You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Very purposeful learning. Supported our bi-cultural focus. Supported different learning styles. Found it very easy to incorporate into our long term plan and to integrate across learning areas.
My students loved learning about the animals in the wetlands and why they are important. I have used the field trip integrated into my planning and programme.
LEARNZ projects always allow me to "let go" - to let the students lead the way for their learning. Ticks all the boxes - able to use an Inquiry approach to their learning.
It is a great way to motivate students and it was set at the approximate age and interest. The virtual field trip was effective and we are planning a field trip to our local wetland area next term.
I particularly used the field trip in a Science context and looking at work scientists do (science capabilities). Videos had lots of content that was appropriate to use to discuss what scientists do. Community and participation as well as ecological sustainability were principles that were supported by the wet land field trip. We had a discussion about the drought as our overarching topic this year is water.
Great for Maori and Pasifika students and ESOL.
Students were engaged. They went on to the website in their own time, of their own accord as well as at school and shared this learning with their families. It was great having the different levels (L.1-2 and L.2-3) to chose from with the activities so I could cater for the different needs in my classroom. Having an ambassador was also very engaging for students. Great coverage of a topic. Easy to use. Engaging. Student led learning. Caters for different levels. Māori content. ICT use. Good effective learning.
Fitted in very well with our Term School focus of Kaitiaki and Science focus of Living World. Preparing for the audio conference extended our students thinking and created a whole new level of class discussions and understanding.
This is awesome (one student, Jack, many times over)! Being my first Learnz fieldtrip I was a learner too, and found it well prepared with invaluable information to add to our Wetlands unit. The managing self aspect came into play here as well for my Year 4-8 class.
Supported inquiry questions. Connections were made between areas visited on the virtual field trip and local known areas. Questions that accompanied videos matched the questions students had in discussions.
We were studying a local waterway and were able to compare the bio-diversity between our waterway in the Far North with a fresh waterway in the South Island. The students were motivated to research their topic, find out more about their own community and particularly enjoy the audio conference and following their ambassador.
The field trip dove-tailed nicely with a trip we made to a wildlife reserve and reading material covered in class. Students were able to make connections with prior learning and consider some of the threats to wildlife with a view to how they could make changes or take action to make a difference. I have learners with a range of needs and some particularly benefit from having learning presented digitally.
I feel it covered all areas of the key competencies - I used it to foster new learning relationships within our class, and it was an excellent tool to draw out my innovative thinkers. Due to the video nature of this field trip, the students were very engaged.
Key competencies were all addressed through the use of this field trip and it was easy use the material to differentiate for different learners. The LEARNZ trips are motivating for students and supporting for teachers. They are broad enough to use as the basis for many Inquiry topics and versatile enough to use over a long or short period.
Great trip well presented by all involved. The topic of water and conservation of wetlands will effect all New Zealanders. Great information at appropriate reading age.
It was perfect for exploring our theme - Bounce Back / Adapt. My students loved talking to an expert.
Many of our reading and writing strategies and progressions were able to be met by the field trip, as well as integrating our topic studies. I also used the diary readings as a shared reading activity, which was great. Students recorded questions throughout the audio conferences and we posted them in the Ask an Expert forum. Shelley responded that evening and we were able to integrate that into the classroom programme the next day. The students loved seeing their personal questions answered.
It matched our concept for the term 'Our Place' - the way we interact with living things affects our place. We will use LEARNZ again because it motivates the students, information is at your fingertips, it has well informed experts and it's lots of fun.
It is a great way to learn. Students are made aware of important conservation issues in a fun way. The various activities cover a variety of learning styles.The topics can often be linked to local communities.
The students found the videos and photos to be very interesting. They developed their knowledge of pest threats in NZ and also developed a positive attitude to how they can help with campaigns like Project Crimson & Living Legends. LEARNZ is an excellent programme.
They are well planned and provide us with a link to experts and sites we would not usually visit. Excellent for developing literacy and numeracy in a purposeful context.
It complements my classroom programme and provides fantastic learning opportunities undercover of ICT.
Great to learn about our New Zealand icons. I always enjoy Learnz and have been using it for the last 6 or 7 years because it is an absolute gem to all teachers and students.
I find the field trips a great way of introducing vocab and scientific language to students. As well as teaching inquiry skills and science knowledge students are reading for information and engaging with text, video and audio information to present findings.
Related it to our small area of bush at school. So far we have set a trap, the same type as was in the video. Special needs loved the video presentations and gained from them.