School: Yu-Tsai Elementary School
    New Taipei City , , Taiwan

10 students, ages 10-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 14, 2013. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2013

Classes and Teachers: Elaine Hsu, Christina Chen, Sunny Peng, Tina Yang, Nina chuan, Stuart Dawson, Philip Dawson

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.ytes.ntpc.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

Our community district is: Our school resides in Yunghe City, New Taipei City. It is located near the southeast part of the Taipei Basin and is linked by three bridges over the Xindian River. Yung Ho is as prosperous as Taipei city, and it is well known for its numerous small shops and attractions such as Korean Street, Weekend Farmers' markets, Yang San Lang's Museum and the World Religions Museum.

2. Summary of Our Project

How to promote reading at the grassroots elementary school level has been one of the big debates in education courses for some time. Reading can help improve one's language ability, experience the beauty of literature, and also help students establish a perspective on life. Located in the Yonghe District, Small Small Bookstore began operations in 2006. Since then it has been doing its best to promote reading, and make reading a way of life for the community. Through a variety of workshops, book clubs and literary events the bookstore tries to promote reading within the local community. We hope that from our research on this topic, we can let people discover the joy of reading and make it a part of their life. Through interviews and getting involved in activities, we hope to discover the passion of the lovely people of Yonghe. We also hope this experience can help them rediscover their local community and what it has to offer. Finally, we hope that we can help our school and the local community discover the joy and passion that reading can bring.

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):

We utilized our school's ample computers to access the Internet: there are 50 computers in the computer lab, 4 computers in the library, each classroom also has its own computer and all of these have direct access to the Internet. Having convenient access to these resources really helped us in facilitating our projects' needs and getting work done.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Class time In order to complete the production of the website, we used not only our break times and lunch times, but also after school and weekends. We also came to school during our winter vacation in order to finish the project. One of the conditions of joining the team, was that it must not interfere with our regular studies. So during class time, we were extra focused and used our time wisely to get our regular work finished with enough time to complete the Cyberfair project. Work Allocation This time our activities included conducting interviews, attending events at Small Small Bookstore, and a host of other community events. At each event, we all had a number of different missions. We chose jobs to match each team members' individual talents. Each member worked hard to complete their job and help others to get the job done. Collecting Material We wanted to really understand Small Small Bookstore and related organizations so we all spent a long time searching online, at the library, and conducting interviews to find information. It took us a long time to figure out how to sort out all the data in a way that we could present as a website! Finally, we also need to thank Small Small Bookstore and all those who allowed us to interview them for the information they provided. Transcribing To ensure that the information is correct, after every interview we typed up the conversation. A short thirty minute interview ended up taking between three and five hours to transcribe! Because of this we broke up each interview into small pieces and shared out the workload.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

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

Language We had to design surveys and interviews, collect data, and write up progress reports. These all improved our writing ability. Through the process of actual interviews, debates, charity sales, and surveys, we were also able to improve our speaking and listening skills. So in all we improved each of the four main areas of language – listening, speaking, reading and writing. Math We used graphs to display data that we had collected from staff and students of our school to find out how much they knew about the bookstore. We also used a spreadsheet program to collate data about each event and team members’ contributions. Social Studies Using Small Small Bookstore as an example, we wanted to promote reading in our school and community. We did so by holding a second-hand book sale, and with our big brother/sister storytelling events. Art and Humanities We used our art skills to make ID badges, invitation cards, sandwich boards, posters and a lot more. We also used video and animation when designing the website.

