Foreword
The Beauty and Sorrow of Digital Craftsmen
I was originally a person with low emotional intelligence, but after inexplicably engaging in “maker education”, I was regarded as someone with high emotional intelligence. Perhaps it was because everyone was accommodating me, or perhaps it was because people in the maker education circle are relatively simple. I was born in the small city of Hegang in Northeast China, where I only focused on studying in high school. After leaving my hometown for Beijing, I avoided dealing with the “backward” circles around me. My homeroom teacher saw my pure personality and thought it would be difficult for me to stand in what he considered the world, so he suggested I go to read a teacher. Thus, in 2001, I arrived at Beijing Normal University with my luggage.
The physics department is a place that tolerates oddities. Surrounded by various high-IQ, low-EQ people, I became a high-EQ person myself. I then realized my shortcomings in IQ and subsequently gave up on theoretical physics research. During university, my highest grades were in the general physics experiments, where I ranked first in my grade, which made me fall in love with experiments. My master’s thesis also focused on physics experiments, using cameras to study a series of high school physics experiments. However, due to my “low emotional intelligence”, I was not willing to bow to “real” physics teaching, and no school accepted me as a physics teacher. Fortunately, I became an information technology teacher at Jing Shan School.
Later, I immersed myself in the research of maker education. Physics taught me the importance of defining theoretical systems, leading to my thoughts on “craftsmen and future consumers” and “building a three-dimensional ecology of maker education”. In this process, I met many “digital craftsmen” who create various exquisite and detailed things, many of which are handmade, thus they should be regarded as inheritors of the “craftsman spirit”. However, they are also skilled in using programming and modeling tools, yet most of them are silent enthusiasts. Some have stable jobs as teachers and create things in their spare time; others are technicians in large companies, who besides “framing” their company’s products, also create things they prefer in their spare time; some are ambitious individual entrepreneurs, who have skills but no place to showcase them, fluctuating between capital and belief; others run extracurricular classes, occasionally teaching students programming, and when they encounter students with good fundamentals, they modify their works together to see if they can win an award; and some are fickle players who love to buy anything novel they see, but find it hard to delve deeper, ending up spending a lot of money, and their homes are almost becoming museums…
Digital craftsmen are a group of enthusiasts who master digital creation skills, handicraft designers, or product prototype designers. They are connectors between personalized design and digital manufacturing. Worldwide, digital craftsmen do not have it easy; many are “self-employed individuals” who are somewhat connected, politely referred to as artists or designers, but frankly speaking, it’s hard to comment on their lives. But why is this? Because the time is not yet ripe, and the flowers have not yet been ready for picking. The theme of this issue’s dialogue is “Building Maker Spaces with an Open Source Robot Theme”. Many popular themes of open source robots originated from the works of “digital craftsmen”, but how to “let education nourish makers” remains a question to ponder. Perhaps holding onto one’s original intention while expanding one’s social circle and influence without losing one’s essence is an ideal answer.
However, fellow native of Heilongjiang, Xiao Hong, may not be so optimistic. As a writer, her hard life is a factor that allows her work to endure, but a century ago, the “literary craftsmen” were indeed too miserable. Roses have thorns, and life and the future have forged the charm and sorrow of digital craftsmen. No longer simple, yet still kind, I stand with you. Years later, I realized that the background color of my youth has created an unbreakable nostalgia throughout my life.
Wu Junjie from Beijing Jing Shan School at the Hometown Garden
Dialogue丨Maker Spaces 2.0
01
Policy
Beginning in 2012, maker education has rapidly developed since 2015, with maker spaces becoming a crucial core element. If we compare the function of maker spaces to a “kitchen”, many primary and secondary schools have established their own “maker kitchens” over the past five years, solving the “basic needs” of creativity. However, the next step in development is how to ensure that the “food” is nutritious and distinctive. Additionally, there’s the question of how to transform the beloved yet essential behavior of “eating” into a mechanism for building an innovative nation. Therefore, we prepare the following sections to discuss the concept of Maker Spaces 2.0, which includes two dimensions: core technology and institutional mechanism construction. From a technical perspective, we selected open source robots, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality as the technical levers for upgrading maker spaces, along with innovations and planning from the dimensions of teaching, competition, evaluation, and admission mechanisms. In terms of interview guests, we focus on presenting some new forms of maker education in the 2.0 phase from multiple perspectives, including experts, frontline teachers, hardware companies, software companies, off-campus training institutions, and comprehensive service providers. We will not waste our youth and will always be on the road.
