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1. Description of Our Community
The area where we conducted our research is Sin-hua Township. Sin-hua Township, in the southern part of Taiwan, used to be called “Tavokan,” in local Language, which means “the land of woods and hills.” It’s not only a place teeming with spectacular natural scenery, but also a place full of interesting cultures,including the magnificent Baroque structures, literature museums full of cultural atmosphere, tranquil natural hills……., etc. What makes here so abundant is not just the past history; now, there are also a group of music lovers who are mixing the touching tones with their lives—by playing the mandolin, they socialize with people. They constantly join the cultural activities in the community, hold concerts arousing the public to pay more attention to inferiors, and express their love and warmness through the music, all of which produce a harmonious atmosphere for the whole community. This is Sinhua Lo-ui Mandolin Ensemble we are going to introduce.
2. Summary of Our Project
Each string on the mandolin touches people’s heart, one after another. A group of music lovers write down their music stories belonging only to Sin-hua. At the very beginning, they just wanted those mentally or physically-challenged people to get an opportunity to develop themselves in a different way. Gradually, more and more local music lovers joined in, which ended up creating the colorful band. This is the musical record, originating from the Sinhua Lo-ui Mandolin Ensemble--a band which communicates through music, cares about lives, and connects people’s affections in the community.
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:none
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:2-3
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
1.School: T1 2.Home: ADSL
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
A. ambiguous ideas: At first, each student was not sure of exactly what to do. Though there were members of the band in our team, the students were still new to this instrument and the band, let alone building the web pages. Later, because of the video tapes, we got to know more about the band’s history. The teacher also arranged lots of interviews and then we visited the studio where mandolins were made. In addition, we watched lots of their practices. Eventually, we builded up more clear ideas about the band. B. difficulties of time arrangement: There were quite a few students who were also members of the recorder club and the choir. Therefore, it was not easy to gather every student together to discuss. What’s worse, they happened to have the annual musical contest, so they had to practice more often. Since it was hard for everyone to find a common time together, the students had no choice but to take turns doing the interview. Sometimes, when they came back, those who were in charge of putting the record in order just went out practicing, so they had trouble understanding the data. Therefore, the teachers made a schedule and each group listened to the explanation accordingly. It was more laborious for the teachers because they instructed the students during almost the whole process. C. slow degrees of progress—insufficient content in the Internet: Before starting the website, we surfed the Net, but there was little information about it, owing to the fact that this instrument was still not common in Taiwan. We ended up knowing where to start from by interviewing the founder of the band, visiting Mr.Xu‘s studio, knowing how a mandolin was created, and watching the practice and the performances. D. the problem of the computer linkage: Some students could not get their computer linked at home; they could only use it at school. Sometimes, time was up without achieving anything. What a difficult situation!
5. Our Project Sound Bite
A task always begins with difficulty. Just do your best, and chances are it will work out. Working on this project is a good example. We really appreciate this opportunity.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
According to the principles of Grade 1-9 Curriculum, learning is not confined to the textbooks only. Also, we have to put what we learn in school into practice. Working on this project is exactly learning. We learned how to make the most use of the Internet and also learned the skills of building web pages. We learned how to analyze a problem and solve it step by step. We learned to cooperate with each other more carefully, diligently, and responsibly. All of these are learning far beyond the textbooks. And all we have learned is surely beneficial to our future applications in learning and in life.
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1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?
1. DV ( source: school; function: filming) 2. phone, cell phone ( source: team members; function: communicating and discussing) 3. computer ( source: school team members; function: data input and Internet surfing web page building) 4. disk ( source: school team members; function: data storage) 5. flash drive ( source: teachers; function: data storage) 6. recorder ( source: school; function: meeting and interview recording) 7. scanner ( source: school; function: photo scanning) 8. digital camera ( source: school and team members; function: photo taking) 9. traditional camera ( source: school and team members; function: photo taking) 10. references books ( source: school; function: reference providing on computer software and web page design) 11. Software: Word, PhotoImpact, PhotoShop, Cute FTP, Flash, Dreamweaver Mx, ACDSee 3.0, FrontPage 12. Computer Systems: Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows 2000
2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.
A.Connect with the local To get more detail about the local activities, we interviewed the persons directly or indirectly associated with the band, making our efforts understood. We also showed our expectation for the continuous and everlasting affluences of this music. Most of the interviews were carried on face to face. We compensated the interviews by talking to the interviewees on the phone when we found that some details were missed afterwards. B.Promote the members of our school, both students and teachers, to perform for the whole school To expose the band to the public, we invited the member students and teachers at school to play in the band. By using one evening after school, they did a wonderful performance outdoors, which is also one way of boosting artistic activities.
3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?
The largest influence of this research is that it explores our world. For one thing, music is such a wonderful thing, bringing so much happiness to people and changes people’s lives. For another, the mandolin is not only an instrument for us to play; gradually, it turns out that we are also interacting with others. As what Mr. Said,” It’s better to share the merry moment with another than to play alone; whereas its even better to spread the happiness to many others.” We feel satisfied that playing the mandolin is helpful to others, making people feel the happiness and love. Finally, we learn that whatever we do—reading, playing the instrument, playing sports, just be patient. Anything can lead to good results as long as we insist on it. What is worth learning from the band is that the members can insist on their love for music and caring for others. Thanks to the report of their stories, we hope that more and more people would care about what they care—people in the society; meanwhile, we hope more and more students would love music, due to this contact.
4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
As we have mentioned, we did meet a lot of difficulty. Luckily, with the help of some people, we could complete this project. We are so grateful and appreciate that. Here, special thanks to: A.The members and those teachers who have joined all the activities. B.Our parents –also providing information , lending certain tools, driving us to the interviews, and their support. C.Teachers – their encouragement and instructions
5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)
As this is our first time ,it’s really a hard job.So are our teachers.Because they must bring the crowd not knowing about the specialized domain to make the homepage,it’s difficult index reaches as high as 90%.Fortunately in this way,we finally passed the test and completed the homepage.The homepage content is to introduce the local musical group--Sinhua Lo-ui Mandolin Ensemble.And this is we want to discover what’s the difference among other orchestras.All these are a challenge for us including time, materials,the compilation ability and grasping the key point.Everybody gradually entered the condition at the end of December It was really at the juncture! Furthermore,we know how important is the arrangement of time. We learn not only the knowledge also the attitude.After seeing so many people take delight in music and concern the community,we are touched deeply by these.We want to write the beauty of music and humanness. We don’t know how much we have expressed but we will exert harder in the future.
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View our CyberFair Project
(Project ID: 5314)
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