School: Bei Yeh Elementary School
    Majia Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan

8 students, ages 11-12 years old worked together to complete this CyberFair project on January 31, 2005. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2004

Classes and Teachers: Meng-lan Fan

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.byps.ptc.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

“Makazayazaya”, which means highness and roundness, is the name of our home ---Majia Township in Paiwan language. To the east of Majia Township is Mt. Dawu, the sacred origin of Paiwan. The local residents are Paiwan people and Rukai people. Just like the Aboriginal Cultural Park, this area has many attraction spots, such as Baibingshan and Mt. Liding for mountain climbing, Liangshan Waterfall for summer resort, and Old Paiwan tribe. Many people are doing their best in various ways to improve our hometown. All in all, Majia Township is a place abundant of interests and mysteries, we just need to feel it by heart.

2. Summary of Our Project

On mentioning aboriginal tribes in Pingtung, Sandimen would come across our minds immediately and our hometown, Majia Township, is shadowed. It is our sincere wish that, by constructing this website, people can come to know Majia Township, its location as well as its attraction.

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:more than 6

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

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:2-3

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

There are 17 computers in the computer room of our school, all connected to the Internet by ADSL. As few of our families have computers, the webpage making was done in the computer room. We would like to express our gratitude to Hope Agent Development Association, who provided us with a computer and a printer.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

(1) Difficulty in making webpage: students were not familiar with page making and had little skill in this field. They had to learn how to process photos and make webpages from the very beginning. Thanks to the assistance given by those big brothers and sisters from National Pingtung University of Science and Technology MIS Department, we managed to overcome this difficulty. (2) Work division: As our computer skills varied, problems arose in dividing the work. (3) Problems in visits: Usually our interviewees had tight schedules and we had to visit them during holidays, causing much delay accordingly. Furthermore, some of our interviewees could only speak Paiwan language; we had to have a translator in our communication. (4) Outdated computers: the computers were outdated and very slow. We had to pick up a few in better conditions to do our work.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

To implement this plan, we had to visit every place in Majia Township and began to pay attention to those things we used to take for granted. We truly feel proud now that we can live in such a great place.

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

Integration into the curriculum: in order to carry out this plan, we integrated this plan into Class 601’s curriculum of this school year, such as arts, society and folk culture. We applied knowledge we learnt from the class to the plan and made it a stage to show our learning efforts. Therefore, the education on folk culture was strengthened and students’ basic abilities were improved. (2) Integration into the community resources: Starting from the students’ viewpoint, our website on Majia Township was made on the basis of field visits and joint efforts. We hope that this could concentrate the community resources and improve the sense of belongs among the community. We also wish this could uphold the overall image of the school. (3) Familiarization with the Internet: under the instruction of students from MIS Department of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, students had first-hand experiences on internet, e-mails, page making, etc. this was very helpful in narrowing the digital gap between tribes and cities.

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

1. Telephone: to contact team members and interviewees2. Digital cameras and Video cameras: to record visits and other activities.3. Scanner: to save referential data and images for web pages4. Audio recorders: to record visits and other activities.5. Books: referential materials6. Aboriginal Museum7. Questionnaires and field visits 8. Computer software: Frontpage Web page editing and making Ulead PhotoImpact Image processing Microsoft Word Document processing Internet Explorer Website browsing, and data inquiring QuteFTP Upload and download data Intercommunication between team members E-mail account and internet hard disk can be rated as the most useful information technologies. They can save web page materials and keep team members in constant contact. Apart from the computers provided by the school, a computer and a printer were sponsored by Hope Agent Development Association.

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

(1) Popularizing cultural features by website: In a diversified society like Taiwan, aboriginal culture is very important and we are proud to be part of it. However, with social progress and globalization, our culture is fading away. It is our duty not only to understand our culture, love it and keep it, but also to educate other people about our cultural features and our distinctiveness. (2) Field visits made by students: to carry out this plan, students have visited every corner of the community. By practicing embroidery, wooden sculpture, stone sculpture, singing and dancing, they have found the beauty of our culture. This is the first successful step toward understanding our culture.

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

Our community is often called Sandimen and we are used to it. We do not know how to tell others that this is Majia Township and what we have. In making the website, many local artists or merchants have given their selfless cooperation. They hope that this website could tell others that Majia Township is different from Sandimen. It is our belief that people would have different opinions about our hometown. We were very lucky that during the process we came to know many people who silently made their contribution to our community. Their efforts in preserving the cultural features of our community are really moving.

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

Language data: We borrowed some materials from the exhibition of cultural park and its website and specially noted in our website. Most materials came from the teaching materials compiled by the teachers and we have had their approval. Materials collected from questionnaire and field visits belonged to us.Photos: we shot most of the photos. Those taken from other materials were noted specially.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

It is interesting to found that some unknown clerks or housewives had excellent handicraft skills.Lessons to be learnt: some students quitted, exerting negative impact upon the team’s morale. Hence, we learned that close cooperation with team spirit is really important.