CyberFair Project ID: 4958

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Glory of five years Rite of kuljaljau
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2007/gsh4958/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2007/gsh4958/narrative.htm

School: Pingtung County Laiyi Shiang kuljaljau National el
    Taiwan, Taiwan, Taiwan

10 students, ages 10~12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 15, 2007. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): No

Classes and Teachers: Chun-fu Tian (Director), Teacher Su-chu Chou/

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.ghes.ptc.edu.tw/xoops/

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Located at the entrance of Laiyi Township, Kuljaljau Village greets people with a high-rise spiritual fortress in the front. The Kuljaljau Village is enriched with traditional culture and folklores, and has a high regard for the passage of heritage and root searching among generations. One of Kuljaljau’s most well known event is its five-year fiesta that represents the culture of Paiwan Tribe, which attracts many tourists visiting from afar. Wood sculpture is the most exemplary traditional art in Kuljaljau. The agricultural products and the specialty foods originated from mountains nearby include the millet (and millet-fermented liquor), taro, peanuts, wild vegetables, and etc. The aboriginal savor has been well preserved in Kuljaljau thanks to the many local, folk activities held for tourism and recreation. In addition, in Kuljaljau the development of forest walking trails is currently underway. So, everyone comes to visit the Kuljaljau Village to enjoy, play, and breathe the healthy phytoncide! It will be a wonderful experience.

2. Summary of Our Project

The Kuljaljau Village is a place where you are embraced with ancient atmosphere. The Village is particularly well-known for its five- year fiesta. Through this project we hope to introduce to you this special event in its entirety. And at this website you will learn of this event and all the extended activities. At the same time we would like to recommend the wonderful scenery of Kuljaljau to you?it is a great place to spend your holidays and is certainly worth of a visit to get close to the beauty of the nature, the local culture, and the experience you would never find in other tourist spots!

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:2-3

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

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

Our school has now in place a computer center that provides wireless Internet access to the residents of the Kuljaljau Village and of its neighboring villages to fill the informational needs of remote areas. The computer center also serves the purpose of providing students with a better learning environment so they may collect data while in school and allow for those who have computer at home to complete the data-processing assignment.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1. Lack of Experience : Since this was our first time we attended the Cyberfair, we were relatively inexperienced with the project and its implementation. Our knowledge on the topic we chose?the five-year fiesta of Paiwan Tribe?was also insufficient, and we lacked the experience to handle the process. We spent a great deal of time visiting the elders in the tribe, and organizing a large amount of data and the tremendous amount of photographs. Thanks to the big brothers and sisters from the National Pingtung University, their assistance guided us through this process and helped solving many difficulties encountered in the research.

2. Interview with Tribal Elders: This is not an easy task. The interview often has to be scheduled around the tribal elders’ routines and availability. The interview is also hampered by the fact that there are many taboos about the Paiwan five-year fiesta that can not be revealed and explained to the outsiders. Another difficulty in conducting interviews with the elders is the language barrier?the elders often only speak the native language. Luckily, the relative of a school teacher was a priest at the five-year fiesta, and the teacher also taught the course of native language at school. They provided us the timely assistance in translation.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

We were not familiar with the research process because this was our first time with Cyberfair project. Luckily with the guidance from big brothers and sisters, we learned many techniques quickly, especially on the use of computers. Can you imagine: we were anxious about everything before we first met! But they were very nice and we got along great after our time together. They stayed, helped, and played with us! We didn’t quite understand the native language the elders used during the interviews. Nonetheless, with the translation by our teachers we quickly learned many details of the five-year fiesta, such as the process and things to be cared for; none of these we knew in the beginning! We are very happy having the opportunity to attend the Cyberfair; these will be precious memories in the years to come. We are also happy to know the big brothers and sisters. We hope they will come to visit the Kuljaljau Village often in the future and play with us!

