School: Victoria School
    Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

4 students, ages from 13 to 15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 29, 2002. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 1999,2000,2001

Classes and Teachers: Mr Anuar

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.vs.moe.edu.sg

1. Description of Our Community

Our local community is Singapore which is located at the tip of peninsular Malayasia at the equator. We have a large population of 4 million, for the small size of Singapore and we have a great history of local leaders. We were once a British Colony after which we were conquered by Japan during World War II. There were many deaths and many problems arose such as unemployment and food shortages but finally, we emerged from these problems to become a prosperous nation today.

2. Summary of Our Project

Many people have contributed to making it a beautiful community and one that shows a positive outlook as we move into the 21st century. It is some of these people who have made this community a great place to live that, in our project, we would like to honor and show how they have contributed into making Singapore the community it is. In doing so, we, as students, will acquire knowledge of what it takes to make a great community and a deeper respect for those people who have dedicated much of their time and energy towards making the community what it is.

Most people see Singapore as it is today, a modern society for electronics shopping etc, but we were once a fishing village, unexplored by the world. Singapore was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in the year 1819 and from then on we were ruled by them up till the Japanese conquered us in the 1940’s. Those were bad times. We had to face many harsh conditions. Many sacrificed their lives to allow the rest of us to live. Fortunately, we survived the 3 harsh years, and finally gained independence in 1965. From then on we began on our journey to success to sustain what we have today. We intend to cover, this “growing up” of Singapore in our website and also, the contributions of the local leaders who made all this possible. As students, we are proud of our community and of those who have helped make it such a great community in which to live. We hope, in this project, to learn what it takes to make a positive community and, in turn, allow others to see what we have learned.

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:4-6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:not sure

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:2-3

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

We had used the computers in our school labs as well as the ones at home to access the internet. As free internet access in available in Singapore, cost was not a problem.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

We did not have many technical problems. But a problem was of time as this was a very extensive project. We had to plan our time very carefully so as to not fall behind the deadline.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

The project has allowed our students to see the hard work , dedication, and giving of oneself for the betterment of others and it has allowed our community to become more aware of the quality community that we have.

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

Our project was based on the history of Singapore and our local leaders which is a part of the school Social Studies curriculum but through other books outside the school curriculum, we got more detailed information about our past. We also learned about new leaders whom we have never known before. It is in line with our National Education objectives of every Singaporean knowing about their homeland and loving their homeland. Also, we learned, most importantly of all, teamwork. Although it was hard to get everyone together at a certain day and certain time, we still did manage to meet up to discuss this project and also try our best to complete it on time. We learned many new things about each other and how we can work effectively with each other. We even went for some outings together and this brought us all closer together to each other. Lastly, we learned how to make better use of soft wares that we had not known earlier. We learned from each other how to use the software effectively as each of us was an “expert” in our own fields.

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

We used the following tools in our project: 1.Netscape Navigator 2.Macromedia Fireworks 3.Macromedia Dream weaver 4.Microsoft Visual InterDev 6.0 5.Digital Camera's 6.Scanners 7.MSN Chat (to have e-conversations with officers from various educational groups and personnel from the museum) 8.Tape recorders 9.Microsoft Internet Explorer 10. Of course, Microsoft Windows XP

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

We visited many places like the Singapore National Museum and we interviewed the museum curators to find out more about our past and the experiences that they had during the hard times, and what were some of the problems that they faced during that time. We also went to other museums and took plentiful photographs. We took time off to visit Fort Canning in Sentosa Island as that interested us, the place where Singapore was surrendered to the Japanese when they invaded. We also had e-conversations with other Ministry Of Education personnel so that we could tell them about our project and ask them for further history that we may not know, and other leaders whose contributions may not have been highlighted.

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

We had first the help of officials from various museums. They were very helpful. The people at the museums even gave us a free tour of their premises. We gained a lot from that tour. We asked the old folks of our classmates about the situation at the time when they were young so that helped us put more information on the website. Our Teacher, Mr Anuar, assisted us by doing a critique of our website so that we were able to improve on it. The people that helped us that were the backbone of the project. Without them and their expertise the students would not have been able to do the project. It is here that the "Care and Unite" theme has particular meaning. Their sharing with us allowed that collaborative experience. Together we were able to create our project.

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

When we showed this project to selected people from our neighborhoods, many of them showed surprised faces in finding out facts that they never knew about. Many of them took greater interest in Singapore's history and local leaders and they realized that it is not only on a local scale that they have made an impact but also on the global scale. We affect many others when our economy changes.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

The biggest discovery is that we realize that it takes the kind hearts of people who give of themselves unselfishlessly that truly makes a community a quality place in which to live. To paraphrase the words of John F. Kennedy, "The world would be a much better place if we all thought more of what we can do for others, rather than of what others can do for us."