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1. Description of Our Community
People live in Pingtung often see the betel nut trees when they are driving on the country roads. It is also easy to see the betelnut vendors. The ever-green leaves of the betel-nut tree are so beautiful but people who chew the betel nuts are disgusting because it makes people's mouths red. People in nowadays has a limited understanding of betel nuts and still regard them as bad things. Most of the people only concern betel nuts cause the landslides, oral cancer furthermore, destroy the environment. But we believe there must be some reasons for the betel nuts to exist in a long period in the world. Something good and advantageous. Hope this research could discover the secrets of betel nuts.
2. Summary of Our Project
The magazines and institution of sanitation are now put their efforts to persuade us not to chew the betel nuts because of oral cancer. It is also easy to cause landslide while planting the betel nuts trees. If the typhoon struck to the island, the landslide happens and has a big affect on the earth maintaining. Nevertheless, the farmers still put the economic profits in the first priority. They plant in a various kinds of betel nut trees and with a large amount of betel nut trees everywhere. We are all curious with this kind of view, because everything has its own aspects. Both right and wrong have their own description and thought. Foe example, is it right or wrong to gamble? Many countries established the legal gambling houses in order to get more tourists and brought the money. On the contrary, is it really worthless toward the betel nuts? We believe it is the issue combined with cultural, economic, and traditional aspects that researchers have to work on. The government should also pay more attention on it, how to strike a balance?
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:2-3
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):
We finished composing our homepage at school. The computers in the computer classroom were linked with World Wide Web through FTTP. We used students’ computers to input the data by intra-net neighbors. Besides, at home we collected all kinds of data through the connection of ADSL/cable modem with different ISPs.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
(1)To study betel-nut, we surely had to make some interviews or participate in activities. However, there was some distance between the school and the places where the interview or activities took place; thus, driving our members back and forth has become our biggest problem. Besides, our group consisted of twelve members, and both Miss Sun and Miss Wu could not drive a car. Even if Sir Lee wanted to pick us up, all of us still could not get in the only one car. Hence, it always beat the teachers’ brains to discuss this problem for a long time. Fortunately, there were many warm-hearted and kind parents who helped to solve the transportation problem by driving our members to the destination and back home. (2)In order to be more familiar with the history of betel-nut, we should have an interview with the farmers and aborigines on our own initiative. We had to prepare a topic in advance before the interview started. However, we have never had such a formal interview and didn't understand betel-nut culture. Thus, we had no idea of setting some topics. When the topics were brought up, with Miss Sun's explanation, we found out that we misunderstood betel-nuts only as bad things. We always learned something form the failure, as an old saying which goes 'It is easy to be wise after the event.' Therefore, now it is not difficult for us to draw up some interviewing topics. (3). When we got the digital camera for the first time, none of us knew how to use it. After the teacher's brief explanation, we brought it to begin the interview. Although everyone had no problem taking photos, because we were not skillful at that and did not use a camera frequently, the pictures were often unclear, and the keynotes were not shown in the pictures, either. Besides, we did not know the function of the buttons on the camera and the way to use them. Thus, the teacher was not free from anxiety to give the digital camera to us. However, with the increase of the interviews and activities we took part in, we got more and more opportunities to use it. In addition, we were brave enough to try doing everything. So, we now understand how to use the digital camera thoroughly and have a very good command of taking pictures.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
Trees bearing lots of fruit and having flouring green leaves need to be irrigated laboriously every day.
These fruitful and leafy trees, as compared to our homepage, can be very strong, beautiful and pretty. However, trees do not grow within one or two days. It is also true with our homepage. Just as trees need our hard-working efforts to help them grow up, a homepage needs our members to accomplish the composition with great efforts as well. This is indicated by our old saying which goes 'No pains, no gains.' Therefore, our members try our best to collect data, make interviews, and compose the homepage without any laziness.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
(1)Ministry of Education has made the courses in local geography, history and health part of the Nine-Year Integrated Curriculum. They try to make the public think highly of our environmental protection and let our next generation be able to understand their health, the significance of their life, and so on. This study activity gives us a chance to know our local history of betel-nuts and meanwhile, it is by this activity that we can have the opportunity to experience the cultural differences of various peoples. Our results, experiences and reflections can be used as references and shared with teachers and students attending classes of local geography, history and health. (2)The spirit of education elaborated by the Nine-Year Integrated Curriculum emphasizes the ability of students' doing research outside the classroom. Through this activity, we have learned how to utilize all kinds of instruments to collect data, and arrange them to be articles, and finally beautify them to make a homepage. In addition, by making an interview, we also have learned to map up the outline of the content of the interview and formulate some questionnaires. Moreover, we have learned some ways of keeping in touch with the interviewees and good manners of an interview. We deeply realize the importance of information education and of communicative skills among people. To succeed in completing the project of the monographic study, we must have perseverance, firm determination and grasp any opportunity in addition to elaborating the spirit of teamwork. Such abilities are a great help to our learning in the future.
