CyberFair Project ID: 8116

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Dragon has Nine Sons—Trace of Dragon in Changhua
Category: 6. Historical Landmarks
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2016/gsh8116/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2016/gsh8116/index.htm

School: Hsin-Yi Junior High and Elementary School
    Changhua, Taiwan, Taiwan

7 students, ages 12~13 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 2, 2016. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2013, 2014, 2015

Classes and Teachers: Chih-hsiung Chao

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.hyjhes.chc.edu.tw/

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Changhua was formerly known as 'Banxian' which was a name by Taiwanese plains aborigines. The Hans transliterated the name. In Qing Dynasty, in order to 'highlight the indoctrination of the emperor', Yongzheng Emperor changed Banxian to Changhua. Changhua, located in center of Taiwan, gathers talents and can be regarded as the center of Taiwan. In the past, the county with folk custom developed mainly its agriculture and aquaculture. There are many historical sites as well as delicious snacks which leave unforgettable memories to travelers. Changhua attaches great importance to traditional culture and retains a variety of traditional customs and beliefs. Various temples full of believers, big and small, can be seen everywhere. The temples are often decorated with auspicious patterns, stone carving, wood carving, painting, and so on. Among all kinds of auspicious patterns, dragon is the most representative one. The patterns of dragon and its nine sons can be seen everywhere in Changhua temples.

2. Summary of Our Project

Dragon is the supreme animal in Chinese legend and the most representative symbol of Chinese culture. According to legend, dragon has nine sons who have their own strengths. Their images and stories have been handed down and often appeared in Chinese culture, especially in the decoration of temples. Through field surveys, this group traced the sons of dragon and introduced the legend with profound historical, cultural, and artistic value to you. Therefore, we formed a research team with the name of 'Faith Dragon Hunter' and focused on the following points under the guidance of our teachers:(1) Collect relevant data from internet and books. (2) Conduct interviews and surveys in the field (3) Organize and study the materials, write the research conclusion, suggestions and thoughts (4) Make a website to present the results. (5) Make more people become aware of our research results.

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:more than 6

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):

Our Computer and Internet Access: (1) At school: computers in the computer room are connected with bandwidth (2) At home: all team members have computers at home, connected with ADSL. (3) At the teacher’s house: ADSL.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

(1) Difficulties in making webpages: Limited by our ages and experience, we found it difficult to make webpages on our own. Most of us were still learning. As for the overall structure, we asked our teacher to teach and help us. (2) Unfamiliarity with a great deal of new knowledge: During the research, we found a lot of knowledge that we were unfamiliar with. We overcame it through careful reading and discussions with the teacher. (3) Uncooperativeness of team members sometimes: Our works are shared among the members, but during the process, due to personal expertise, time limit and capability training, the cooperation was difficult. With the teacher’s instruction and coordination, we gradually overcame this obstacle. (4) A lot of coordination was needed for field interviews: When we scheduled appointments with the interviewees, not only did we have to consider the team members’ time, but also the interviewees’. Therefore we had to make some contact and coordination because we could only carry out interviews on holidays.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Endeavor to contribute to the local historical and cultural characteristics.

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

The basic conception of Grade 1-9 Curriculum is to cultivate students with humanistic spirit, ability of integration, local and international awareness, and lifelong learning ability. The research topic we selected matched well with local characteristics and could enhance students' native feelings and international perspectives. Moreover, the reform of Grade 1-9 Curriculum reform shall, based on the actual curriculum design, lead students to develop towards a more diversified direction. Thus, via this Cyberfair project, we can promote school-based development as well as enhance the publicity of our hometown through the Internet. We participated in field surveys and learned much knowledge and skills during this Cyberfair project. Our school and the entire community support the students' participation in this project with hardware assistance. Combined with the school-based development, we have deeper understanding of the features of our community and county. Also, we learned many skills, including team spirit, communication skills, schedule planning, thinking training, observation and record, interview, skills of dealing with people, and so on. The most important is the ability of information searching and processing. This is a valuable experience. Education aims to develop students' potential and their capacity of adaption and improving living environment. The process of leading students to carry out the research is actually a way to teach their ability of integration, help them build their knowledge on meaningful study, assist them to develop possible fields, and expand their knowledge. This research has profound historical and cultural connotation, which leaves us with deep impression.

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Project Elements

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

As the development of technology, we expect our students to use information technology products during the research. For example, to use digital pen recorder during interview, use digital camera to shoot a film, and gather information from internet. Besides, we use telephone, watch videos, read newspapers, scan pictures, and edit articles. We benefit from information tools and technologies as following: Hardware: desk-top computer, notebook, digital camera, digital pen recorder, scanner, and printer. Software: Dreamweaver, Frontpage, Namo, Photoimpact, Microsoft Word, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, ACDSee, Cuteftp, and Flash. Internet: Web and Ftp Server, ADSL, Network hard drive, guestbook and e-mail.

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

For this Cyberfair project, we needed to understand the local characteristic of Changhua--Dragon has nine sons. Thus, we mainly conducted field surveys to collect data. Through the field surveys, we visited many temples, big and small and made our local citizens become aware of our efforts and the significance of this Cyberfair project. In order to communicate our ideas, we should first enrich our knowledge and strengthen our abilities. At school, we used rod puppets to perform the story of Dragon has Nine Sons to our junior schoolmates. At our community, we explained the story to our neighbors. In addition, we planned to put our research works on a website to serve as teaching materials of history and culture for our school and share our results with more people through the Internet who could understand our project and provide valuable suggestions to us.

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

Through the resources of the Internet, we hope that more and more people will become aware of and concern about local history and culture. And we want to reveal our constant efforts in promoting the information education of our school. In the basic conception of Grade 1-9 Curriculum, we have been emphasizing school-based development and cultivation of native feelings. Through this project and activities, we traveled almost all the temples in our county, big and small! Education work should be carried out and promoted step by step. As the old saying goes, 'Do your work and leave the rest to God.' We believe that our efforts can narrow the gap among the citizens of our community.

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

In the era of knowledge economy today, the success of a team does not lie in the strengths of its members but in teamwork spirit and the ability to seek help. Our teachers adhered to the idea while guiding us so as to encourage us. Therefore, besides data and resources collection by ourselves, we spent much time in field surveys and interviews. We'd like to thank the volunteer guides at Changhua City Office, guides at Department of Cultural Affairs of Lukang Cultural and Educational Foundation, responsible persons of temples, and so on. We can enjoy fruits because of the existence of trees. We really thank the seniors who helped us! Thanks to their hearty assistance, we could understand more. On the other hand, we needed to train good interview attitudes and skills. Hence, we exerted many efforts in our training of interview, for instance, politeness, etiquette, skills of asking questions, and so on in order to present the best ourselves to the interviewees politely.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

In the course of the study, we learned to be humble and open-minded. We cherished and cared. We understood the value of life, which helped us grow a lot. During the study, we encountered difficulties in cooperation with each other. We learned how to understand, encourage, and sincerely communicate with each other. And we learned to shoulder our responsibilities. In this way, we could continue our task, present our results, and obtain the maximum learning effects.

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