Maker Spaces 2.0
The Evolution of Open Source Robotics and Competition Organization
Wu Junjie
Information technology and physics teacher at Beijing Jing Shan School, STEM education researcher, focusing on the popularization of maker education curricula and professional development of teachers. Founder of inclusive maker education curricula. Co-initiator of the National Primary and Secondary School STEAM Education Conference, co-founder of the “Cat Friends Association” community, initiator of the Family Maker Space Plan and the Laserblock open-source structural components project. Has published over a hundred papers and authored three books. In the field of innovation and entrepreneurship, he is dedicated to promoting sustainable development concepts under the perspective of education, pushing for the concept and consumption behavior of reusable design in the electronics, home appliances, furniture, and construction industries.
Long Lichang
Educational technology researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Educational Technology. Co-founder and head of the Hong Mian Maker Space at the Guangzhou Institute of Educational Technology, and host of the Guangzhou Famous Teacher Studio. Chief editor of the selective compulsory textbook “Open Source Hardware Projects” for national ordinary high schools (Yuejiao Edition), and chief judge for the maker project of the national primary and secondary school computer production activity.
Liang Jinming
Deputy Director of the Information Department at Shunde Desheng School, Guangdong. Engaged in research on primary and secondary school information technology teaching, maker education, and artificial intelligence education. Head of the Shunde District Primary and Secondary School Maker Education Alliance. Network researcher at the National Primary and Secondary School Computer Education Research Center, executive director of the Guangdong Provincial Education Society Network Education Professional Committee, director of the Computer Society of Foshan City’s Primary and Secondary School Professional Committee, and chief coach of the Guangdong Provincial Representative Team for the 20th National Primary and Secondary School Computer Production Activity Maker Project.
Wu Junjie: I often go to Guangdong and am quite familiar with both Long Lichang and Liang Jinming, especially Long, as we often collaborate on judging the national primary and secondary school student computer works competition maker projects. I remember in the first year of the competition, there was still a strong handmade atmosphere on-site. By the second year, 3D printers were used, and by the third year, laser cutting machines were already in use. This “on-site creation” experience has improved significantly and has also influenced the trends in national maker education competitions.
Long Lichang: Yes, the students’ modeling skills have also improved. I remember the first time a laser cutting machine participated in the national competition, many students had never seen one before. They had to hand-draw the blueprints and communicate with the on-site engineers. Fortunately, the software was relatively simple, so the students picked it up quite quickly. However, after a year, students participating in the national competition were completely at ease, and they were very skilled at designing complex three-dimensional structures on-site.
Wu Junjie: Long, let’s take a moment to reflect on history. How did you become acquainted with open source hardware?
Long Lichang: To be honest, like most women, I instinctively avoided the term “hardware” and didn’t want to learn about it. However, I was aware of open source because when I was an educational researcher in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, the server for teacher information capability training was built using the open-source software FreeBSD, and the backbone teacher who built the server was Teacher Zeng Xiangpan from Jing Tai Primary School in Baiyun District, who was also one of the early enthusiasts and maker teachers of open source hardware in the district and even in the country. My contact with open source hardware was also due to Teacher Zeng’s enthusiasm for sharing interesting and meaningful technologies with everyone.
Later, Teacher Zeng, Teacher Liang Zhicheng, and I created a mobile maker studio, and then initiated the construction of an open source hardware and digital manufacturing laboratory named “Guangzhou Education Maker Space” (later renamed “Hong Mian Maker Space”). When I officially transferred to my current position at the Guangzhou Institute of Educational Technology, I further promoted the popularization of open source hardware, organizing training for teachers from primary and secondary schools in Guangzhou, including vocational schools, based on open source hardware and digital manufacturing, leading to a series of maker education teacher training activities. I must thank the period in 2012 for introducing me to open source hardware and a group of early pioneers in maker education.
Wu Junjie: It seems that the development of the “Hong Mian Maker Space” is closely related to open source hardware. Liang, how did you get connected with open source hardware? I believe that open source robots utilize open source hardware and open source structural components to design their appearance, create structures, implement functions through programming, test the effects, and continuously improve, ultimately sharing ideas and blueprints. What do you think about the relationship between open source hardware and open source robots?
