School: Changhua Chungshan Elementary School 
    Changhua County, Taiwan, R.O.C

6 students, ages 10-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 8, 2003. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): none

Classes and Teachers: Ms. Li-Wen Huang , Mr. Yu-Huan Huang

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.cses.chc.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

Fong  Keng  means  "Maple  Valley"  in Chinese and was named for the abundance of Maple trees in every part of the  valley.   It has been praised as  the " Shangri-La of Taiwan " for its beautiful sightseeing. The inhabitants of the  valley have been manufacturing Rice Vermicelli  for over one hundred  years.  Fong Keng is the cradle of all Rice  Vermicelli production in  Taiwan as the majority of producers  are located in this area. The sight of Rice Vermicelli sun  baking  in all parts of the valley leaves a deep impression  on people that visit the area. 

2. Summary of Our Project

Fong Keng is the main production center of Rice Vermicelli  in Taiwan but a lack of promotion makes this fact unknown in the market. Most of the makers of Rice Vermicelli act as suppliers and therefore do not actively promote a Brand name. Currently, the government plans to promote Fong Keng as the " Town of  Rice Vermicelli "  capitalizing on its fresh air, clean water, and suitable geography to help build its reputation as the biggest and best Rice Vermicelli production area. Being inhabitants of the community,  we hope to devote ourselves to participating in this promotion.

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:more than 6

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

There are 60 percent of students using the Internet at  home. Our school has ADSL networking, which is  linked to  the  Education Bureau of Changhua and there are around 110 computers in our school. The connection speed is T1.  Some of our classrooms also have local area networking. 

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

(1) On Processing -   Due to a lack of experience in web  page designing , we performed the  task by division of  labor. Then, our teachers and parents assisted us to finish the assigned task.

(2) On Interviewing -   In order to help build our experience  in  interviewing, we  made a draft and had drills before visiting  the people to  avoid stage-fright.

(3) On Communicating -  Sometimes, we had some problems of communication with the  producers,  the  authorities and   institutions  concerned, as well as our teammates. However, these problems were solved finally and we looked on them as  learning lessons.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Practice makes perfect.  From the experiences in this project, we have learned that the only way to accumulate  knowledge and enhance personal  growth is practicing. We  all learned  by such experiences.

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

(1) To unite Provincialism and Information Education　 Our research project united the knowledge of provincialism and information education. We practiced  what we have learned  and this project opened  the door of researching  about our  community. Our school hopes to implement the seven  major  fields of  learning  listed by our government  for the  children. These are Linguistic, Social, Mathematical,  Natural  Sciences, Health  & Physical Education, Arts &  Humanities, and  Mixed Fields. 　

(2) To orient our goal to human concerns. We oriented our project to human concerns to cultivate  correct learning attitudes  which are active, creative  and  cooperative. In addition, we hoped to learn  correct overall  manners.  In these times of science, technology,  and information, the human concern is the utmost! 

(3) To unite theory and practice  　 Our promotion of school and community united theory and practice. From this promotion, we have learned a lot of extracurricular knowledge. Our promotion also promoted  the  community to pay attention to their hometown. We played  the roles of reclaimer, witness and communicator of the local culture in our school community. We care about our  community and  have enthusiasm to promote and improve it.　

(4) To work in close cooperation　 We told ourselves that by close cooperation we shall succeed in our project, so we worked in harmony with the process  of researching.

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

(1)  Number and type of Computers 6 Personal Computers (Acer Veriton 7200 )

(2) Telephones Were used for communicating with teammates, teachers, related institutions, interviewees, and theservice counter of Taiwan School Net.

(3)  TV and radio stations Were used watch and listen to updated news. 

(4) Video and Digital Still Camera Were used for taking pictures.

(5) Scanner   Were used for scanning the pictures we  gathered and drew.

(6) Tape RecorderWere used for recording our oral interviews and the teachers' instruction.　

(7) Type Computer Software We applied WORD 2000、FRONTPAGE 2000、PHOTOIMPACT 7.0 、IE5.0、CUTEFTP、Dreamweaver   4.0 、ACDSee32 , etc.　

(8) Libraries、 Local Cultural Centers We consulted them on the information we needed.

