You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
The class had just completed an Earth Science unit and this VFT (Virtual Field Trip) was like the icing on the cake. I am not aware of a more effective and powerful learning medium. The Key Competency of Thinking by constructing questions to put to experts during Audioconferences was most effective.
Great content and contexts. A novel approach and a way to bring other voice into my classroom that has great authenticity. Fits well with the specific Learning Objectives for the Disaster unit taught in the Social Studies curriculum.
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.
Totally in line with our Disasters topic. Worked well with the Key Competencies we aligned with our unit. Backchannel was great for the class next door.
The field trip helped to make the content very relevant and allowed the students to feel like they were getting first hand experience.
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.
The field trip supported both our social sciences and science learning areas. The students loved the real life content and particularly enjoyed the audio conferences. I like the fact that we can revist the fieldtrip resources throughout our learning unit ... which will come in handy when the students need to research a natural disaster that may occur in our area (Nelson) and how to prepare for it.
Helped make content relevant to my Year 10 students. Great for the visual learners!
Very appropriate for my multi level and age class. Well supported. The field trip enabled learners to gain knowledge in aspects of geology which they then used in writing and oral language. Students were highly engaged. Excellent resource!
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.
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.
Students are continuously thinking and evaluating information they are reading or viewing. They are self managing their learning and using technology to enhance it.
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.
A LEARNZ trip has great relevance - it is NZ based, which I like, as this is our students' real world context. Te Ao Maori is often included ... giving validity to the voice of our Maori students in a positive way
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.
Very relevant for the upcoming Anzac celebrations due to take place. The children were engaged and it linked in well with the other activities we were doing during the end of the term.
The theme of this field trip fits in with WW100 for this year. This field trip helped students develop an understanding of how an entire community gets behind a project like Memorial Park. It also encouraged students to think about what happens in our own community.
The timing was good. We all want to see it (Pukeahu National War Memorial Park) if we go to Wellington. It was a really good way to learn about Memorial Park. The videos were a good length and gave us a different perspective of the construction. The website was really easy to use and didn't go off to other topics. It was level appropriate.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Highly engaging, complimented our topic "Our Place". Supported many literacy skills, thinking, reflecting, questioning, discovering.
Linked to Social Sciences and linked well with build up to Anzac unit.