1. Description of Our Community
Marathon has a small town community that, despite the influx of corporations, has never had a true “city” atmosphere. People here tend to be more laid back, not always concerned about getting higher in the corporate world, but instead relaxing where they are. It is a small town, its size limited by the fact that as an island, we only have so much room to build. Our economy, although modern, includes industries that date back many decades. It is a safe community, relatively low on crime, and people feel it is safer to live here than in a true city. Real estate is a major source of income and the price of housing is high, so mostly high-income people are moving to Marathon and people believe that our community is now changing because of this. Tourism is also one of the largest sources of income here and many people depend on the hospitality business. We consider our community to be busy and working-to-higher-class based, while retaining a laid back, small-town lifestyle.
2. Summary of Our Project
Our Cyber Fair project focused on the current and probable/possible/preferable/ and preventable futures of three different industries in Marathon; fishing, banking, and shopping. All three are businesses that have been here for at least several years and have affected our community. The more historic commercial fishing industry was covered by interviewing a local captain. Banks, essential to any community, were represented by the local Marine Bank. Publix covered the area of supermarkets, which are very important to both locals and tourists and therefore integral to our town. The project caused us to center mostly on the futures of these businesses, which are shaped by the country’s economy, weather patterns such as hurricanes, and the needs and wants of the people that live here. These factors will decide whether or not the certain businesses will be able to continue here.
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:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
One of the main problems we had to overcome was securing interviews with the owners or representatives of the businesses we chose. At first, we had chosen slightly different businesses, but either lack of interest or inability to get the needed information made us choose others instead. Even then, we had a hard time getting the interviews. The team member working on the bank page, especially, had a hard time finding someone to interview about it. However, this was overcome by simply trying again and again to get and interview, until finally a time and date was settled upon. We also had a few technically difficulties concerning the building of the web site. Some elements either wouldn’t fit in, or when they did, looked awkward in the layout. These problems were mostly solved by leaving out the offending details, resizing them, (such as with pictures that were too big or too small), or replacing them with something more appropriate.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
The businesses have become aware that high school students can be active members of the community and represent future customers.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
Working as a team is one of the curriculum requirements of the Web Design course. This project allowed the students to work with other students that they do not normally work with, as well as taught the students interviewing skills, communication skills, and a multitude of people skills.
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