School: Yu-Jen Catholic Elementary School
    Taichung , Taiwan, Taiwan

9 students, ages 11-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 15, 2007. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2002,2003,2005

Classes and Teachers: Hui-Chen Tsai, Pi-Chu Lee, Pei-Shan Cheng,Chialing Chang, Garry

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.yjes.tc.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

Taichung City is located in the central part of Taiwan. Its mild spring-like climate lasts all year long. Its life style is simple and easy-going. Taichung City is also nicknamed “the culture city” due to its dynamic culture and educational activities. North-South island traffic has stimulated Taichung City’s economic development. Taichung City has become the economic heart of the cities between Maoli and Yunlin. Taking advantage of its location, Taichung City is well positioned to develop into an international metropolis. Taichung City’s Dakeng Scenic Area stirs deep memories in preceding generations with its beautiful environment and tradtional culture. Easily accessible, the area affords a wide range of outdoor activities, including mountain climbing, hiking and bird watching. Many people also like to take in the diversity of plants and animals. It is really the best place for Taichung residents to go mountain climbing, to go hiking, to have a barbecue, to go for a stroll or to work out.

2. Summary of Our Project

Taichung’s Dakeng Scenic Area is as well known as Yangmingshan National Park. The residents say it is Taichung’s back garden since it is one of the best places in the Taichung vicinity for mountain hiking and quiet relaxation. Dakeng is located in the east of the Taichung Basin, on the opposite side of Dadu Mountain. The name Dakeng comes from the aboriginal people that originally lived there. Dakeng Scenic Area belongs to the Touke Mountain range, Taichung City’s highest peak. One of its distinguishing features is that it is crisscrossed by east-west oriented streams. It is one of the best preserved natural environments in the Taichung area. Mt.Touke abounds in bamboo shoots, luffas, chayotes, citruses, longans, lychees, oncidiums and lilies. These plentiful goods add to the commercial activity of the area. The residents lead a good and healthy life. Mt.Touke is just like Arcadia, an earthly paradise.

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

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

There are about sixty PCs in our school computer lab, each of which has a 2.8G Hz CPU with a 17 inch LCD monitor. All computers have the Windows XP operating system. There is at least one computer for the teachers and students to use in each classroom.

Our school network is connected to the academic Internet by fiber optics. But in the computer lab we surf the net on broadband to look up information. We mostly exchanged our notes and research content with each other by email.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Firstly, we had to set up a schedule for the students’ activities and ask for parents’ cooperation. We not only needed to arrange the students’ time between the activities and their cram school class times but also had to match up the interviewees’ schedules. It was a big test for students and teachers to complete the project in the limited time. The information found on the net might not have been correct, so we had to pay a visit to get reliable information for students to confirm. The management during the interview process was also one of our difficulties. To distribute the work among the team members and to keep on schedule were all the difficulties we had to conquer.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Before this contest I was unfamiliar with Dakeng and computers. After taking part in this activity, it helped me understand Dakeng’s culture and ecology and gave me a new understanding of computers. I really learnt a lot from this activity. I learnt a lot from making our homepage. I understood what the teamwork was and had a deeper understanding of Dakeng. Dakeng is really a good place with wonderful view. I could not only enjoy the delicious food but also had fun of doing exercise. It was really great! For this reason, if you have time, remember to visit here! Hopefully the homepage that we made by our enthusiastic effort can get the achievement!

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

In the nine year integrated curriculum, it emphasizes not only the integration among different fields but also the interdisciplinary correlation and its application. Under the teachers’ guidance, students learnt how to make a well-arranged plan and let them understand the development of their hometown. In addition, the students could practice recording the whole process by themselves and have the experience of the interdisciplinary correlation and its application during the process they were involved. The students also learnt how to be a part of a team and share with others. More importantly, they learnt how to concern their hometown and learnt to appreciate the people who quietly dedicate themselves to this land. We firmly believe that this successful learning experience will help them grow in study independence and to play a role in the team afterwards.

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

Technical Equipment: We use computer, ADSL wide network, telephone, scanner, printer, digital camera, traditional camera, portable disk, Record pen, and recorder. Data collecting: (1.) Computer - learning, surf on the net, data reorganization (2.) Newspapers - reading and reorganize data (3.) Books - reading and reorganize data. We finished our Internet pages through different kinds of software, mostly, we used Word, Excel, notebook, Namo Web Editor, PhotoImpact and Flash. The whole topic plan was completed in the computer classroom.

