CyberFair Project ID: 4662

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: The Adventure of Little Crickets
Category: 5. Local Attractions (Natural and Man-Made)
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2006/gsh4662/
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2006/gsh4662/en/bibliography.htm

School: Sin-hua Junior High School
    Tainan County, Taiwan, ROC

14 students, ages 14-15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 17, 2006. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2004,2005

Classes and Teachers: Ms. Yi-ching Yeh, Ms. Jen-mei Jeng, Mr. Guey-ming Chou, and Class 804, Class 812

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://163.26.195.1

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

The area where we conducted our research is Sin-Hua Township and its neighborhood. Sin-Hua Township, in the southern part of Taiwan, used to be called “Tavokan,” in Siraya Language, which means “the land of woods and hills.” It’s not only a place teeming with spectacular natural scenery, but also a place full of interesting cultures. There are many sightseeing locations such as the beautiful Hu Tou Pi, the green Chunghsing Experimental Forest, the unique historic Sin-Hua Old Street and the pride of Sin-Hua residents- Yang Kuei Literature Museum. When you are hungry, you can buy barbequed sweet potatoes or you can go to the Sin-Hua Yi-Chang reconstructed restaurant for a fulfilling meal. Don’t forget to attend our Sweet Potato Festival, Cricket Fight, Eighteen Jao, Water and Green Carnival to experience the amorous feelings of this township. While you are in Sin-Hua, you will feel nothing but fascination.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our hometown Sin-Hua Township is located in the southern part of Taiwan. Formerly known as Tavokan, this name originated from Siraya language meaning “beautiful forest land”. Crickets are regional speciality and lucky symbolism, so we claim to be a group of little crickets. This webpage is an introduction of scenic spots and features of Sin-Hua Township, which brings you into this beautiful and primitive little town. We use map indexes to introduce special features of every scenic spot, history and stories behind individual activities. With the help of this Cyberfair Project, we hope cordially the residents and tourists; also the other people around the world can get to know more about Sin-Hua ,to realize the beauties between traditional cultures and modern civilization of our community. Finally, it is a unique adventure that we hope will enlighten and inspire those who care about our community, and we can think about together the preferable future of Sin-Hua.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:none

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

1.School: T1

2.Home: ADSL

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1. Falling behind: When we first started to work, it was right before term exams. Then we had camping activities and third term exam, so we fell behind. But after working hard day and night, we gradually caught up. 2. Insufficient and shallow information on websites: Before starting on the website, we were looking for information on the internet, but there was not much information, it was not detailed, and often repetitive. Therefore, there was incomplete original information, and what we made did not give an impression of newer and deeper knowledge. Afterwards, the teacher took us to visit the Village Office and other spots; we took a lot of information about the village, and were even able to interview General Secretary Chen of Sin-hua Village, who was in charge of the activities. He introduced Sin-hua Village to us and answered some questions. This solved the problem of insufficient and shallow information, and we discovered many interesting new places. 3. Problem of internet connection: before working on the website, the teacher let us learn how to download files and told us the way to use the website software. But, some people could not open the website, and did not find any mistyped information after checking it – this was very strange. After being helped by Ms. Kuei Ming, we changed the download website and could finally be online.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

After making this webpage, we all learned a lot about what we previously did not know. Even though we all live in Sin-hua, we never discovered so many special and unique places, and lots of customs and traditions. In the past, these things are blurry to us, but after this assignment, we felt that we didn’t have to take our vacations in other places. In fact, in our home of Sin-hua, we can have a great time! We believe that after making this webpage, not only do we have deeper understanding of the culture of Sin-hua, but also makes the tourism at Sin-hua and its characteristics more outstanding!

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

1. Language: after this research project, we learned how to organize the information we found then recompile into webpage form, and we learned how to find and classify appropriate information to keep the webpage organized and free of unnecessary content. 2. Social: through the webpage, we learned the events of Sin-hua through the spots we introduce, as well as a lot of culture and history. Through the activities, we understood the natural resources of Sin-hua and the origins of these activities. We could understand the change of Sin-hua culture through history. This is learning of living history and geography! 3. Localization: with the making of this webpage, we became closer to our homeland. The blurs became more clear and familiar, and allowed many people who live in Sin-hua to get to know a different Sin-hua and have more understanding in the place where they were born. 4. Group work: we learned how to divide the work and cooperate, do personal assignments, and understand group work. If we did everything on our own, then this webpage could not be completed. Or, if the work was given to a segment of the group, then the information in the webpage would be very rough with incomplete information. Therefore, the most valuable thing we learned is to cooperate and divide the work.

