School: Shipo elementary school
    Guan-in, Taiwan, Taiwan

10 students, ages 11-12 years old worked together to complete this CyberFair project on January 25, 2005. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2005

Classes and Teachers: Yang Hao-cheng

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.spes.tyc.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

In Guan-yin Area, Guan-yin Village has a beautiful legend, which is most meaningful to the villagers. It tells the origin of the name of this village. On April 22, the tenth year of the Emperor Shian-feng of the Ching Dynasty, after an afternoon heavy rain, when Huang Deng-cheng, a farm laborer, was returning from work, he saw a natural stone drifting on a stream. It looked like Goddess of Mercy (Guan-yin in Chinese). Out of curiosity, he waded into the middle of the stream to pick up that stone and then put it at the roadside. At that time, there were only nine families, living in this village. The villagers lived a poor, hard life. They needed religious belief. Therefore, they built a straw hut for the stone and worshiped it reverently as Goddess of Mercy, hoping to get spiritual comfort. They called it “Stone Guan-yin”.

2. Summary of Our Project

In the early stages of Taiwan, people farm for a living and rice is the staple food. But rice also has other uses besides eating. At the age of poor economic situation, it’s not so convenient in many aspects of livelihood. Rice stalks are highly used; they can be made into straw sandals, straw hats, straw swords for kids to play, straw ropes for rope-skipping and so on. In this civilized and technological era, people forget this traditional skill gradually. However, there is a grand old man devoting him to this work and enhancing it; he hopes that the straw-weaving art can be spread to every corner all over the world through passing down the traditional skills to the future generation.

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):

Our school network system adopts TANET scholastic cyber-net, linking Central University system by way of Taoyuan County network center. Partial members can surf the Internet by way of ADSL or Dial-in User Service.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The common straws can be made into a lot of beautiful creations. During the process of interviewing Master Wang Cheng-de, we have learned to make simple straw-weaving products. He taught us to make simple straw swords, but we spent a lot of time making it. Actually, it took us patience, carefulness and perseverance to make straw-weaving works. To tell the truth, children nowadays are lack of patience, and we have patience through the process of making straw-weaving products and we have more confidence on our creations.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

We found that art was not far away anymore at the same time. Ordinary people can create the deeply moving works and enrich our lives and add colors in our lives.

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

In the early teaching environment, people often put emphasis on the intellectual education and ignored the arts and humanities field. Actually, art is all around if we pay attention to it. When we interviewed Master Wang Cheng-de, we found that art was not far away anymore at the same time. Ordinary people can create the deeply moving works and enrich our lives and add colors in our lives.

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

Software:Photoshop,FrontPage ,FLASH ,Word 2000,Internet Explorer,YAHOO messenger,LeapFTP,Windows Movie Maker Hardware:Scanner,Camera,Digital Video Camera,Digital Camera,Digital Voice Recorder,Printer

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

There is straw-weaving expert, Wang Cheng-de, in our Quan-yin county. By the help of Mr. Wang Yu-Xiang and Mr. Lin Rong-xiang, we interviewed Master Wang Cheng-de and we knew his life experience during the interview. Although he was not highly educated and never adopted classical art education, an ordinary man from a farming family could create the touching straw-weaving works. We wanted to have a further understanding of straw-weaving art. Thus, we decided to invite Master Wang Cheng-de to be the theme of our research project in order to let more and more people know the countryside life and know the straw-weaving art.

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

Many people think that Guan-yin Township is just a small and simple town, and it does. However, the simpler it is, the more it can show the beauty of art. You can see straws getting without extra effort everywhere in Guan-yin Township. Master Wang Cheng-de gives straws new lives through his skillful hands. Art has no limitation of country boundaries. Countrymen can understand more about Taiwan’s agricultural characteristics and development by the communication of art. By doing this, it can also lead the small and simple town, Guan-yin Township, to the international stage and let others know Guan-yin Township again!

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

We would like to express our gratitude to many people for the completion of the whole research activity. Thanks to Mr. Lin Rong-xiang for his arrangement of the interviews with Master Wang Cheng-de. We are also deeply grateful to Mr. Yang Hao-cheng, who records our activities. Besides, he teaches us skills of making web pages and processing images enthusiastically at lunch break so that we own our website. We also wish to express our thanks to Miss Lin Jing-feng and Miss Wang Ting-yi. They teach us not only the skills of interviewing, but also the methods to write our reports. They also found time to take us to interview Master Wang Cheng-de. Finally, we are grateful to the expert, Wang Cheng-de and Mr. Wang Yu-xiang.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Discoveries—we find that there are so many materials for us to create in our daily lives.

Amazement—a man from the farming family who never accepts classical art education can create such admirable works and be affirmative by everybody. There is surprise everywhere in our lives.

Affections—simple works reveal the true emotions, and the wonderful memory in childhood is the best material. Nowadays in our society, it is hard to feel the true emotions interflowing through each other’s hearts. Through the straw-weaving creations, we understand the hardships and difficulties of countryside life.