Understanding Generative AI through Digital Fabrication: A Hands-On Workshop at the Faire Festival

On May 30th, as part of the Faire Festival in Toulouse, France, a group of secondary school teachers gathered at La Cité to explore an innovative approach to teaching generative artificial intelligence. The workshop, led by Ramdhana Amri and Antoine Luciani brought together 19 mathematics and technology educators from Toulouse and the surrounding area for an afternoon of experimentation, exchange, and interdisciplinary learning.

Organized within the vibrant context of the Faire Festival – a public event dedicated to maker culture and innovation, hosted by Roselab and La Cité – the 2.5-hour teacher training supported by Science on Stage through an AI Literacy Grant, combined conceptual discussions with hands-on activities. During the workshops participants exchanged ideas on how artificial intelligence is shaping school education and how AI is currently perceived and used by both students and teachers. The focus then shifted to exploring generative AI in practice. Using software based on Stable Diffusion, participants created their own AI-generated images, gaining insight into how generative models function. They then learned how to convert the generated images into G-code and send them to a 3D printer. In doing so, they were able to transform digital outputs into physical objects, a way of making the underlying processes of generative AI more concrete and accessible for their students in the future.

This hands-on approach opened up discussions about the educational value of such activities. Participants reflected on how combining generative AI with digital fabrication can support students’ understanding of complex concepts, while also fostering creativity. The workshop also touched on broader themes, including the relationship between artistic creation and AI, as well as connections to robotics, automation, and the wider field of digital fabrication.

The session was led by Ramdhana Amri, a mathematics teacher at Collège Rosa Parks in Toulouse, and Antoine Luciani, a science educator from the organization Instant Science based in Montpellier. Together, they aimed to equip teachers with the skills and ideas needed to design their own classroom activities around generative AI. A key objective was also to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, bridging subjects such as mathematics, technology, and the arts.
In addition to the workshop itself, participants had the opportunity to engage with the wider Faire Festival programme, which included other sessions on topics such as biomaterials, digital fabrication, the maker movement in France and the fablab/makerspace ecosystem. 

Report by: Ramdhana Amri, mathematics teacher at Collège Rosa Parks, Toulouse