Liang Jinming: Reflecting on my experience with open source hardware, I actually started “getting into it” around 2013. I began teaching Scratch at school in 2010, and after two years, I felt a bottleneck and wanted to take a step further. At that time, I discovered that Scratch could connect to hardware, so I tried searching for related devices on Taobao. Interestingly, the seller I contacted was also a teacher. Colleagues have a common language and find it easy to trust each other. My journey with hardware started with a Scratch sensor board, and I gradually began to engage with Arduino.
In 2014, I officially introduced Arduino into my school’s extension curriculum, and in 2017, it was fully integrated into the regular information technology curriculum. The school began participating in various maker competitions from 2017, especially performing outstandingly in on-site competitions, representing Guangdong Province in the national primary and secondary school computer production activity maker projects for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019.
Long Lichang: When it comes to the relationship between open source hardware and open source robots, I naturally think of robot competitions. Although I have been engaged in information technology work for many years, I hesitated due to the high costs of robot competition equipment, narrow coverage, lack of openness, and limited benefits to students. Open source hardware undoubtedly presents a new stage for robot education. On this stage, both open source hardware enthusiasts and robot manufacturers can showcase their brilliance. This is how I understand open source robots: they are devices built using open source hardware that possess physical computing functions and complete structures. Thus, the low price barrier and open technology of open source hardware allow more enthusiasts to enter the spotlight, generating more robot projects and competitions, breaking down barriers of regional, school, and family conditions, and providing opportunities to reform the governance issues related to competitions that have been criticized for equipment problems, injecting vitality into the long-criticized student robot competitions.
Design drawings from Laserblock@Hong Mian Maker Space
Liang Jinming: The development of open source robot projects in Shunde was somewhat coincidental. In 2017, the first education maker festival was held in Shunde District. Due to time constraints and lack of experience, the competition projects were not satisfactory. The district clearly designated that I would be responsible for organizing and designing the competition for the second education maker festival. To ensure the success of the maker festival competition, I researched many competition projects from various places and found that they were mostly similar, with basic formats where students created a work and presented it on-site, but the level of student participation was unclear. At the same time, I realized that most robot competition projects were organized by robot companies, and student participation was also low. Therefore, I suddenly had an idea: could the maker festival competition quantify the scores, moving away from subjective human judgment? Quantifying scores boils down to visible metrics like time, distance, and weight. How could we relate students’ works to these metrics? In the process of thinking, I focused on the wheeled car project. I then collaborated with manufacturers to cut a batch of Laserblock components, allowing the car to complete a basic line-following task, assessing students from the perspectives of design and completion time.
Image: 2018 Open Source Robot Venue Racing Project
Liang Jinming: In the second edition, we were still in the exploratory phase, with students using materials worth 300 yuan. By 2019, the cost per group had been reduced to 150 yuan, and the guiding teachers preferred to let students solve problems through programming algorithms rather than competing over hardware equipment, avoiding comparisons of sensor counts.
I reviewed a lot of information about wheeled cars, considering how to design competition projects that would maximize student participation. Therefore, the rules of the competition, scoring standards, and equipment requirements are all crucial. Additionally, these matters should not be left to companies to handle. Thus, our first decision was to stipulate that from the second maker festival onward, all branded robots would no longer be allowed in the maker festival competition projects; their competitions would be arranged in the robot competition projects of the national primary and secondary school computer production activities, ensuring that the maker festival’s robot competitions would not overlap with those of the computer production activities. This cleared the obstacles for our maker festival robot competitions.
Image: 2019 Open Source Robot Competition Venue Racing Project
The level of the 2019 competition and the rules have reached a new height, and the participation of teachers has also increased.
Rules and Equipment List for Open Source Robot Racing Project
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Environment Preparation |
Starting from the starting point, proceed along the track and return to the finish line. The track width is 30 cm, with a 5 cm wide black line on both sides of the white track, and the robot competes within the track. |
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Rules |
The robot starts from the starting point and moves forward through the wheels. During the competition, contestants cannot touch the robot, and the robot must complete the competition autonomously, scoring task points by passing scoring markers and completing the race at the finish line. 1. If the robot cannot move forward, the score is 0; 2. If the robot is not made according to the regulations, the score is 0; 3. If the robot does not utilize electronic components for movement, the score is 0; 4. If the robot passes through the scoring markers in the venue, it receives corresponding task points; 5. If the robot passes the finish line within 2 minutes, for every second faster than 120 seconds, the competition score increases by 1 point; 6. If the robot cannot pass within 2 minutes, the score at the time of reaching 2 minutes will be the final score; 7. If the robot leaves the track during the competition, the task points at the moment it leaves the track will be the final competition score; 8. In case of unexpected situations, the result will be determined by discussion between the chief judge and the head judge. |
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Equipment List |
1. Arduino UNO main control + expansion board + motor driver integrated board 1 piece; 2. 1:48 dual-axis TT motor + fixed frame + 2 sets of wheels; 3. 2 infrared obstacle avoidance sensors with adjustment; 4. 1 universal wheel; 5. 2 14500 batteries (for competition) and a battery holder. |
Wu Junjie: Long, your current work mainly involves overall planning at the regional level. After seeing Liang’s detailed sharing of specific activities, where do you see the promotional value of such activities?
