School: Da Cheng Elementary School
    Changhua, N/A - Does Not Apply, Changhua

17 students, ages 9-13 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 24, 2015. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2013

Classes and Teachers: 4

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.dches.chc.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

Changhua County was once named “Banhsian,” which was the name of the tribe that once inhabited the area, and it is located in the midwestern part of Taiwan. To the east it converges with Nantou, the only county to be complete surrounded by land, to the east it faces Taiwan Strait, to the south it borders on Yunlin County with Jhuoshuei River as the dividing line, to the north it neighbors Taichung County with Dadu River as dividing line. The east-most point of Changhua County is Bizhetou of Ershui Township, the west-most point is Lower Haikuntsu of Dacheng Township, the south-most point is Tankun of Dacheng Township, and the north-most point is Shinkang of Shenkang Township. Changhua City is the primary residence of the once Banhsian tribe.

2. Summary of Our Project

Changhua Night Run Team is the club founded in Changhua specifically for the purpose of organizing and hosting night run sessions by local residents. They not only host night runs every Wednesday and Friday, they also have a Facebook page for people to check out, and in just six months they have had over eight thousand participants, and have become a new trend in Changhua.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:none

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:none

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1

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

Our school computer lab has 36 computers set up, and every one of them has internet connectivity. The lab is vacant during noon breaks, so that’s the time when we usually go there to discuss, use the computers there, or to take lessons on computer usage. It is fortunate that most team members also have internet connectivity at home, so using the internet outside of school is not an issue.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1. Time 2. Interview 3. Night Run 4. Traffic 5. Composition Skills 6. Promotion 7. Distributing Questionnaires

5. Our Project Sound Bite

The reason why we chose night run as our topic is because we all like jogging. During our discussions we found that from deciding upon a topic of research to collecting sufficient data to support that research requires the collaborative effort of many. I also learned of the importance of the help and assistance of others in the collection of data and what not. This is a group project, not something to be embarked on alone, and I felt that teamwork was an indispensible component to the completion of this project

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

1. Chinese: We were able to enhance our writing and reading skills through our efforts in this project. 2. Math: We had to analyze the results collected from our research and our surveys. 3. Society: In the process of our research we were at the same time promoting the local cultural heritage. 4. Natural Science and Life Technology: After experiencing a night run session we came to realize the importance of gauging whether the terrain of a given part of the course is level enough to jog on. 5. Health and Physical Education: We learned much about how to assess our body conditions while running, and the benefits of night running. 6. Art and Life: We designed by ourselves fliers, posters, webpages, team logos. 7. Information Technology: We can learn how to create webpages, how to use cloud storage, how to make presentations, how to interview and provide feedback.

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

Camera,Pen recorder,Phones and cellphones,Computer,Copy machine and printer,USB drive, Compact Hard Disk Drive,Card reader,Memory card

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

We research in detail Changhua Night Run Team and interviewed other night run clubs, and even becoming little promoters ourselves. We not only made posters and fliers to promote night running around every class in school, we also did a short play on stage at the morning assembly so that everyone in school can know about night running. Moreover we introduced night running to parents picking up their children at school, and went to Carrefour, Changhua Train Station, and the Cultural Department plaza to let more residents know about night runs.

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

?Effects:

1. When we were promoting in school, a lot of the people didn't' know about night runs, and through our efforts they all know now.

2. When we were promoting outside of school, many residents were able to know about night runs on Wednesdays and Fridays for the first time.

3. When we were interviewing Chief Shih in our school, he also expressed approval of this form of exercise, and with the school's support, there will be regular school-wide jogging events.

4. When interviewing Department of Education Director and Health and Physical Education Section Director we inquired whether state-sponsored night run events would be a possibility, to which they replied in the affirmative.

?Impacts:

1. Bao Sis thanked us for our participation and our promotion efforts. She knows that it can be difficult to run in the winter cold, and she commended us for our perseverance. She said she was touched by our optimism and our passion, and was pleasantly surprised.

2. At first we were introverted and felt uncomfortable with promotion outside of school for fear of being ridiculed, but now we are able to fluently and succinctly express our points without feeling intimidated. We are glad for our change, and we hope that we can do more both for ourselves and our city in the future.

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

We first borrowed Changhua Night Run Team's promotion posters, and did short promotions in front of Carrefour; the time being a weekday afternoon, few people passed by. After that, we headed to Changhua Train Station, and as expected, a lot more people were around, so we split into four groups to spread out and promote. We spent about an hour introducing to passersby night run in Changhua, and some who were curious would approach us themselves to ask more. We would try to get everyone's attention in the morning assembly with our 'interview play' which we acted out on stage to simulate our interactions with our interviewees.Out of all the members of us Night Runners, Ren-tse, Chi-wen, Yi-lin, and Jen-hsuan used Facebook to let their friends and families know about the night run session on the 22nd of January at Changhua City Cultural Department.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

?Discoveries: When we brainstormed and designed questions for survey, we found that our teachers words and advice could also be employed. When we got to work at our project, we came to realize how little we knew about utilizing computers and necessary software. After numerous interviews we, originally nervous, came to discover that our interviewees are in fact nice and cheerful people, and that interviews aren't as hard as all that. Once, a heavy rain forced us to cancel a night run event previously planned out, but at the time of gathering several participants still showed up in spite of the rain to let people know about the cancellation. ?Lessons: We often had our reports and feedback returned to us by our instructors for lack of quality, and we gradually learned to put more time and effort into each attempt. After discussions, everyone would still hold on to his or her opinions, unwilling to yield his or her own for that of others, and hence get into arguments. Sometimes lack of foresight or plain selfishness would hinder progress and everyone would have a difficult time. We learned gradually that it was important to hear what everyone had to say, to say things that are in fact relevant, and to incorporate everyone's idea to some extent to reach a compromise. ?Surprises: After actually jogging in Bagua Mountain at night we were surprised at the beauty of the night scene from up there, and the various scenic sights along the way. When we asked participants to fill out our questionnaires, they not only did not decline, but happily filled them out for us.