CyberFair Project ID: 8797

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: The Veil of Mystery Art
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms
URL: http://cyberfair2025-04.kcislk.ntpc.edu.tw/
Bibliography: http://cyberfair2025-04.kcislk.ntpc.edu.tw/references/

School: Kang Chiao International School-Linkou campus(JH)
    New Taipei City, N/A, Taiwan

7 students, ages 14,15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 13, 2025. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2024,2023,2022,2021,2020

Classes and Teachers: Jyunjie Wu,Darius Lee,Leo Zhuang,CHANG YUN-AN,LEE JUI-YEN,HUANG YU-SHAN,SOPHIA LIN,Nina Pinya Huang,Wang SIANG-YING,Yang Zi-Yi,

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://web.kcislk.ntpc.edu.tw/en/

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Our group consists of seven ninth graders from Kang Chiao International School, Linkou Campus. Although having different family backgrounds and growing up in different cities, we are a group of people who share the same interests, values, and goals. We are interested in investigating different topics and acquiring new knowledge, and we want to have a positive influence on communities by sharing our findings. Through extensive research, we found out that Taiwan is a place that is rich in history, natural beauty, and technological advancements. After a series of discussions and sharing of ideas, we decided to gain more insight into Taiwanese history and culture. During the discussion, we realized that the strongest memory that our team members shared from elementary school history class is content related to the Japanese occupation period. This memory motivated us to explore the history and culture of this era. Therefore, we chose to watch the movie “Seediq Bale” directed by Wei Desheng, to get a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of a tragic event that took place in 1930, which is called the “Wushe Incident”. After watching the movie, we were inspired and started to be curious about the Seediq tribe, which is a Taiwanese aboriginal ethnic group and is the protagonist of the Wushe Incident. Taiwanese aborigines hold a significant place in Taiwanese culture and society. Their unique stories, experiences, and traditions shaped Taiwan's history, and the Seediq people, in particular, add to Taiwan's cultural diversity. Since then, we have tried to connect all the information with historical events and our own experiences to present our findings in an innovative way. In summary, our group wants to investigate and explore deeper facts about the Seediq tribe to satisfy our curiosity and arouse people’s awareness of Taiwan’s precious aboriginal culture.

2. Summary of Our Project

The target tribe of our study is the Seediq people, who are Taiwanese aborigines, this tribe played an important role during the Wushe incident. The Seediq actively uphold their traditions through participation in community affairs, communicating with people of different ages, and speaking more ethnic languages. They also engage in cultural activities to ensure that their heritage remains vibrant.

One of the aspects of Seediq culture is their craftsmanship. Seediq people are skilled in handicrafts, such as weaving or bamboo products. Also, their traditional folk dances serve as a reflection of their customs and beliefs.

In terms of food, their specialty produce is vegetables and their specialty traditional food is red beans, sticky rice, and marinated pork. As they mainly hunt, they have some rules for hunting in the mountains. For example, they are not allowed to joke or brag about the animals they will catch. In the school, they arranged hunting courses to allow the new generation of Seediq people to experience culture and led students to experience interesting activities such as making traditional dishes.

In conclusion, the Seediqs are a culturally rich indigenous group in Taiwan with a strong sense of community and tradition; nevertheless, somehow little known by people nowadays. Therefore, a need to spread these beautiful traditions to let more people know more about the Seediq people arises.

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:not sure

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

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

In this report, we encountered various challenges in different stages, including interviewing key individuals, conducting research, collecting data, and organizing the results, each of which presented various difficulties that we had to overcome. First, during the interview phase, we encountered scheduling conflicts. We planned to meet with the chairman of the Seediq tribe, Mr. Yufeng; however, our initial invitation for a video call went unanswered, causing repeated delays. The interview, initially scheduled to be completed in October, was postponed several times.

This was further exacerbated by the chairman’s busy work schedule, which impacted our overall progress and required us to be flexible and patient while adjusting our plans.