Long Lichang: The spread of open source robots has five major benefits. The first and greatest benefit is that it promotes the spirit of open collaboration advocated by the open source philosophy and the governance of open communities, which we have not widely popularized among the general public; the second major benefit is breaking free from the previous competition rules dominated by theme equipment classifications, re-regulating the entire chain of activities in robot education and popularization, educational teaching activities, equipment production, commercial promotion, and expert rule-making; the third major benefit is enabling participants to engage in the formulation and evolution of robot education teaching activities and competition rules, with specific details becoming a manifestation of practicing open and transparent standards, effectively reflecting educational functions; the fourth major benefit is guiding teachers and students to shift focus from technology to engineering and design. In the DIY design and manufacture of open source robots, through hands-on learning in maker space environments, from research, production to debugging, they personally participate in the generation process of open source robots; the fifth major benefit is that the changes in the chain promote the advocacy of open and inclusive maker education, reforming the supply side of education and greatly expanding the beneficiary scope of robot education, breaking the elitist nature of robot education to some extent, and alleviating the contradictions brought about by the imbalance in robot education, thus promoting educational equity in robot education. In summary, I can redefine open source robots: open source robots are devices designed and maintained with rules and standards based on open source software and hardware platforms, reflecting technical, engineering, and design characteristics. I believe that open source robots provide a carrier and path for nourishing maker teachers and students.
Wu Junjie: Long’s summary is excellent. These advantages are also why open source robots are a pioneering activity in the Maker Spaces 2.0 stage. From a technical perspective, the difficulty is not high, but in terms of teaching effectiveness and the comprehensive educational effects of STEM, it has reached a new level. I remember that during the second open source robot competition, students were still unable to use the Laserblock’s mortise and tenon structure, using hot glue where screws should have been, which affected the overall aesthetics and the recyclability of the modules. Has that improved significantly since then?
Liang Jinming: Yes, in 2019, students were not allowed to use hot glue, and we no longer provided pre-cut car chassis; all chassis had to be designed and made on-site. Equipment had to be signed out and could not be returned; schools would have to compensate for any loss. These details ensure the sustainable development of the activities. In 2018, we only had one laser cutting machine on-site, and most students used a standardized chassis to participate in the maze competition. By 2019, we had seven laser cutting machines on-site, and students designed their own car chassis. For the maze project, the installation angle of the ultrasonic distance sensor is crucial. A standardized chassis is convenient, but it is still not as effective as a chassis designed and made on-site. This also indicates that the effectiveness of the activities has been recognized, and both teaching levels and facilities have improved significantly.
Image: On-site designed and manufactured maze cars better reflect students’ initiative
(Left image: standardized Laserblock chassis used in 2018,
Right image: self-made robot car chassis in 2019)
Liang Jinming: Many schools inquire about the general direction of the next maker festival after the competition ends. Some schools conduct corresponding second classroom courses around the maker festival projects, and some schools are even drafting related textbooks for the open source robot competition project in the maker festival. These all encourage us, indicating that the direction of the open source robot competition is correct, and the open source robot competition will also influence the results of the maker marathon. This is also a significant support for why three students from Shunde District made it to the national finals of the primary and secondary school computer production activity maker project in 2019. This year, our open source robot competition project will fully integrate artificial intelligence, providing cameras for both venue racing and maze racing projects, allowing capable students to design open source robots through AI visual recognition. I estimate that this year’s competition will be even more exciting.
Wu Junjie: Long, as the leader of the maker teacher team, I would love to hear your opinions.
