CyberFair Project ID: 7465

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Changhua County Ershui Township Water Running Festival
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2013/gsh7465/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2013/gsh7465/narrative.htm

School: Ershui Junior High School
    Ershui Township, Changhua County, Taiwan

10 students, ages 13-14 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 7, 2013. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2012

Classes and Teachers: 2

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Ershui Township is located at the southern tip of the Bagua Mountain. It connects with Nantou County in the east and looks over the Jhuoshuei River in the south. Commanding a great aerial view, the area is blessed with a beautiful landscape, fresh air, and an excellent natural environment. Erbawan Ancient Trail, Eco-Hall for Formosa Macaque, Babao Canal, and Lin Siansheng Temple are all in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, the well-planned biking trails in the township are the best venues for education of ecosystem preservation, local arts, history, and literature. The Water Running Festival, a significant annual event of Ershui Township that has been held for many years, also attracts numerous visitors. Ershui Township is known for its abundant agriculture outputs: pomelos, coffee and Luo River ink slabs. It is also a hub for railway transportation, with the Jiji Line (one of the three Taiwan Railway routes) branching out from Ershui and passing through Yuanquan Village, where the Babao Canal and Lin Siansheng Temple may be found. This is also the location where the Water Running Festival is held each year. The convenience of transportation encourages a bigger flow of tourism. With great natural surroundings and rich cultural traditions, Ershui Township will definitely become an optimal tourist destination.

2. Summary of Our Project

The Water Running Festival has been a historical celebration in Ershui Township for a long time. In addition to celebrating the annual Water Running Festival at the original source of Babao Canal, the township people present Thanksgiving offerings and Canal Source offerings prior to the festival, to show their admiration and gratitude for their ancestors. When the event host recites the offering statements in the ceremony, the rhythmic flow of sound, the beautiful tone passing from generation to generation, and the solemn flow of the crowds make the event a precious and irreplaceable folk art.The project records the festivals and ceremonies of the past and present, including the scenarios and tones in the ceremonies, the creative and artistic design of the festivals, the exhibition of local products (Luo River Ink slabs, Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition, etc.), the setting and atmosphere of the Time Tunnel introducing Lin Siansheng (e.g. planning of the exhibition area), and the introduction to the local festival by students, etc. Through the folk festivals, people of Ershui Township give thanks to their ancestors, while understanding that art exists and comes from life.

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:2-3

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:not sure

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Due to the inflexible class schedule, the team members had to work on the project during lunch breaks and club activity periods. Giving consideration to passing on the heritage, the eighth graders shared experiences with the seventh graders, which took up some time. The interviews for the activities of the Water Running Festival needed to be done at non-school hours. Collecting information in Ershui Township Hall within two class periods of the club activity course was done in a rush, considering the 30 minutes round trip bicycle ride. Prior to this, the selected students for the team needed to get permission from their teachers (due to them being in different classes) and parents. We then started to meet to explain the purpose of the project and their responsibilities, and developed the theme and objective for the project. Our students live in Ershui Township, facing the Jhuoshuei River and leaning back against the hill. As this is a relatively remote place, elementary students tend to have limited access to information compared to the students in big cities. Therefore, it was necessary to provide instructions outside class hours, regarding the collection, organization, analysis of data, and the writing of texts. This was undoubtedly a daunting task given the already tight timeline. (Fortunately, our students are great artists and very creative in graph designs.)During the previous semester, we had meetings almost every week. We also organized the 50th anniversary athletic meet and a cheerleading competition. In order to be fully prepared, each class had used free periods for intensive practice. This left us with very limited flexibility in terms of our school hours. All the students and teachers involved had to juggle schoolwork and campus activities while they proceeded with the Cyberfair project. Everybody was extremely busy.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

From the interviews on the past and present of the Water Running Festival, we discovered the beauty of rhythm in reciting offering statements. From interviews to the participants of the activities, we discovered the humanity among people and the spirit of hard work in life. From the interaction between the narrators, we discovered the wisdom in life accumulated through years and the great spirit of diligence, not showing off their successes, and never forgetting where they are from, from their ancestors

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

Analysis of data and responding to questions are essential to language learning. The interviewing process, the analysis of photos and data, and the writing of articles, all present an opportunity for students to apply their linguistic capabilities.Students need to compare and analyze the collected data, then interpret the output and document it. They are also required to relate their findings to daily life and create a milestone for the school.Through interacting with others while collecting data, students learn to listen to different voices and to care for people and things around them.Students learn how the water-guiding function of Bamboo Gao relates to a theory in the science textbook and therefore, understand their ancestors’ wisdom and ability to survive. The students share about their school and local messages with the outside world through computers and exchanged information.The computer is an essential tool of modern society for delivering information. We learned how to establish a website and shared information from this project, and also the webpage production process.Where does the water of Babao Canal come from? How do the different water levels of Jhuoshuei River affect the arrangement of bamboo cages? How does the landscape of Ershui help, rather than stunt, the agriculture development? Why is garbage found in today's Babao Canal? Through exploration and research, we see the changes in the environment, which remind us to record and cherish the beautiful place.