Second, during the research and data collection phase, we faced several difficulties. Some of the historical information was either scarce or ambiguous, requiring extra effort and time to locate reliable sources. For example, there are no official historical records of the prelude to the Battle of Qingshan. Instead, many accounts rely on testimonies from Atayal elders and other individuals, raising questions about their credibility. This lack of clarity made it challenging to determine whether certain information was accurate or appropriate for inclusion in the report. Lastly, in the writing phase, we struggled with organizing and presenting the information effectively. While compiling the report, we frequently sought advice from our teacher on how to structure the content. Questions arose about what the introduction should include and which aspects of the data should be emphasized to align with the report’s main theme. Furthermore, learning how to present all the collected data in an organized way is another challenge. These issues required repeated adjustments and an awareness of writing skills.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Art is a lesson worth exploring in life, and Taiwan's aboriginal culture is one of the most precious chapters in this lesson. Through our website promotional activities, we are able to gain a deeper understanding of the rich artistic expressions and cultural connotations of Taiwan's aboriginal people, and to experience the aboriginal people's profound understanding of nature and life in each and every one of their arts and crafts from the aboriginal people's lives. Through the introduction of the website, the sharing of special topics and practical experience, we can feel the charm of the intermingling of art and culture.

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

This CyberFair program helps us to improve some of the hard and soft skills that we have learned in school.

In terms of hard skills, the most important one is the ability to write in English. The CyberFair project required all content to be written in English, which provided us with an opportunity to practice how to logically express our ideas and opinions in English. As we researched and investigated the history and culture of different groups of Taiwanese aborigines in this project, it gave us the opportunity to learn and understand vocabulary related to Taiwanese history or Taiwanese aboriginal culture. This also helped us to improve our English reading skills in order to understand the requirements of the project and answer some questions related to the project.

Another important hard skill we learned in the CyberFair project was digital literacy skills. The project required us to create a website and use different types of digital tools and platforms, such as Canva or Google Docs, which allowed us to understand how to use various tools to achieve our goals on the computer.

In terms of soft skills, the CyberFair program helped us improve our critical thinking skills. This allowed us to learn how to integrate, analyze, and relate the information we gathered to make conclusions or decisions.

Secondly, the CyberFair program helped us improve our collaboration and communication skills. The project required a lot of group discussions and exchanges, which helped us learn how to effectively communicate with different members of the group and how to divide the work within the group to achieve the final goal.

Third, the CyberFair program helped us improve our problem-solving skills. For example, we encountered many unforeseen problems during our interviews with respondents. This experience allowed us to learn how to handle such situations and find effective solutions.

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Project Elements

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

Completing the CyberFair website typically involves using various tools and technologies to research, communicate, collaborate, and create content effectively by taking steps in sequence. We used the Wi-Fi from school and home, and we used electrical tools such as laptops, tablets, cell phones, and earphones, helping our team to complete the CyberFair successfully. To begin the research, we used Google to gather information from the past. Sources like news, historical documents, movies, and photos are all used to introduce the Seediq culture. Next, we communicate with other teammates using communication tools and social media. We use tools such as Gmail and Instagram to notify and discuss as a group when we are not available to communicate face-to-face. Then, for the interviews with the locals, due to the distance from the tribe and the funding needed, we decided to use Google Meet for the interview. This helped us not only save time but also money when we needed to go to a far place. Also, during the interview, cell phones and tablets were used to take pictures and record the meeting, to help our team analyze the information more easily. Recording audio and the meeting can allow us to review the information we learn from the meeting when we need it. Finally, creating content uses different tools for different designs. When making graphs such as bar charts, we use Canva for the visual, making the visual better with color and illustration. When setting up the website, we built it by using WordPress, so we can show the result over many months to people who visit our website clearly and easily.

Overall, by following the sequential approach, we are able to complete the project successfully making full use of the information tools and technology.

