CyberFair Project ID: 8268

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: The Whispering of Butterflies
Category: 7. Environmental Awareness
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2017/gsh8268/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2017/gsh8268/homepage/x65.htm

School: Cueiping Elementary and Junior High School
    Kaohsiung, , Taiwan

5 students, ages 9-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 6, 2017. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2017

Classes and Teachers: PEI-JU LIN,CHIU-MIN HUANG,CHENG-YU FAN

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://school.kh.edu.tw/index.html?WebID=43

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Being situated beside Hou-Jin Creek, closely next to Metropolitan Park, Cuei-Ping Junior High and Elementary School set up the butterfly garden in 2002. With the great ecological environment of our campus being formed as an ecological corridor with Hou-Jin Creek, Cuei-Ping Butterfly Garden built an environment for butterflies to rest and reproduce. Furthermore, under the efforts of our teachers and students on promoting butterfly ecological education on campus, Cuei-Ping Butterfly Garden has become a new paradise for butterflies.

2. Summary of Our Project

The MOXA Foundation fully sponsored our school to establish the butterfly garden. There grew a variety of nectar source plants and food plants in the garden to breed the butterflies, so as to provide teaching materials and close observation. During the time when classes rearing caterpillars, teachers instructed students how to take care of those little creatures together and made the whole school get involved in the activity. We hoped that through the process of learning the lifestyles, reproduction, and living strategies of butterflies, every participant could understand the importance of environment to species, cultivate the concept of caring our surroundings, and also sow seeds of the conservation in Taiwan.

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:1

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

1.The high difficulty of field visits: Search for the information related to butterfly ecology in the neighborhood. Among plenty of information, we found Jinshi Lake Butterfly Garden in San-min District, Purple Butterfly Valley in Maolin, Muh Sheng Museum of Entomology in Puli, Nantou, and visited the three places at different time to learn more about the butterfly ecology in varied areas. 2.Having difficulty in understanding every kind of butterfly ecology: Select the certain kind of butterfly as our research topic. In addition to having the actual experience of rearing, we were also more familiar with their habits. In order to make the carton book more delicate, we picked three out of the all kinds of butterfly we had reared before to do our research project. 3.Making the carton book: Turn to the teachers for help. After discussing with the teachers, we decided to borrow the carton from our story mother (a kind of volunteering work in our school) to design our own story book. We wrote down what we were going to tell on the back of the papers and put them in sequence, and then practiced for story-telling in lower grade classes. 4.Being unskilled at story-telling: We decided to start our practice from telling a whole story together. Not until every of us had the experience of story-telling did we proceed to the next phase, which was to tell a whole story by oneself. By this way, we were more relieved, and together we could brainstorm more interesting stories.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

1.For Cuei-Ping Butterfly Garden, the Whispering of Butterflies Team hoped to serve as the guardian. 2.For team members, the Whispering of Butterflies Team hoped to serve as the protector. 3.For people living in the community, the Whispering of Butterflies Team hoped to serve as the executor. In the process of making research project, we had a deeper understanding of butterflies. The sustainable existence of butterfly ecology relies on people’s assistance so we made up our minds to cherish and take care of the environment, hoping to provide the butterflies with a safe, comfortable and unpolluted living place.

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

1.Core competence In the process of creating our website, we were cultivated with the abilities of “making use of technology and information” as well as “actively exploring and investigating.” By integrating technology into different teaching fields, students’ learning efficiency improved, so did the information capability. Moreover, through the process of problem discovering, schedule planning, data collecting, problem solving, field visiting, file compiling, and record taking during our exploring journey, we gained lots of lifelong abilities. 2.Learning areas (1)Language arts Through story-making, note-keeping, progress-reporting, data-collecting and analysis, group discussion, and web design, we had an integrated learning and cultivation in listening, speaking, reading, and writing competences. (2)Science and Technology When rearing the butterflies and making the research project, we combined the experience with the knowledge in 4th grade Science and Technology textbook. After understanding the body structure, transformation, and living conditions of butterflies, we practically reared them by ourselves, and learned problem-solving skills in the process. We learned by doing, applying what we had learned into daily life, which was a lesson sucessfully containing cognitve, affective, and psychomotor all of the three domains. (3)Arts and Humanities Via the artistic activity, we cultivated our aesthetic feeling and creativity. From 2D drawing to 3D creation, from simple origami to the caton book, the beauty of butterflies could be presented in a variety of ways. Also, during the process of making artistic creations, we moulded our characters and developed an optimistic outlook on life.

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Project Elements

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

1.Research methods This was a qualitative research. Our sources included books, documents, pictures, interviews, internet, and field survey. Qualitative data: drawing an outline, designing questions, fieldwork, data collection (material references and interview records), data analysis, and the completion of the research project. 2.The information technology we had used (1)Group discussion: Our team members looked for useful books separately and surf the internet for related information. Everyone had a handbook to record the notes of our discussion and reflections.

(2)Research project:We took notes from the collected information on our handbook, and did the word processing work by the computers, and finally printed out through the printer after proofreading and correction.

(3)Making the carton book: We used a digital camera to take pictures during the whole process.

(4)Before doing story-telling in classes:First, we contacted the homeroom teacher to ask for permission and arrange a time. Until the day before the story-telling day, we called again in person to make sure the appointment.

(5)Data compilation: After putting all of the notes and information in order, we put them into a document in the computer and made an overall arrangement by Office software, and finally printed it out for further discussion and analysis.

(6)Image editing: We edited photos through PhotoScape and Photoimpact.

(7)Web design: After reading the books related to web design, we learned to use FrontPage to make our web pages.

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

Supports from the community 1.Interview: Thanked to the CEO of Cuei-Ping Butterfly Garden, Mrs. Pei-ru Lin for taking time out of her busy schedule to accept our interview and providing detailed information and photos as well as helping us making the carton book.

2.Field visiting: Thanked for the supports from our parents on this activity and taking us to visit the butterfly ecological environment in different places.

3.Reference offer: Thanked for the teacher’s providing with related books and Kai-ting’s father with related information, letting us have a deeper understanding about butterflies.

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

There was a high-voltage tower in school before; however, due to years of efforts made by those volunteers, various plants are growing in the garden, even squirrels can often be seen now. The butterfly garden is the result of the efforts done by all of the teachers and students, people in the community and the volunteers. Merely three months, the Cuei-Ping Butterfly Garden has already been well-established, displaying the beautiful scene of butterflies dancing elegantly, and as the link between the school and the community. While through the establishment of cage, not only do the teachers gain an additional teaching resource, but the students and people in the community have an opportunity to relax themselves and get closer to the nature.

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

Firstly, thanks to the MOXA Foundation for the contribution and willingness of environmental conservation. Because of the foundation and the great goal as backing, we could have lots of volunteers work together to establish a better home and campus as well as a better living environment. Big thanks to everybody who was involved. If we could start from the basic butterfly ecological education to have the community understand and care for the local ecological environment more, the consciousness of conserving the land of Taiwan should be sowed and rooted.

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View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 8268)

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