School: Kang Chiao International School (Middle School)
    New Taipei City, , Taiwan

8 students, ages 13-15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 28, 2018. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Classes and Teachers: Hsiao Shih-Hsuan, Peng Ying-Tsong

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.kcbs.ntpc.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

Taiwan is an island nation in East Asia located to the southeast of China. In the mountains of Sanzhi, New Taipei City, lies The PACK Sanctuary, an animal protection organization that rescues animals in need, provides the aid they can to assist them, and treats them in a moral, caring way. Animal protection can be considered a fairly new concept as it was introduced in Taiwan only about 20 years ago when the first animal protection organization in Taiwan was founded. Only until recent years have animal rights, animal welfare, and animal protection been widely promoted in Taiwan. At The PACK Sanctuary, a team of dedicated staff work to assist animals that are suffering or are injured, and they provide those animals with a healthy, carefree life until they are adopted.

www.kcis.ntpc.edu.tw/2018cyberfair/PACK/index.html

2. Summary of Our Project

By interviewing and interacting with members of the staff at The PACK Sanctuary and researching animal protection related issues, laws, and organizations online, our project demonstrates understanding about the significance of animal welfare. Our respect and appreciation for them can prevent the slaughtering of these animals for mere pleasure, stop the spread of diseases caused by stray animals such as rabies and toxoplasmosis, and ensure that animals are being treated morally when used for experimental purposes, etc. Animals like dogs and cats can be our best companions, and other animals such as pigs and sheep play a significant role to humans in an agricultural and economical aspect. By delivering this knowledge to the world, we are taking action and promoting animal welfare. We hope to impact and encourage more people in not only our local community but also all around the globe to stand up against animal abuse and animal cruelty.

www.kcis.ntpc.edu.tw/2018cyberfair/PACK/index.html

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:4-6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem

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 school provided us with a local optical network (100M), as nowadays technology has become so essential that it exists in almost every aspect of our life. Most of our work was completed during a period of time during winter vacation and also during club time. Google services such as Google Drive and Google Documents were used to assist us in organizing and editing our information.

www.kcis.ntpc.edu.tw/2018cyberfair/PACK/index.html

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Due to the fact that this is our first time conducting an interview and participating in the International Cyberfair, we encountered some difficulties. For instance, when we were interviewing members of the staff in The PACK Sanctuary, our interviewers did not have microphones. Consequently, we had a hard time making out what the interviewer was asking when we were typing word for word transcripts for each video. Other difficulties include technical issues during filming, and how we spent a lot of time attempting to come up with interview and survey questions. Eventually, we managed to get over these obstacles by cooperating as a team. We also genuinely appreciate all the help we received from our teachers and The PACK Sanctuary. After this experience, we now understand how to conduct interviews in a professional manner, how to design surveys and ask effective questions, and how to film and edit videos.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

After participating in this year’s Cyberfair, we, as students, endeavored to achieve the best results possible. We learned the importance of teamwork, communication, and interaction between people. This experience also enhanced our writing, researching, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and most importantly, our willingness to learn. Last but not least, our technological abilities have improved after this project, for instance, we learned how to set up a website.

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

In this project, we acquired collaboration, time management, information organization, and effective communication skills, all of which are crucial both in school and in life. We now better understand animal welfare related issues, as this project requires us to deeply research those matters. Due to the fact that this project involves critical thinking and seeking answers to solutions ourselves, this project fits into our school’s education system and standards, as the school requires us to learn, do research on our own, and to be independent. Using the Internet has been more effective than traditional methods because search engines allow us to be able to access a wide variety of information instantaneously. For example, we were able to reach out to The PACK Sanctuary through their contact information we found on the Internet, and we were able to obtain data through web-based questionnaires.

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

Software We Used: Google Docs: edit and organize information Google Drive: store and organize files Google Forms: create a survey, summarize survey results oTranscribe: transcribe interviews Photoshop Adobe Muse Adobe Premiere, iMovie HTML Tools we Used: Cameras: film, take photos Phones: contact, voice recording Laptops/Desktop PCs: record information, design our website Wi-fi/Optical Network: access the Internet, network connection for computers Blackboard: project planning Other tools/resources: Oral interview with staff members at The PACK Sanctuary Online survey: to collect more information The PACK Sanctuary’s official website

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

In the process of making this project, we created an online survey in order to collect information regarding the extent to which people understood animal welfare related matters, their thoughts on stray animals, etc. The survey, representing our school, was emailed to a large number of people, and a total of 159 of them responded. It included a brief summary of our project, and the email included a description of the significance of animal welfare. In person, we promoted our Cyberfair project by informing the people around us, and we not only persuaded them to fill out our survey, we also actively supported and encouraged animal protection. Animals possess their rights, and should be treated ethically, as they deserve it-just as humans, who are also animals, do. No matter if the animal is your beloved pet, or if it is a stray dog wandering the streets, they should not be subject to cruelty or abuse.

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

The purpose of our project is to promote and draw attention to the significance of animal protection and welfare. By selecting The PACK Sanctuary as our topic, we hope that more people, in Taiwan and all around the world, will be willing to pay attention to this issue. There are plenty of people who are caring and love animals, but a small portion of people who are cruel to animals also exists. During our interview, we discussed ways to help stray animals and methods to effectively control and neuter them in order to restrict the spreading of diseases. Our website will assist and make an impact by globalizing the issue of animal protection and welfare, and influence them so that they can care for animals, too.

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

Our Cyberfair project involved our teammates, our interviewee and the organization she belongs to, and information provided online. Our classmates, the seniors, and our teachers also assisted us in the completion of this project. The PACK’s staff provided us information regarding animal welfare, how their organization came to be, etc. The seniors gave us advice based on their experience, and they taught us skills on how to modify our website and pictures. Furthermore, our online survey involved a variety of different people in our community that we had sent the survey to, as they provided their opinions and thoughts on animal protection and welfare. All of them contributed significantly to our project and we are very thankful for their effort.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

After spending time researching about animal welfare and protection in Taiwan, we were surprised when we discovered that it is still not a widely promoted issue here. Now that we understand the significance of animal protection, we want to help promote this issue and help make a change not only in our community, but also make an impact on a worldwide scale through our website. We also discovered that the staff at The PACK Sanctuary is extremely dedicated and has a lot of passion in caring for these animals that are suffering or are in need of help. Throughout the process, we learned important skills, such as teamwork, interviewing, and website creating skills, and we also learned how to collect and organize information in an effective manner. Our teachers, teammates, and the staff at The PACK Sanctuary all assisted us when we encountered difficulties, and we solved our problems together as a team. Finally, we want to thank every single person who assisted us in the making of this project as we learned a lot from all of them.