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

While completing this CyberFair project, we made multiple posters, videos to present to people. We used online resources to research our project, and also used a more effective way to let people know Seediq and those native Taiwanese easily. We made five posters and printed them all out. Later on, we presented them in different places in our school. Such as in front of the office of student affairs, school hall, and in front of the school gate, etc. Every long recess, we had to stand in front of the school hall, presenting our posters and videos with the big screen on the wall. In our presentation, we talked about our experience after the interview with the chairman of Seediq tribe. Moreover, we also present the information that we have gathered from the chairman. Subsequently, we created some Google forms and sent it out to students in our school to ask for their opinion and ideas, about what perspective they want to get a better insight on within our project. After we answer these questions, not only the students that asked these questions gain a better understanding of the Seediq tribe, we also learn from these questions and try to give other people a more complete and comprehensive version. In addition, we also did some interviews with some of the students, asking them about their thoughts of Taiwanese native people. If they don’t have any idea about it, which most of the students had problems with, we would explain our posters and videos in detail to them.

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

Our project has the potential to impact various aspects of society, including promoting education, social movements, and fostering friendly services. In this report, we focus on the history and culture of the Seediq people, using the film Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale as a starting point to explore the development of the Seediq tribe. Through this, the public can clearly understand the hardships faced by Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples during the Japanese colonial period. This not only sparks discussions and draws attention but also evokes public sympathy, ultimately benefiting Indigenous communities.

By documenting the history of the Seediq people, we aim to enhance public awareness of the uncertainties present in the film’s depiction, particularly its use of exaggeration, which may make the storyline less accurate. This effort helps the audience gain a deeper understanding of the true history of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples, thus promoting educational awareness. Furthermore, the report has the potential to inspire social movements. For instance, the deeds of Mona Rudao, as highlighted in the report, might evoke empathy among the Atayal people, potentially leading to protests or marches that form a type of social movement. Additionally, the tragic experiences of Indigenous peoples described in the report could resonate with non-Indigenous individuals, encouraging them to advocate for new Indigenous-friendly services. For example, employers might reserve one or two job positions to help Indigenous people secure employment and create sustainable livelihoods. Although the above arguments are speculative, with sufficient promotion, we believe our report could have significant influence. It has the potential to drive societal education, foster understanding of Indigenous history, and promote initiatives that support Indigenous communities, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and equitable society.

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

In preparation, we found people who were very influential on our chosen topic. We contacted the director of Seediq Youth Association.

Before conducting the interview, we brainstormed many in-depth questions, hoping that this interview would give us a deeper understanding of the Seediqs. In order to give our best performance during the interview, we rehearsed many times in school. Whether it is rehearsing with the teacher or other students, it is a great help to us and allows us to have a good understanding of the interview content. During the interviews, we asked questions we wanted to know and recorded the answers we heard. Thank you to the director for accepting our interview invitation, and also thank you for providing us with some photos and videos in the tribe. We learned a lot during this interview. After the interview, we organized the information into documents and carefully confirmed the details of each message. The process of collation allowed us to extract the best from lengthy interviews and facilitated more in-depth analysis. Overall, our interviews were comprehensive and we effectively documented all the information we obtained.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

During this CyberFair program, we visited the Taiwan Aboriginal Museum to gain a deeper understanding of the life and culture of Taiwan's aboriginal people. Through viewing various exhibits and interactive experiences, we gained a better understanding of the traditional costumes, food habits, ceremonies, and language characteristics of the aboriginal people. During the visit, we had the opportunity to interact with aboriginal cultural practitioners and learn about the challenges they face in preserving and developing their culture.

This experience allowed us to make many new discoveries, such as the cultural differences between different indigenous peoples and how they maintain their cultural uniqueness in modern society. In addition, we learned how to think about and interpret Aboriginal cultures from different perspectives, and how to promote these cultural characteristics to a wider audience through the production of posters and videos.

What surprised us most was that many of the students did not know much about Taiwan's aboriginal culture, and even had some misunderstandings. Therefore, we decided to organize sharing sessions and exhibitions to let more people know and respect Taiwan's aboriginal culture, and to further promote cultural understanding and tolerance. This experience allowed us to not only increase our knowledge, but also learn how to become cultural promoters!

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