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1. Description of Our Community
Huatan Township is located in Changhua County, the middle west Taiwan. The population was about 43,000 in 2023. There are 18 administrative districts, one junior high school, and six elementary schools in Huatan Township. Jasmine flowers, pomelo, slippers, fingerling- cottages village, mugwort, brick klins, bamboo shoots, and starfruit are famous local specialties. Huatan Township is also known as “the Hometown of Jasmine Flowers” because the production is the most in Taiwan. Moreover, many people are fond of Jasmine flowers. The delicate fragrance of Jasmine flowers represents kindness, gentleness, welcoming and respect, and so does Huatan spirit. Besides, Wen- Te Master (Tudi Gong) is the only Earth God in an official hat; Wen- Te Temple is a well- known attraction. There are three cultural art events in Taiwan, such as Lantern Festival in the north, Fengpao Fireworks Festival in the south, and Lantern Array Welcoming Event in central Taiwan. Among them, Huatan Baishakeng Lantern Array Welcoming Event is the intangible cultural heritage of Changhua.
2. Summary of Our Project
Regarding the origin of the Huatan Baishakeng Lantern Array Welcoming Event, local legend has it that Wei-Chen Tseng, the first literary official stationed in Taiwan, was on a parade with the emperor to enjoy the lanterns in 1828. Wei-Chen Tseng was so moved by the grand scene that the elders in his hometown could not appreciate it, so he wanted to resign and return to his hometown. In order to commemorate his filial piety, Emperor Daoguang gave special permission to celebrate the Lantern Festival with the villagers in Baishakeng, Huatan Township, Changhua every year, imitating the “Lantern Array Welcoming” event in the capital. To date, every Lantern Festival, the Huatan people in Changhua hold Lantern Array Welcoming event and drum troupe pilgrimage, which has a history of 195 years. This event was registered and announced as an intangible cultural heritage of Changhua County in 2008. This event not only retains the old style inherited from the Qing Dynasty, but also is featured by a Lantern Array Welcoming and drum troupe pilgrimage during the Lantern Festival, which has a deeper cultural heritage significance. The lantern array is paired with the Huatan Elementary School’s dragon drum troupe drumming performance. The music that shakes life is conveyed in the air flowing around people through the sound of drums.
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 school uses fiber optical Internet with a transmission speed of 1000mbps. We have two computer classrooms at school and there are two servers. The computers of our computer classroom connect to the internet through a dedicated line, and through the server obtain access to various Internet services. The Internet connection is somewhat stable. There is a computer in each class which students can use during the break time. All members of the project have access to a computer and internet at home. Some of the project were done and uploaded at home. However, most of the project was completed at school.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
As far as the information ability is concerned, Huatan Township is an agricultural town. Although almost everyone has a cellphone, the rate of computers that students have at home is not quite high. Therefore, the ability of the manipulating information tools is not on average. Every team member is good at different things. Many problems had been solved by team cooperation and effective communication. Secondly, from different classes, we could only spend spare time doing the research. We used LINE to discuss with others about the most up-to-date progress and obtain the immediate feedbacks after school. Gradually, we learned to make the research and interview more efficiently. During the research process, our teachers gave assistance, and contacted the interviewees to help us learn more and concentrated on what we did.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
To enable everyone to know more about the local art and culture of Huatan and to further integrate music into life.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
This Cyberfair project involves the standards for domains of social sciences and arts in the Curriculum Guidelines of 12 Year Basic Education, as well as the special curriculum norms of Huatan Elementary School. From this project research, we learned information application, interview skills and correct analysis of network information. We also learned the importance of teamwork and communication. We reached consensuses through communication and completed the tasks of making webpages, writing interview scripts and progress reports. Huatan Elementary School’s dragon drum troupe has been participating in the Lantern Array Welcoming event for some time. With this great opportunity to participate in the Cyberfair project, we experienced the beauty of art and culture. The theme content of this Cyberfair project not only enabled us to understand the local lantern array culture but could also be used as a reference for classroom teaching to help us further understand the beauty of the art and culture of the hometown. In the future, the Lantern Array Welcoming event can also be used as a key feature to advocate our school. This is where our current project research is particularly meaningful: to promote the beauty of the local art and culture of the Dragon Drum Troupe’s Lantern Array Welcoming, and to integrate the school and community into a happy movement.
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1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?
