CyberFair Project ID: 4096

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: STORY OF FOUR WETLANDS
Category: 7. Environmental Awareness
URL: http://gsh.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2005/4096/index.htm
Bibliography: http://gsh.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2005/4096/7-3.htm

School: Mingho elementary school
    Chaiyi, Taiwan, TaiwanR.O.C

11 students, ages 11-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 21, 2005. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2005

Classes and Teachers: Sue Ju-mong/Lin Jia-yong/Cheng Chan-hsin/Chiu Kwang-shin

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.mhes.cyc.edu.tw

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Our school, Min Ho Elementary School, is located in Shia-keng village, Fen-lu Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. This village is near the foot of famous Ali Mountain, and close to Ren Yi Reservoir and Ba Zhang River. The average rainfall here is quite ample; so many farmers grow fruits, especially persimmons, which become the main agricultural products in our community. The green area of the campus is over 70 %, and there are lots of varieties of land living plants. After building these four wetlands, we have found more and more water living plants and animals. Therefore, the ecosystem in our campus grows more prosperous. Most of the plants are provided by the parents and people from our community, the story of these four wetlands has got much concern from school and community

2. Summary of Our Project

In summer night, we can hear the sound of toads in the wetlands. The original place of wetlands stood some old buildings, but nowadays we can see and hear lots of plants and animals in the wetlands. In the beginning, this place even attracted mosquitoes which were not welcomed, so we put some fish like, gambusia affinis, macropodus opercularis, and then we can hardly see mosquitoes. Besides fish, we can also see other animals, for example, hundreds of dragonflies always fly near the wetlands. In the part of plants, we have known 66 kinds of plants which we know their names, and still lots of more unknown plants in the wetlands. The prosperous plants attract students and people from our community to watch. By the reports of newspaper, more and more people know our wetlands, and many people including some former students come back to visit and see the wetlands. The theme of our project is to study how the plants and animals interact with the wetlands. During the time, we interviewed our principal, teachers, and people who help build the wetland, and we keep doing the research on the wetlands. We will continue putting more efforts on the wetlands and we do hope more and more people can perceive the importance of ecological balance and can appreciate the beauty of nature.

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:1

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6

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

We use Chunghua Telecom fiber network to download and send information. In our school, we have computers (35 in the computer room, 5 in the library, 3 in teachers’ office, and 11 more for computer course) which are used to support to finish our project. At home, we can use ADSL to continue the research .

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Problems we have to overcome: We are curious about the wetland, and they are also strange to us. So we try as hard as we can to observe them and collect relevant information about wetlands. We keep high interest on them, from different animals, plants, to species’ numbers; all make us learn a lot. Because we didn’t know much about the wetland, we try a lot of methods to learn more. Our teacher instructs us how to search, compare and check the information on the internet, look for relevant articles on newspapers and magazines in the library. Every time we observe the wetlands, we would record the change by taking photos and notes. In the beginning, other students did not understand what we were busy with, and then we told them the project and wetlands. Then more and more people joined us to study on this field. We had more people to ask and got more ideas about wetlands. Our four wetlands get more and more concerns from teachers, parents and students. However, some people thought wetlands are suitable for every kind of animal and plant, so they put them in the wetlands. This incorrect thought results the wetland ecological environment being damaged and we had to catch some outside habitants, or the balance of the ecosystem would not able to be maintained managed.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Creation: Before these four wetlands, there were some old and decrepit buildings. After they were torn down, an idea of setting a water plant ecological area was agreed by the principal, teachers and students. So the form of these four wetlands becomes a very special character in our campus. Respect the life: To manage these four wetlands, we planted hundreds kinds of plants and there were several tens of animals made habitats there. We have seen the process from nothing to these wetlands. We hope that these wetlands can be managed well and respect every life in this area. Nature ecological environment is a larger outside classroom. We are lucky to have these four wetlands in our school so we can learn more in the biology and ecology field. Substantive management: Managing these four wetlands should not be a temporary plan, so we should consider about substantive management as we deal with water source, plants, peripheral areas and extension.

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

How did we combine your activities and research for this International School Cyber Fair project with the Nine-year integrated curriculum in school? The following explains in two parts, teachers and students: 1. Teachers: The teachers who join this project work as a team. They discussed and communicated with one another and with the professors in Chiayi University. This team planned to make this project practiced and learned in an integrated way. Besides the study, teachers spent holidays on leading and instructing students on this project. The devoted teachers prove their profession. 2. The Nine-year integrated curriculum emphasizes on using technology and information to activate study and research. Through doing this project, we can see the following learning effects: Science and technology subject Students learn the ecological environment about the wetland as well as species, characteristics, living environment of water plants and animals. They also learn the correct attitude toward ecological environment protection. By using technology tools, students love studying and exert themselves on this project. Language subject To do this project, students have to listen, read, interview, and write lots of information, this has made their language ability better and better. Basic abilities 1. To be able to develop the ability of planning, organization, and practice. 2. To be able to increase the ability of using technology and information. 3. To be able to motivate to actively study and research.

