CyberFair Project ID: 5442

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Miao Original Ethnic Dance
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms
URL: http://www.yellowsheepriver.com/~gz000001/2008/
Bibliography: http://www.yellowsheepriver.com/~gz000001/2008/english/webside/jb_ckzl.html

School: Bijie Vocational Middle School
    Bijie, Guizhou, China

13 students, ages 17-18 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 20, 2008. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): None

Classes and Teachers: Wang Di, Zhang Li, Pan Lei

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http:// bjzz.edu.17888.com

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Bijie Prefecture, located in the northwest of Guizhou Province, is an important traffic junction the borders of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou Province. Its north and west neighing provinces are Sichuan and Yunnan. To the east, it will be Zunyi; to the West,it will be Guiyang. The average elevation is 1500 meters. There are one city and seven counties in Bijie Area. They are respectively Bijie, Dafang,Qianxi,Jinsha, Zhijin, Nayong,Weiling, And Hezhang. The Total area is 26853 square meters. The whole year, the climate here is mild and warm. There is a long tradition of folk culture and tradition in Bijie Prefecture.

2. Summary of Our Project

Miao people form one of the largest ethnic minorities in southwest China. On the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and in some remote mountainous areas, Miao villages are comprised of a few families, and are scattered on mountain slopes and plains with easy access to transport links. Much of the Miao area is hilly or mountainous, and is drained by several big rivers. The weather is mild with a generous rainfall, and the area is rich in natural resources. Such a wide distribution and the influence of different environments have resulted in marked differences in culture, tradition and language. Our research of Miao original ethnic dance can be divided for four parts, including history, status quo, Lusheng Dance and charm.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:21-50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:1

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem

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 are three computer classrooms in campus, but they are arranged for computer courses for all the students. As the connection speed is very low, we seldom communicate on internet.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The team members have little commonly free time apart from the time for group activities. Therefore, we make use of the weekend for group discussion with the teachers and interview. The three supervising teachers and the team members lack previous experience in webpage construction. We have to consult others whenever difficulties arise; hence, we have to overcome all kinds of hardships and difficulties during the process. Our computers are very old with low proceeding speed and surfing speed is also terrible. However, with our endeavor and help from teachers, we have succeeded in completing the website. We are proud of ourselves and the experience is unforgettable.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

It is our first time to stay outside without parents and doing interview. Our abilities of thinking questions and solving problems independently are improved a lot. We realize our strength and weakness much deeper. This research benefits us a lot.

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

Our research of miao original ethnic dance is the combination of different disciplines, including history, geography, culture, arts and computer. Students are trained to ask question, solve the problems, communicate with strangers, and cooperate with other team members. What’s more important, we study the status quo of local folk culture, design interview, write essays, and then make into web pages. All these activities strengthen students’ ability in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

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Project Elements

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

(1) Hardware facilities: computer, digital camera, scanner. (2) Computer software: Dreamweaver for webpage editing, Photoshop CS for graphic processing, Microsoft Word for textual information editing, Outlook Express for receiving and sending mails, Internet Explorer for browsing website, ACDSee for image browsing, Flash 8.0. (3) Internet: E-mail, message board, email.

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

We consider it our responsibility to make the public understanding the 'history of Miao Original Ethnic Dance', thus we should play the role of 'community ambassadors' and reveal it to others.We have tried to tell others what we know and introduced it to school mates and villagers. We realize our research result in the form of signboards, as well as a homepage hosted by the school website. Apart from being a resource for countryside education, the homepage also allows citizens to deepen their understanding of the local art through the Internet. The website we make is believed to make more people know about original ethnic dance.

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

Through this research project, we have come to know more about the history of Miao original ethnic dance. We are fully confident that our work, when finished, would be the most exhaustive online resource in this aspect at the moment. In the process of research, we have felt the public's concern about the future development of original ethnic dance.P rotection of cultural assets has become the most concerned issue in the past decade. We hope that our project would not only deepen the public's knowledge of it, but also arouse their recognition and passion for cultural assets.

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

We interviewed Miao people and officials in local cultural bureau in order to learn more about history and status quo of Miao original ethnic dance. Our school principals offered us digital camera as interview tools.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

We have got a better knowledge of Miao original ethnic dance. Though it seems popular nowadays, it is dying out on the earth. Miao seniors tell us that because of busy farm work, miao people have no mood in singing and dancing, expect for important festivals. They even don’t wear their ethnic group’s customs. The original ethnic traditions may have no offspring. Luckily, our government has realized the importance of this problem and carries out a series of policies to protect original ethnic culture. We hope our website can contribute to the protection of Bijie tradition and also our province-Guizhou. Miao people’s passion and hospitality really impressed us a lot.

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