School: Fu-Shan Elementary School
    Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan

11 students, ages 10~12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on January 15, 2005. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2004

Classes and Teachers: Mr. Shih-Chang Kao, Ms. Li-Ling Lo and Ms. Yabung

E-Mail contact:

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

1. Description of Our Community

Our project aims at surveying the ecology and culture activities of the rivulets that flow into the upstream of Nan-Shih Stream in Fu-Shan Village, Wu-Lai Township, Taipei County, Taiwan. The ecology surveys cover the streams and areas bordering them. The culture activities surveys include the migration of tribes along the streams, what occupations were born by the streams in the past, and the interaction between the natural environment and people in Nan-Shih area.

2. Summary of Our Project

We have to look to the origin of a culture, that is, the rivers it depends on, for its source. After all, cultures are nurtured by rivers, and human communities usually develop alongside the rivers.

Tranan, which flows into the upstream of Nan-Shih Stream in Northern Taiwan, is full of implications. We can say that the community cultures in Wu-Lai region depend thoroughly on Nan-Shih Stream, and the Tayal cultures in Wu-Lai flows with Tranan Stream. In this Cyber Fair project, we tried to warm up, deepen and enrich the implications of , and find out how to sustain the Tranan culture through the share effort of the school and the community in surveying the ecology and culture activities of Tranan.

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:more than 6

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):

There is a computer center in our school, with 10 PCs, which are inter-linked with LAN and reach through a T1 line to TANet, a network used by schools and academic institutes in Taiwan. Few students have PCs at home. Most would have to rely on the PCs in the school.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

We’re familiar with many of the activities in the project. Yet it dawned on us that we had known only scratch the surface of a fuller knowledge. The advisors helped us to learn more Tayal wisdom, like how did people make Gerus and Demames to catch fish, and how did Tayals in Fu-Shan lived on Nan-Shih Stream. We got to know more about our tribe and Tayal traditions through the activities.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

In this project, we tried to make Gerus and Demame, and learned the stories about how our ancestors came to this beautiful valley and how did they lived on Nan-Shih Stream through the Yaki. These are Tayal traditions. We hope we could teach the children after us about them, and we want everyone to know how does Tayal culture relates with rivers.

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

“Nature and Ecology” is one of the features in our curriculum, not only because Fu-Shan is ideal for such learning, but because our Principle and teachers made an effort for it. In this project, besides issues in nature, we also covered linguistics (Tayals) and social issues, and brushed the topics in information, environment and the ethics of lives and deaths.

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

Digital Cameras and Camcorders Recorders and Digital Recorders Flash Memories Notebook Computers and Projectors Burners Internet Software like PhotoImpact, Frontpage, Internet Explorer and MSOffice, etc.

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

1.We traced the Tranan culture through interviews and field trips and put them into digital records. The school children younger than us would be able to access them, learn more about the environment we live in, and keep on exploring Tayal traditions and Tranan ecology like us. We dare to hope that our project would help with local tourism, and not only people living here, but also the visitors would treasure this land of unique traditions and environments. 2.Fu-Shan Village may not be as prosperous as other part of the Wu-Lai Township that has hot springs and many tourists, but the simplicity of lives here is precious. And through our project, people will know the beauty of Tranan.

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

1.To us, we learned more about the tribe traditions, ecologies, and different ways in observing nature. We will keep on exploring our Delanan, and announcing the results. 2.Our school emphasizes “Nature and Ecology” in the first place. In this project, we found that we needed tools for observing nature. For example, an underwater goggle for observing lives in the water. Our school granted and bought us such necessities.

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

We want to thank the elders, especially Chi-Yuan’s father and grandmother. Though Chi-Yuan’s Yaki always reminds us to speak Tayal, but we can bother her with any kind of questions. We’re appreciative of the assistance from SOW, Society of Wilderness, Taiwan. Advisor Li-Ling, or so called Dr. Data, loves Fu-Shan so much, and gave us tremendous help. We can’t complete the project without the support from HADA, Hope Agent Development Association, Taiwan. HADA supported us year after year in taking part of Cyber Fair. Mt. Chi-Nan Club of Chengchi University has been cared for the children of Fu-Shan for a long time, and they came a long way to help us. We couldn’t have done it without them. And of course, we have all the faculty and staff of Fu-Shan Elementary, and every member of our community to thank for. This project is not merely completed by the research team; it’s a joint effort of all.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Field surveys forced us to use what we learned in the classrooms, and have a deeper understanding of the environment we live in and how does the elements in it work with each other. We learned more Tayal language and the lives in the past throught the interviews with the Yakis and other elders. We’re now more familiar with digital cameras and Camcorders because we used them a lot. We put the small creatures back into water after we observed them, and tried the old Tayal fishing. And these experiences taught us how precious lives are.