School: Fushan elementary school
    Taipei County, Fushan Village, Taiwan

8 students, ages 11-12 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: Xianping Chen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.fses.tpc.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

Fushan has inseparable relationship with Wulai. Wulai, a very well known place, is also a famous culture resort in the north of Taiwan. Its fame has widely spread in the world. Wulai is located on the upstream of Nanshih River, which flows endlessly and provides food and water to great Taipei district. Having a glance over the river basin, the scenery is fascinating, layers of mountain ridges, flourish forests and great variety of wildlife along the sides of the river, magnificent ancient forest and grand gorge. It is given the title by the ecology traveler as the Amazon ecological resort in Taiwan; the name does match the reality. Before long, “Wulai” didn’t appear in the official history book of Atayal great migration. Fushan was the original name of the tribe. Today, the tribe still exists; and Wulai has obtained its name and fame. The transition can be followed easily by visiting Fushan tribe. Let’s go into the time tunnel and begin our exploration.

2. Summary of Our Project

Fushan tribe lies in one of the mountains around Taipei. It is granted “the garden of Taipei” for its beautiful scenery and environmental diversity. Besides, it is important for being in the upriver area of urban water. Most of the children in Fushan tribe are aborigines (Atayal). These aboriginal children are eager to dedicate themselves to passing down their culture because it is fading away. By choosing different research topics and carrying out field surveys, they want to present their rich and deep culture to people outside Fushan through this CyberFair.

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:none

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:not sure

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1

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

We have a computer classroom, which includes teaching and learning computers, totally eleven computers. At the time when we received the project, there were only four computers in good condition. After reinstall the computers, all the computers are back to working condition. As for the network, because the school is in remote area, we have to connect to Daguan elementary school via ADSL, therefore, the transmission speed is not fast enough.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Our difficulties are finding the former address of aboriginal tribes, and investigating their culture. Because of the breakdown of the traditional society organization and value, and the gradually decreasing number of older generation, and the seriously vanished native language, our teachers and students have to work very hard and have strong determination to collect back the pieces of the tribe culture. We have to gather many thoughts and ideas, make very good use of all the human and material resources, grasp every opportunities, learn a completed cultural characteristic, work out and design the way to present it through website. As a result, everyone in Taiwan, even in the world, can come to know this treasure in the north of Taiwan.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

We really appreciate the sponsor organization to give our team the opportunity to participate the CyberFair. Therefore, our little Atayal have the chance to re-visit the ancient footpath, collect and learn the historical culture passed down by ancestors; so that the little Atayal find their culture, re-build their confident and love their own cultural characteristic. The project make the public in the community be more aware of the importance of cultural resources, the adults and older generation form the sense of mission and responsibility. We are very grateful to those students from National Chengchi University. Thanks to their assistance and devotion, this project can be successfully completed.

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

From the beginning when we accepted the project challenge until we decided the topic as “local tourism resources,” we have gone through very thorough analysis. We found that every sub-topic had to be closely related with the curriculum. Thanks to the opportunity, we can study and explore in the great natural classroom as a resource for our students. During the research process, the curriculum that we integrated include: language, nature and living technology, sociology, art and humanities, health and physical education, combined fields, local geography and history; and various topics for discussion were also included, such as environmental education, domestic science, and information technology education. I think it is an extensive and diverse program.

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

Digital camera：It is the best digital equipment to keep a record of places, scenery, and people. Digital recording pen：It kept the splendid record of explanation and pleasant sound of singing of each interviewee. The sound editing made every record much more perfect. DV, Frame grabber：Keep the beautiful memories of what we have been through. CDRW：Save interview content, sound, image and pictures were recorded on CD for safe digital storage. Mobile phone：Keep in contact with team-mates or interviewees. Notebook and Projector：Share the results with the team-mates, raise problems, and discuss solutions. Scanner：Obtain the picture needed. Printer：Print out relevant information and disuses solutions. Computer software：Namo 5.5, PowerPoint, PhotoImpact, Crystal FTP 2000, Word, and so on. Internet：Search for relevant Web sites and information.

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

In this research project, Director Chief Shengrong Chen is the man behind the scenes, who made our plan very successful regarding the arrangement of the people, home stay, activities, visiting scenic spots, and so on. He has been a teacher at Fushan Elementary School for many decades, so he is a venerable elder of the community. Besides, Director Chief Chen is of Atayal descent. He has been devoted to the development and study of Atayal culture resulting in a profound knowledge about Atayal culture. Therefore when recording the dimensions of the culture we felt at ease with the work.

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

As for the results of the project, we cannot say what influence and impact it had on the community. However, in terms of the process of the research project, the influence and impact are as follow: Fushan is in the remote area and it is not a very well-known scenic spot. Therefore, the tourism industry is not very developed. During the interview of the home stay and farm, owners always gave us very warm and passionate welcome. They all hope that this project can make Fushan to be a known place in the world as a very fascinating dreamland.

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

We should never have been able to complete this project without the help and support of local people. Firstly, we would like to express our appreciation to the school driver, Mr. Lisheng Xie. He was always there when we needed him, to pick up and drop students from National Chengchi University, or take us to the distant scenic places to take pictures or conduct interviews. We appreciated the local businessmen, including those people at the Fuyan Shop, Jiamai Manor, Kalamo Home Stay, Tranan Trout Breeding Tourist Farm, Joyous Manor and Dayan Studio. They gave us a warm welcome and provided us with relevant information. Our gratitude also goes to Mr. Kuangming Li. He gave a very interesting guided tour and generously provided with his information on the Atayla culture and local events. It was Jinghua Xie’s granny who willingly accepted our interview while she was ill and weak. Apart from her, we also received other three respectable elders’ help who were humorous and witty.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

During the research process, we found that children have infinite potential. We always think that they are just playing, and they are not able to deal with lots of matters. However after this project, we can be sure that it’s not because they are unable to participate, but because they were not given the opportunity before. This research project was an excellent opportunity for them to prove their ability.At the beginning of the data collection—when we first set out—the project was not so well organized; there was no plan, no time management, and no teamwork. Everyone was busying working all day, they were very tired, but at the end of the day, their efforts were in vain. We realized that so many things needed to be improved. In the evening that day, we called a review meeting with Director Chief Chen. He identified what went wrong with our plan and made suggestions for adjustment. Then the planning and schedule were totally under control. It was a valuable experience. During the research process, we had a more in depth understanding of the surrounding environment as well as the local society. This made us marvel at the greatness of the creator of the living creatures on Earth.