School: Shilin High School of Commerce
    Taipei, , Taiwan

10 students, ages 16-17 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 20, 2014. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2011

Classes and Teachers: Chang,Chia-Lan; Liu, Kun-long

E-Mail contact:

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

1. Description of Our Community

Our local community is the Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan as well as the most densely populated city in Taiwan. Taipei has convenient public transportation systems, including public buses and the Taipei Metro. Right now, the city government is working hard on developing Youbikes as the vehicles for citizens to arrive at their destinations in order to reduce CO2 emissions, conserve energy and build an eco-friendly city.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our group introduces the public bikes in Taipei—Youbikes. They can be seen everywhere in Taipei, in all the streets and lanes, which shows they are widely used. Because of their popularity, the topic of our website is Youbikes. In addition to the basic introduction to Youbikes, most important of all, we will travel around Taipei by Youbike along the routes we planned, presenting several popular scenic spots for Youbike riders. The routes we planned are based on our visits in person and will definitely bring Youbike riders unforgettable memories and experiences. In order to make our studies more complete, we also interviewed some citizens on what they think of Youbikes and some officials of the city government on the future development and policies of Youbikes. The results are faithfully presented on this website. Youbikes are not merely our convenient vehicles but also the best representations of Taipei, a city full of smiles.

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

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

We faced three problems during this probject. The first problem was the technical problem. We were inexperienced in website establishment and animation production. It took us plenty of time learning them from books. The second one was about communication. Although all the team members are familiar with each other, disagreements inevitably occurred, challenging our esprit de corps. The last problem was about weather. While we were traveling around Taipei by Youbike, it started raining, an unpredictable situation. Eventually, we made it with our raincoats on and most importantly with our willpower.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

The course of research never did run smoothly, but it brought us memorable experiences and made us realize that this city smiles with Youbikes.

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

We are students majoring in international commerce. The computer knowledge we learned are quite limited, most of which are basic programming. It was just something on the textbook, and we really didn’t understand how to use the computer knowledge we had learned. Since we took part in this contest, from which we voluntarily studied the skills of website establishment and of photo editing. In addition, we reviewed and got more familiar with the skills of employing MS word, which we had learned for the license C for software application.

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

1. two desktop computers and two laptop computers: website making and data collection 2. digital cameras: picture taking 3. printers: printing materials 4. USB flash drives: data storage 5. cell phones: communication 6. MS Word 2010/2013: text typing 7. MS Excel 2010/2013: table designing 8. Google: questionnaire design and statistics 9. PhotoImpact x3: photo editing 10. Macromedia Dreamweaver 8: website making 11. Macromedia Flash 8: animation production 12. Facebook & Line: communication 13. Internet Explorer & Google Chrome: searching for online materials

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

Because of the participation in CyberFair Project, we started to research on Youbikes by conducting a survey of public opinion and by interviewing some officials in the Department of Transportation, Taipei City Government. We learned more about the operation of Youbikes and how to make good use of them. Some of our friends and classmates had never ridden Youbikes. Our presentation in the seminars, which was made not only in person but also through our online information, introduced Youbikes to them, and we acted as the ambassadors for our CyberFair Project.

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

During this project, our surveys, interviews and presentation made the passers-by in our local community and our schoolmates more aware of the benefits of riding Youbikes. Some of our schoolmates even felt amazed at our routes of Youbike travel, expressing their willingness to propagate the use of Youbikes.

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

We are indebted to the passers-by who volunteered to help us complete the questionnaires. The friendly smiles on their faces showed that Taipei is really a city full of smiles. Moreover, many thanks go to the officials in the Department of Transportation, Taipei City Government, for having interviews with us on the operation of Youbikes and most important of all, the purpose of promoting Youbikes--to build an eco-friendly city. Finally, we are alos grateful to our teachers for providing some necessary helps toward website-making and English translations.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

We learned a lot through our CyberFair Project. One of the most important things in the process is cooperation. In such a short period of time, we established our website, made a survey of public opinion, interviewed some officials, and planned our own routes of Youbike travel. Despite the occasional but inevitable disagreements, we successfully overcame them via communication and cooperation. In addition, we learned how to conduct a research by designing questionnaires and holding interviews, which had never been experienced before. This project made us know more about Youbikes and research methodology. We also learned a lesson—Prepare before we act. Without preparations in advance, it will take much more to amend our errors later. Every act needs preparations and plans.