School: Tzu Chiang Primary School
    Hualien, Taiwan, R.O.C

11 students, ages 11~12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 14, 2007. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2000

Classes and Teachers: LIU ZHI YEN,.....

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.tcps.hlc.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2007/gsh4924/english/narrative.htm The main idea of “hospice palliative care” is from the concept of “ Thanatology”. Because talking about death is a taboo subject to the folks in Taiwan. We now named it the theory of living and death. Recently, Education for life has become a important topic that all schools want to introduce to students. The Heart Lotus Ward is located in a wonderful place full of beautiful nature scenery between mountains and sea. There is no better place to provide hospice palliative care in Taiwan. From those experiences that we contacted The Heart Lotus Ward, we’ve found out that each one of us can face death like……

2. Summary of Our Project

http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2007/gsh4924/english/narrative.htm “How to die with dignity” has become an important issue to the advanced cancer patients and also to the hospice palliative care. It is an ideal of emphasizing comfortable death, but not lengthening the length of life. This ideal also shows the value of one’s remaining years. Hospice palliative care connects humanistic care with medical technology, and offers the best care and treatment to the parting patients. Hospice palliative care in Heart Lotus provides the patients with holistic care, team care, Family care, and continuing care. The team members include doctors, nurses, social workers, volunteers, psychotherapists, and spiritual caregivers. All members are not only taking care of the patients to the end, but also pulling the patients’ family through the sorrow. The Heart Lotus Palliative care takes care of the physical, the mental and the spiritual of the patients and their family. The Heart Lotus seek a win-win situation between clinical institution and the patients.In this project, we hope our students can build a healthy attitude toward the issue of death. We also expect these children can realize the particular meanings of hospice palliative care.

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:4-6

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):

In our School, we have two computer classrooms equip with whole set area internet system through ADSL to TANet, so we can all work together with the computer conveniently. In our team members’ home, each of our team members owns a computer and is used to search information through internet. Though some of us are not familiar with the software “Dreamwaver”, and some of us do not know how to use FTP. All of our team members learned to use it this time.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The First problem that we had to overcome was to decide a good topic. The second big problem that teachers were really worried about was how to help students build a correct attitude while facing terminal patients. Some other problems that we had to overcome are like: difficulty of contacting to hospital, medical personnel, and patients. Lacking experience of interview is also a big challenge. Besides some students don’t have enough computer skills, and we don’t have enough time to get together and discuss to have a common view.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Respect the dignity life. One who cherishes lives owns one’s life.

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

We have life education in the curriculum. Our school once invited mental consultants to give students speech about life issue and about the issue of committing suicide. However, this project talks more about death than all the other school activities and speech. During the project, students had more time and chance to talk about death and explore what they really have or fear in the depth of their mind than usual. All students in the project can visit the terminally ill patients directly, so that they can also learn how to face people with correct attitudes. In order to complete the project, students had to learn how to make web pages. Teaching students how to make webpage caused teachers quite some time, but teachers were all surprised by the work that students can do. Our teachers found that new computer skills can be learned well by students as long as they have chance to present what they learned.

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

We have 60 good computers in our school, so our 11 students can all use computers freely. We used telephones to connect to the hospital. We learned information about the ward by watching video first. We took down every interview by using digital cameras. We scanned good pictures so we can put it in our web pages. We learned something about the Heart Lotus Ward by studying in the ward library in which some information can’t be found in other place. Students like the skill of up load and down load data with FTP. they found that is really a good way to exchange data to each other.

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

Playing records and singing song for the patients was what we supposed that students can perform for the patients. When we found out that we have one student really good at playing Chinese harp, and she is so good that not only the patients, medical personnel but also teachers and schoolmates were surprised by her outstanding playing skill. Even when another kid can’t played Chinese harp as good as the best one, patients realized that students do not just come and visit. They found students devote all their energies to really want do something special and only for them. That touched them. So when the kids interview patients, they were willing to talk. Children showed their care when patients talked. All of our kids play the best ambassador roles to send love to the ward.

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

We believe that we are a very special group to the patients in the Heart Ward. We teachers and students can’t provide any professional assistants to the patients or to the ward. On the contrary, because most of our students never had to face the situation like this, we have to learn and ask a lot of information from them. However, we also believed that we brought some joy to the patients. During the project, our students felt shock when they know one patient who they were talking to has passed away. They take life and death more seriously than ever. We think that could be a very important experience to kids, and even their parents. Parents expressed that they were surprised by the change and growth of their child.

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

We have to thank Dr. Wang, who is the physician in charge. He shared us why he work for the patients in The Heart Lotus Ward and told us why we should learn to understand the reason this ward is held. We want to thank the charge nurse as well. she was so kind that she introduced us to patients as often as she can. She also kept reminding us that we should be careful when we are talking to terminally ill patients. The volunteers are also very important to us, they were not only showing their love to patients but also being so friendly to us. Mostly, we want to thank to the patients who share their story to us. Through their stories, we do learn the importance of cherishing what we have and who we love. Big thanks to them all.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

People don’t have to be so depressed when they are facing death. We can say so because we do know someone who always laughs when he face the end of his life. One’s attitude decide whose life quality. People cherishes lives owns his life.