School: Te-Long Elementary School
    Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taiwan

6 students, ages 11~12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 5, 2012. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2012

Classes and Teachers: Ye Jian-long, Li Jing-fen, and Chen Ya-yin

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.tles.tyc.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

Our school--Te-Long Elementary School is located at Longtan Township, Taoyuan County. If you take a bus from Longtan to Buxin, you will see “Sacred Deed Pavilion” on your left side. It is the largest and most well-designed respect words pavilion in Taiwan. Then you will pass an up-slope which is called “Lingyungang.” It was called “Henggangzai” before. There is a flat basin between the up-slope and the nearby “Rugu Mountain.” The basin is called “Henggangbei,” where the literary author, Feng Hui-yue, lives. It is also the location of the our elementary school. Compared with Taoyuan and Zhongli, this place is not highly urbanized yet, so people live simple and leisurable lives here. This basin is surrounded by mountains. The broad view, the fresh air, and the dense tea plantations make people feel carefree and joyous.

2. Summary of Our Project

Feng Hui-yue, a literary author of children’s books, was the director of academic affairs at the elementary school and lived along Shengting Road near the school. Feng Hui-yue wrote lots of warm and interesting prose about his hometown--Henggangbei. His children’s poems and songs were inspired by plants, insects, and birds in Henggangbei. In his works, “Henggangbei” embraced and nourished him like a tender mother. We are deeply interested in this literary author living at “Henggangbei”--How about his childhood and present life?Why does he decide to be a writer?How does Henggangbei attract and inspire this writer?Therefore, we explore the career of the “king of children at Henggangbei.”

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

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

Our internet devices: the school connects with the academic network with Fast Ethernet 100M

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1.Congenital quality: our school is located at Longtan, but the campus is in the secluded area.Compared with the urban area, we don't have the same cultural inspiration and life standard. Our members worked hard and realized how to grasp rare chances. 2.Information capability: our members could not type fast, search for useful information, or deal with images effectively. Fortunately, our instructors taught them many things in this project, so students learned a lot. 3.Information collection: there was lots of information about Feng Hui-yue on internet, but we found lots of repeated information. We spent lots of time and strength finding the information we needed after making a painstaking investigation. We studied Feng Hui-yue's works for collecting more reliable information. On the other hand, we had several interviews but the sound effect was not so clear. It was hard for us to turn the contents of the radio records into texts. In addition, we interviewed Mr. Feng Hui-yue twice and visited community residents and the community empowerment association. The information made our collection perfect. 4.Music skill: in order that students in the school can join in this activity, we planed to hold a Hakka children's song performance. We made use of the simplest way and recorded a Feng Hui-yue's work in a Hakka children's song TV show by listening. Then we recorded the melody with composer software. After consulting music teachers about the composing principles, we tried to edit a double-part harmonica score with the bass part. 5.Teamwork: most teamwork was done during the winter vacation. However, some members must go to the cram school, others go traveling, and still others take part in the harmonica club at school. As a result, there was just a little time for the teamwork. Besides three meetings at school and an interview, all members kept in touch with phone calls and e-mails. Each member finished his or her responsible task respectively.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Through this interview, we realized that 'unity is power.' The power of one person is limited. Without the discussion, inspiration, and cooperation with others, we could not accomplish many things. On the other hand, we found the 'simple beauty' from our object of research, Feng Hui-yue. We realized ordinary things, simple life, and easy games could lead to internal satisfaction. As long as we try to observe and think carefully, we can find our own 'Henggangbei' in our mind.

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

1.Linguistic field: for understanding Feng Hui-yue, a children's literary author, we read lots of his works, so we gain great progress in the problem analysis of the research, information collection, integration, communication, and expression techniques. In addition, we integrate the project with the vision of our school: landscape, poetry, love, and vigor. We have assignments of children's poems every semester. Students accomplish this assignment smoothly this year. It proves our capability of poem composition is improved after being instructed by Director Feng's works. Our appreciation of Hakka children's songs makes us realize the beauty of Hakka dialect. 2.Social field: through the prose and interview of Director Feng, we understand the rural life in Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s. The interpersonal relationship and the relationship between people and their community were so inseparable. They were totally different from the modern society. We are more familiar with the change of the land where we live-'Henggangbei.' We understand more Hakka culture and customs. 3.Natural field and life technology: we apply the knowledge and capability we learn in the computer class to the collection and integration of information. 4.Artist and human field: though the process of composition is not successful, we learn how to record the notation with the software and realize many musical principles.

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

Our information devices are provided by the school. The usage of these devices is shown in the following list: 1.Hardware: 1-1Computer : Information editing and processing 1-2Internet : Information consulting 1-3Scanner : Gaining pictures 1-4Printer : Printing pictures 1-5Digital camera : Taking pictures of activities 1-6Recording pen : Recording interviews 2.Software: 2-1Word : Editing documents 2-2PhotoImpact : Picture processing 2-3Firefox,Internet Explorer : Website browsing and producing 2-4Blog program : Discussion, sharing, information collection 3.Others: 3-1Telephone : Contact members and interviewees 3-2Library : Information collection

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

1.We introduce Feng Hui-yue and his works to adults and children in the school through various campus promotion activities. They get more identified with Hakka culture. 2.In the interview with community residents, they recollect the same childhood with Feng Hui-yue's. Their cultural identification in this community is enhanced, and their emotion for the community is also improved. 3.When we are visiting 'Henggangbei Museum of Literature,' the CEO of the community empowerment association found we were engrossed in our study on Feng Hui-yue, so he invited us to join in the activity held by the association and perform Feng Hui-yue's Hakka children's song on April 30th. We felt honorable when we realized we would represent Feng Hui-yue to exalt his 'Henggangbei literature.'

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

Because of this project, we usually discussed the stories in Director Feng’s childhood in our class or in the harmonica club. Several senior students were interested in Director Feng’s age, so they borrowed his works from the library. We remembered how Director encouraged us: reading more literary works will grant you more wisdom. When our teacher shared Director Feng’s stories about how he treated his parents with filial obedience in class, we were touched by these stories. We found such an outstanding literary author could also be an ordinary and simple man. We should learn a lot from him.

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

We went door-to-door to interview the author's neighbors. They are Wu Xiu-qi,ECO of Tao Jian Bao Community Empowerment Association, Auntie Zeng who is also a volunteer mother in our school,and Grandpa Wei; just to name a few. They all gave us a lot of useful information such as the childhood of the author, and read us some proses that the author wrote.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

We found the beauty of many people and things requires careful appreciation. A simple and plain article contains lots of wonders. An ordinary man has profound cultivation and esteemed morality. An easy game can give us mental pleasure. An unknown wild grass beside the road inspires a man to write a masterpiece. We should cherish so many beautiful things around our lives.