School: Jan Cheng Junior High School
    Taipei City, , Taiwan

10 students, ages 14 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 11, 2013. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2011

Classes and Teachers: Bo-Hung Chen, Yung-Wei Chen, Wan-Ling Ke ,Yu-Shan Jian, Shi-yun Zhao

E-Mail contact:

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

1. Description of Our Community

Taipei Wunchang Temple was built in 1960 and has been playing the role of faith center that not only offers positive merits but also serves as a non-profit organization that communicates regularly with its neighbors. Thanks to the convenient transportation of MRT, it has drawn in more pilgrims who visit the temple for inner peace, strength and faith. Wunchang Temple has been trying to encourage people to believe not only in the deities but also the drive that is derived from believing to help people become better and even help make a better community and society for more other people. It has inspired people so much and enriched their life both mentally and practically. With a large group united with well-organized management committee and a lot more enthusiastic volunteers, the power that Wunchang Temple conveys to believe in doing charity and making a better society is spreading out.

2. Summary of Our Project

Lord Wunchang is the God of Literature. Many students flock to worship Him before exams. Taipei Wunchang Temple is the only temple in Taiwan that enshrines Lord Wunchang as the main temple god. The temple holds twice a year in spring and autumn an enlightenment ceremony, and additional ones are also held before important admission exams to pray good luck for students. During these periods of time, the tourism is also thriving thanks to both the students flocking to the temple and its location right next to the convenient MRT Shuanglien station. Many local and foreign tourists have been attracted to here. Students in Jan Cheng Junior High School also go to the temple to pray for good luck before the Basic Competency Test. Our goal is to illustrate the popularity of Taipei Wunchang Temple through firsthand investigations and in-depth interviews from the perspective of community involvement.

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

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Three major problems encountered during the projects are the shortage of time for discussion, the brand-new challenge of conducting a street survey, and the scarce knowledge about the traditional culture and rituals regarding Wunchang Temple. We relied on Facebook as a convenient workstation and forum for date sharing, task assignment and discussion. Students worked on the survey from scratch and carried it out with more satisfaction than frustration. The most rewarding part is that by completing the project, each student learned to appreciate something so close to their life and the community they live in.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Taipei Wunchang Temple is just one stop away from our school. Each year all the ninth graders visit there and pray for good luck before the admission exam to get into high schools. However, the only thing we knew about Wunchang Temple was good luck it could give us on tests. After the project, we learned that it is more than just a religious center local residents gather and pilgrims visit and pray for good luck. Wunchang Temple is also a charity center consisting of committee members, volunteer workers and neighborhood watch group members who carry out charitable works as their primary mission. Behind the popularity of Wunchang Temple, it is the positive message of “believe in the merit of giving” that these people want to convey to the society, and they show in person how powerful “believing” can be to make good deeds happen and come true.

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

In making this project possible and completing the project, students were exposed to a series of problem-solving tasks beyond their textbooks, be it the new software to get familiar with, the different methods to look for information, sort it out, digest it and then organize the information in understandable forms and words. Frustration to overcome when being rejected on the street, waiting for a smiling face and a helping hand to fill in the questionnaire make good exercise for them to overcome obstacles in reality and there is no one-and-only-answer available on this kind of test. It is a very practical way to stimulate students to put all they can together to fix problems, and only then will they treasure the exceptionally fruitful outcome.

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

Facebook comes handy to fix the “time” problem. Students and teachers can arrange work, discuss with partners, and have work done via Facebook without meeting in person. Students carried out a street survey from scratch and collected valuable reflection from inside the temple, including the committee members and volunteers, and valuable comments and advice from outside the temple, such as its neighboring vendors and store owners whose lives intertwine and connect closely with the temple. By participating in and helping out ceremonies and rituals held by Wunchang Temple, students learn with their own eyes and hands as well.

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

By conducting the survey, students learn a valuable lesson on the streets while asking random pilgrims visiting Wunchang Temple and its neighboring vendors or store owners. Even those people who have taken granted for what Wunchang Temple stands for and what it does to people start to re-think and re-define what Wunchang Temple means to them. Moreover, both the management committee members and the volunteers are evoked with the original pure belief and passion that has sustained them in carrying out positive deeds year after year. Wunchang Temple in the project contains a far richer role than merely a temple that runs routine offerings and holds scheduled ceremonies to pray for good luck and happiness. Wunchang Temple is kept alive and influential by people who believe in giving a helping hand to people in need, in good times and bad times.

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

As Wunchang Temple is praised and worshipped as just a temple, we found out through the project that it are the people behind it and around it together that make Wunchang Temple 'the one and only special' temple to the community. We see the power of believing, and how the power leads to success when it comes to encouraging people to be better and to be positive and helpful. And that is the new meaning and life those people give to the old and traditional temple in the modern society we want to help convey to more people who might have heard of it or who might have an interest to know more about it.

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

Since our school started to help arrange all 9th graders to pay a visit to Wunchang Temple each year, it has been part of the school tradition. Among the helpers that make it work out each year are the parents of students who also go to the temple. The parents are the crucial support behind the project. They help arrange the interviews, escort students to the ceremonies and demonstrate practices in the temple as well. And all the helpers on this project are all so willing to teach and give and care for the students no less than their real parents. It's great teamwork that sets a good example for all the team members.