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Project Elements

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

We used Recording Pen and telphoe to take oral interviews.And used Digital cameras to take photos for our project.Last we used computers,Discs,Portable Disc, Scanner to treat our date and making web page we located these tools at school and our home. almost all tools were offered by our school Except some computers and telephones are belong to families. The digit cameras are the most precious for us Because precious scenes of this project wewe all caught by them. The most helpful technology we think is serching on internet. It hleped us finding the materials that we needed fast and diversified.

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

1. Visit and interview: All of the members observe the wetlands, and visit experts, professors and people in the community. Thus we can learn more information and knowledge about the wetland. And we can share out ideas with them. 2. Apply communicative technology: We use telephones, emails, messengers and faxes to send messages with the people whom we can't visit. 3. Internet: We use computers to collect, integrate, and send information. 4. Parents and school: We ask school or parents to help us as we do the project.

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

By collecting the information about Taiwan local water plants, we found the extinct crisis of Taiwan prototype. After searching for the reason, we found that since a very serious typhoon, there are five main problems: the loss of habitats, the invasion of adventives, growing population, pollution and over-development. Human beings are the children of Nature; we were born from the earth like other life. We like the breeze over the wetlands and fresh air after the rain, and the other life do as well. We use our intelligence to develop paradise on the earth, but we sometimes forget the living right of other life. If we misuse the sources on the earth, we are too selfish and take other life's living right. We would like to appreciate that our school provide this great chance for us. We understand the serious problems of ecological environment and conservation, so we hope to extend the wetlands which have special Taiwan local plants. The people in the community can love the Nature through the way they realize the importance of wetlands

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

1. Parents: Mrs. Syong volunteered to help built the four wetlands. 35 Parents provide plants. Students can work on the project because of parents' support on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning. 2. People in the community: Mr. Chen and Mr. Chang also volunteered to help build the wetlands. The retired teacher, Huang Jhe-syong, taught us how to take photos. The principal of Nan Shin Elementary School, Li Ruei-ming provided hundreds of vine. 3. Professors: Professor Tsai Jihi-Sian in the Department of Horticultural Science helped us to know lots of water plants. Professor Cin Jhong-sian, Lai Hong-Jhih, and Kuo Shih-rong in the Department of Aquatic Biosciences gave us advices of keeping fish and building the wetlands. Professor Jhong Shu-yuan instructed us how to collect and edit the information. Mr. Zeng Sian-tai in Ming Syong Industrial Area instructed us the methods of check and examines the water quality. 4. Township Office: Fan Lu Township Office provided the fund. 5. Childhood Resort: Childhood Resort is a great place for science field trip. There are various plants and animals in the resort. The vice chairman of the resort, Mr. Chen Ming-sian, provided us water plants and read our project. 6. School: (1). Principal, Chiang Lien-chun: support the building of these four wetlands, encourage us to study and research, and give us ideas and suggestions. (2) Director of Academic Affairs, Chiu Kwang-shin: instruct us to collect information and make webpage. (3) Subject Teacher, Cheng Chan-hsin: teach us ecology in the wetlands and the knowledge of managing the wetlands. (4) Teacher, Sue Ju-mong: teach us how to interview, edit and write reports and the art part of the webpage. (5) Subject Teacher, Lin Jia-yong: teach us how to use the technology tools and how to make a webpage.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

In July we found that pond scum invaded the almost spread the all wetlands. This was a serious problem. Therefore, during the time of summer camp, our teachers leaded us to clean the pond scum. As we clean it, we found lots of the nymph of the dragonfly in the scum. And there were 2 different kinds of the nymph of the dragonfly: dragonfly and damselfly. We needed to use storax to clean the scum but still keep the the nymph of the dragonfly. In the late September, we found the fish like Red tilapia which ate the Medaka Fish?Mosquitofish, and fishes like Zacco barbata?Zacco platypus were dead because other fish bit them. So it's important to plan to hunt the Red tilapia and tell people not to put any animals and plants in the wetlands. We were lucky to have professors from Chiayi University to teach us the knowledge about ecological subject

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