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1. Description of Our Community
Because of Taiwan's geographic location in the southeast Asia, it is a major gateway to the rest of Asia from the Pacific Ocean. The exchange of cultures, the influx of tribal groups, and the subsequent invasion of foreign forces and the impact of civilizations, have all contributed to the twists and turns in Taiwan's storied history. The unique nature of Taiwan's history had led to the multi-faceted life of the earlier days, and consequently had made the antique items of those days so varied. Each antique item is like a footstep, which we follow intently in order to explore and pursue the trail left behind by the changing society. After half a century of rebuilding and development, Taiwan has rid itself of the postwar recession and poverty. Even so, the people who had lived through the Taiwan's early restoration period still have vivid memories of eating yam strands, wearing ragged clothes, and walking barefooted. Living on this land of ours, we need to use even more sentiment and concern about things that go on around us, and to look upon everything with a sense of gratitude.
2. Summary of Our Project
Mr. Nan-Shan Chu entered the real world when he was in his mid teens. He has traveled all over the province of Taiwan, from the north to the south. After seeing all the different aspects of life, and after having contact with all walks of life, he came to the heart-felt realization that the lifestyle of Taiwan citizens is gradually losing its traditional colors due to the impact of the changing society. The everyday items people used were getting retired and replaced. So based on his sense of mission to preserve the traditional culture, he started to actively purchase and store antique items, and he was continually heading toward the path of becoming a professional collector. He has thus become 'A Voyager of the Past'. Because of Mr. Chu's rich life experience, he has become adept at storytelling, impersonating, joke-making, and singing. His unique slang-style narration could explain the periodical background and history of any antique item to great details. He is able to make the ancestor's living wisdom come vividly to life. He often jokingly says he is 'Country Ph. D', while others are 'Ph. D'. It totally shows his confidence in his knowledge of grass-roots culture.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:4-6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
The Internet access at our school is very convenient. There is a dedicated broadband T1 line that connects to National Chunghsing University, which is the hub for the Taichung area. The line is also connected to the Taiwan Academic Network (TANet). In addition, there are three two-way 512K ADSL lines connected to the Hinet, as well as a cable broadband line connected to KG Telecom. All the lines are connected to a single load balancer, which integrates all the Internet services. Most of the teachers and students use 512/64K ADSL service provided by Chunghwa Telecom to go online at their own homes.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
(a) Taking Photos of Antique Items – There are more than thirty thousand items in Mr. Nan-Shan Chu's collection. Due to the large collection and a limited amount of space, all the items are stored in a way that made moving them in and out to be photographed quite difficult. We had to go to the Taipei Arts Festival at the Chongshan Hall during the Taiwan's Early Restoration Living Exhibit to take photographs. However, due to the crowded confines of the exhibition floor, the photos did not come out well. We finally had to ask for the help of the National Science and Techonology Museum. They supplied photos of antique items after receipt of an official note from our school and an approval form Mr. Nan-Shan Chu.
(b) Insufficient Technical Skills - Due to our lack of proficiency with using computer software, we often ran into the problem of having ideas but lacking the ability to carry them out. We became dejected about not being able to do everything we wanted to do. Fortunately, we had a teacher who was willing to give us a helping hand. We also realized that to become good at a task, we need to tirelessly practice the task until it becomes second nature to us. Nothing happens instantly. For us to become more comfortable at carrying out these tasks, we need to learn from the basics, one step at a time.
(c) Communicating Concepts - From the moment we selected our main subject, there had been many different ideas. Since everyone thought his or her idea was the most creative, there were times when we had come to an impasse. We had to rely on our teachers and team leader to help us communicate our ideas, so we could discuss all the pros and cons of our ideas, and later reached a conclusion. After all, this is a research project that requires teamwork and contribution from each team member.
(d) Time Limit - Due to our heavy course load, there were a lot of pressure on us to finish the project within a limited amount of time. We could only use the lunch break to put in extra work in the computer room. We thought this was a great opportunity for us to learn and grow. We can enjoy the sweet taste of the fruit only when we give 100 percent of our effort.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
The whole process of our encounter with Mr. Nan-Shan Chu is like a reminiscence of a series of cultural events. They bring the lost memories and everything real back to the present, enabling us to appreciate the reality of history, the innocence of mankind, and the beauty of life.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
(a) Grass-Roots Education – Grass-roots education could help each student to know his or her own homeland, to understand the culture of the homeland, and to gravitate the students toward the homeland that nurture their growth. This research project is coincident with the goal of the grass-roots culture. It allows us to look into the lives of our ancestors and to acquaint ourselves with their wisdom and culture.
(b) Environmental Protection Education - From the collection of Mr. Nan-Shan Chu, we could see our ancestors' wisdom of 'poverty leads to change, change leads to prosperity', as well as the gratitude for their blessings. This is the environmental protection education that our school has been stressing. Besides sorting trash and recycling resources, our school also place all the environmental protection areas, such as fertilizers made from kitchen waste, leaf compost heap, school desk recycling and repair area, teaching farm, seedling area, butterfly area, and recycling area into a belt-like teaching area. They name it the Walk of Environmental Protection. The hope is for the concept of environmental protection to become integrated into our education and to take root in our everyday lives.
(c) Humanity Education - Education is said to open the window to our souls. Showing concerns for humanity is a necessary common knowledge for all who live on this earth. The school has always promoted humanity education without reservations, in hopes of endowing every student at Ming Dao with a concern for humanity. Exploring the lives of our ancestors and researching the preservation of the traditional culture are the perfect opportunities for applying what the students have learned in school.
(d) Information Education - The popularization of information education will lead to the accelerated progress of other types of educations. The widespread use of Internet allows the students to be on the same page with the rest of the world and to keep up with the current trend. This is one of the highlights of school's teaching.
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