CyberFair Project ID: 8133

Close this Window

NOTE: Due to URL changes, some links may no longer be valid.

International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Looking for a Nest: The Housing Movement Groups in Taiwan
Category: 2. Community Groups and Special Populations
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2016/gsh8133/index.html
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2016/gsh8133/bibliography.html

School: Taipei Municipal Dazhi High School
    Taipei, , Taiwan

7 students, ages 16-17 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 14, 2016. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2012

Classes and Teachers: Liang Shu Ming, Lin Yi Ju, Wu Chia Chen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://web.dcsh.tp.edu.tw/

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Located in the northern valley of the island and surrounded by New Taipei City, Taipei City is the capital of Taiwan. With 2.7 Million residents, it has the 4th largest population and the highest population density among cities in Taiwan. It is also the economic, technological and cultural center of Taiwan, densely populated and highly urbanized. Covering 271.1997 square kilometers, it has a concentrated number of houses, and housing prices have been rising each year. Located in the Taipei valley in northern Taiwan and surrounded by New Taipei City, Taiepi City has the 4th largest population and highest population density among cities and counties in Taiwan. The Taipei metropolitan area it forms together with its satellite cities and towns is the most populated metropolitan area in Taiwan. As the core of the development of Taipei metropolitan area, Taipei City is also the center of political, economic and cultural development.

2. Summary of Our Project

Living in Taipei is convenient, fast and accompanied by advanced technologies, with almost all of our needs could be fulfilled immediately. However, as commodity prices increase and the economy suffers, lives in Taipei are no longer as easy as imagined, particularly in terms of purchasing properties. Because of the soaring housing prices, buying a house or an apartment has become a unreachable dream for the younger generations. Concerned about individuals' right to housing, a group of people decided to speak up. Undertaking the landmark Snails without Shells movement 25 years ago, the new Housing Movement consists of many different groups, all of which have devoted their effort to changing this difficult situation, as well as to serving as a communication bridge between the people and the government. Our study aims to thoroughly understand the Housing Movement, the activist groups and their work, and in the meantime to explore the public's opinion towards the issue.

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

The large amount of research materials created pressure on our schedule, so time management was very important to us. We always assumed that we had sufficient time in the beginning, and therefore, failed to properly manage our time and were even a bit indolent. At first, we were unorganized, and not very active in terms of searching for materials, integrating the questions and designing the project, so we only realized the seriousness of our problem shortly before the deadline, and were forced to catch up. For this contest, our harsh experience has taught us a brand-new attitude. In the future, if we are again to participate in any 'long-term battles,' we would remember the lessons from this time and be more cautious. When a group works together to achieve something, they are often likely to encounter many difficulties. Communication, task distribution, and conflicts of opinions may all lead to frictions. As everyone had a different idea, frictions were inevitable, but we had to be united for the shared goal. At the end, we worked out some compromises that included the advantages of each idea and integrated them into a new plan that belonged to all of us. By doing so, we hoped to avoid the bad feelings caused by being rejected, and to present a better piece of work. We are high school students, and our school did not pause the classes because of our participation in this contest. Therefore, we had to work on both at the same time, managing our time properly so that we did not lose track of one thing while attending to the other. We used our lunch break to have discussions. With 1 hour a day, the accumulated result was also quite impressive.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

This project has allowed students to understand and become closer to issues that concern our society, and to explore the public's opinion of young generations towards the issue.

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

This project has allowed us to further understand and become closer to issues that concern our society. We've developed a civic awareness and stepped out of our comfort zone, learning how to interact with adults. We have also become more familiar with computer software, not just using them for presentation. When we signed up for this contest, we did not expect that it would improve our communication and language ability. Discussions, interviews, formulating the texts and taking notes all require language skills, especially interviews. Talking to representatives who specialize in this field was an experience that we could not acquire from a conventional school class. How to behave oneself when asking questions and responding to others is a topic worth being reflected upon. In the meantime, conflicts between the team members during meetings and discussions are also a great lesson about inspiring different ideas, reflecting on each other, sharing and accepting suggestions. We've also improved our communication ability greatly in this process.

Top
Project Elements

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

We've become more familiar with the utilization of computer hardware and software. Internet is mostly used for entertainment in our daily life, and while browsing websites, we never realized that creating a website requires knowledge about various markup languages and layouts. While working on this project, we had the opportunity to use many software that we'd never used before. Through discussions and experiences sharing, we've not only become more familiar with them, but even managed to type faster. Without realizing it, everyone's information literacy has improved. In the future, when we have to use a computer for graphics, post-production, website hosting and trial balance, we will certainly be able to catch up even more quickly.

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

After deciding our theme, we interviewed 3 people who have contributed greatly to the Housing Movement, among whom Mr. Huang Yi-Chung was the closest to us. Because he works in our school, it was easier for us to contact and interview him. He also reminded us that we should definitely fully familiarize us with the topic before we proceed with the interviews. The other two interviewees were Mr. Lu Ping-Yi and Mr. Peng Yang-Kai, who have devoted themselves to this issue. Seeing that we are students, they passionately provided us with many materials, and offered answers to our questions despite of their busy schedule. We also conducted a questionnaire survey to further explore the opinions of Taipei students of the same generation, and hope to help more people learn about the contribution and influences of the Housing Movement.

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

Before this project, we had no idea what huge impacts the soaring housing prices would have on our future: creating an economic bubble and affecting our national security......The current housing situation in Taiwan and the fact that young people are barely able to purchase their own property also make us sigh. Even though we are only 17 years old and owing a suitable residency seems like a distant idea, but in fact, we will be entering the labor market in only a couple of years. If housing prices continue to deteriorate, not only would we have no chance of having our own property, but even renting will also be very difficult in Taipei. Housing justice is closely linked to our everyday life, and should be protected. We want to explore the opinions of Taipei students of the same generation, and hope to help more people learn about the contribution and influences of the Housing Movement.

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

The major pillars of the case study are three non-profit organizations. We decided to conduct in-depth interviews, and received passionate assistance after contacting the main representatives of each organization. We discussed about the interview questions, set up the appointments and confirmed the locations. During the interviews, we were the ones who asked questions and the interviewees provided us with necessary information.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Discoveries: Although growing up in Taipei, we barely had any idea about the high housing prices faced by Taipei and the impacts the problem could have on our future. We also seldom paid attention to the contribution of various social movements and organizations. Because of the investigation we conducted for this project, we found out that there are many passionate people who have been devoting themselves to our society quietly. Lessons: Time management is important for everyone. Especially for such a long-term contest, failing to manage one's time properly could hurt the chance of finishing the project in time. We didn't plan our timeline very accurately at first, always thinking that we had lots of time. We only became nervous when the deadline approached. We managed to stay calm, and grasp the time we had left. This is the lesson we learned. Surprises: The civic teacher in our school, Mr. Huang Yi-Chung, has always paid great attention to the society. He is also a passionate long-term participant of various social movements. We realize that while being a teacher, one can also speak up in front of the public, which is very surprising and impressive.

Top

View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 8133)

Close this Window