You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
He Hokinga Whakaaro
We have been researching about Captain Cook and we are also preparing for a Marae visit so components of the field trip have been particularly relevant. The easy background pages and the associated activities were just right for my Year 4 class. It is always interesting to learn from Shelley and Andrew while they are on location. The students develop a connection with them, particularly if they participate in an audio conference.
Very well rounded experiences. Used partly to prepare for a visit to our local Marae and learning about Matariki. Visual experiences great for class.
Great visual learning, auditory learning, and inquiry learning. I like the way Māori words are put into every context of the trip.
Terrific for the immersion phase of Inquiry. Children very motivated to go off and research independently. Just a stunning resource which enhances the quality of teaching and learning in my room tremendously!
High level of student engagement, interesting topics that are relevant to students' lives. Videos are always pitched at a good level, interesting - many of my students access them at home too.
This particular topic had all my students absolutely hooked - the 95% Maori students in my class felt it was about them and supported their culture and their own learning. I love the Inquiry focus, the research skills LEARNZ offers, the range of learning styles - with background information, diaries, audio conferences, images. All students are catered for.
Most appropriate for my Year 7&8 class. Incredibly effective in terms of meeting the desired Learning Outcomes. The most engaging learning experience the children could have.
Argo Floats
The children could connect what they learnt to their previous learning about Marine Environments. The information was really accessible through the video clips and Google Earth. We shared a video clip on our Blog so parents could also learn about the Argo Floats.
Extremely effective. Activated higher order questioning and students engaged in inquiry learning and we as a class had great discussion from the Argo Floats field trip. Keeping things simple with the live audioconferences was great. Easy for me to connect, thanks.
It is a very interactive resource and students don't have to leave the classroom to learn about specific topics in their own country.
They learnt a lot and I hear them telling others all about it. Loved the connection to the sea and the environment.
None of the students had done a trip before but now they are hooked. Some children chose to read texts again for homework. They were very interested in all the readings about the Argo floats; the students have a very positive view of what scientists are doing and learning about our oceans.
The videos and photo gallery were very popular. The children had access to tablets, which were well used as the children investigated the information supplied independently. The children enjoyed the field trip and have a much better understanding of the Argo Floats than if they had used in-class resources only.
It was fantastic. Highly engaging for our children and added another dimension to their learning. As well as gaining an understanding of Argo Floats, students also gained an insight into scientific research and careers as a scientist.
It is AWESOME! Students were engaged and intrigued by the ARGO floats field trip. They had heaps of questions and the trip enabled them to extend their critical thinking skills. The interactive nature of the website means that students can work through the material at their own pace and level. The field trips give the students the opportunity to interact with people who are experts in their field and find out information first-hand.
A group of nine Year 6 extension maths students took part in this field trip. They made gains in a wide variety of skills, especially from taking part in the audioconferences. The field trip broadened their knowledge about data collecting, and how different countries collaborate by working together to investigate the data.
It is a modern way of getting the children engaged in their learning. The children are now a lot more knowledgeable, geographically - they can identify oceans, understand currents etc. Being part of an audio conference allowed children to ask questions at their level.
Our class was fully engaged with this topic. This is a great way to connect students to environments that are more difficult to access.
Generated a lot of questions and interesting discussion after a term of learning about water and rivers. The activities provide just enough information to allow students to think and ask questions. I find the field trips allow for a range of learning opportunities and experiences for our students.
Very successful with my Year 13 Scholarship Science class. I was able to use the excellent information provided to construct a short study of the use of floats. From that we worked on questions that I constructed around Argo float data that we downloaded.
Harbours and Estuaries
It linked well with our focus on global issues and water use. It caters for a range of abilities and now that we have more devices allows students to work at their level. The live links created more reality and interest to begin with. Great stuff.
It helped my students understand about estuaries as they had no knowledge of what they were before we read about them and participated in the audioconference. Two of my students with ASD are highly excited and showing the site to their whanau, which is great. The Te Reo content and Maori perspectives in the texts and from Guest experts is also excellent and much appreciated.
The students were very motivated and learned many new things. They have changed their attitude to estuaries in our area. They particularly enjoyed the audioconferences and twitter - audioconferences are fantastic. I like the contact with scientists and other experts. Good links with careers education and Nature of Science.
The material was age appropriate (particularly liked the audio links, reading the material). The participation levels at school and at home were a lot higher than usual because material was readily accessible and easy to read and understand. Audio conferences were excellent. Having the few visual photographs kept some of my less focussed kids engaged, as did the summary sheets that they had in front of them. I was surprised at just how much they picked up. It was great to be able to ask questions via the backchannel and get immediate responses - the kids loved that.
Appropriate as an introduction to harbour ecology. Made for a useful comparison to our own harbour. My Year 12 Science students were able to compare and contrast both ecological and social values of the harbours.