1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?
(1) Computer hardware:
IBM and DELL brand personal computers, internet (Fiber network 10Mbps), printer, scanner, digital camera, phone, recorder, digital drawing board, Card Reader, CF card, and CD writer.
(2) Computer software:
Macromedia FlashMX, Macromedia DreamweaverMX, Macromedia Fireworks,MX Photosop 7 ,Illustrator 10, Ulead PhotoImpact 7,Microsoft Windows 2000, Professional,Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 98SE,CuteFTP 4.0,Toon Boom Studio v2,Office 2000 or XP,MSN Messenger 5.0,Norton Internet Security 2003,Norton Antivirus 2003,WinZIP 8.1,WinRAR 3.0, and ACDSee PowerPack 4.0.
(3) The technologies we used for communication:
On-line meeting and discussion through phone, fax and email. Send one another files through email. Post recycling event notice on the web site of a company (HP Taiwan).
(4) Facility sources:
All the software and computer hardware are students' private properties.
(5) The most effective technology:
In terms of communication tool, the hotmail email is the most effective one. For example, we worked separately to integrate the statistics by the use of messenger on-line reporting to send one another the statistical figures.
2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.
(1) Interviewing VIPs:
In order to accomplish this project, we had interviewed several key persons. Shen Shu-Hung, Director of Taipei city’s Bureau of Environmental Protection, has advocated the “per bag trash collection fee system”. Yu Yung-Chiech, Executive Secretary of Recycling Management Fund, is in charge of waste IT products recycling. Another critical interviewee is Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-Jeou. He has posed a very challenging vow that Taipei city will reach the target: “No trash is buried; all resources are recycled” by year 2010. We were eager to know how this vision will be materialized.
We had done a lot of preparation before the interview. We started with surfing on the Internet to collect some basic data, and finally composed the questions for the interviews through brainstorming. We contacted the VIPs’ secretaries to explain the purposes and subjects of our interviews. We also emailed or faxed the questions to the interviewees beforehand. Fortunately, these VIPs willingly accepted our interview.
(2) Holding recycling event:
In order to invite more people to participate in our printer-recycling event, we had disseminated event notice beforehand via Internet, mass media and we students’ hands. We posted event notices on the websites of Sanyu Elementary School and HP Taiwan. We put up propaganda posters on the community bulletin boards. We also asked our schoolmates to bring the event notice to their parents. Finally, we issued press release to let the general public know about our objectives and efforts. Such an extensive publicity program had brought many people to our recycling event. In one day, we collected over 120 recycled printers or laser jet cartridges. People were impressed with the work we had done. One of the local news reporters called us “the junior pioneers who have made brilliant achievements.”
3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?
(1) Educate the community residents:
We conducted a questionnaire survey in our community. Through the “Do you know…?” questioning pattern, we disseminated to the community the recycling related information including the review of “per bag trash collection” fee system and recycling channels of waste IT products.
(2) Guide the community residents to do recycling together:
As the result showed that over 120 printers or laser jet cartridges were recycled in one day, we knew our effort of guiding community residents to do recycling has gained great support.
(3) Educate all students in Sanyu Elementary School:
We are confident that we have constructed a lively and interesting recycling web site, and it is a good teaching material for recycling. Therefore, we talked to our principal hoping that the web site could be forwarded to every student in Sanyu. In order to intrigue students’ curiosity to view this web site, we created on-line quiz and on-line puzzles. We believe that after visiting this web site, students will pay more attention to recycling and extend the habit of recycling to their families. At the same time, the students will be encouraged to reinforce their information retrieving ability.
(4) Unite with other schools and organizations:
The logo of “Recycling Magic” has been placed on the home page of our school’s web site. In this way, environmental protection organizations and other schools can download the web page content via Internet and take it as a teaching material. Furthermore, our school has shared our achievement with other school’s teachers in a national conference. We would like to take this opportunity to scatter the seed of resource recycling over all schools in the country. Currently, our web site is linked with the web sites of two environmental protection organizations, eight schools, and one international cooperation.
4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
This project would not have been possible without the help and guidance of our teachers, school, friends, families and the public.
(1) We would like to thank HP Taiwan who generously supported the printer-recycling activity. For each recycled laser jet cartridge, HP diverted 100NTD to the regional computer education fund for the "921 Earthquake Disaster.” For each recycled printer, HP offered a NTD 1000 discount coupon for the consumable materials of printers. HP also offered every participant a complimentary snap shot. The help from HP made the activity very interesting; we consequently received favorable responses from the general public.
(2) We also appreciated the help from Super Dragon Technology Co., Ltd. When we visited their recycling factory, they enthusiastically gave us a very comprehensive recycling lesson and showed us their recycling and reprocessing workflows. At the end, they gave us a sculpture made of reprocessed glass-resin material. This was one of the most fruitful visits in the process of doing the project.
(3) We will never forget how our teachers guided us through the process of project research. They gave us general direction as we started the project. They taught us how to collect data, edit and consolidate information, construct the multi-media Web page during the research process. When we encountered obstacles that we could not overcome by ourselves alone, they gave us just-in-time advices. When we turned in our homework, they always gave us optimistic big smiles.
(4) Besides, we are grateful for our big brother Ken Chen’s long-distance assistance with the digital animation as well as our teacher Huang Mei-Chen and Auntie Ko Hsiang-Yuan’s helps with the English translation.
(5) Last but not least, we would like to thank our parents for their love and encouragement that supported us all the way through our endeavors.
5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)
In the process of doing this project, we were most surprised by those recycling statistics. For instance, 50 KG recycled paper can save one 20-year-old tree; 99% of the rapidly increasing waste IT products are recyclable; 26000 recycled computer motherboards can be refined to 1.5 KG gold; the recycled wastes of computer monitors can be used for paving roads. Furthermore, we knew that the main entrance paths of the National Palace Museum and Taipei Municipal Zoo would be paved with glass asphalt, a recycling by-product. The road will glitter at night and in the sun.
Moreover, we realized that harmonious teamwork is very important for a team project. Besides showing his/her best ability, every team member should also try his/her best to help one another solve problems and overcome obstacles. This is the objective that teacher Lin set up for us from the very beginning. When we turned in our homework, teacher Lin always wore an optimistic big smile and admired our work. Hence, we were able to work very hard together and cooperate with one another very well under the none-pressured and self-expressive circumstance. Working on this project will be one of the most valuable experiences in our lives.
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