School: Kaohsiung Ying-min Junior High School
    Kaohsiun, Taiwan, Taiwan

5 students, ages 14-15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on December 30, 2003. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2002

Classes and Teachers: Miss Chen, Hsiang-chun; Mr. Chen,Hong-fu; Miss Wu,Pan-jo; Miss Chao,Pei-Ying; Yang,Wei-Ting; Huang Chun-Yi; Lin, Shi; Wang, Cheng- Yu; Wang, Cheng- Ruei

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.inmjh.kh.edu.tw/index.htm

1. Description of Our Community

Taiwan is located on the key position in the southeast Asia. With its excellent harbors around, Taiwan has its trading of products and information superior to other countries near the area. However if has also once become the hot spot of trading endangered wild life. To banish the negative image of failing in preserving wild life, the rescue center for endangered wild animals was founded. It was expected to recover the damage that had been made during smuggling, and to broadcast the notion of preserving wild animals. Moreover, the techniques and experience we learned from preserving wild animals are prepared to interchange with other countries that are dealing with the same problems. Thus this local community has been made extremely meaningful for Taiwan and even the world in preserving wild life.

2. Summary of Our Project

We set the target on the Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animal(PTRC) and study the running of its teamwork, the center’s principles and ideas, and the workers’ attitude. From its workers’ explanation and instruction, we then hope to know more about how the center is doing at the moment. At the same time, we expect to have the knowledge about the ways of preserving animals.

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:more than 6

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

Our campus network links to Internet, via the system belonging to Jung-hua communication Corp., through ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and has nearly two hundred computers connected points inside school. No matter where the information is send, inside or outside the school, the quality is rather high, so it provides teachers and student a great place to teach, study and research.

The interviews and discussions were almost made when school was off. To proceed with the compilation of information and network, we used the information resources and internet provided by Fu-Kang elementary school in Kaohsiung. Our team workers were using personal computers to surf in the net, to communicate together and to process the material and data we got.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Inevitably, we faced some obstacles:

1. We had to find time to get together with other team members. This is especially difficult for the junior high school students because we’re very busy with our schoolwork. But we tried our best to make every time we met efficient and made good use of e-mailing to communicate with each other.

2. The PTRC is located far away from where we live.(Around one and a half hour to get there by car.) Therefore making phone calls and surfing in the Internet had been done to save precious time. In the few oral interviews, we never missed any chance to ask questions.

3. Carefully planned questions are the key to the interviews and we are still improving on this skill. We learned that the purpose of doing this project was not only to collect information but also to have the chance to talk to some professionals and to exercise the arranging of gathered information.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

We got the chance to let our community know that the center has is offering a warm and comfortable home for the animals. Those people who work here without complaining are to be respected.

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

The regular activities provided by our school are not really related to the planning of careers. We hope this research can deepen our understanding of the job of preserving wild animals and we hope to share the professionals’ life value as well.

The interviews, made us clear about the differences between a job and an aspiration. To work as a team and to have the right way to solve problems are very important in any task. We also learned that every life on the earth should be respected.

We were willing to sacrifice some time on our regular schoolwork to doing this research. It was worth to know some miserable stories of wild animals becoming pets and we could feel the workers’ love toward animals. We were so touched.

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

The activities we made and the material we gathered in the center were recorded by using video and digital still cameras. The software such as Windows Movie Maker®, PhotoImpact®, and Nero Wave Editor® did a nice job on editing audio-visual material. Macromedia Flash® and Microsoft FontPage® software made a great finish on presenting our findings and results. We communicated through e-mailing and the open area on the net for this program. This was also a useful place to overcome the insufficient time for our team members to meet.

Reading some related books and attending several lecture classes have helped catching on the profile of sheltering protected animals. We hope in the future we'll really have the chance to contact with the foreign professionals, thus to become a better understanding of how the preserving program is actually working internationally.

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

From our visit the rescue center in person, we know that the living of the animals here is so different from what we see in the zoo. We were really happy to be the one that worked up the information and showed it to our schoolmates and teachers.

We have also tried to get in touch with the foreign protectors and hope to convey the improved image of Taiwan in this field.

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

We hope people can be more aware of the animals’ right of living through what we presented on the project. Cherish your pets, protect the endangered species, and stop treating animals whatever we like to make it a burden to the rescue center. We think this is something at least we can do.

We were so moved that the workers in the rescue center were so devoted to their job. They simply are the light that has warmed every single creature here. You just can’t feel how much they care until you have been there with them.

The center has been so cooperative and supportive. Whenever we visited them, they could find time to answer our questions and provide useful information. With their positive attitude to our interest, we were very sure what our research direction had the strength to stick to it.

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

The workers from the PTRC gave us a lot of support during our visits. While they were busy with their heavy routine work, they still helped to solve our problems. Their warm support really kept us with confidence.

We would also like to thank our teachers and parents. Our research couldn’t have been this far without them. They sacrificed their holidays and made everything possible we needed.And we shouldn’t forget our school (Fu-Kang elementary school), it was always there to provide the place and facilities. We couldn’t have come to a satisfying finish of the research without their help.

Our research results were edited and now shared on the internet. We hope our work can also be a contribution as an educational aid to the center.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Discoveries:

We couldn’t believe that we did accomplish the task in the end. As a junior high school student in Taiwan, the required school curriculum is quite heavy and tight for us. Time is so precious that we all had to spend our holidays in doing the research. Sometimes we were too tired and didn’t feel very well, thank our parents that their endless support which helped us succeed the task finally. This proved the saying: There is a will, there is a way.

Lessons:

We didn’t really make notes and discussed what we saw and heard after the first visiting to the center, so when we actually needed the material from the interviews, we could just trace the partly information from the photos and footages. We’ve learned the lesson: Never leave things to the last minute.

Surprises:

To our mind, the place that people keep animals tends to be messy and stinky. But the center has changed our impression. It’s so clean and organized so that it becomes a nice place for the animals and visitors. Thanks to the keepers again.