CyberFair Project ID: 7493

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Wave of Fashion—DIY
Category: 2. Community Groups and Special Populations
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2013/gsh7493/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2013/gsh7493/data.html

School: Taipei Municipal Guangfu Primary School
    Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C

10 students, ages 10-11 years old worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 25, 2013. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Classes and Teachers: Teacher Zou Yu Shiu, Teacher Huang Fang Yu, Teacher Shu Neng Shien

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.kfps.tp.edu.tw/

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

The commercial area behind Taipei Station was Taipei City’s first wholesale commercial area, with closely packed stores primarily selling luxury apparels and accessories for wholesale and retail. On Yanping North Road, there are many handicraft material stores selling various types of materials and packages of materials, even providing DIY instruction. It is quite unique in the commercial area behind Taipei Station, a well-known distribution center for handicraft materials and leading in the DIY trend. Taipei City also has creative markets such as Red House in Ximen, Tianmu commercial area, which provide a channel for the sale of DIY products. They inspire DIY experts to express their infinite creativity and talent, and aficionados can look for treasures. There are happy handicraft lovers everywhere, and DIY has continued to expand into a fashion trend.

2. Summary of Our Project

In recent years, intricate and cute accessory charms have become popular attachments to cell phones, purses, or even pencil boxes. Some of these are purchased, and more are made through DIY. Craft creation has become a fashionable wave, and there are many DIY workers and aficionados near us who lead this fashionable trend. An intricate and beautiful grape bead charm led us to join the handicraft arts, so we visited craft materials stores to understand DIY categories. We met DIY experts and found the joy of DIY; we visited creative markets and know about the channels and platforms for crafts; we even used our warm hands to participate in DIY activities, making craft artworks from clay, beads, perler beads, rhinestones, hair ties, wool felt, and other intricate and beautiful items in pursuit of the DIY trend as we discovered the beauty of DIY culture.

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:1

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

Our school provides ADSL for linking to internet with an upload speed of 100Mb and download speed of 100Mb. We have completed a wireless internet in 2004 and can receive the internet message in the campus everywhere. There are four computer classrooms and a multi-media center for making teaching materials in our school. In each computer classroom, there are 35 computers for the students to have the computer class. Also, the school provides every teacher a notebook for teaching use. The staff is more than 200 people. So, approximately, there are more than 350 computers in our school, including the computers for the administrative use. Every computer can use the wireless internet in the campus. The school’s servers include Web Server, Mail Server, DNS Server and Proxy Server that provide convenient online application environment. Every student has his or her own E-mail address and has the capability of web making.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

(1)Busy Students, Not Easy to Arrange the Schedule Our team members were outstanding in many extra-curricula. They were the members of the Chinese orchestra, the chorus, the sport team and the language association, also. Our team members were always too busy to attend the research activities. Therefore, the research progress often got behind. We encouraged students to attend the research because they could learn a lot of knowledge and skills from the research, such as the skills of interview, interpersonal interaction and result presentation. (2) DIY materials are quite expensive Even though we only made a few items by hand, each small item required materials, and others even required hiring craft teachers for instruction. All these things cost a lot of money, but fortunately we have a dedicated parental support organization that ultimately resolved the problem of money. (3) Students were unfamiliar with needle and thread The craft teacher taught us how to make scrunchies, and needed to be sewn with needle and thread. It was extremely difficult for students who had never worked with needle and thread before. Many people had to give up after trying for a whole hour. Fortunately, there are still people who learned it and become more interested, even finishing the work of others. (4) Difficulty in classifying DIY types There are many types of DIY, from small and cute charms, practical and lovely leather sculpting, colorful decoupage, to healthy and environmentally-friend handmade soaps, even handmade cookies; all these can be called creative craft works. We only introduced the types most commonly encountered, best understood, and most easily done by children.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Although we can buy the small charms everywhere, we would rather do it by ourselves because from DIY there was a sense of achievement. The DIY charms are not only cheap but also one and only. We can hang the charms on the bags or take them as gifts to our friends. The DIY charms are unique to be the gifts to express the good faith. That’ s the great benefit of DIY gifts.

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

The skills we have learned are as follows: 1.The Skills of DIY. We have learned the skills of making craft artworks from clay, beads, rhinestones, wool felt, and other beautiful items.

2.Writing the Interview Draft. We edited the variety of interviewing materials to be substantial and organized in content.

3.Interviewing skill. Before the interview, the background data about the interviewees must be collected. At the interview, questions should be made at appropriate timing.

4.Imaging Arrangement. We used the software of PhotoImpact to arrange the pictures taken by us.

5.The Skills of Collecting Materials. We have learned the skills to search for the data on the Internet.

The particular concepts in the project we have learned are as follows: 1.DIY Culture There are groups of people using the materials in their daily life to create the personal productions. After the period of time, it becomes DIY culture.

2.Creative Markets In the creative markets, the stall owners can communicate with customers directly, and share the value behind the products.

