The importance of being curricular: An experience in integrating online laboratories in national curricula for high schools

Online laboratories are currently widely used in several educational settings, including lectures, individual or small group assignments, inquiry activities, homework and even hands-on laboratories. Usually they are proposed by teachers as additional and complementary resources, not included into the curricular activities. Moreover, for many teachers it is not clear if they are synergic to the school's hands-on laboratories, if any, or if they represent an alternative to them. The aim of this paper is to discuss an experience of integration of online laboratories (most of all interactive simulations), eBooks, other online materials and traditional books to support teachers and students in all phases of teaching. This result is the output of the co-designed with teachers and students, considering the rule of the Italian national curricula for high schools.