Two new initiatives aimed at pupils in the classroom will link science and technology education with advances in industry, writes Dr Claire O'Connell.
What do petrol, telescopes, blood transfusions and sewage have in common? They are all examples of everyday things that can teach us about the wonder of science, taken from two new multimedia resources aimed at second-level schools.
Today the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, will launch a new, classroom-based package and website that links science education with the latest advances in industry.
And last week saw the launch of Ingenious Ireland Online, a bilingual website that explores Ireland's scientific heritage.
"The idea behind Science and Technology in Action was to get the experience of science in industry into education in a different way," says Anna Gethings, who is managing director of AG Education Services, the Dublin-based company that produced the programme.
Gethings linked with the Department of Education and the Irish Science Teachers' Association (Ista) to plan the 20-lesson resource, which bolts into Leaving and Junior Cert curriculums across biology, chemistry and physics.
She had an enthusiastic response from companies in the public and private sector who funded the project. "We went and talked to Irish organisations and asked them to generate a lesson with us that would demonstrate in the classroom what was actually going on in their organisation," says Gethings.
Her team worked closely with science and technology experts to produce lessons on subjects such as ecology, vaccination, fibre optics, how electricity is supplied around a house and how kidneys perform quality control on blood.
Engineer and educationalist Jim Salisbury liaised with industrial partners from the pharmaceutical, technology, environmental and food sectors to explain the science behind the commonplace. "We don't realise the extent to which many or our organisations are involved in science, or how pervasive science is in our everyday lives," he says. The end result is a series of science stories, quizzes, practical activities and career information delivered in print, CD and website formats that teachers can integrate into classes.
Gethings says a main aim of the resource is to connect students with day-to-day science and how it fits into society. "It's curriculum-driven, it's student-driven and it's bringing the real science stories to the students in a way that they can realise it in ordinary language," she says.
All second-level schools north and south of the border will receive a copy of the package within about a week, says Gethings, who plans to update the programme's content every year. "It's all about communications between industry and education, and this is really a good way of maintaining that communication and keeping it up to date."
While Science and Technology in Action looks to the future of science in industry, another new initiative brings it alive through events from the past. The Ingenious Ireland Online website builds on a selection of stories from science journalist Mary Mulvihill's 2002 book Ingenious Ireland, which describes events and landmarks in Ireland's scientific and technological heritage.
Mulvihill says the website, which is available in English or Irish, adds information that links into second-level school curricula and hopes teachers and students will use it to explore science, geography and history, and notes it is a valuable resource for schoolchildren who learn through Irish.
Supported by Discover Science and Engineering and an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta and with content developed by the Department of Education, the site is designed to catch the attention of 11-16-year-olds using the latest technology such as "podcasts", which include narration by broadcaster Gráinne Seoige, and an online photo competition to win an iPod nano.
UK-based e-learning company MWR was inspired to start the project when they read about Mulvihill's book in The Irish Times and saw the potential educational value of a website, says managing director Martyn Farrows.
The Science and Technology in Action website is: www.sciencetechnologyaction.com. The new Ingenious Ireland website is www.ingeniousirelandonline.ie.