School: Tainan Municipal Fusing Elementary School
    Tainan, , Taiwan

10 students, ages 12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 12, 2012. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2012

Classes and Teachers: Hsiao-Chi Huang, Heng-Kuei Wu, Hsin-Hao Tseng, Ping-Wen Chen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://163.26.24.27/efhes/index.htm

1. Description of Our Community

The history of Taiwan began in Tainan, a city that was once colonized by the Dutch, governed by Koxinga, reigned by the Qing Dynasty, and occupied by the Japanese. The influence of these different historical periods left this city with many famous historic sites. A visit to the city would take you back in time through Taiwan’s colorful past. The forefathers of the citizens on the island today were immigrants, who sought the blessings and guidance of Matsu, the Goddess of the Sea, as they made their way through the treacherous waters surrounding Taiwan. Tainan is the home to the Grand Matsu Temple, the first officialy Matsu Temple ever built on the island. As our exploration of the temple and Matsu commences, we are also taking a glimpse of a very important chapter in the history of Taiwan.

2. Summary of Our Project

By focusing our project on the Tainan Grand Matsu Temple, we hope to allow our students a better understanding of the culture and history of their surroundings. Students were first asked to do background research about the subject. They collected information from the books and from the Internet. These information were compiled and shared among themselves online. Field trips to the temple were conducted, allowing students to participate in interviews with the chairman of the executive committee of the temple, worshippers, shop owners, and other locals. Data, videos, and photographs were taken and organized by the students to develop a website for the project. As the final leg, students gave presentations in front of the school to share their findings and thoughts from their research experience.

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):

Each student member of our team had internet access at home, and so each was added to the 2011 Taiwan CyberFair Grand Matsu Temple Facebook group. Facebook served as a ready platform away from school for students to exchange information and share their thoughts

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1. Lacking in experience This is the first time a team from our school participated in CyberFair. By following the guidelines of the fair and studying the project from the previous years, we were able to construct a framework for our project. The team members were also very willing to help each other and contributed greatly to dicussions. 2. Change in the number of participants We were greatly saddened to be forced to narrow down the number of participating students. After a long debate, we had no choice but to decide on the members through the fairest way passible: drawing the lot. 3. Transcribing the interviews Interviews were conducted with the chairman of the committee, the worshippers, the shopowners, and the people living in the vicinity. It was tedious work for students to transcribe the taped interviews into word files. 4. Authorization of the use of Grand Matsu Temple’s official website The chairman of the executive committee of the temple was quite generous in authorizing our use of the information from their official website. We are also greatly indebted toward his full support of our project. 5. Creating the website This is also the first time the students construct a website from scratch. There were many technical problems that they had to overcome. Thankfully, the students did not give up and helped each other solve the problems that they had encountered.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

• A team together can achieve what a person cannot do alone. • This project has allowed us to familiarize ourselves with our hometown and its friendly people. • The best reward of the project lies in the entire experience itself. • Do our best! It is persistence that counts!

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

The basic framework of this project was designed in accordance with the Nine-Year Integrated Curriculum administered by the Ministry of Education. From the initial stage of choosing the theme to the final steps of creating a website, students were required to apply the skills they had learned in the seven domains of the Curriculum. ¦Social Studies Domain Local culture, traditional architecture, and religions were all part of the fifth and sixth grade curriculum. By studying the Grand Matsu Temple, students gained a deeper understanding of local culture and customs. ¦Language Domain Students often studied the biographies and anecdotes of many important historical figures in their languages textbooks. Through this project, students got to know yet another important figure in the daily lives of Taiwanese citizens and the various terms associated with the religion. ¦Arts and Humanities Domain Students had to utilize their artistic skills in editing the photos, creating the layout of the website, making posters for the presentations, and drawing pictures. ¦Mathematics Domain The questionnaires were distributed and analyzed. Statistics were compiled and calculated using Microsoft Excel to help quantify the effectiveness of this project. ¦Comprehensive Activities Domain In this project, students learned the value of collaboration and team work. They encouraged and helped each other to overcome various difficulties along the way.

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

The Internet connection was provided by the Information Center of the Bureau of Education in Tainan City. Every classroom in our school is equipped with computer with WIFI connection, and LED screen. Digital cameras, video cameras, laptop computers, projectors, and audio recorders were used to record the interviews and document our field trips. The computer lab in our school served as the base for the project. Every morning, students would gather in the lab to carry out their discussions, compile data, edit the website, and put together their presentations. As for the softwares used, text editing was done with Microsoft Office Word 2007. Students’ presentation was aided with Microsoft Office PowerPoint slides. The website was created using bluegriffon. An information sharing platform \\fhes was set up. All the students learned how to use PhotoImpact X3 and Microsoft Office to edit images and create presentations. A Facebook group called 2011 Taiwan CyberFair Grand Matsu Temple was set up: http://www.facebook.com/groups/161312547289509/ Students also used Google and Yahoo search engines to look for related information. Gmail was another alternative used by students to exchange information.

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

This project has allowed the students to establish a friendly relationship with the local community. Upon learning about our Cyberfair proejct, the temple and the shops in the vicinity showered us with great enthusiasm. The volunteers and the committee members at the temple took us on detailed tours. They were also very patient in answering all our questions and provide any assistance. In return, we did our best to create a website that would help people better understand this great historic site. In our final presentation during the campus campaign stage, we did our best to tell other students in school about the temple. We hope to serve as the bridge connecting the rest of the community to the Cyberfair project and the temple.?

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

This project is the collaborative effort of ten sixth-grade students. They overcame many obstacles to put together this wonderful website introducing the Tainan Grand Matsu Temple and its surroudings. In the Interesting People and Interesting Shops sections on our website, students uncovered intriguing stories about Tainan and the local culture which you may not know.

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

The chairman and the committee members provided their full support toward our project. Volunteers at the temple gave us very interesting tours around the place. Parents came along on these field trips and actively took part in students’ learning. We were very fortunate to be able to experience the hospitality that this historical city Tainan is so renowned for. Because of their support, our students grew stronger and less timid in interacting with people. One of the students wrote this as his feedback: “ I was nervous when I had to interview other people. But when I got the information needed and saw the smile on the interviewee’s face, I felt a great sense of achievement. This motivates me to work even harder so that we can create the best project possible. Only by doing our best can we ever repay the kindness they have shown us.”

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

This is the first time that our school took part in the CyberFair project. We were all very inexperienced in this area. The entire process had been one of trial and error, of making endless revisions, and most important of all, of learning. We were very fortunate to have the full support of the faculty and staff at school. In addition, we discovered great talents among our team members. Problems were solved because of our collaborative effort. The teachers were all very impressed by students’ presentations and the final website. The morale and positive team spirit established along the way made the entire experience all the more memorable. The greatest obstacle is perhaps creating the website. Our semester-long research had resulted in an exploding digital data archive. Yet, students were not very familiar with designing webpages at first. As a result, they struggled to integrate the information gathered into the website. In addition, they had to work against time, and all of them sacrificed their weekends and winter vacation to finish the website. If the school is to participate in CyberFair again, classes on webpage design should commence earlier to allow students sufficient time to create the website. In addition, it is advisable to include fifth-graders because they would have more time to work on the project before they graduate.