School: Hong-Yep Primary School
    Yangping township, Taitung, Taiwan

12 students, ages 10-11 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 20, 2004. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2004

Classes and Teachers: Mei-yu Pai,Wei-yueh Chen,Mei-chuan Chen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.hyps.ttct.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

Vagang(Hong-Yep), in the midst of forest, is the hometown of little league baseball team that beat the Japanese and became world champion in 1968. Here are the famous Vagang Hot Springs and the Conservation of Cycads. The local Bunun community is known for the Pasipudpud, a chorus of eight vocals. The ancient Bunun used to roam the Vagang Valley, the maple forest, and Labunuk, in upper North Ssu-Kao Stream.

2. Summary of Our Project

Vagang(Hong-Yep) is rich both in nature ecology systems and ancient wisdom. The Bunun, after drifting from one place to another, finally settled down in Vakagan Village. They lived on the mountains and the forests. They hunted and planted millet. They sustained themselves and shared what they had with the community. The Bunun wisdom, as is told by the elders, is to keep the ecology balanced, and to prosper with the nature at the same time. However, as time went by, the petite Bunun today would not be able to live in the way of their ancestors. So the hunters, with the courage endowed by ancestors, will adventure instead into their community’s history. We will search and explore with these people. We’d keep a digital version of the Bunun stories as a testament to the people who thrive on this ancient land. And our best gain is the knowledge we learned. We’ll reveal how our ancestors lived peacefully with each other, community and the nature environments. We want to share the Bunun wisdom and the stories of Vagang with the world.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:less than 20

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:4-6

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

For city kids, to go online is easy. Their earning environment is superb. They keep up with technology advancement. Those guys are on the other end of spectrum. In Vagang, the only opportunities that we can go online are the ten-minute breaks between class, at noon, after school, or during the weekends. The only access that we have is to the nine computers in the PC classroom. The links are unstable and slow. A familiar scenario is, a child did her or his best in securing one of the computers during the breaks, only to hear the bell ring—time for next course—as soon as she or he is online. So we have to spend a lot of time and be very patient when we want to upload data or search for something. We have Ethernet LAN, but we’re in the mountains. The phones and Internet connections are frequently cut off when it gets windy, rains heavily or when the after shocks of earthquakes hit—as they often do after the big quake mid-December, which was measured 6.6 on Richter’s scale.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The scope of our project was large, and we have tons of things to do. To be effective, we planned ahead and had everyone informed of it. We decided assignments and details together, and we became a team. The teamwork contributed to our project. To have the first-hand experience and get more insight into the community, we spent a lot time interviewing the elders, the leaders and people of different walks. The interviews were often extended, as they were very rewarding, and the schedules were badly delayed. But editing the footages, writing the reports and the discussions helped us to understand more about our hometown. It’s a pity that our teammates could not talk directly to the elders. They don’t speak the Bunun quite well yet, and had to rely on Ms. Pai for interpretation and explanation. The petite dau pas resolved to learn the Bunun well. They found that the mother language is a window through which to observe a culture, and when they speak Bunun, they could talk directly to the elders. Thanks to the Petite Digi-Heroes Project, we are more organized now. We incorporated the project into our curriculum, making good use of the class hours in Monday and Wednesday afternoons. We planned for the curriculum, project research, and procedures in mid-2003. We always met before major events and reviewed them afterwards. We had to work on the project during the weekends as we were occupied during weekdays. Another reason was that the instructors, the Digi-Agents from National Taitung University, and the school teachers, rode long hours on the motorcycles to the Vagang on weekends to help with the interviews and discussions. Thanks to the Petite Digi-Heroes Project, we are more organized now. We incorporated the project into our curriculum, making good use of the class hours in Monday and Wednesday afternoons. We planned for the curriculum, project research, and procedures in mid-2003. We always met before major events and reviewed them afterwards.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Our project couldn’t have been possible if there weren’t so many friends who supported, encouraged and prayed for us. Thank you for your love. We’re different because of it. Now we feel blessed, confident, happy, and wanting to learn. We’re very grateful for all the Bunun people who passed on the almost extinct cultural skills to the young Bunun heroes. There were many readily available data on the Internet, but we decided to build our Web site with personal experiences and use the Internet resources as reference. So first-hand materials are available throughout our Web site. It marks the accumulated effort by petite dau pas to know more about the Bunun community. We learned about the people, their place, and local history because we went everywhere for the project. We followed many Bunun stories. They were about sadness, courage, hardship, love, and sharing. The lessons were beyond knowledge, and not taught in the school texts. We began to care for the place we live in, for community affairs, and with our newly learned computer skills, kept a wonderful record of our hometown. The petite heroes became skilled in PC applications through the project, and were now able to create their own Web pages. They were good at digital equipment, like camcorders, digital cameras, and shooting techniques. We tried our best to produce the most complete records.

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

The education reform has redefined the classroom as more than a place to pass on knowledge. With the International Schools CyberFair project, Vagang breathed in new air and the rigid mood was gone. We incorporated local history and features into curriculum, and began to create a course unique to our school. The multiple learning experiences enriched the pupils’ lives, nurtured their talents and built up their confidence. The pupils developed their abilities in exploring and resolving questions through field learning experience. They were more independent and enjoyed self-learning after the project. The research materials and the Web pages will be the center piece of local history and PC courses in the future. The Vagang Elementary School will definitely take part in the CyberFair years to come. In the process of providing for a project, we’d be able to enrich our courses, and lead the children to know the place where they live in. The shared memories in childhood are the beginning of love to one’s hometown, and resources of confidence and drives. We believe as the more they know about Vagang, the more assured they’ll be when they face the world at large.