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

The most valuable information to us, were from the thick books we took back from the Village Office. It included Sin-hua’s geography, history, people, activities, religion, education, scenic spots, and other related information. This was the most helpful to our website. Mobile flash and hard drives were a technology that offered great help. Other than the teacher who had flash and hard drives, some teammates had them too. Even if one could not be on the internet at home, one could save then bring the information to school for integration, and it is not likely to have incompatible formatting with disks. Of course, there are the important recording devices, digital cameras, and digital video cameras to record the interviews and places we saw. These were of big help to us. Other points worth noting are the Instant Messenger (we used it often before this project!) and internet phone. We could do our work while discussing it with partners – convenient and cheap!

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

1. Investigate what the villagers liked In order to understand where are the favorite spots of the Sin-hua residents, we gave them questionnaires to fill out, letting them recommend fun places in Sin-hua, good food, most unique places, and places that were most fun; then we compiled the results to show the places in Sin-hua that one should visit, as well as good food. We let the people of Sin-hua introduce the unique features of Sin-hua. 2. Contacting local people In order to understand more about local activities, our teacher made some contacts, allowing us to go directly to the Sin-hua Village Office to search for information, ask Ms. Chou in charge of village affairs about Sweet Potato Festival and Eighteen Jao. She also loaned us many pictures and information about Sin-hua Village so that we could use them as references. To have further understanding, the teacher contacted Secretary General Chen in charge of village affairs. He told us about many activities relating to Sin-hua, and explained the contents in the introductory brochures, helping us understand the scenic spots in Sin-hua and their future development, as well as the future direction of Sin-hua. This is all information that cannot be found on the internet! 3. Surveys and interviews inspired our emotions about Sin-hua. During the process of doing surveys and interviews, we remembered our love for the land. There are so many beautiful things in our own home – shouldn’t we cherish and love it even more? Actually, this is the greatest hope for us in constructing this webpage!

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

Before making this webpage, we did not know how Old Street was different from now and in the past. We did not know the gods in the seven temples or their history. We did not know the origins of the Sin-hua old houses, but just thought that they looked very ancient and full of history. We have not had all the tasty foods in Sin-hua; all we know is what crops are in Sin-hua. Some younger Sin-hua residents do not know where the fun spots in Sin-hua are and which fun activities there are. Sin-hua became a dilapidated little town. But in recent years, the County Government held the Water and Green Carnival in Sin-hua’s Hu Tou Pi, which brought tourists. The rise of Yang Yuei’s literature allowed us to understand this historical figure. We hope to introduce a little bit more to those who are born in Sin-hua or elsewhere through this webpage, telling people about the fun places, interesting activities, and tasty foods in Sin-hua, helping this town to be prosperous again, giving people a chance to know our Sin-hua.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

As we have mentioned, we did meet a lot of difficulties. Luckily, with the help of some people, we could complete this project. We are so grateful and appreciate that. Here, special thanks to: (1) Village Office– providing the materials, briefing, VCD/DVD, and photos. (2) Siraya Culture Association – providing the materials, briefing, VCD/DVD, and photos of their previous performances. (3) The residents of the Old Street – providing information (4) The parents of the students – also providing information, lending certain tools, driving us to the interviews, and their support. (5) Teachers –providing their encouragement and suggestions

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

This time, for some it is their second time making a webpage, but we had some newcomers as well. To them, they probably were excited and afraid at the same time! The content of the webpage introduced our homeland Sin-hua. Because this is the place where we grew up, we did not have serious difficulties. However, because there was an enormous scope and lots of information to find, and it coincided with school activities of term exams and camp, we felt like there was not enough time. So during the winter break, we did not rest but worked ceaselessly. In the past, we thought that we really understood Sin-hua. After making this website, we realized that there was actually a lot we did not know and were unfamiliar with. For this reason, we desired even more to express these hidden stories before everyone’s eyes.

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View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 4662)

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