learnt to do inquiry learning. They enjoyed the videos and doing the activities to test their knowledge.
Owing to time constraints with other curriculum areas, I sadly did not get an opportunity to use this wonderful resource with my class. I will be using it retrospectively however.
It provided a quality opportunity for integrating eLearning into the Inquiry programme. As part of our inquiry we will be researching possible sites at school and in our local area to plant several Kauri. I really like the questions and activities for further inquiry in the green boxes at the bottom of the Background pages. The videos also provided excellent class discussion with the questions that were attached to each video. Many children revisited the videos frequently during the trip.
Adds to the learning experiences of our topic studies. We are studying kauri dieback using the "Keep Kauri Standing - Kauri Dieback" school resource so this trip supported that learning. It visited some of the areas we had already learned about and added some information from experts that helped to answer some of the questions we had.
It brings things alive for the kids, as many are visual learners. Fabulous to learn from experts. It covered participating and contributing beautifully, and we also connected it to "Understanding about Science".
Engaging and can be tailored to the specific needs of a small group of students. Uses all of the Key Competencies. Enabled students to self regulate their learning.
Very informative as to what is happening on our doorstep, and we did not know about it. We are now going to contact DOC in our area and finding out more that we can do to help locally. All children saw things they related to, and saw the relevance of what they were learning. Nice to have the extra background from maori perspective.
As an Enviro school it is wonderful to be interfacing with experts in the field on real issues in real time. Some of my students go onto Learnz to explore further as additional home learning. Great to hear them educating their parents about what's happening to our mighty taonga, Kauri. LEARNZ is the most marvellous educational resource for NZ teachers. This is my 14th year with Learnz and I get great great support if I need it. The staff are truly amazing at every level.
They (LEARNZ virtual field trips) are informative and they reinforce what I am teaching. We had watched with real disappointment the Kauri Grove in Cambridge and our local area die in last year's drought.
It is visual, relevant, easy to access, and makes good use of technology to be virtually there. Very relevant and topical in Northland.
Linked through te reo me nga tikanga Maori - caring for our environment. Redwood Forest is in our area so able to connect to it through this field trip. Related to the NZ Curriculum - Community engagement, Cultural diversity, Future focus and the Vision - Confident, Connected, Informed, Contribuors.
It gave them the sense of being there, and the children were motivated and empowered to make a difference. The children loved watching the videos, and it made the whole learning process more authentic.
Helped make content relevant to my Year 10 students. Great for the visual learners!
Pitched to range of levels - many students are visual learners so the videos and photo gallery are especially useful. Ability to revisit info and to pace themselves as they read through the background notes is also good.
This field trip catered for many learners - with videos and photos to support the learning, it is not all reading. And with the readings being able to be listened to, it allows many lower readers to be involved in the content.
Supported L6 of the Science curriculum, in particular the ESS standards, plus Nature of Science for my Year 12 Science class. Video conversations enabled the "real"world into the classroom - the presenters are more than talking heads, as they have a wealth of background knowledge and make learning fun.
Up-to-date, relevant, interesting and provides a great framework for computer assisted research while at the same time students are developing social and cooperative skills. Particularly useful as we were specifically looking at Tsunami. Information is culturally relevant and there is a wide range of resources so all learners in my class can achieve, accomplish something.
Great material, age appropriate, to generate interest and questions. Great engagement. Students gained knowledge of volcanoes and geothermal activity, connected to wider New Zealand.
It gave my students an authentic opportunity to engage with experts and ask quality questions. They were able to link the concepts to their reading and writing as well as engaging with scientific concepts and social studies.
Our topic this term is actually civil defence and I used this field trip as motivation. Living on the lower slopes of Mt Taranaki the volcano parts were our particular focus and as my class are year 2-4 we used the fabulous videos and the photos in the gallery. The class have gained a huge understanding even from what we have used. There was a lot of information they could access with a little guidance, and they really enjoyed it. It was also easily accessed by the special needs children with their teacher aides.
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.