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

1.Visiting the priest, the sorcerer, the elders, the oldest hunter, the people of the Bunun Culture and Education Foundation, the potter, Uncle Tien, and so on, were the features of this project. 2.Interviews and experiences: a) Experiencing how to set traps to catch game. b) Experiencing how to harvest ramie and spin cloth. 3.Library： Searching for related books and pictures as project references 4.Books and films on native people： Searching for locally available data, pictures and films about local people. 5.Internet and overhead projector: a)Studying the works of previous CyberFairs. b)Introducing the purpose of CyberFair. c)Building Web pages for the coming CyberFair. d)Messaging each other via Internet. 6.Digital recorders: Used in interviews. The files in recorders were inserted in the Web pages. 7.Digital cameras: They caught very moment of the project and kept our best memories. 8.Digital camcorders: The whole research process was recorded and inserted into the Web site. 9.Scanners and printers: The drawings, pictures and works of pupils were scanned and kept as files. Printers were used for printing files. 10.Memory sticks, CD-RW： These file storages were handy when transporting files to PCs short of Network connections. 11.Digital cameras, digital camcorders, and image cards： Taking photographs and shooting the interviews, and converting the interview files into VCD. 12.Computer software: Using Frontpage to create personal Web pages and Web pages for the CyberFair. Using Photoshop for simple image processing. Using FlashMX and Office to enrich the Web pages.

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

The teammates talked to their parents about our project, and asked the stories and histories of their hometown. We made sure to visit every interviewee personally one week before the scheduled interview. We would confirm the times, venues, the subjects, and share with them our ideas for the project. The Interviewees always responded well and encouraged us. We used a 50-minute slot in the PTA meeting of early September to introduce the CyberFair project. All parents agreed with and supported us, as it was a very meaningful event. We also contacted the Bunun Culture and Education Foundation to share the project with more Bunun people

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

We had planned to interview an elder Bunun who served as messenger for the Japanese and was older than the other people we had interviewed. But he passed away in the summer of 2003! We were sad upon hearing the news, not only because an elder person died, but because some of the Bunun culture went away with him. If we had learned about the CyberFair project sooner, we could have known more stories about Labunuk and the Bunun. We began to understand our hometown, and fell in love with Bunun culture through the project. We feel the urge to learn Bunun language well. We wanted to be able to chat with the Bunun elders, because they have the experience and wisdom that you don’t find in the books. The project made us mature and became more capable. We wanted to put our community on the Web so that people throughout the world will share the stories of Vagang with us.

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

1.All Bunun People: We want to thank all the Bunun people. Without your help, the project would have been incomplete. The work brought the Bunun together. 2.The Bunun Culture and Education Foundation: The Bunun Culture and Education Foundation provided the footage of Labunuk, historical materials, and transportation and tour guides for the petite dau pas visiting Labunuk. 3.The people in our community： a)Mr. Te-ming Chiu, the community pastor： For telling us what happened when the Bunun traditions and taboos met with the belief of Christianity. b)Mr. Dama-Lien, the Sorcerer： For explaining the Lapaspas, traditional Bunun sorcery and taboos. c)Baian Dama Binma, Mr. Hui-Min Tien： For introducing the Bunun artifacts and traditional songs. d)Mr. Tamaahudaz, the oldest hunter： For telling us his life in Labunuk, the history of Bunun and the heroic events of how Haisul fought against the invading Japanese. e)Mr. Hsien-cheng Lin, the Bunun potter He told us about the Bunun earthenware and volunteered to instruct us in how to make them. f)Mr. Kuo-yuan Wang, the Bunun hunter： He led us to the mountains and showed us the hunting techniques and how to set traps. g)Siva, Buni and Savi： They taught us how to harvest ramie and made it into cloth. h)And, Mei-Lan Cheng and Hsiu-Wen Hu： They volunteered to help with the project. 4.The Hope Agent Development Association, Republic of China(Taiwan)： We are grateful for the help that the Hope Agent Development Association has given us, which was essential to our successful completion of the project. The HADA provided critical resources, including prevailing upon ET Mall in providing us equipment, and encouraged and supported us by taking part in many of our activities. 5.The ten great persons from the Information Club, National Taitung University： They gave up many precious weekends to coach the petite dau pas in using the digital gadgets for creating the Web pages. 6.And many, many others： There are many more to give thanks. We may not name each of you, but our appreciation is the same.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

The CyberFair Project is a new experience to all of us. We learned a lot through the project. It was like a long and winding road home. In the past, the walls of the school blocked us from the hometown next to us. And then they were crushed through the use of technology applications. It was amazing that our home is so close, yet so refreshing to us. We’re finally home in the search of the project, and found the beauty of Vagang. The interviews, as were required by the CyberFair project, revealed that we have a common problem. We speak Mandarin Chinese better than our Bunun language because of schooling and social expectations. At the same time, we strayed away from the traditional wisdom as it was passed on through the generations in our mother tongue. That is why we have a shared revelation. We have got to learn Bunun language well. The research was meaningful because the project became part of our lives. We talked about the wonders of the sorcerer’s magic. We were moved and shared the pride of being Bunun after reading and comparing the Wushe Incident and Labunuk Incident. The way our teachers explained how the traditional Bunun made clothes from ramie, and took pictures of our classes…our research was not detached. It was in our lives. The project was much more meaningful than we had thought. It was a sweet burden that we have to pass on the traditions to the next generation. We are grateful for the angels and partners who kept us company and every friend who supported and encouraged us. Thank you. Our gratitude is beyond words.