New educational exploration of laser engraving and open-source

To promote the healthy development of science education in primary and secondary schools, enhance the scientific literacy of teachers, promote the development of maker activities in primary and secondary schools, and cultivate and enhance students' innovative consciousness, innovative thinking, and innovative abilities, the Central Audio-Visual Education Center of the Education Technology and Resource Development Center of the Ministry of Education will hold the first session of the 2024 Maker Education Training Course in Chengdu, Sichuan Province from April 25 to 29, 2024. The event attracted more than 500 participants, including education authorities, principals, and teachers from 24 provinces, cities, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China.

The training at the Ministry of Education's Resource Center combines theory with practice and is divided into two stages: intensive learning and classroom-based teaching. This allows each participating teacher to gain knowledge and apply it to their work. The intensive learning stage focuses on cutting-edge hot issues in maker education, with both industry experts' ideas and case studies from regions and schools to help participants understand and appreciate digital and innovative education and teaching models. The classroom-based teaching stage focuses on specific areas such as creative programming and artificial intelligence, and is conducted according to the professional skills of the participants.

As a global science and technology innovation education brand, ELECFREAKS has been deeply engaged in the field of open-source hardware ecological education for many years, accumulating rich experience and a comprehensive teacher training service system. This time, we were invited to carry out practical course training in the direction of "Creative Design" for responsible persons from China's education administrative departments, audio-visual education, and equipment departments; for teaching and research personnel from education research institutes, normal schools, primary and secondary school principals, information technology courses, maker education, STEAM courses, and other comprehensive practical courses; and for teachers who teach these courses, to continuously empower the professional development of China's teaching team.

This teacher training course, with the non-traditional laser engraving and cutting machine as the core tool, has created an unprecedented educational innovation journey for the participating teachers. Compared to the past courses that focused on open-source hardware ecosystem products, this training has shown richer and more innovative features in both practical experience and curriculum design.

During the training, the teachers not only gained a deeper understanding of the operation skills and application fields of the TOOCAA, but also explored how to combine this advanced tool with open-source hardware under the guidance of experts to promote innovation and development in education and teaching. Through hands-on operation and practice, the teachers experienced the whole process from design to production and felt the infinite possibilities of combining technology and education.

This training not only improved the professional skills of the teachers, but more importantly, it stimulated their innovative thinking and exploratory spirit. During the course, the teachers actively participated in discussions, shared their insights and ideas, and jointly explored how to introduce maker tools and open-source hardware into the classroom, providing students with a richer and more diverse learning experience.