CyberFair Project ID: 8127

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Who says the 'cement' sucks! ? --Shai Shin Fon Environmental Engineer Co., Ltd.
Category: 7. Environmental Awareness
URL: http://163.23.84.246/117eng/index.htm
Bibliography: http://163.23.84.246/117eng/index9-4.html

School: Changhua County Sihu Junior High School
    Changhua County, , Taiwan

10 students, ages 13-14 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 8, 2016. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2014

Classes and Teachers: Hsin-jung Hung, Li-chan Chiu and Keng-pin Cheng

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://163.23.84.195/web/

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Erlin Township was located in the southwest of Changhua County, on the alluvial fan between the downstream of the old Zhuoshui River and Yuliao River. It is connected to Pitou Township in the east, adjacent to Fangyuan Township in the west and neighbors to Dacheng Township in the south. To the west, it connects Sihu Township to Puyan Township with the old Zhuoshui River in the middle. It is a flat yet rich plateau covering a total area of 9,285 square kilometers. With neither prosperous streets nor bustling business districts except for simple cottages, Erlin is a typical agriculture-oriented township. However, the produce of this township is not very varied because of its close distance to the sea coast. It is a place 'where the wind blows and the river ends'. And it is here that Shai Shin Fon Environmental Engineer Co., Ltd. is located.

2. Summary of Our Project

In recent years, nature and ecology have been ignored in our pursuit of quality. Shai Shin Fon Environmental Engineer Co., Ltd., therefore, has developed a series of cement products that look just like wood on the surface. This technology was developed by Mr. Ming-hsiung Hsu in order to reduce the damage of the natural environment. 'Sustainable use' is thus a big selling point of the company. Mr. Hsu hoped that people could buy more from his company because this would reduce the use of wood. Otherwise, it would still be us that had to bear the losses and damage when landslides occurred as a result of deforestation. It takes ten years for a tree to grow up but only ten minutes to cut it down. This technology was fascinating in that it could make cement look like wood. And I could not help being amazed by the products that could both reduce pollution and environmental damage. This idea and technology of Mr. Hsu was really admiring. Thanks to this Cyberfair project, we understood how worthwhile it would be to put the concepts upheld by Shai Shin Fon Environmental Engineer Co., Ltd. into practice.

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: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):

In order to complete this this Cyberfair project, we made use of the libraries and computer rooms in the school and computers at our homes. We were connected to the Internet through the area network. In the school, we were given convenient access to the information equipment and the Internet. That was why we had completed most of the work during the lunch breaks and the time of vacant curriculum. The rest of the work was done by us separately on the computers at home.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

In this process, we encountered many difficulties, most of which were caused by our insufficient knowledge on the topic 'environmental cement'. We were at a loss in the discussion of the topic, formulation of interview questions and the writing of transcriptions and drafts. The result was that the interview questions, transcriptions and drafts, which we spent a lot of time on, were rejected again and again by the teacher. Fortunately, after repeated discussions and data collection, we were able to complete the project successfully when we completed the interviews and matched our drafts to the standards of the teachers in the end. Since it was impossible to have thorough discussions after school, we could only sacrifice the time of vacant curriculum and lunch breaks for the discussions and web page making. The final steps of web page making turned out to be trivial and complicated. An error in any step would put the entire web page into chaos. We were therefore very cautious during the process for fear that we would make any mistakes.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Speaking of this Cyberfair project, apart from the hardships we encountered in the process, a more important thing is that we get to learn some things beyond books. From the time when we firstly came into contact with this project, to later when were able to transcribe interviews, put our thoughts on the work into words and compile drafts for the Cyberfair project, we have not only acquired the knowledge and ability to conduct a Cyberfair project, but also had a better knowledge of environmental cement. The processes might be hard, but we were able to learn things beyond our textbooks. This knowledge and skills are more worthy to be cherished than the work in itself.

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

1. Language: Data collection, organization, and article writing. 2. Nature and life technology: Getting to know the working environment of Shai Shin Fon Environmental Engineer Co., Ltd. and its cement manufacturing processes. 3. Arts and humanities: Taking photos, and image processing, aesthetic design of web production. 4. Comprehensive activities: Politeness and etiquette, team work spirit and self time management and so on during interview. 5. Topic for information education: Software use ability for image processing and web production. 6. Social studies: Overview of environmentally-friendly cement and cement manufacturers at home.

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Project Elements

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

1.Software 1) Dreamewaver: Web page editing 2) Microsoft Word: Word processing 3) Google chrome: Surfing the Internet, browsing web pages 4) Internet Explorer: Surfing the Internet, browsing web pages 5) Filezilla FTP: Transmitting files 6) PhotoCap6.0: Image processing 7) XMind: Creating sitemaps 2. 1) Special research: Thanks to this Cyberfair project, we learned about the importance of teamwork and good time management. 2) Interviews: Thanks to the interviews, we learned about the importance of environmental awareness. 3) Visits: We visited 'Shai Shin Fon Environmental Engineer Co., Ltd.', where we saw for ourselves the manufacturing principles of environmentally friendly cement products, their manufacturing processes and the conditions at the plants. 4) Actual operation: Thanks to the actual operation, we experienced the hardships involved and learned about the difficulties and importance of implementing environmental measures.

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

We introduced the human geography and specialties of our hometown through this Cyberfair project, hoping that everyone can easily become familiar with its characteristics. In addition, we also provided relevant links of references, a channel to further understand our hometown. We understand that environmental protection is our collective responsibility through this experience and research and that we can provide a link between it and people, enabling people around the world to notice its importance.

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

During this Cyberfair project, we collected relevant data, had interviews, went through actual operations and made web pages. In this process, we learned about teamwork and the importance of time management. Although there had been a difference of opinion or even bottlenecks during the time, no one had ever given up or stop making efforts. At last, we overcame the difficulties through repeated discussions and consultation with the teachers. Completing the project step by step, our hard work in the past few months paid off in a most satisfying way.

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

1. Cooperation with local businesses. 2. Participation of students and their parents. 3. Cooperation with Shai Shin Fon Environmental Engineer Co., Ltd.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Although a merely insignificant plant on the surface, Shai Shin Fon Environmental Engineer Co., Ltd. was a crystallization of their efforts and thoughtfulness out and out. I was greatly moved by the perseverance demonstrated by Mr. Ming-hsiung Hsu, who had experienced many frustrations in the research and development of products for his pursuit of environmental protection. This gave us a better idea of the difficulties and importance of environmental protection. Knowing more about environmental cement bricks later, we found that the natural wood texture in the bricks, which were made of natural materials and recycled wastes, did not only make the bricks perfect landscaping materials, but also mitigate the conflicts between the buildings and the environment, thus useful in awakening the environmental awareness in the minds of the general public.

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