THE technology papers were deemed to be like a fresh breeze yesterday afternoon by Junior Cert students. Mr David Morris, a teacher at the Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles, Co Tipperary, and ASTI subject representative, said higher-level students were "very happy" with the technology paper yesterday. They felt section A was demanding but overall the exam was " a good test of the course and very fair. You needed a good knowledge of the whole syllabus to answer it satisfactorily."
He said students were "at long last" able to attempt section C. The emphasis on "technology and society" in every question was particularly welcome, he said. The appearance of the back-to-back transistor in question 2A surprised a lot of students. He welcomed the improved standardisation of measurements.
Mr Morris said the ordinary-level paper was "up to its usual standard with an improvement in the simplicity of its language and diagrams
Mr Noel O'Neill, a teacher at the Presentation College in Carlow and spokesman for the Association of Materials Technology and Graphics Teachers, said the ordinary-level paper was satisfactory and well presented.
The higher-level paper was to the usual standard, he said, though questions in section C were longer and wordier than in previous years. He wondered about the clarity of the graph in section B, question 1(B), which looked "faint", he said.