(9)  Books, Magazines, and Newspapers  Were used for   gathering and cross-checking information.

(10) Museums Were consulted for the information we required.

(11) Oral Interviews We consulted old people in Fong Keng  about   the history of manufacturing Rice Vermicelli. They  gave us a lot of useful information. They are the “Living”  dictionaries  with a  history of Fong Keng.

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

(1) On school field         After drawing up our project, we acted as a guide of Fong Keng for its Rice Vermicelli  at school. We introduced the Rice Vermicelli of Fong Keng  through many posters. We  also  linked our   website  to   school   so   that   the   students could    browse   it    easily  and  get  more  information.The school joined our promotion and had an extracurricular  activity as "Rice Vermicelli, Amigo!" The activity included  a local introduction, children's literature, the taste of Rice Vermicelli, and Q&A Portion. We believe that such promotion gave the schoolmates a deep impression about our  community.

(2) On Community in the Field Firstly, we joined the promotion of the "Feast of Rice  Vermicelli" in Fong Keng, which was held and sponsored by   the Changhua government, Farmers' Association, and Council of  Agriculture of Taiwan. We acted as Volunteers to  promote the Rice Vermicelli of Fong Keng. Many visitors  praised us greatly. They said we had done much better than adults. We told them that we just carried out the task  assigned by the  project  of Cyberfair. In addition, aspiring for first hand cultural information, we visited  all the makers of Rice Vermicelli in the Fong Ken Production  Zone. We  had  many  friendly  chats  and  they  were happy  to  meet us.   We  hoped  to give  them  a  boost and told them that they were not alone  on the way of carrying on their local traditions.    

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

Firstly, our school activity of "Rice Vermicelli, Amigo!"  not only  aroused the attention of students, parents,   families, and  community to the Rice Vermicelli of Fong Keng,  but also made closer links  among them.

As to our promotion of the "Feast of Rice Vermicelli" on  our community, we made our web site known to the public.   Many visitors including news reporters, the officers of  Changhua Government  Information Bureau, councilors, etc.   inquired about our web  site. Our promotion was reported by the United News on Jan. 8, 2003.In addition, we allowed the Farmers' Association to take over our promotional posters for their own promotional use. They also suggested that we link our web site with theirs.  

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

We greatly  appreciated the  assistance  of  the  helpers  of  our community.   They  gave  us  their  "Helping  Hands"  to  complete our  project.

(1)  The Chief of Feng Yen -      Though Ms. Lee-Ling Huang  was very busy , she spent much time with us discussing with  us about the plan for promoting Fong Keng as the "Townof Rice Vermicelli". We got a lot of useful information from her.   　

(2) The Section Chief of the Farmers' Association    Ms. Shu-Yuan Lin invited us to join their activity "Feast of Rice Vermicelli" and gave us a chance of learning  about promotions  in our community.

(3)The Mayor of Changhua, The Councilor of Chang Hua, and The Superior Secretary of Council of Agriculture of Taiwan 　 They all gave us encouragement and instructions when we  promoted in the  "Feast of Rice Vermicelli"  held by the   Farmers' Association.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

(1) Discoveries on "Absorbed attention and skilled  craftsmanship" Producing Rice Vermicelli is a very hard job. We found all the makers absorb their attention and practice skilledcraftsmanship to their business. They bear hardship without complaint. We were moved by their efforts.    　　 (2)  Lessons on  "The more you experience,  the more you learn." To experience what you have learned from books, magazines, and media is very important for studying. We all learned by experience in this project research. The more you experience, the more you learn! The more you learn, the more you gain!

(3) Surprises on  "Discovering  treasures"         There  were  great  surprises  at  the  wonderful  things  after beginning  the  project.   We  found  the  makers  are  weather-wise to  get  their  Rice  Vermicelli  out  of  the  rain.   Besides,  it quite  surprised  us  that  they  seal  the  bags  by  candle  heat instead  of  electric  sealing  heater  for  some  traditional   markets  because  these  markets always require  for  the old  packing  way.   In  addition,  the  antique  farm  implements  were  a pleasant  amazement  to  us.   We  were  interested  in  their usage.