School: Dali Elementary School
    Taipei, Taipei, R.O.C.

11 students, ages 10-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 13, 2006. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2005

Classes and Teachers: Ho Kuei-Chen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.tlps.tp.edu.tw/active/tooth/

1. Description of Our Community

We are researching a model group who work as a team on children’s dental health. Here is some information about our target and interviewees: 1. Location: Dali Elementary School, Wanhua District, Taipei 2. Dental Health Group: Students and faculty from Dali Elementary School including the school dentist, Nurse Luo, teachers and administrators who help out with the project Interviewees: Children’s dental health professionals (dentists and members from Taipei City Dental Association)

2. Summary of Our Project

The saying that prevention is better than cure might be a cliché but is absolutely true for dental health. Every one of us is supposed to be responsible for his or her own dental health since childhood. The high percentage of children’s tooth decay in Taiwan reminds us of how costly the dental problems will be in the future and how urgently dental health education needs to be done at the present. We are building up this website in the hope of educating children and adults to have proper knowledge about dental health before it is getting too late. It is our hope that not only parents and teachers would know how to teach children about dental heath, but children themselves would take good care of their dental health. Eventually, we are hoping to share our experience of dental heath education with the rest of the world on the Internet. For this project, we have recruited school children who are particularly concerned with dental health into our research team. They are in charge of promoting and demonstrating knowledge about tooth care. For the methodology, we have undertaken the project by doing a lot of literature review of dental health, face-to-face and telephone interviews, and some promotional activities about tooth care as well.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:less than 20

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6

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

At school, we have full access to the Internet. There are two computer labs equipped with totally seventy desktop computers for us to do the work. While at home, half of our teammates have access to the Net. Therefore, some of the work was done at home and some at school.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The major problems and difficulties that confronted us in the course of the research are three. First, how to present scientific knowledge like dental heath in a refreshing and interesting way requires a lot of imagination and brainstorming. Second, dental apparatuses are far more complex than we expected. Third, it took a lot of energy and time for us to go through with the interviews first and then sort them out.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

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

The research should observe the indicators of the Nine-Year Integration Program : 1-1-2 Observe and compare the differences and similarities in the different phases of life 1-1-3 Recognize physical development and individual differences 1-1-4 Develop a positive attitude and a healthy habit and also practice them in everyday lives 1-2-3 Recognize the importance of healthy behavior and make correct decisions to stay healthy 1-2-4 Explore the physiological changes at different ages and learn to cope with important transformations in growth 1-2-1 Be capable of telling what influences personal growth and behavior 2-1-3 Keep a good habit of the diet 2-1-2 Understand the relationship between the environment and the diet 6-2-5 Realize and develop the positive life attitudes 6-2-2 Realize the importance of family in personal growth and interpersonal relationship It has been many years since we practiced dental health education. We have developed a step-by-step dental health program for our students. Students of each grade have specific knowledge and skills about dental health to learn. We enjoy a great sense of accomplishment by synthesizing the things we have been doing for years through this website on dental health.

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

Since the school has better equipment needed for constructing the website, we have tried to make use of it as much as possible to get our work done on campus. The Equipment(Item&Purpose): 1.Computers(Word processing, data processing, website construction) 2.Usbdisk(Saving documents) 3.Files on the Net(Saving documents on the Net) 4.Broadband transmission equipment(Document transmissions and online discussions) 5.Scanner(Scanning works and photos) 6.Printer(Document printing) 7.Digital Camera(Taking pictures while interviewing and having meetings) 8.Digital Recorder(Recording interviews) 9.Digital video recorder(Filming) 10.Digital drawing equipment(Making digital pictures) 11.Phone(Communication, discussions, interviews)

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

1. We were curious about what “Dental Fairies” did. That was why we signed up for the team. Now we are paying attention to our teeth more than ever before. And we have more knowledge about teeth, too. We feel we can help our friends if they accidentally break their teeth. 2.We used to see the high proportion of tooth decay in Taiwanese school children. Such a phenomenon came about because of their poor diet habits. However, their lack of dental health knowledge is another major reason for their dental cavities. It is thus imperative to start with dental health education from the everyday life. We have been teaching students how to take care of dental health by doing tooth brushing, using dental floss and mouthwashes, and adopting a good diet habit. We believe this is the right way to have better dental health and we have already proved so. Years of dental health education at Dali Elementary School set up a good model for anyone who wishes to keep up good dental health. It is our greatest delight to share the experience with you.! 3.So many visitors take a tour on our campus to see how students take care of their dental health

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

It has been fifteen years since our school commenced the dental health program. The motive for me to lead a group of students to work on the dental health website is that we feel like making knowledge of dental health interesting. Our website is an accomplishment out of the coordination among teachers, students and parents. We might be too naïve to overlook the difficulties before we got started. For five months, we have been busy day and night with meetings, doing research, working with our computers. Now our website is eventually completed. Any ideas, comments, or critique for us will be welcomed. Most important of all, let’s work together to help children keep a habit of taking good care of their dental health.

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

School Nurse Li-Fen Luo, the dentists interviewed, Teacher Yu-Yen Cheng, Teacher Yun-Jing Zeng, Teacher Mei-Hua Wu, Director Hsiu-Chieh Chang, and Principal Fong-Sheng Chiu

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

I. Why the team of Dental Fairies? 1. I can learn a lot about dental knowledge. 2. I can learn how to do tooth brushing and dental floss. 3. I can sign up for the tooth care competition. 4. I can learn how to teach someone else about tooth brushing. 5. I can answer questions about teeth. II. Does the team make a change for me? 1. I know the correct way to do tooth brushing. So my chances of tooth decay are much lower now. 2. I don’t have to worry about teeth, because I have already known a lot about them.