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1. Description of Our Community
Our community is located in the north-eastern part of Pintung County, it is a small village belonging to the Paiwan Tribe and for two hundred years we used to live in the upper part of Wan-An River, however in the Japanese Occupation Period, to make concentrated management easier, the Japanese forced our tribes-people to relocate to the slopes of Mt. Liding, but due to living inconveniences after the revolution we again relocated to our present place, at the base of the mountain, which, was translated from Japanese into Jiayi Village, belonging to the Majia Township in the Pintung County. The shape of the land is in the form of a longitudinal rift-valley with Mt. Liding at the back and the Chaochou Fault in front, its widest part spans 770m and the narrowest measures 140m. Pineapples are planted on the flatlands of our region and it is a peaceful paradise.
2. Summary of Our Project
Jiayi Village has hundreds of years of history, but after 3 relocations what our ancestors left behind are slowly being forgotten by the young generation, whose memories are becoming more and more vague. If you climb up Mt. Liding behind the village and look down all that can be seen are remnants of the village, with short stone-walls and remains of houses these are all parts of the past, yet tourists come and go while climbing the mountain only for exercise, it is a waste that they can not stop and appreciate the people and culture. In recent years, ecotourism has become widespread and this village was also acknowledged as a National Maolin Scenic Area, with Paiwan Totems and structures in the vicinity having been gradually constructed by the National Maolin Scenic Area Administration Office. It is a shame that few people know of this peaceful and meaningful village, thus a team was assembled with the hope that, through a detailed seminar, more people will become familiar with, understand and discover this beautiful land.
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:4-6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
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 internet environment utilizes the ADSL line provided by the Pintung County Internet Center to connect to the academic network. There is a computer room in the school that, in November 2005, was refurbished with 18 new P-IV computers, and although the screens are small and old it is still the most favored place for students. Routinely, outside computer classes’ time the other disciplines can also utilize the computer room to accommodate its syllabus, and during lunch-break it is open to students with the register system, therefore while participating in the Cyberfair the team members had all sacrificed their lunch-breaks to use the various equipments of the computer room, and together with the assistance of volunteer educators and teachers the seminar was successfully completed.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
(1) Lack of Computer Software: After a year of hard work and searching for aid, the computers of the school were finally updated, but there were no applications in the computers for picture, movie or webpage editing, which was a real difficulty. In the end, with help from the personal equipments provided by the school’s teaching staff and the computers of the volunteer big-sisters, the seminar was completed. We would like to express our deep appreciation here. (2) Humanitarian Data Collection: The period, from Jiayi Village’s relocation to Mt. Liding’s slopes during the Japanese Occupation Period, to its current location after the revolution, spans over 80 years. During this time, there were no literature or photographic records and those that can remember the past are few, many only by word-of-mouth, thus the accuracy of the humanitarian history collected can only be done through multiple personal accounts, where questionable points and personal issues were deleted. The conversations with the chiefs in their mother-tongue were translated with the help from teachers who are fluent, and through questions and answers the problems confronted by all members were solved.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
Caitou: Although it wasn’t my love but I had already immersed myself in it, with more time spent every year and after repeated visits I felt more of the importance of historical records. Many people, events and objects disappear in a flash and can’t ever be retrieved. Although this was taxing on stamina, it required more of perseverance and determination Hsiao-ning: I feel that this competition has taught me many things – it allowed me to learn how to plant pineapples, how to make dried-pineapples, where the village people came from, ins and outs of the village in the past etc. I also learnt about the history of Jiayi Village and I hope that we achieve a good result in this competition! Go! Hsiao-ling: I am really happy that I participated in this webpage event, since through participation we could learn about how our people lived earlier by finding and visiting many chiefs and asking about how they kept the old lifestyles. This Cyberfair was pretty fun and gave me many memories! I have worked so hard in making the webpage to increase my knowledge and learn about nature, and I hope that the students that will participate again will appreciate every second of minute of it.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
1. Collaboration of Society and Teaching: While researching for the Cyberfair we used every Wednesday afternoon and public holidays to visit various parts of the village and with the photographs, knowledge and feelings obtained we were able to present to our classmates, who, through each photograph, could also experience our joy and growth, as during discussions they were often surprised that there were such rich and colorful content in the community we lived in. After the students’ interest was aroused they would ask their parents, “Where did we come from?”, and they would conduct visits with us on Wednesday afternoons and would frequently enquire whether there was any new findings. 2. Cultivate Our Sentiments To the Land: During the research process, we truly exited the schoolyard to further learn about our community. We also introduced our community to the local people to teach them of its beauty. Through the internet, the residents away from home could also feel the warmth of their home, sooth their nostalgia and allow them to be proud of their tiny Jiayi Village. Thus, we all worked hard while cheering one another throughout the event, and it is hoped that through the capabilities of internet this small mountainside Paiwan Village can be made known to outsiders, so that we can all share this pure, untouched, and unique beauty. 3. Our Progress and Growth: During the research process every student could transform from the role of the worker to a project planner, they could also change from a listener to the speaker, and also from reader to writer, they knew how to ask, record, sort the data to become their own, and they knew that if we didn’t do it now, then more historical culture will be lost to “I think heard that..” or “Once upon a time..”.
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