The Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, TD, launched the complete suite of innovative tools for teaching and learning physics at Lucan Community College, Dublin. Intel Junior Physics Online Tools feature investigations from the Junior Certificate Science curriculum that allow students to approach an experiment in an investigative manner. The tools have been developed by Intel in collaboration with the Junior Science Support Service.

The revised syllabus for Junior Certificate science was introduced in September 2003. For the first time, practical investigative work has been included in the assessment of Junior Science. Intel unveiled the first phase of these tools 18 months ago with an investigation into Hookes Law. Today, the Intel Junior Physics Online Tool includes six tools available to download for free from www.skoool.ie that allow students to approach their experiments in an investigative manner. The five key areas are stretching, density, lenses, mirrors, electromagnetism and expansion / contraction. The tools allow students to plan an investigation and discover by trial and error the correct method to carry out and evaluate the investigation.

The Intel Junior Physics Online Tools are more than simple simulations; they are interactive applications. The tools allow students to run experiments but also provide the ability to analyse, graph and evaluate results. In an effort to engage students, the tools are built around real life contexts, for example, the density investigation tool is set in a crime lab where finding the densities of various items can solve the crime.

John Hennessy, National Coordinator of the Junior Science Support Service, is one of the key people who worked with Intel on this project, “I was delighted to work with Intel to develop these online tools. Science can be best understood through the process of investigation. These online tools allow teachers and their students to develop their investigative skills in a safe environment which can be accessed via the web at any time from anywhere."

This initiative is part of Intel’s Science in Schools programme, which consists of a number of curriculum interventions at post primary level designed to encourage more students to study physical science and engineering subjects at Leaving Certificate and third level.

Frank Turpin, Intel Education Manager was delighted to see this initiative come to fruition, “Physics in school is one of the important subjects leading to the careers that underpin the Knowledge Economy. The Intel Junior Physics Tools are online interactive learning tools that make the learning and teaching of the Physics on the new Junior Cycle curriculum more fun for students and teachers. This is one of the science in schools initiatives that Intel is currently developing.”

Other Intel Education initiatives were on display as well today including Design and Discovery, a pre-engineering transition year module, Senior Physics, teaching methods for Leaving Certificate Physics and Developing Math Ideas (DMI) for Junior Cycle Math. Lucan Community College is a local school that Intel has worked closely with on a variety of these initiatives over the last number of years.

Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.

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