|
1. Description of Our Community
Hualien is previously an indigenous residence, where indigenes account for one fourth of the population. Ma Yuan Elementary School in Wanrong Township, Hualien County is a Bunun school, and Ma Yuan Village is also the only Bunun community in Wanrong Township. We belong to take Yatan of Bunun. Though there are less than one hundred families, we stand rock-firmly in the modern society with our traditional fortitudinous spirit and the courage of competing with the natural.
Culture is life, and it is also the accumulation of living wisdom. Only with rich ethical culture, can this clan survive continuously. Therefore the existence of the clan is to reveal the value of traditional culture. Though we admit that only when the traditional culture itself continuously absorbs and syncretizes can it survive and grow, it is a pity that in the developing process of Taiwan holistic culture, we realize that the treatment of Taiwan indigenous culture is being neglected and distorted. The whole macro environment makes the indigenous long live in the edge of resource distribution. When faced with intervention from outside force, they will lose their “confidence”, and the living culture will vanish completely, which urges the culture of indigenous to come to an end.
Taiwan is a multi-culture society. It is our hope to find out everything that we once had to enable us and the next generation to enjoy the treasure left by our ancestor through this special research.
2. Summary of Our Project
The guardian of Central Mountains ─ Bunun. For quite a long time, the indigenous in Taiwan are in the edge or bottom of society in terms of resource distribution in economy, culture and education, etc. Clansmen therefore plaint: “It’s more and more difficult to live”. In resent years, with change of political environment, Taiwan indigenous seemingly tends to approach to the society, and clansmen also gradually come to wake up. However, the times of “self-loss” is too long and we are actually in a miserable and troublesome condition of “being difficult to think”.
Therefore we visited the oldsters, church preachers and culture stuff in the village. From nuncupation of oldsters and the visible literature materials collected, we could trim the oral history of Bunun, tribe geography in every community, special hunting culture, early laws and rules of “human and divinity in one”, traditional religion fiesta, myth and legend, etc.
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: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):
(１) School internet environment There is one computer room in our school with seventeen computers in it. Although it is a small computer room, it is well and overall equipped. Every computer is connected with the internet. While the intranet of our school is connected with Taiwan Academic Network by one ADSL specific line of Hualien County Network Center.
Besides the computer room, every administrative office in Ma Yuan Elementary School is installed with computers, all of which are connected with the internet directly. We collected and trimmed information, as well as amended records in the computer room to research and plan to make this website.
(2) Home internet environment We, eight Bunun little heroes had no computer at home. Therefore, the computer room in the school seemed excessively important in noon rest time, after school and on holidays.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
(1) To overcome the difficulty in time deficiency: From signing up to handing over works (from Sep. 25th to Dec. 31st ) ”Little Digital Hero” always felt that time was too limited. Because it was the first time for us to run prizes, everything started from zero after the topic was decided. We took advantage of our noon rest time and automatically prolonged one hour after school. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, we worked till sever to nine o’clock at night. Even on every Saturday and Sunday we went to work in school.
We, little Bunun heroes worked in groups and delivered our research reports to our teachers every week, never discontinuously. This was the traditional spirit of Bunun heroes, and also the achievements that our team took pride in during the research, because every report was the personal learning experience for “Little Digital Hero”.
(2) To overcome the difficulty in computer: We have never learnt how to build websites, let alone engaged in special research. From the first day, our teachers said it was quite painstaking, and you should make mental preparation. Therefore, in these days we found out some treasure from our teachers, which enabled us to overcome the difficulties in making out subject schedule, establishing mail box, going online, researching, downloading and especially building websites.
Thanks to Hope Agent Development Association of Republic of China and ET Mall for donating one personal computer, one digital video camera (DV) and one digital camera to us, which enabled us to collect and sort information with might doubled.
Thanks to big brothers and sisters, including Chongche, Sijun, Ruiting, Yuling and Jinsi in Persian Cat Counseling Club of Hualien National Teachers College. Thank you for teaching us how to collect information, companying us to gather materials outdoors and playing with us in these months! Thank you!
(3) To overcome the difficulty in material deficiency: We, eight little Bunun heroes all lived in the tribe of Ma Yuan Village. From the months of the oldster in the village we could get some important information.
We collected related pictures and materials from school library, Hualien County Cultural Center, network and local textbooks of neighbor schools.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
“There are always footprints left on the way we have covered.” “One step, one footprint.” Everything cannot come out from imagination. Mr. Jason Lui, Director Ma and us jointed efforts to prepare for the competition. We found that our teachers were more strenuous and hardworking than us, which made us come to realize that there is no free lunch in the world, let along fruit reaped without sowing.
From the research process and materials, we also confirmed the truth that “You reap what you sow”. After all, as long as we make great efforts and do our best in the activity, we are sure to obtain fruitful achievement. We care no fame and gain, but hope love and courage from you. Please do not forget us, a group of children in remote areas.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
We believe that what we learnt from this special research report is much helpful for recognition to our clan, culture value and computer information application. We have collected lots of different kinds of Bunun culture information and myths to illustrate the meaning of culture with pictures. Although we are in low level, it is still a successful first step in our Bunun culture tour.
In computer information application, we have leant lots of skills of making website, and also leant how to handle simple image processing. Though we sacrificed our noon rest time and holidays, we thought it was very worthwhile.
| 
