School: Hsin-Yi Junior High and Elementary School
    Changhua, N/A - Does Not Apply, Taiwan

10 students, ages 12~14 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 28, 2015. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2013, 2014

Classes and Teachers: Chih-hsiung Chao

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.hyjhes.chc.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

Changhua is situated in central Taiwan, with rich historical and cultural foundation. It can be regarded as the center of Taiwan. It relies on agriculture and aquaculture development, making it a simple county. Changhua has many places of historic interest and delicious snacks, which are unforgettable to visitors. Changhua attaches great importance to the traditional culture and still has various traditional customs and beliefs. With a great number of religious followers, Changhua has numerous large and small temples. The place is very lively during temple fairs or Taoist sacrificial ceremony activities, which are sometimes accompanied with puppet performances. It is rarely seen in many metropolitan areas. The Hsiao Shang-yan Hand Puppetry Troupe introduced in this project here is located at Shioushui Township, Changhua County. As a small town, it cradles one of the largest puppetry troupes in Changhua County.

2. Summary of Our Project

Hand puppetry is also known as glove puppetry. It is a kind of performing art that has been handed on for over 100 years. Many people may not know that there are numerous hand puppetry troupes in Taiwan, which have kept the traditional skills and ways of performance. They have their unique characteristics to attract audience. People can often watch and appreciate hand puppetry performances at temple fairs. However, with the prevalence of multi-medias, such as TV, the culture of glove puppetry is fading. It would be a pity to lose this amazing culture. Our team aims to present the beauty of this traditional art through this Cyberfair project and do our part in carrying forward hand puppetry. Therefore, we founded the research team called Hsin-Yi Hand Puppetry Group. With the guidance from our teacher, we carried out the research on the following aspects:1) collect relevant data from internet and books; 2) pay visits to troupes and communities, and conduct questionnaire surveys; 3) demonstrate and promote hand puppetry; 4) organize and study the materials, write the conclusion of the research and afterthoughts; 5) make a website to present the results.

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):

Our Computer and Internet Access: (1) At school: computers in the computer room are connected with bandwidth (2) At home: all team members have computers at home, connected with ADSL. (3) At the teacher’s house: ADSL.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Difficulties in making webpages: Limited by our age and experience, we found it difficult to make webpages on our own. Most of us were still learning. As for the overall structure, we asked our teacher to teach and help us. Unfamiliarity with great deal of new knowledge: During the research, we found a lot of knowledge that we were unfamiliar with. We overcame it through careful reading and discussions with the teacher. Uncooperativeness of team members sometimes: Our works are shared among the members, but during the process, due to personal expertise, time limit and capability training, the cooperation was difficult. With the teacher’s instruction and coordination, we gradually overcame this obstacle. A lot of coordination work was needed for interviews. We had to schedule the appointment with the interviewees, and we could only carry out interviews on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Our visits were arranged on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons as well.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Through the visit to Hsiao Shang-yan Hand Puppetry Troupe and this painstaking Cyberfair project, we have deeply understood that practice makes perfection. As long as we hold on and never give up, we will sure outgrow ourselves. Owing to our persistence we have finally completed the Cyberfair project.

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

http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2015/gsh7959/narrative_3.htm

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

1. Telephones:Contact team members and interviewees 2. TV:Collect materials 3. Recorder, Recorder pen:Record the interviews 4. Digital camera, video camera:Film the process of activities and visits 5. Scanner:Scan the pictures into digital files 6. CD player, DVD player:Play films 7. Computer software:Word, Excel, Photocap, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Nero, Media Player, etc. 8. Computer:Surf the Internet and process research result 9. Library:Collect information 10. Newspaper, magazines:Collect information 11. Interviews:Collect information

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

1.Ambassador of palm cultural art:Nowadays, TV and multimedia are prevalent, and outdoor hand puppetry performance is gradually in decline, so we are worried about its future development. It would be a pity to lose this traditional art. On this account, we act as the “Ambassador of Hand Puppetry” in this Cyberfair project. We expect that more people can pay attention to it in the future, as well as learn and appreciate it so that this traditional art can be carried on. 2.Ambassador of school education:We held a series of educational and promotional activities for hand puppetry on campus, including puppet DIY, subject course, club activities, public performances on campus, off-campus teaching, etc. We hope that our efforts can continue and then influence other schools to join, and act as the “Ambassador of School Education”. It is our dream that hand puppetry can have more opportunities to be inherited and developed. 3.Ambassador of community survey and promotion:Most modern people watch TV at home for entertainment so international interactions are less frequent. In the past, during the agricultural development period, people often gathered at temple fairs as social activities. In order to promote hand puppetry, we conducted a survey to investigate people’s perceptions of hand puppetry, and held public performance in the community. By our efforts, the interaction between the local residents has become more frequent, and they know more about hand puppetry.

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

To complete this Cyberfair project, we have devoted a lot of efforts and time, while gaining various new experiences. Many people have watched hand puppetry, but never held one, let alone making a puppet. This is a unique experience. Our school offers the Native Language (Minnan) course, but many students still do not speak well. After they learned about hand puppetry, their Minnan proficiency greatly improved. After we have watched the hand puppetry performance, when we the TV shows that mix Mandarin and Minnan, we find Minnan to be such a graceful language. Our survey found that hand puppetry still has much room for improvement. We hope that more people can appreciate it, and promote it in the future.

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

In the modern age of knowledge economy, success of a team does not rely on the capability of the group members, but whether the team could cooperate and seek for support and assistance. The teachers have adhered to the idea and encouraged the team members during the research process. Because of this, we have spent much time on the interviews, besides searching for information and resources. We want to learn from the masters, and we have indeed learned so much. We are very graceful to the masters who have spent their time to assist us. On the other hand, we have cultivated good etiquettes and interview skills after repeated practices on politeness, demeanor, and articulation. We want to show the best part of us to the other person, which is also a kind of politeness.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Many things seem easy, but you will find that they are difficult. This applies to hand puppetry, as well as the Cyberfair project. In order to collect information, we went through much hardship, and worked indefatigably day and night. We experienced the sweetness and bitterness of this project by heart. However, this Cyberfair project allowed us to break through ourselves to accomplish the impossible mission. We have profoundly understanding of Mr. Hsiao’s motto: “Practice makes perfect; as long as we insist to not give up, we can certainly breakthrough ourselves.” In regard to Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises in this project, we have made in-depth analysis. Actually, most people still support the development of hand puppetry, and want to watch outdoor performance. The promotion of hand puppetry requires more efforts, and we certainly want to see it grow.