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

1.Language Ability: The on-site interviews with local elders, field visits of tribal ceremonies, and weekly reports of lessons learned provided us with an opportunity to use the native tongue to describe objects and to raise questions during interviews. Through the preparation of weekly reports, we learned to present our knowledge in words and to apply in the native language courses at school that taught the children the skills of incorporating native language listening, speaking, and writing in daily life. 2. Social Learning: Through the activity Little Reporters from this project, the students interviewed tribal elders and learned the distinctive culture of five-year fiesta, thus made close contacts with the local society and community. 3.Nature and Life Science Technology: Through the activity Finding Old Times, the students discovered various trees of unique shapes and birds and animals jumping up and down in the bushes when they visited the walking trails first built during Japanese occupation. Among them, the mahogany is especially precious. The geographical distribution surrounding the tribe is mainly the mountainous landscapes, ErFengZun(???), old trails, and etc. The students used the computers and the photo impact program to develop animation for these geographical features and learned to collect information. After this process, computers are more than just a game to the students; they are now a tool of learning and applications. 4. Arts and Humanities: Through taking films and photographs on the spot, students designed and painted pictures to express the representative symbols of aborigines. 5.Health and Athletics: No longer limited in classrooms, the students had the opportunities to go outdoors where they could reach by foot and bicycle or by car driven by teachers if the destination was some place afar. These activities allowed the students to develop both their physical and psychological strengths. 6. Ten Basic Abilities: This project, in combination with the school curricula, proceeded in a mode where the students learned and gained knowledge in a less formal environment and with a relaxed attitude. Imperceptibly, the students developed the abilities of their own in, for examples, providing information and offering creative ideas of building the website to enrich the contents of the site.

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Project Elements

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

1.DC, DV, Image Card: Filed visits and interviews; photograph-taking during the class; video-recording; transfer of interviews from videotapes into WMV format. 2.Internet Network: Data collection; communication by e-mail and instant messenger; contacts among volunteer teachers, school teachers, and students for information exchange. 3.Scanner: Scanning of the completed learning lists and pictures into electronic files for uploading to Wretch for open reviews. 4.Printer, Copier: Printing of learning lists and project summaries 5.Telephone: Contacts among volunteer teachers, school teachers, and interviewees. 6.MP3 Flash Disc: Data storage; recording 7.Computer Software: FrontPage, Dreamweaver, PhotoImpact, Ulead GIF, and Animator 5.

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

During the course of this project, our teacher Su-Chu Chou coordinated and translated our communications with the local elder Vuvu. Teacher Chou’s assistance allowed us to successfully collect a great deal of precious, historical documents and information regarding the five-year fiesta from interviews. We also owe our thanks to the elder Cho Bai-Yi (Camak Parigure), who introduced the key locations for running important activities of the five-year fiesta to us under burning sun, and the priest Wang-Shi Song Hong (Ljaelep Pasasauv), who performed and demonstrated the ceremonies of the five-year fiesta to us. These first-hand experiences about the five-year fiesta granted an opportunity for our students to gain a better understanding of the fiesta.

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

1. Ineffective computer education: The session for the students to learn the use of computers each week was only two hours. This is hardly enough, because the teaching process often proceeded at a slow pace to ensure that all students in the class understood the contents. Each exercise taught in using the computer was followed by demonstration and then waiting for the students to complete the task before the class might move on to the next exercise. This was a necessary practice, but it slowed down the learning process. As a result the progression of the course was less than anticipated.

2. Frequent school activities: Due to frequent administrative meetings and other activities at school, the time available for student counseling was reduced, sometimes to less than one hour. We were always on a very tight schedule.

3. Understanding the Tribe: Through this project, the students learned and understood the culture of the five-year fiesta from their tribe.

4. Sharing the resources: This project presented the geographical position of the Kuljaljau Village, the five-year fiesta, and etc on a website so to allow free Internet access of information by those who were interested to learn more of Kuljaljau from all over the world. This puts our Kuljaljau Village on the map and makes it visible to the world!

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

1.Chief Ms. Jin-Ying Luo:Receiving interview 2.Priest Mr. Camak Parigure:Receiving interview 3.Priest:Receiving interview

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

1. We discovered from this research project that there were plenty of historical data concerning the five-year fiesta that had been preserved as written documents. With the opportunity presented by this project, the data were recorded electronically, and this precious cultural heritage could now be preserved permanently.

2. This project proceeded in a way by which the students learned the various aspects of Kuljaljau culture in a less formal environment and with a relaxed attitude. Imperceptibly, they developed the abilities of their own to provide information and creative ideas during the construction of the websites and to amplify the contents of the site.

3. Perhaps this example can elaborate how this project has connected our children to their cultural heritage: when the students were led on their way to the location of the fiesta, they were told to watch their steps as the stairs were steep and dangerous; their answer was “Aborigines do not fear for dangers!”

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