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Project Elements

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

There are six desktops available to teachers in the Student Affairs Office (also the office for homeroom teachers). They are all connected to the Internet. Printers and other accessories are also available. Team members had spent considerable time typing for research projects and sometimes used the workspace there. The Teaching Affairs Office previously had a number of laptops. It has added another new one as part of the preparation for the teachers’ evaluations (now used by this project team). Over the past years, it has purchased DV, digital cameras and graphic tablets. All these devices are mostly open to long-term borrowers. This allowed us to access these tools for research and recording purposes.There are more than 30 desktops in the computer classroom. In addition, our school has established an IT Club this year. We were able to ask for assistance from the club members for all typing and data production tasks. We could also use the facilities in the computer classroom for data collations during club activity hours.There are computer teachers, who we can consult at any time, for assistance in matters such as webpage productions.Teaching Affairs Office has various software, such as Photoimpact11. The retired teachers, current teachers and school employees also provide us with software packages, such as VideoStudio, Illustrator and Frontpage, to facilitate webpage production.

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

Babao Canal is where the Running Water Festival takes place, so a field trip to the location is necessary; besides, across the street from the Babao Canal is the Lin Siansheng Temple where the “Department of Irrigation and Water Conservation of Changhua County” is located inside, so we visited the department to collect information for the website and made the first step to interact with the community.This is one of the two most important jobs of the project. The whole team met for the event. Shooting for the Thanksgiving offerings, Canal Source offerings, and Running Water Festival, we felt the atmosphere during the activities. We interviewed tourists, booth vendors, and various event sponsors and collected information for further discussion of “Babao Canal, the legend of Lin Siansheng, and the Water Running Festival” and the crowds’ thoughts. This promoted our project and made the second step in interacting with the community.Through the contact with Ershui Township Hall, we did not only collect information we needed, but also learned to work with the officials, using their help, to promote our project. This was the third step of interacting with the community and extending the sphere of impact.

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

After the “Grade 1-9 Curriculum” is implemented, the focus of education is no longer only on knowledge, but also on goodwill and “know-how”. Considering the national plan for implementing the partially exam-free studies starting in the year 2013, the current education method of targeting on “study for entering higher education” is no longer suitable. The trend of knowledge and economy in the 21th century has made it inevitable that students are no longer “knowledge receivers”, but “knowledge discoverers”, or even “knowledge inventors”. Our school needs to develop specialties in education methods. In the project, we learned to use knowledge, in addition to memorizing it, through the process of discovering problems, inquiries, interviews, statistical analyses, organization and thinking. Moreover, we interacted with the local communities in depth and learned to appreciate the things that we have taken for granted. These build the foundation for developing the possibilities of creating a better future.Ershui Township is a beautiful place. It leans back against the hill and faces the Jhuoshueiui River. The closed environment makes it a simple and friendly place. People are kind and welcoming here. Moreover, the Ershui bike lanes, Lin Siansheng Temple, and Running Water Festival are tour resources that Ershui Township is proud of. For the project of the Water Running Festival, we have interviewed many participants and understood different viewpoints and suggestions. After organizing, analyzing and thinking about the information, we’ve mastered the techniques of promoting the local specialties. The project has gotten the effects of 'promotion' in the connection with official authority. We hope more tourists will come for the Water Running Festival and the township develops better due to our project.

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

Changhua County, Department of Irrigation and Water Conservation Provided lots of information on water conservation project of Babao Canal, including the causes and evolution of Lin Siansheng Temple and the history of Babao Canal. They guided us to learn the history of Babao Canal and the story of Lin Siansheng. Interviewees on the Water Running Festival day:Through interviews and questionnaires, we learned the perspective of local resident and their knowledge of the Water Running Festival, Lin Siansheng and the Babao Canal. Through it, we were able to master the direction and goals of the Cyberfair project. Ershui Township Hall:After the Water Running Festival, we interviewed the supervisor of Agriculture Section in the Township Hall. We learned the origin and the purpose of the Water Running Festival activity. At the same time, we saw many pictures, videos, and documents, which enhance the content of the project.

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