CyberFair Project ID: 7128

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: looking for light in the dark
Category: 2. Community Groups and Special Populations
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2012/gsh7128/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2012/gsh7128/narrative.htm

School: Taipei Municipal Wuxing Elementary School
    Taipei, , Taiwan

9 students, ages 11 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 10, 2012. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): no

Classes and Teachers: 6

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.wsps.tp.edu.tw

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Wuxing Elementary School is located in Xinyi District, which is the heart of Taipei City. The natural landscape of the nearby Elephant Mountain is rich and beautiful. The natural and cultural atmospheres are both satisfied in the area. For years, the surrounding area of Wu Xing Primary School has been developed into a prosperous community, which is a mixture of residence and commerce. Taipei Medical University Hospital and City Hall Station of MRT are both only 10 minutes’ walk away from the school. The Research Project of “Looking for Light in the Dark” starts from Wu Xing Primary School. We interviewed people in the cafeteria of the Hospital, the massage stations, and the beverage shops on Guang-Fu S. Road, which only take 10 minutes’ driving from the school. We also take MRT to the banks in Shuanglin Station and Benqiao District in New Taipei City. Thanks to the convenient public transportation in Taipei, we can conduct our research not only in the campus but to expand to the great Taipei district. We are absolutely looking forward to that one day all the visual-impaired friends can enjoy the convenient travelling in Taipei.

2. Summary of Our Project

One of our attendee students, Yen Qing, her father’s eyes will go blind soon. She wants to make a website related to visual-impaired people. She hopes to understand them better through making the website; moreover, to explore how our surroundings can be improved to be much friendlier to these visual-impaired friends. We gathered the related information and news articles online, after we figured out who we should interview with, we contact with them and ask for permissions. After receiving the permissions, a series of interview missions were undertaken. We also focus on the comparisons of the interview process to the accessibility facilities found in daily life, and then to review whether there are improvements among those facilities. On the other hand, we designed questionnaires for our students for the first statistic record. By doing this, we got a better idea about how the elementary students think about visual-impaired people and accessibility facilities. In the end, based on the interview content, we designed our website structure.

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:1

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 in the Campus: Students and teachers use local area network, T1, in Wuxing Elementary School . There is a virtual host in the computer lab. Teachers can set each computer to cooperate with the learning schedule process before class and make students learn more efficiently.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

What we have been through and overcome: We were hoping that the website can match the theme of the research project, to make visual-impaired people can browse “Looking for Light in the Dark” website without any inconvenience. Due to the complicated rules of designing a friendly website, students haven’t been trained into those advanced skills. Students only learn how to use photo-editing programs in grade 11. They haven’t learned the video editing, animation, and web design.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

At first, we thought that “Looking for Light in the Dark” is a mission-impossible. But we made it eventually! Just like one of our interviewee, Miss Zhen, she told us that as long as you want, blind people are capable for anything. So, we should learn from Miss Zhen, to believe in ourselves and try our best to do everything we want to do.

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

The Combination of Research Project and the Nine-Year Integrated Curriculums

Language Field:To enhance the listening, speaking, reading, and writing ability from interviewing and writing articles.

Mathematics Field:To train the basic ability of statistics from gathering and extract information from the questionnaires.

Social Study Field:To learn how to respect and care the minorities in the society by interviewing and doing researches.

Integrative Activity Field:To train the ability of teamwork and enhance EQ by designing the website in a group.

Art & Humanity:To help students enhance their sense of beauty and art taste by editing and beautifying the photos on the website. While visiting Mr. Cho and his Clarinet, students learn how to appreciate great music by understanding the performance of the street performers.

Health & Physical Education Field:To learn the importance of our eyes and how to take care of ourselves by understanding the blindness reasons behind each visual-impaired person.

Science & Technology Field:To enhance computer skills by designing the website, the skills like typesetting, photo-editing, and video-editing are included. Students interviewed Technology Development Association for the Disabled and learned how technology helps and designs tools meet the requirement of visual-impaired people.

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Project Elements

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

We use digital cameras, cellphones, computer programs, such as web design, illustration, video and audio, also the office programs. Library, books and newspapers, also the interview on the spot are also applied. Of course, the online resource plays the main role in our research project. Our website is mostly designed in Dreamweaver. We edited our pictures through the Painter, PhotoCap5.0, and Microsoft Office Picture Manager. And the videos were edited in the Windows Live Movie Maker. It is truly more efficient to use online learning programs than the traditional way. Because the first step of all our interviews starts from the internet communication. Without internet, we would not find so many interview targets. If we contact them by mails or phone calls, we could not complete our interview task within three months. Also, it was really efficient to read over the information we gathered online before the interview. The research project makes us experience the great convenience and the importance of the internet.

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

Through the interview on the spot, we listened to the voice of these visual-impaired people, and to see the living environment for the visual-impaired people in Taipei. As a gogogo “ambassador” of Wu Xing Primary School, we want to lead everyone out of the original life, and to care the visual-impaired friends in this unfamiliar field. We want to introduce these people to everyone, and to let everyone understand the unknown parts of their lives. Our mission is to find light in the dark in this project.

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

What impacts and influences the Research Project bring to you? According to the questionnaires, we discovered that there is a gap between the stereo types our general students hold to the visual-impaired people and the reality. We found the importance of the interview. Since the first-hand interview information will be even more valuable and true than the information spread online. The online information is only a media. We should seek truth from facts. Through the research project of “Looking for Light in the Dark”, we found that there are actually so many visual-impaired people related matters around the school. We totally had no idea about this previously. So, to open your heart and to care more about things around you will lead you a world with more and more explorations.

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

No, but we thanks for the people who be called on by us.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

After interviewing for the research project of “Looking for Light in the Dark”, we found that there are actually so many visual-impaired people related matters around the school. We totally had no idea about this previously. So, to open your heart and to care more about things around you will lead you a world with more and more explorations.

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