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

Every time when the students participated in the activity, they were on an important mission for school. Therefore, we had to be very careful and ask for perfection. Before writing the articles, we looked for information first. And then we selected the needed contents and characters for our topic. Finally we interviewed people by ourselves. The interviewees totally agreed that the students through attending the International Schools CyberFair could share information with others over the internet, so thy we are all glad to tell us the relevant information. In order to get more better information in an atmosphere, we interviewed the people face to face and asked further questions during the interview. Sometimes we received deeper insight to the interviewee’s hearts, so we wrote down many unforgettable little stories that impressed us. These touching stories are all shown on our homepage of the “ Record of the Interviews.”

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

Owing to the motivation of learning, curiosity and interest, we cooperated each other for our research project. While we were studying about Taichung’s Dakeng, we whipped up emotion in our mind. We really want to tell the whole world’s children that the people who live in Taiwan are really lucky and happy! Local carnival activities are held in Dakeng every year, so tourists are increasing as well. We have to appreciate the various government institutions which invest in the area and the local people and travel lovers who promoted Dakeng with great exertion. During the process of the interview, we got closer to the local people. Some of them appreciated our learning spirit and even hoped that we would integrate local tourist resources into the curriculum and our project. Hence, we can understand our local community resources more and even present the beauty of Dakeng to the global community through our research project.

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

During the process of doing the research project, we interviewed many places in Dakeng. Owing the local people’s guidance and explanation, we could considerate and feel Dakeng that was different from my original impression. For example, the fortune and care of Uncle Guo’s for Taiwanese Macaques, which are protected animals, are incalculable. Aunt Guo devoted herself to the hometown without gaining the pay. Vice principal, who is one of Dakeng’s locals, led us to understand the function of walking trails and showed the love to his hometown again. Because of their effort, the community resources can be preserved so that we have the opportunity to learn more about our hometown. We should be grateful in mind and hope that we can hand down this love of the town from one generation to another. Among the interviews for this research project, we interviewed many specialists. We praised them greatly that they were really “Unbeatable.” We tasted the harvest fruits and learnt a lot of knowledge from the experienced specialists. The agricultural prizewinner, Leader Luo, taught us the whole process of Oncidium from planting to the export. Leader Gu let us know about ecology and introduced us more phenomena of Dakeng’s natural ecology. Owing to their enthusiastic explanation and introduction, we learnt a lessson that I have never had at school and enriched the content of our research project. We are really grateful of those “unbeatable” people. Hopefully we can also be the specialists and contribute ourselves like them to others when we grow up.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Discovery:Dakeng is a community beside ours. Originally we thought its excellent view declined for the amusement parks. Because of doing this project, we had the opportunity to understand and considerate again. Except the radiant and enchanting scenery and unique ecology, there are still various types for leisure for us to analyze in detail and to conclude. We discovered that Dakeng is different from our impression. We hoped we could experience it by what we saw and we heard. Furthermore, we can let more people know about Dakeng-- a beautiful back garden lying in the prosperous Taichung City. Lessons:During the process of this research project, we had to visit many attractions. The students originally thought that they could join the activity freely, but they found they had to prepare well before the interview. They also needed enough physical strength. In case the voice was not recorded, they had to interview again. In addition, they had to center the picture in the image of the camera lest they took the pictures again. Sometimes the pictures were gone while we were moving the data clip to organize the data in the computer, so we had to do it again. All of these are the lessons we took this time. We have to prepare well for everything and have a good attitude. We can’t do at our pleasure because something is not allowed to do it again. Let’s encourage each other! Surprises:Even thought we are all the locals, we didn’t know Dakeng belongs to Mt.Touke. Mt.Touke is Taichung’s highest peak. It is surprisingly that there are some unusual plants, which should be stayed in 3000 meters high, in the mountains. Dakeng abounds in the most magnificent golden deciduous leaves in its forest. After the 921 earthquake, the stratum of the earth vibrated excessively and occurred terrestrial heat so the the hot spring sprang out. Mt.Touke certainly became a natural ecological plant garden and zoo. All of these were the surprises we encountered while we were doing the research project. Dakeng’s walking trails are known by everyone. Most surprisingly, our vice principal has gone hiking for more than thirty years. During the process of the interview, he told us the surprises he came across. He really let us dumbstruck. Therefore, we completed our research project step by step with a big surprise. Thanked the people who devoted themselves to help us so that we can reap the harvest of our hard work. This learning process was an unforgettable memory!