Every summer vacation, teachers and students from the Teacher Training Center form teams to remote and “non-urban, non-rural” junior high schools in rural areas of Pingtung County to conduct educational service activities based on the spirit of Shi Huai-Zhe. This year’s theme was “Seeking is My PARTY TIME Summer Camp,” targeting students from JiaDong Junior High School in JiaDong Township and NanZhou Junior High School in NanZhou Township, Pingtung County. A team of 11 partners from various departments of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, under the guidance of Teacher Wu Ya-Ling from the Teacher Training Center, designed interdisciplinary professional content based on their individual expertise, including hotel and restaurant management, fashion design, vocational education, information management, early childhood education, and aquaculture. Through a series of dynamic and challenging digital online creative handicraft activities, they guided junior high school students to explore themselves and enhance their inquiry and practical life skills. On July 14, they shared the educational service achievements of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s Shi Huai-Zhe spirit at the 4th floor of the Comprehensive Building on campus.
Lu Rui-Jia, the chief coordinator of the Shi Huai-Zhe Spirit Service Team, said, “Through the spirit of Shi Huai-Zhe education and service, we hope to lead 31 students from two junior high schools in exploring themselves in the ‘Digital Online Creative Handicraft Activities’ course. Through the guidance of the course, we explore life skills and discover their own strengths and advantages. During the process of the activity, we can see the creative and unlimited possibilities of the students, as well as their online interaction and enthusiastic feedback. It is our greatest encouragement, and it is worth it even if we are tired! We hope to continue to expand more diverse courses to improve the quality of education and practice the significance of Shi Huai-Zhe education spirit in the future, maintaining the practice of guiding the little ones with the big ones.”
A total of 31 students from JiaDong Junior High School and NanZhou Junior High School participated in the activity. Through the lens of 3C, students and their families engaged in handcraft career exploration activities together, truly embodying the concept of “one person signs up, the whole family participates.” They rarely participate in camps and have never participated in the online version of digital network activities. A student from JiaDong Junior High School, Ah Cai, said, “Although it is an online activity, I still want to thank you for letting me get to know myself better, teacher!” Another student from NanZhou Junior High School, Ah Yi, expressed, “Wow! My sister and I participated in the activity together in front of the computer, collaborated, and had a special experience!”
The content of the activities was diverse, including “Looking for Spirulina,” where students learned about spirulina and made handmade noodles on the spot; “The Art of Seaweed,” which combined aquaculture and culinary intelligence to create a seaweed salad; “Valuable Hakka Flower,” making Hakka flower cloth frames to stimulate Hakka cultural soul; “Macarons Made of Fabric,” allowing students to create personalized macaron pendants and macaron gift boxes through hand sewing and collage painting; “Game City,” where students created unique computer games; “I Really Like Playing with You,” making puppets, and the group brainstormed and performed puppet shows in front of the screen; “Fantastic Universe,” using acrylic paints to unleash creativity and play with spray painting; “Knowing Yourself,” carefully discovering oneself again to stimulate the five senses; and “Make Yourself,” compiling the camp experience into a personal webpage.
This year, due to pandemic restrictions, the camp was changed to online handcraft activities, posing a significant challenge for National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s teacher trainees. Challenges included overcoming issues related to material preparation and distribution, and ensuring that the activity process was clear and understandable so that junior high school students on the other side of the screen could follow the explanations and complete their individual works. Although it was an online digital camp, cooperation and reflection among junior high school team members remained a focus. In the absence of physical participation in activities due to the pandemic, the Teacher Training Center service team of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology continued to promote the spirit of Shi Huai-Zhe to every corner of society through the internet and video, remaining true to their original intention. They look forward to the lifting of pandemic restrictions, allowing everyone to reunite in a safe environment and experience a more enriching and passionate “Shi Huai-Zhe spirit” once again!
