School: Taipei County Sin Tai Junior High School
    Hsin Chuang, Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C.

8 students, ages 13-14 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 23, 2010. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): None

Classes and Teachers: Class 712 / Teachers: Ming-hui Huang, Hsu-Fen Huang, Chieh-lin Huang

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://ichip.htjh.tpc.edu.tw/~htjhcyber98/Eng/index.htm

1. Description of Our Community

Located in southwest Taipei, Hsin Chuang City covers around 20 km2, in which the agriculture used to play an important role. Now, the city has evolved into the home to industry, business and financial service in Taipei County and about 400,000 residents, and integrates the tradition and modern, past and future.

2. Summary of Our Project

We make this website to honer the Dough Art miniature master A-Jong who lives in Hsin Chuang city. Master A-Jong is seventy-six years old, and famous for his beautiful Dough Art works. He can make all kinds of miniature figures, such as insects, animals, and even characters in the history stories and fairy tales. We appreciate what he has done for the local culture activities and educational achievement.Researching from literature and data, it was known that several organizations used to devote themselves to conserving and promoting traditional culture, including Council for Cultural Affairs of Executive Yuan of Taiwan, National Cultural and Arts Foundation, cultural units affiliated to local, county and municipal governments, as well as non-governmental enterprises and groups and news media, etc. With such efforts, together with the art, Master A-Jong became popular across Taiwan, and attended great cultural events home and abroad on behalf of Taiwan making it more well-known globally.As a new generation, high-school students, even without witnessing the splendid era of Master A-Jong, we also share deeply responsibility giving our greetings to him by means of this modernized website, and calling for society valuing transmission, innovation, conservation and promotion of our traditional culture.

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: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

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

All participants attending this Cyber Fair of School Net were new and had to start everything from scratch, including specifying special topic, interview skills, webpage making and software applications, etc. Interviewing with the elder Master was particularly difficult to us since we were unfamiliar with Taiwanese and barely get along with the elderly. In addition, computers provided by schools were equipped with recover system, causing all previous saved data disappear after restarting every time and even screaming from the participants. We had to remind ourselves of saving files in removable discs to reserve our hard-working achievements. However, regardless of these difficulties and challenges, the participants still had great zeal about the task and squeezed our time to learn, even spent our limited weekends and winter holiday to accomplish the task, making all of us comfortable.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Reappear the Golden Age of Master A-Jong of Dough Miniature Art by the most advanced network technology, expecting to digitize traditional technology.

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

Our project for this International Schools CyberFair relates well with teamwork, the methods of information gathering, and website design matters. We also learn about the skills of interview, writing and editing articles, and graphic design. Learning how to make dough figurines and creating claymations are the most interesting parts of this project. Although the Master Mr. Hung Wen-jong’s attitude towards us changed gradually in interviews, it was surprising to have his attitude shifting from being strange initially to familiar and opening his mind to us. Besides, he lent us many rare historical data for references, and even would like to give us demonstration teaching in person, which made us experienced meaning of “Believe and Unite”, the purport of the International Schools CyberFair 2010. We strongly hope that we can unite those who love traditional folk arts together to make the spirit of our society more beautiful and meaningful. With our website, we fully expected that more and more persons in Hsin Chuang City would be unified by the Master’s splendid era to conserve our traditional skills and promote them across the country and world.

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

We have been using computer technologies in our school for many years. We have two computer labs, which have 70 online computers. We also have computers accessing to the Internet in every classroom. In every member’s home, there are computers connecting with ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line). We all know how to use digital cameras, digital video recorder, scanners, MP3 recorders to gather the information and research data, which we need. We use computer graphic software, such as Abode Photoshop, Image Ready and Ulead Photoimpact to modify our pictures taking by digital cameras. We also use web page design tool such as FrontPage and html programming and editing software to create our web pages.

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

The purport of webpage making was to conserve our traditional culture, during which we played roles of representing, communication, negotiation, appeal and defending, etc. In this case, the first step came up with our minds was to reappear the splendid era of Master A-Jong of clay figurine by the most advanced network technology, expecting to digitize traditional technology. Also, an online ballot was held generating responses more widely. With our efforts to throw out a brick to attract jade, we believed more and more person concerning about this topic would be involved in the traditional cultural conservation.

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

Through this website, we hope to emphasize the importance of dough miniature art. With the age evolves and science and technology develops quickly, new and surprising things emerges everyday exposing to the children. Many adults indulge themselves in virtual network. Though the art of dough model does exist fortunately, we still worry about its future development and directions. The art should need to change itself to catch up with the modern society development, and also continue its traditional development way. Here are some things we can do to strengthen the “relationship” between our school and local community. First, educate the public in artistic appreciation. The digital gallery on the website which represents Mr. Huang Wen-jong’s dough artworks brings up the conversation between master and community residents. Second, try to integrate traditional art of dough model into classes. From kindergartens, primary schools, high schools, colleges to community universities, the promotional courses are re-established through digital learning websites for enhancement of our creativity.

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

Thanks Mr. Huang Wen-jong and his family ( son, grandson, daugher-in-law and daughter) to provide us lots of invaluable documents, photos, newspaper clippings and artworks as the material of the website. Thanks our parents to give us tons of love and accompaniment. Without them, we can’t complete this task. Thanks our three lovely tutors. They gave us a lot of assistance to bring us together and share their free time with us to make this wonderful CyberFair experience happen. Thanks our principal, director of academic affairs, the leader of computer & information, the leader of the teaching affairs and all the teachers at related fields in our school (Sin Tai Junior High School) to offer their huge supports in spiritual and financial ways. Thanks the residents in the community to accept the interviews in the street and to give us many useful advices. Thanks the participators on the Internet to join our e-vote activity. With their votes, the website has been enriched.