The software and hardware of making project website are provided by school. For example, notebook computers, digital cameras, digital video cameras, printers, scanners, and recording pens. Besides, social software can be applied to discuss and communicate immediately. Winscp, FrontPage, DreamWeaver are used to edit the project website. Xmind is helpful for discussing the framework, draw mind mapping in order to brainstorm during team conference. Then, SPSS is used to analyze the questionnaire and obtain valuable data. We use cellphones and digital video cameras to take interviewees’photos and films, and Gimp and PhotoCap to design graphic. At last, Movavi and Video Editor are used to edit films, dub and make subtitles to present the whole films on the website.
2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.
In order to introduce the Huatan Dragon Drum’s Lantern Array Welcoming, we performed on-site documentation and interviews, which gave us the opportunity to contact different event participants, learn about the different ideas of the audiences, and further understand the impact. We also used our after-school time to design posters and Dragon Drum music to match with the Lantern Array Welcoming event. Huatan Elementary School’s Dragon Drum Troupe and lantern array’s main lantern participated in the lantern array cultural season event. In addition to the zodiac main lantern, the lantern array also included school-specific lanterns. Through this event, the on-site audiences were able to learn of Huatan Elementary School and lantern array culture. Besides, the performance of the Dragon Drum Troupe heated up the atmosphere and became the spokesperson of the school. Not only did the audiences at the scene become more aware of the lantern array culture and Huatan Elementary School’s Dragon Drum Troupe, but they also rushed to take photos with the Dragon Drum Troupe and the lantern array. Each of us suddenly became a super star. We all felt really accomplished and left a deep impression.
3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?
This Cyberfair project mainly introduces the Dragon Drum Lantern Array Welcoming culture in Huatan. In addition to starting to understand the origin of lantern array culture, lantern array, lanterns and various activities and rituals, the elders from Wende Temple and the community also provided us with valuable advice. This project also taught us to be more generous and polite when talking to the elders, and we felt like “little reporters!” Through the introduction of the Cyberfair project, the community residents can better understand the local art and culture, then identify themselves with and participate in it, and eventually integrate the culture into their own lives and change their lives. We and the community have learned a lot regarding the inheritance of art and culture and the philosophy of life. We hope that the seeds of art can sprout from schools and slowly expand to the community to affect parents and residents in the community. Hopefully, everyone may wander in the kingdom of local art and culture, integrate aesthetic life into life, and weave a happy life movement together.
4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
Firstly, we would like to thank Chairman Hsi-Kuei Li of Huatan Baishakeng Wende Temple and Director General Jung-Chang Chen for introducing the lantern array culture to us. We would also like to thank Mr. Chi-Yu Weng, the Huatan village representative, and Chin-Ti Ke, the head of Changsha Village, for arranging the interviews. The Wende Temple theme song, which was written by Yong-Chang Li, and MS. Miao-Wen Wu of Dragon Drum Troupe provided the Dragon Drum Troupe with lantern array integrated with local music elements. Secondly, we would like to thank Captain Hsuan-Yang Li of the volunteer team for assisting students with transportation during interviews. Through the arrangements and assistance of the above-mentioned local people in the community, we clarified the questions in our minds and grasped the key points of the project. They also cared about our daily project progress and encouraged us to continue with confidence. We also learned a lot of valuable knowledge and successfully completed the Cyberfair project. Lastly, we would like to thank the parents and community members who silently supported Huatan Elementary School. They made our research more meaningful and richer, as well as enabled us to spread the beauty of art and culture through the Cyberfair project.
5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)
Discoveries: We didn't know much about Huatan lantern array before. After in-depth exploration, we discovered that this culture has such a long history! When we performed on-site interviews, we discovered that preserving an art and culture requires a lot of resources and enthusiasm. Lessons: We realized that we must be responsible in doing things, and we also understood that “teamwork is powerful.” Through group division of labor and cooperation, we could also cultivate mutual understanding. It was inevitable that we would slack off during the process. Fortunately, the teacher kept reminding and encouraging us, so even though the process was very difficult, we could still persevere until the end. Surprises: We have never seriously explored the local charm from local art and culture before. After in-depth investigations and interviews, we discovered that every link is important, and a small link will affect the progress and inheritance of the entire lantern array event. The attitude of 'doing things well' is very worthy of our learning.
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View our CyberFair Project
(Project ID: 8746)
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