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1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?
(1)Oral interviews: We had oral interviews with the members of betel-nuts farmers to learn more about the knoweldge of betel-nuts. (2)Computers: We used computers to searched data from the internet, sent e-mail, and make our work. (3)Books, periodicals: We learned more about knowledge of betel-nuts from some books and periodicals. (4)Digital voice recorder :We recorded the interviews and speeches with Digital Voice Recorder . (5)Video and digital still cameras: We photographed our all activities. (6)Digitizers and scanners: We scanned a lot of pictures with a scanner. We printed our questionaries, some drafts of interviews, and some data to read and discuss. (7)Telephones:We made appointments by telephone. (8)Computer software: PhotoImpact 12.0,FrontPage2003, Microsoft office 2003,swish,etc.
PS:These tools are available in our school.
2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.
During the interview, the principal of aboriginal college gave us a lot of help and answers enthusiastically. Besides, he also provided us with information and pictures so as to make our study more powerful and plentiful. After we have had an interview with the betel-nuts farmers, we are profoundly moved by their lots of efforts to pass on the betel-nuts culture. Therefore, we are willing to make a series of interviews, consult information, compose a homepage, make a brief report of the monographic study, and so forth at the expense of our winter vacation. We really hope from our heart that everyone can be awaken to value betel-nuts by means of this monographic study so as to hand down those knowledge that is fading away from generation to generation.
3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?
Through this study, we realize many aspects of betel-nuts culture, including betel-nuts culture, betel-nuts food, betel-nuts historic sites, and so on, and we understand that there is some specific significance and conservative value in every culture. We believe that our study can acquaint more and more people with betel-nuts culture, and we hope that our efforts can be very helpful in the preservation of betel-nuts culture. Actually, we hope that our study can bolster up the betel-nuts farmers so as to increase their confidence and perseverance in popularizing and passing on the culture of betel-nuts. By our homepage, we expect that betel-nuts culture can be accepted by much more different peoples; in this way, betel-nuts culture which is disappearing day by day will be disseminated and passed on forever.
4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
(1)The principal, farmers: The principal of aboriginal college only gave us interviews, but also gave us a lot of information and books. The betel-nuts farmers lte us learn more about the knoweldge of betel-nut. We are grateful to them for all that they had done. (2)Teachers: In winter vacation, our teachers didn't take their off. They kept us company to process data, make web in computer class. The academy affairs director of our school, Xin-rong Dai guided us to make up our questionnaire. (3)Parents: Our parents helped us to process the data of questionnaire, carried us to interview betel-nuts farmers. We are appreciative of their great help.
5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)
In this study activity, all of us have got more familiar with computer programs and increased our skills and ability of making interviews. Besides, we have learned how to formulate and distribute questionnaires. In addition, we have found out that the preservation and dissemination of betel-nuts culture have seemingly been ignored in Taiwan. In our reminiscence, when we had an interview with the betel-nuts farmers and betel-nuts beauty for the first time, we were very nervous to death. We hadn’t realized where we were going before we started out. Moreover, it was very shameful that we thought we would visit a unfamiliar man or woman. It deserved to be mentioned that we even left our recorder at the interviewing place and forgot to bring it back. Furthermore, when we interviewed them, the electric power of digital camera was not sufficient because of the wrong way to recharge the batteries. Also, we forgot to put the film in the DV. After we have taken so many lessons, we have understood that it is very important to be well prepared in advance. Although we don’t have any quarrel with one another just because of some disagreement, we still feel that teamwork is very important. If every member does not cooperate with each other but acts according to his or her conscience regardless of others’ opinions, he or she can't succeed. Therefore, the formulation of questionnaires needs every member’s thought and efforts, and a homepage with plentiful resources will be completed by all members’ cooperation. The participation in this activity of Internet Exhibition will be an unforgettable experience and a wonderful reminiscence in our mind.
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View our CyberFair Project
(Project ID: 5579)
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