School: Taipei Municipal Nei Hu Senior High
    Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan

7 students, ages 15-17 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 21, 2003. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 1999, 2000

Classes and Teachers: [Students] LIU, Ying Chun; HSU, Mei Ju; CHIOU, Mao Feng; YANG, Shih Hung; LIN, Po Hung; HUANG, Ching Lun; HUANG, Pei Hua [Teachers] HUNG, Li Li, CHUNG, Chao Hsuan

E-Mail contact:

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

1. Description of Our Community

Taiwan is an isolated, densely populated island country in East Asia. Our geographical community includes people who live around the biggest lake 'Ta Hu' in northern part of Taiwan (Taipei district); our functional community comprises members of Taipei WetNet (http://www.taconet.com.tw/ChCHUNG/frame/index_frame.htm) and people who get in touch with Ta Hu in various ways.

2. Summary of Our Project

In responding to the International Year of Freshwater (IYFW) and the 2003 World Wetland Day, we are going to prepare a status report about Ta Hu. By this project, we may learn more about the freshwater crisis, globally and locally. We will also find a chance to determine the state of pollution of this lake and to introduce the lake to the global society.

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:none

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6

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

The computer classroom and the library in our school are connected to the Internet by 1.5M ADSL. Connection speed used at home varies from dialup to two-way broadband (up to 10M).

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The biggest problem is not the lack of digital camera or good scanner, nor the lack time to get together and discuss after school. The challange is that all of us are not good at English. It is the success in Taiwan Cyberfair (recognized as a nominee on 3/14) inspiring us to participate the international contest, regardless that we might be viewed as 'foreigners' in campus from now on. Luckily we found several online dictionaries, which made the work much easier. We also used a lot of graphics to replace the words that are hard to translate.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

For political reasons, Taiwan government is not allowed to join the international society. But that does not mean we do not want to be a member of the global village, and it does not mean there is no problem in need of international concern in Taiwan. We hope to connect the world and the place where we live directly, by this project, on our own, starting from the lake.

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

By cyberfair project, we have a chance to get in contact with local people and environment. This fulfill the Ministry of Education’s requirement about ‘community as campus’. During the study, members have to learn about map use and identification of various beings, which increase their knowledge about geography and biology, especially the ecology of a lake. The most important of all, members realize the power of group work through discussion and communication.

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

We used conventional and mobile phones (inclding SMS, short message service), cameras, a scanner, a digital tape recorder to collect information. We visited 7 libraries and 9 organizations (including government, irrigation association, and personal studio) to consult printed documents and peoples' opinion. As it is difficult to find a common time for everyone to get together, we also set a virtual community to exchange photos, ideas and half-finished webpages.

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

Some of us live next to Ta Hu, so we started by visiting neighbors and friends of members' parents. We found that a face-to-face interview brought the most information. If you just call someone to ask about his/her opinion on a construction case, they might think that you are a reporter from news company and hang off the phone. Our seniors in Taipei WetNet helped a lot in organizing a free workshop (2003. 2/8-9 and 3/9) about wetland protection for us, so we got a chance to show what we learned from cyberfair project and to collect others' comments.

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

Our project has build a model of ‘lake watch’ among Taipei WetNet, which other member clubs can follow and start their own lake projects elsewhere. Using the lake as an example, we also provide a chance to make people rethink about the link between the importance of environmental protection and human culture. Many people we visited are expecting to see our website in English.

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

The Chief of Nei Hu District and several local borough chiefs kindly let us do the interviews. During the First Taipei Public Art Festival (2002. 12 – 2003. 1), the guards warmly introduced various creations for us. The fishing fanatics around the lake told us what kind of fish they got. Many seniors and members of Taipei WetNet provided cherish ideas and data, including a water quality monitoring kit (costs about USD$450).

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Last year we joined the 3rd Taiwan Schools Cyberfair by the project ‘Nei Kou Under The Shadow of Trash’ about the issue of building the third landfill in Taipei, and we got opposing opinions at two extremes. This year we planned at first to study an easier topic that will not get on one's nerves. However, we found that the lake is filled up due to the road construction, and the road construction is related to the new route of garbage trucks. Although we did not throw the trash into the lake, if we just sit there, we will become the ‘particeps criminis’ of the lake killer.