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

Using Information Technology What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project? *Selection of Cyberfair Members Hardware:Camera?Microphone Software:Power Point?PA Machine *ID Badge Design Hardware:Camera Software:PhotoImpact *Surveys Hardware:Camera Software:Word?Excel?GoogleForm?PhotoImpact *Events Hardware:Camera?Cellphone *Debate and Analysis Hardware:Camera Software:Moodle?Word?Seeing Reason?Visual Ranking *Debate Hardware:Camera?Camera?Printer Software:InternetExplorer?Word?Showing Evidence *Hope for Reading Film Hardware:Projector?Computer?DVD?Camera Software:GoogleForm *In School Promotion Hardware:Projector?Presentation Pen?Microphone Software:InternetExplorer?PowerPoint?GoogleForm *Community Promotion Software:PhotoImpact *Second Story Film Production Hardware:Camera?Camera Software:Word?Power Director *Big Brother/sister Storytelling Hardware:Projector?Camera?Presentation Pen?Microphone?Camera?Speakers Software:PowerPoint?Windows MediaPlayer *Second-hand Book Sale Hardware:Loudspeaker?Camera Software:PhotoImpact?Excel *Day in the Life of a Bookstore Clerk Software:Notebook?Camera Software:Word *Collating Data Hardware:Scanner Software:InternetExplorer?Word *Website Production Software:Word?InternetExplorer?SharePointDesign?Dreamweaver *Web Design Software:PhotoImpact?PhotoShop?Flash?PhotoScape *Image Editing Hardware:Scanner Software:PhotoScape?PhotoImpact?PhotoShop *Copies of Data Hardware:USB Drive?Hard Drive?CD Copier?CD

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

Interaction With Independent Bookstore Owners: We found four independent bookstores on the map that we liked. First we called and e-mailed to make arrangements to visit. When visiting the bookstores, we didn't only look around, we also interviewed each of the owners. From this experience we learned of the different styles of each bookstore, and also the highs and lows of running a bookstore. Interaction With Local Library: We organized a second-hand book sale in connection with the New Taipei City Library. We also arranged for a school-wide sign up for library cards to give our classmates a chance to read more books. Through the second-hand sale we also brought our classmates and local community closer to the local library. Interaction With Community Organizations: We gave the proceeds from the second-hand book sale to an orphanage in Yonghe. We also spend some time to visit the orphanage. We are happy to give them some more reading resources. We also promised to visit the orphanage again in the future to read stories to the children! Interaction With School Staff and Students: We made a presentation to introduce some independent bookstores, and Small Small Bookstore in particular, to the staff and students at our school. We also showed the video 'Hope for Reading' to the whole school to ignite their love for reading. Another activity was the second-hand book collection and sale. Finally, we also did a storytelling event to spark an interest in reading with the younger students at school. Interaction With the Local Community: We did three events aimed at involving the local community - A survey, promoting Small Small Bookstore and the second-hang book sale. For the survey, we walked around the park and MRT station to interview people about their reading habits. When promoting the bookstore, we introduced Small Small and their services to local people. Finally, during the second-hand book sale, we walked around the streets nearby to ask local residents to …

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

We promoted Small Small Bookstore in the local community. During the second-hand book sale, we gathered the community together outside the library to buy books and visit the library. Finally, we used the money raised from selling second-hand books to donate money to a local orphanage. Not only did we promote this bookstore, we also promoted reading in general and helped a group of local orphans feel some warmth from the local community.

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

New Taipei City Library In preparation for our second-hand book sale, we called the Yonghe branch of the library to ask if we use the space outside for our activity, and to ask about getting library cards for our school students. School Parents We wrote letters to send home to students' parents to ask about their reading habits and how much they would be willing to support our events. Guangrong Orphanage We first called the director of the orphanage, then we visited in person for a full tour. Four Independent Bookstores We first called each of the bookstores to make an appointment. We then made arrangements by e-mail, before finally visiting each bookstore in person.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Discoveries 1.Many Hands Make Light Work: We discovered the importance of teamwork and cooperation. If the Cyberfair was to rely on one team member, it would never be successful. 2.Searching for Information: When searching for information, we had to understand the relationship that the bookstore has with it's partnering associations. 3.Running a Bookstore is Not Easy: After a day at the bookstore shadowing a clerk, we discovered that it's not an easy task at all. 4.Website Design: During the process of producing the website, we discovered that designing webpages is not easy. Lessons 1.Don't Put Off to Tomorrow What You Can Do Today 2.Preparation is Paramount 3.Practice Makes Perfect Surprises After everything that we have done, we now finally warmth and personal touch that an indpendent bookstore can offer. Something that any chain store can't compete with. In the future, we hope to use the map of independent bookstores produced by Small Small Bookstore, and visit every single independent bookstore in Taiwan. Then we can also give our support to these people who never stop chasing their dream of promoting reading and books!