3.Decoupage The French term “Decoupage” refers to cutting beautiful shapes to paste them on home items or furniture; it is a decorative art that involves creative design.

4.Wool Felt Wool felt craft does not require machinery or electricity; it only requires hands and wool to make unique works from the raw materials.

5.Scrunchies Scrunchies are pretty hair ties that are covered in lots of folds and look like large intestines, but they’re the favorites of many girls with ponytails.

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Project Elements

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

We applied many tools and technologies in the project as follows: 1.Recorder: During our interviews, paper notes with writing could not catch up so that we used a recorder to memorize the missed portion. 2.Digital Camera: To record what we did and what we heard. The photos were also selected to be used in our web. 3.DVD Digital Video Recorder: To record what we did and what we heard in the video recorder with audio and video. It was a very good recording for our visit and interviews. 4.Mono-gun Projector and Physical Projector: To project the images and photos on a screen for purpose of presentation. 5.Memory Bar: For easy saving of data. 6.Scanner: To digitize the photos taken with traditional camera. 7.Internet: To search related photos, information, telephone numbers and addresses available online. 8.E-mail: To send digital information. 9.Computer Software: (1)Microsoft XP (2)Internet Explorer: To search web information. (3)PhotoImpact: To amend and cut digital photo. (4)ACDSee: To browse digital photo and to arrange the files of photos. (5)Microsoft Word: To write work schedule, wording report and research report. (6)Dreameaver: Web making. (7)E-pen: Drafting (8)CPMagi6.0: Making posters, cards and envelops.

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

1. Interviews on the Spot. We visited Bear Mama DIY material store, and interviewed the teacher in “A.Bu.Dou” workshop and DIY parents’ experts. They received us kindly and told us a lot of knowledge about DIY to let the project go smoothly. 2. DIY Experiencing. In the project, DIY is the major work. We have learned how to do the beads, perler beads, clay, rhinestones, wool felt and scrunchies. And we have not only learned the skills of DIY, but also gotten a lot of souvenirs. 3. Exhibition of Works. We hold the exhibition of works in the late stage of the project. We exhibited the DIY works making by ourselves and borrowed from our schoolmates and parents. 4. Catwalk Show. We invited teachers, schoolmates and parents to attend the presentations. We displayed our DIY crafts with personal characteristics in the catwalk show to let the audiences understand the DIY culture and encourage them to attend the DIY family.

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

In elementary school, each year we hold a fair, and among the many stalls at the fair, most people sell food and small DIY objects, such as handmade soap, handmade fabric bags, and various small accessories. I always use the envious eyes to see the DIY charms. After the project, I have learned it’s not difficult to be handmade. If I am interested and have time, I would belong to the DIY groups. Moreover, I have learned there is a chain of DIY realm. From DIY material stores to the creative markets and internet sales, there are a lot of DIY creators and DIY aficionados to contribute their works in the markets. As the Cyberfair project ends, everyone also has more and more charms on their pencil boxes and bags. We not only gained a lot of practical knowledge about DIY, but also got many lovely and unique accessories – we got so much out of the project!

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

In the project, the members as helpers and volunteers are: 1.Bear Mama DIY Material Store Explaining the DIY culture and the items of business in the material store, and providing DIY instruction to let us understand the “DIY Trend” entirely and develop the research frame.

2.”A. Bu. Dou” Workshop The teacher of “A. Bu. Dou” workshop taught us how to make “scrunchies” and received the interview. We had the first experiencing of making DIY fabric arts.

3.Mrs. Ke Mrs. Ke is a DIY aficionado. She taught us how to use wool felt to make the acorn charms and provided her DIY works to exhibit in our presentations.

4.Mrs. Tie-pi Mrs. Tie-pi is a DIY aficionado, too. She used leather sculpture and Decoupage to make many beautiful and practical leather sculpture works. She was a major contributor to our presentations, too.

5.The Stall Owner of Creative Market Shopping at the creative markets, the stall owner told us the joys and sorrows about the DIY groups.

6.School Parents, Teachers and classmates Providing the DIY works to our presentations.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

1. Discoveries: I also found that in life we actually encountered many handicraft works, but we overlooked them because we didn’t know or understand. For example, I did not know that my aunt and sister were both DIY aficionados, and my sister would even go to DIY winter and summer camps. After this research project, I experienced the fun of DIY, and I realized the DIY products were so attractive to people.

2. Lessons: The A.Bu.Dou. teacher taught us to make scrunchies, and we had to keep sewing and pulling, and the repetitive actions made me really confused and tired. I kept thinking, “I’m so glad I’m living now, if I was born in ancient times, I could only make things that sort of look like dragons and lizards, and I would never have gotten married.”

3. Suprises: Since we attended the project, the teacher had found someone to teach us, and we would have definitely gotten some souvenirs. Indeed, now I have so many of them! Also, since I’ve always enjoyed DIY, I never regretted it, and I’m very thankful I chose this topic!

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