Long Lichang: The promotion of open source robots has accumulated quite a bit of experience over the past five years, from grassroots practice activities to the promotion led by pioneers of “open source robots”. Firstly, the most widely popularized is the learning and use of open source hardware platforms represented by the Arduino series. Based on Arduino UNO or NANO, maker education teachers and students across the country have created many delightful results, making the national primary and secondary school computer production activity maker project on-site competition one of the most dazzling activities. I believe that all five sets of textbooks for national ordinary high school information technology courses mention Arduino open source hardware and the open source robot projects built using it.
Secondly, I am most optimistic about the Laserblock project because it utilizes laser cutting machines to meet and realize several typical needs of robot structural components: structural openness, diverse styles, reusability of components, and open technology. This allows laser-cut wooden structural components to fill the production tables of family maker spaces and campus maker spaces, ushering us into the era of open source robots, just as you said, Teacher Wu, “completely bidding farewell to the era of material scarcity for robots”. As for the forms of activities for open source robots, project-based learning activities based on project construction are the best. However, from some observations, I noticed a tendency towards learning technical steps while lacking comprehensive teaching on project research, design, and iteration, as well as a need for improved understanding of methods for cultivating students’ design thinking, computational thinking, and engineering thinking.
Wu Junjie: Many of my friends are fans of LEGO bricks, and I have friends working in robot companies involved in block design. These pre-designed blocks or finished products have a common characteristic: “brilliant design, foolproof application”. When teachers receive these finished blocks, they lack the ability to innovate and can only follow the instructions, which naturally dampens their teaching enthusiasm. After students learn some basic knowledge, they soon face a ceiling of knowledge, making it difficult to delve deeper from mechanical and electronic perspectives. The integration of design software, processing equipment, mechanical knowledge, electronic modules, circuit knowledge, programming level, and competitive awareness forms a “seven-in-one” comprehensive structure, which together constitutes the unique teaching value of robots as a combination of information technology, comprehensive practice, and labor technology. Only with open source robots can the teaching value of robotics be fully explored. This capability will better align with the educational requirements of relevant majors in higher education, and it also has significant implications for establishing a selection and nurturing system that suits the construction of an innovative country.
The upgrade of maker spaces is a natural demand in the development of maker education in recent years. As for Maker Spaces 2.0, its development is certainly not just about technical progress. The sudden pandemic has disrupted many people’s plans while making us realize the importance of the family as a carrier for maker education. For example, during the “National Youth Online Maker Marathon” organized by the Chinese Simulation Society from February to April this year, many students signed up for the “open source robot” project. At that time, most schools had not yet resumed classes, and these students had no access to processing equipment, so they drew blueprints and completed the design of a robot disinfection vehicle using foam plastic at home.
Image: Open source robot works made from foam plastic boards
A regulation has promoted the open source robot competition to all schools in the district, while the Education Development Center has collaborated with the Shunde District Maker Education Alliance’s lecturer team, holding maker education training for all district schools for three consecutive years during the maker festival. All schools were required to send representatives to participate, providing equipment for training, and even allowing schools to keep the equipment after training, ensuring that each school had at least two teachers who participated in maker training, and that each school had at least one set of entry-level open source hardware kits.
The lecturer team of the Shunde District Maker Education Alliance summarized their years of experience with open source hardware and introduced a set of entry-level open source hardware kits for all schools, with all equipment sourced from the internet, avoiding high profits for enterprises in the middle, adhering to a grassroots, civilian route, and promoting a 10,000 yuan maker plan. A school can set up an open source robot laboratory with basic equipment completed within 10,000 yuan. They also collaborated with street education bureaus to support some schools with sufficient funding to purchase equipment like laser cutting machines and 3D printers, allowing brother schools in the district to use these devices. This ensured the smooth development of maker education and open source robot education in Shunde District, allowing students to truly gain experience and growth.
Conclusion: I believe many teachers would be intrigued by the “10,000 yuan maker plan”. This issue focuses on the discussion of the evolution of open source robots and the competition organization forms driven by competitions. After all, the history of primary and secondary school robot activities has a tradition of “learning through competition”. However, open source robots are not an imposed concept; they have a vast grassroots foundation. In the next issue, we will focus on the construction of open source robot courses and open source robot-themed maker spaces, presenting a “task list” to promote open source robots, striving to provide teachers and schools with clearer operational norms. “To do both the work of making the cake base and the decoration with cream and fruit” is a fundamental requirement for the Maker Spaces 2.0 stage of work.
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