School: Yilan County Hansi Elementary School
    --, Yian County, Taiwan

8 students, ages 11-12 years old worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 2, 2007. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2007

Classes and Teachers: Hansi Elementary School

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.hsies.ilc.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

Hansi is situated on the upper stream of the Luodong River, southeast and approximately 12km away from the Luodong Township. The Hansi Village consists of Hansi Lane, Hsinguang Lane, Huahsin Lane and Cichiang Hsinchun Lane. These lanes are located on different mountains and separated by rivers, thus the villagers are extremely dependent on the bridges for commuting. An eye-catching red suspension iron bridge across Hansi is visible at the horizon, it connects Hansi Lane and Huahsin Lane and is also the most famous landmark of Hansi. A popular spot among the Hansi bound tourists, many memorable photos were taken here. In addition, there is the regal “Hansi Shrine” within the school compound and a lovely stream for playing and tracking, therefore this place has also become one of the many popular tourist attractions in this area. 3km Southwest of Hansi is Gulu, the place with the most abundant water in the whole province, it is also fondly regarded as “Hometown of Rainwater” and the Gulu Forest Trail is the most popular route among the mountain hikers. Besides the beauty of rainwater, Hansi is also the home and playground for a variety of birds and butterflies, the various species of trees and plants that surround the school are also a sight to behold.

2. Summary of Our Project

Hansi has breathtaking scenery and an untouched and pure environment. The Atayal unique cuisine and cultural background will be introduced in 4 different categories through this Cyberfair project. There are Hansi Tribes, ecosystem, tribal customs and tribal delicacies respectively, hopefully more people can enjoy and share the uniqueness and beauty of Hansi with the assistance of the internet. Our research methods mainly consist of onsite surveys and interviews, data collection, and record our findings.

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:1

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

The school is using fiber optic to access the internet and the connection is reasonably speedy. Most members from the computer class don’t have access to the web at home with the exception of 2 students, that means almost all of the contents and designs of the web page were done at the school.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

This is our first participation in the Cyberfair thus it is a totally new and unfamiliar experience for us. Thanks to our teachers and fellow students at the Fo Guang University, their patience and guidance have helped us slowly grasp the techniques in data management, sorting and website designing. The biggest challenge that we came across is the collection of historical data. Due to the limited data and lack of coverage, we had to interview the local senior residents and record down everything they shared with us, only then we found out that there were so much to tell and so many wonderful stories connected to Hansi.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

If we look hard enough, we would realize that there are so many stories to tell behind each community, school or tribe, buried under the path we walked everyday are the footprints of history. After the surveys and interviews we conducted, we have developed a deep sense of fondness and care and understood more about the land we grew up on.

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

The main title for the specialty course is “Beautiful mountains, beautiful waters, and beautiful tribe”, and it is divided into 3 main categories, “Hansi historical sites”, “Resources of the countryside”, “Culture of the Atayal”. Different subjects are being studied from standard one through standard six and they are being sub-divided into the “Origin of Hansi Tribe”, “Myths and Fairy Tales of the Atayal”, “Hansi Shrine and Suspension Bridge”, “Gulu Forest Trail and Hansi Ranch”, “Rivers and rivers protection”, “Bugs and butterflies”, “Songs and Weaving of the Atayal”, “Atayals Hunting”, “Atayal Hierarchy (gaga) ”. Part of the contents of this project is based on this Specialty Course, thus complimenting each other.

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

1.Telephone: Communicate with team members and potential interviewees. 2.Video and digital cameras: For recording purposes. 3.Digital painting board and scanner: To scan the images created by the students and design webpage. 4.Recording pen: To record proceedings of an interview. 5.Computer software: To edit and process website images. 6.Library, books, newspaper: To search and gather information. 7.Online hard drive: To store and share information. 8.Computers: Process data, edit images, design webpage, search the

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

For this Cyberfair project, we interviewed several individuals in the community with different skills and jobs. They were more than willing to share with us their knowledge and experience and introduce to us the characteristic and features of the place. It was a meaningful and fruitful action for the kids involved in the project as the theme of the project and its specialty course are strongly related. We wish to further probe and explore the possibilities of uncovering more stories on Hansi so the world can learn more about this beautiful place.

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

The parents from the community have also been showing their acknowledgement and offered their support in what we do, they have also been fully supportive of the children practicing and rehearsing during the weekends. In addition, we are going to be part of the main features in the opening ceremony of the nationwide aborigines sporting events in March 2007 with the Atayalic kids from Ilan County. We have to be fully focused to ensure there will be no mistakes and and work extremely hard in order to sustain the tradition of Hansi. We heard from the teachers that some of the tourists or visitors have sent us some souvenirs and postcards after visiting our school during the holidays as they felt that the school is beautiful. Also, there is another primary school in Changhua that wants to carry out an ecological system researching project in Hansi and they have targeted our school for visit and study the community rivers protection process. All these means that people from other places and provinces have been impressed with our introduction and wanted to find out more about Hansi and its community. We hope that everyone would find time to take come and visit Hansi and its tribes.

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

“Teamwork” is a very important. We are very interested in this topic after the project, besides working together, delegation of tasks is crucial as well, some of the members are in charge of taking photos, some are responsible for voice recording whereas some are documenting. The work process will not be smooth and complete if full attendance is not achieved; therefore teamwork and discipline are the basic essentials.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Sometimes a small little matter takes a wide and huge knowledge to understand. All the fish in the streams we walk past everyday are the results of the rivers protection scheme. All the wisdom and mannerisms of the Atayal ancestors are hidden behind each dance routines we practice everyday. Every ordinary object and tool used by our forefathers are a story waiting to be uncovered, these are all the surprises we learnt during this project.