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1. Description of Our Community
Yuanchang Village is located at the eastern side of the Gaotai Plateau in Luye Township, Taitung County. Neighboring to the Hsinwulue River and Coastal Mountains, Yuanchang Village is a community belonging to administrative district of Yuanan Village of Luye Township. Ethnically, most people are descendants of the Hengchun branch of Amis. They have populated along eastern Taiwan in Hualien, Taitung, and in Pingtung County at Hengchun. Because the natural environment and resources vary in different localities, the Amis ancestors must adapt themselves by learning to utilize natural resources to meet physical and spiritual demands. Thus, the Amis had the impetus to be empowered with the knowledge of local plants.
2. Summary of Our Project
Indigenous people live in the ways that follow nature, the provider of their daily supplies. They must use their intelligence to satisfy the basic needs by making the best use of what a locality provides. For the past decades, while the people were adapting themselves to modern culture, the spring of living wisdom, passing down from the ancestors, has been gradually drying away into oblivion as the elders of knowledge continue to dwindle in numbers. It is our greatest hope that by our efforts spent on this project, we will rediscover the value of the natural plants used by ancestors in their daily living, and learn to respect the power and gifts of nature. The knowledge will provide us a foundation for future researches into finding new uses for those plants. We will be able to share an edge from ancestral wisdom and experience by passing down to new lives with modern research.
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:2-3
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
In our school, we are using a computer classroom shared by the daily needs of the students. There wee a total of fourteen computers acquired in 1999. Their speeds are relatively slow by today’s standards. Our computers are networked by Microsoft NT operating systems. Our local area network (LAN) use an ADSL line to connect to the Taiwan Research Network (TANet), which provides our access to the Internet. This is how we collect our research materials and transfer reports. However, after the school, only two students can use computers from home. Most of the students don’t have computer or Internet access at home. They cannot search for information from home even if they want to. We are looking forward to having broadband Internet access in our area. We will be overjoyed if one day if modem Internet access becomes available in Taitung. In last October, through the Hope Agent Development Association of the Republic of China, we received from Eastern Home Shopping an equipment donation that includes one computer with 15” LCD screen, one digital camera, and one DV digital camcorder. This donation greatly enhanced the media recording quality of our interviews, as well as the image processing input and Internet connection speed. As students growing up in a remote area with its limitations on learning resources, we truly appreciate the generosity extended to us from individuals from across the society.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
At the beginning, village elders were reluctant to give us an interview, fearing that no one would understand what they would say, and the bad timing of interviews planned on Saturday and Sunday. The coordination efforts by Mr. Jhihmin Yang relieved their worries after our research topic was communicated to them. The interview date was set. During the course of the project research, almost everyone encountered various problems, e.g. some have after school cramming courses to go to, some have to attend church activities, and some have to stay at home baby sitting their little brothers and sisters. The delay in our schedule didn’t stop us from trying to help each other. Our spirit of helping and covering for each other gave us a sense of belonging and caring. That was the spirit that allowed us to finish our project on time. Director He was in charge of our plants mentoring. The outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in May and June, 2003, caused all of our scheduled activities to be postponed. The accumulated workload in this semester precluded him from attending many of our field trips. We were lucky to have Director Lin and Mr. Yang, who both have some basic knowledge of local plants. Guided by Mr. Yang, we got to know many new plants, which greatly enriched our research project. During the course of project research, we had many difficulties. However, they are no comparison to the caring that we received. We built up our work ethics from teamwork cooperation, self-discipline, and self-motivation for efficient project execution. When dealing with conflicts, we learned to settle them in civilized discussion, and not to elevate them by using harsh words that only destroy friendships. When dealing with difficulties, we avoided the temptation of giving up; instead, we did our best to find solutions that really solved the problem.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
I want to transform the knowledge from our ancestors by our innovative minds and turn them into world-class innovations. ～Guangjie Jhou
To the smart and adorable elders, we admire you. ～Diantai Chen
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
Our project is in alignment with the goals and principals of Taiwan Schools CyberFair. Please see following analysis: （1） The project that we have submitted with CyberFair is consistent with “1st - 9th Grades Curriculum Alignment” and “School-based Curriculum.”
Our project category is ”Local Specialties, Sports and Health,” and our topic ”Amis Folk Plants and Novelty Cooking” is consistent with the “1st - 9th Grades Curriculum Alignment” in its close relationship with “Natural Sciences and Life Technologies,” “Homeland Education,” and “Information Education.” During the project research, we got to know many local plants used by Amis. We researched the local natural environment to find out why these plants grew here. We gained the understanding of how those plants were utilized. Thus, we acquired that knowledge in the area of “Natural Sciences and Life Technology.” After knowing Amis cooking and eating traditions, we now understand more about their ancestors for their intelligence, appreciation for food, and respect for the nature. Our project is a practical application of “Homeland Education.” Finally, much of information needed for our project research was not available in school library, so we had to search the Internet for information, which was helpful in supplementing our interview and providing ideas for future interviews. Even more important is the use of computers to compile data, process images, and design project website. This is the practical application for the curriculum requirement of “Information Education,” which is part of the “Six Major Education Issues.” Therefore, we can now safely say that this project is a cross-curriculum activity, which required teachers of various specialties to help students learn the web page design for their project. This approach agrees with the educational concepts of “cooperation” and “integration” as emphasized in “1st - 9th Grades Curriculum Alignment.” School is a place for education, which is the best vehicle for the quest for knowledge and generation’s transfer of experiences. Yuanchang Village of Luye Township has completely preserved Amis culture. We hope that our efforts in completing this project Web site will put our village in the spotlight for the world to see and bring the world closer for everyone in this community. This will provide great benefits for the future developments of Yuanchang Village.
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