School: Ta-Ren Girls' Senior High School
    Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan

6 students, ages from 16 to 17 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 14, 2001. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 1

Classes and Teachers: Teachers: Hsiang Nai-Wei, Liu Ling-Lin, Yeh Bo-Hsiu. Students:Lin Chia-Hui, Tsao Hsiao-Ying, Chou Yi-Chien, Hsu Fei-Shan, Yang Yueh-Han, Cheng Shu-Hui

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.trgsh.tp.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

¡@¡@Among the twelve districts of Taipei City, only Nei-Hu has the natural beauty of the mountains and lakes. It is also well-known as a tourism place which is full of historical ruins or relics.

2. Summary of Our Project

¡@¡@In our research, we classify all the historical sites into four types: temples, mausoleums, relics, and ponds. We chose some representative places to introduce and present them to the public. Through this research, we hope everyone can know more about the relics from the history, and to make the relics the evidence to prove the history. Under this interaction, we explore the development of Nei-Hu and have a better understanding about the history of Nei-Hu, our hometown.

¡@

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:1

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

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):

We linked to the T1 line through the Academia Sinica.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

¡@¡@We thought it would be easy to conduct our research project at the time we registered, so we didn't care much about the time pressure and neither did we follow the schedule. To our astonishment, all kinds of problems emerged in the last half month. Firstly, more than half of our members had to study at school at night, and it was hard for them to finish their task on time. Secondly, we didn't have enough computers for all of us to work together. Worst of all, every time when we were going to take pictures for our research, it started to rain, so we had to put it off. We often worried that we couldn't complete our homepage in time if we couldn't collect enough materials. But fortunately we could always get enough materials. Sometimes we had arguments so we'd got to learn to communicate with each other in order to reach an agreement. While conducting the research, we were dealing with homework and tests at the same time. What we could do was sit in front of the computer and burn the midnight oil. Even though we had encountered so many obstacles, we didn't give up. We didn't how we get them over. Maybe that was all because of our strong determination and our cooperation.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

You'll never know what it is until you're in it. Actions speak louder than words.

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

¡@¡@¡@ We should know more about Nei-Hu because it's the place where we were born and grew up. We did it not for tests but for the desire of knowing our hometown. Actually, we do learn a lot about the history of Nei-Hu when we were visiting several historical sites. Because of this project, our friendship was deepened. We worked together, enjoyed together, and suffered together. While the deadline was approaching, we (six members) locked ourselves in the computer room and tried to complete our work as fast as we could, as if we were in a newspaper office and waiting for newspapers to be printed out. We felt easy at first, but soon we became nervous, and even sort of crazy at last. Each of us worked on different part of the project, but we stuck together tightly. By interacting with each other, we all learned that speaking out what we think and how we feel occasionally could reduce confrontations. And we were all willing to sacrifice our free time in order to complete the project as soon as possible. Internet is a product of the modern technology. A Chinese old saying goes, "You can know everything in the world without leaving home." And that is true in today's world. Many people try to substitute Internet for the traditional ways of teaching. However, Internet grows so fast but it lacks of humanity and flexibility. When conducting this project, we found that computers can never replace human beings no matter how advanced they are. But we know nothing can stop computers from growing.

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

¡@¡@We used several kinds of hardware such as computers, cameras, scanners, and recorders. To make our homepage look better, we also used some software. The following is a list of all the tools we used:

Hardware:Computers. Televisions. Video recorder. Tape recorder. Modem. Scanner. Printer. Camera . telephones . Software:Ulead PhotoImpact 6.0. Micromedia Dreamweaver 3.0. Microsoft Word 2000. Microsoft Frontpage 2000. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 .Cute FTP 4.0. Others:Books. Video tapes. Newspapers. Interviews.

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

When we were thinking about whom we could ask for help, the first name that came to our mind was Mr. Chin-Jan Lin, who works for "the Studio of Nei-Hu's literature and history." After contacting him, he praised us for our spirit and he tried to help us as much as he could. In the beginning, he refused our interview because he was busy writing his thesis. But thanks to Mr. Hong-Chang Lin's help, Mr. Chin-Jan Lin accepted our interview. We really appreciate him very much. Through the interview, we not only learned more about Nei-Hu but also wanted to protect it and even to glorify it.

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

¡@ When we were visiting some historical sites, many locals wondered what we were doing. At first they thought these historical relics were not worth reaching at all, but after knowing our purpose--to discover history from these relics, they became enthusiastic, told us a few legends and even lent us some reference books. The impact on the local community seemed small, but it did arouse people's interest in searching for their roots. "If Nei-Hu's culture is gone, it is hard to get it back." Seldom people know the history of their hometown. But it's the root of our life. Only by searching our roots can we live a meaningful life. We hope we are not the only ones who benefit from this project. We put this project on our web site and hope it can remind people of the importance of culture.

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

¡@At first, the materials we found were rare. It was partly because we didn't know how to start and we often forgot what we should do. But finally we started to look for materials earnestly. One source of the materials was Mr. Ching-Jan Lin's book "The Heriloom of Nei-Hu", which became the foundation of our research. When we were visiting the historical sites, we got help from many people, such as passerby or hikers. No matter what questions we asked, such as the directions or their views, they were all glad to answer. We felt very touched. We also want to thank our parents for their support and encouragement when we were exhausted and feeling down. If we have any achievement, that is all because of them.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

¡@¡@Our project was born at the last minute before the deadline, but we all learned a lesson from this experience: perfect plan, perfect outcome. Take our project for example, one part of the project was closely related to the other part. If we hadn't finished writing the text, our homepage wouldn't have been done. And vice versa, if we hadn't had any plan for the homepage, the text might have had no organization. We realized that only through cooperation can we complete a work in time. "No pain, no gain." We felt tired, but it's worth it. Whether we will be awarded or not, "experience" is the best prize we've got.