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1. Description of Our Community
Tainan, Lukang, Mengjia were once the three largest cities in Taiwan. Lukang, at its prime time, was the second largest town on the island. Three hundred years on, Lukang has maintained its allure with the old lanes and streets, the sophisticated and traditional architectures, the rich culture and folk art, and the delicious pastry and local delicacy. Still a historical town of cultural heritage, Lukang was once an important harbor. The sails passing through Lukang were a thing of past, but the ancient buildings, art and culture have become an important asset of tourism. The quaint streets of Lukang, constructed with red bricks and gray tiles, were first developed at the end of the Qing Dynasty. These relics of the rich culture and history have been restored with government subsidies and become a major tourist attraction. The steady traffic of visitors has added a sense of fun and a touch of vitality to Lukang.
2. Summary of Our Project
Illusion has become one of the most popular performance arts. Jerry Huang enchants the audience with his unique art of magic by integrating visual elements such as crystal balls and magic rings. We are invited to his world of fantasy and majesty for the feast of visual splendour and grandeur. As a young man from Lukang and a role modern for students, Jerry Huang thinks positive and pursues his dream with persistence. He has become a performance artist because he wants to bring joy to children and the grey-haired. We felt privileged to be able to interview him for our Cyberfair project. We hope to articulate his personal journey so that his passion, aspiration and perseverance can inspire our society.
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. As none of the team members had any experience with Cyberfair projects, our teacher started by walking us through all the past winning works before giving us guidance regarding how to draw the mind map, divide into work streams, brainstorm on titles and headings. This was followed by the scheduling of tasks in order to enhance work efficiency of the team. 2. In order to cope with school work pressure and additional studies after school during the week, we have decided to work over the weekends for the Cyberfair project. If we used the lunch break to carry on with the project in the computer rooms, we often felt tired in the afternoon. In a nutshell, it was a challenge to juggle between school work and the Cyberfair project. 3. None of us had experience of interviewing people. So our teachers told us to prepare in advance by rehearsals and allocating tasks (e.g. Q&A, interview minutes, recorder pens and photo-taking), so that we would not be too nervous for the formal interviews. 4. Webpage production was the most daunting challenge throughout the Cyberfair project. We would like to thank IT Director Kuo-chang Lu for his assistance and guidance. He came to the computer rooms during lunch breaks and after school hours to teach us how to use image processing and webpage production software. This equipped us with the basic skills in webpage design.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
We were happy to be part of the Cyberfair project as we have learned and benefited a lot from it. We have come to realize the importance of team work and collaboration, because we could not have done this as individuals working separately. It takes the collective efforts to overcome one hurdle after another. It was necessary for the team members of the Cyberfair project to coordinate task contents and arrange the work schedule. In fact, we always came up with different ideas and opinions. We have learned how to express thoughts and meet half way with the majority via constant meetings and discussions. Whilst we were simply exhausted during the hectic days of webpage production, we gained a great sense of achievement when our website gradually came into being. We want to say big thanks to all the teachers and parents who have helped us through the four months of the Cyberfair project. All of us would like to say it out loud, “We have made it! ”
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
1. The Cyberfair project has prompted us to acquire skills that we usually would not have been able to in school. For example, it was necessary to collate information for the website construction. It was also important to make sure we have the appropriate etiquette when interviewing others. We also learned how to write-up research findings, produce webpages and design images. In a nutshell, we have learned how to express ourselves and reach out to the world over the Internet. 2. Throughout the long process of webpage production, our teachers were no longer heavily involved in the planning and implementation. Their role has evolved from the instruction of knowledge to the pointers of learning resources. Students have developed the attitude of learning on their own and the capability to apply different skills. Throughout the work process, we assumed the active role by discovering and resolving problems. 3. Students should not be just smart machines for exams. Rather, they should develop the sensitivity for humanity’s concerns and the vision for the future. This project gave us the opportunity to walk into the community and combine our knowledge and experience. We need to stay on top of what is happening in our community, about the people and things around us. A broader perspective will help us to think in a mature way. 4. Different from traditional learning tools, the Internet is free from the restrictions of time and place. We can share collected data and pictures, and bounce ideas back and forth online at any time and from anywhere. We can discuss online and offline by posting our questions and inviting feedback from classmates and teachers. Two-way communication can greatly enhance learning efficiency.
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1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?
Hardware: digital cameras, camcorders, recorder pens, USB drives, desktops, notebooks and printers.
Software: Facebook, Microsoft Word, WordPad, PhotoCap, FastStone Image Viewer, Painter, EditPlus, Dropbox, Filezilla, PhotoImpact, Dreamweaver.
2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.
We stumbled into Jerry Huang’s performance on the street. We then searched over Facebook and found out that he is also from Lukang and he studied in our school. This surprised made us even more interested and confident in interviewing with him. On our behalf, our class supervisor asked whether Jerry Huang would be happy to speak with us. He agreed and welcomed us. This was followed with communication with Jerry Huang over Facebook regarding the interview schedule and questions. We conducted two interviews. On the first interview, Jerry shared with us the story of his life, the catalyst for his career as a performance artist and his journey as an illusionist. He talked about the difficulties along the way and the good, bad and the ugly in life. We learned a lot from his humorous storytelling. On the second interview, Jerry came and taught us how to operate the props. Indeed, a minute of performance takes a decade of practice. We did not realize the level of concentration and the hours of hard work behind a small trick. We hope that our Cyberfair project can let the young people appreciate the efforts Jerry Huang has made to win the audience’s applauses.
3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?
We are happy that Jerry Huang has agreed to be the artist for our Cyberfair project. We hope this feature report can introduce this young artist from Lukang to more people. Street art is an integral part of Lukang as a tourist attraction. It lightens up the community, instills vitality to the town and brings joy to the visitors. When we started, we were nervous and lacking in confidence. This project took us one step at a time, from data collection, interviewing, first-hand experience to webpage production. We learned the way hard the importance of team work and effective time management. We tackled each problem along the way and finally accomplished this research project.
4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
We interviewed Jerry Huang on two occasions for our Cyberfair project. In a comic and witty way, he shared with us his school days, his struggle with the job market and his journey as a performance artist. He also showed us how to operate the crystal ball and the magic ring so that we could have fun and hands-on experience as performance artists. We have learned so much. At the outset of this project, we didn’t know Jerry Huang. It was not easy to reach out to him and ask him to take our interview. We told the school principal about our difficulty. Our school principal obtained his address (close to the school) through the neighborhood chief. As Jerry is working in northern Taiwan most of the time, our school principal visited and asked his father to extend our interview invitation. Jerry was happy to accept our request as he felt our genuine interest. We really appreciate the support from our school principal, the assistance from the neighborhood chief and the help from Jerry’s father. This gave us a good jumpstart. Website construction was the biggest difficult for our Cyberfair project. We solicited help from the parents of our team members with relevant experience. We would like to thank Mr. Chih-cheng Huang, Mr. Chao-hui Huang, Principal Bo-lin Wu and Principal Tien-chu Huang for their consultation. Finally, we want to express our gratitude to Teacher Ling-chen Yen, Teacher Wen-sheng Huang and Teacher Kuo-chang Lu. They kept us motivated even when we fell to the rock bottom. This experience made us realize the importance of persistency in everything we do.
5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)
We have learned so much from our undertaking of the Cyberfair project. Performance artists are always in the spot light and hence believed to be aloof and distant. However, we have completely changed the stereotype we previously had in mind after the two interviews. Jerry Huang is a lively, chatty and easy-going guy. He does not have a chip on the shoulder. He is approachable and responsive to all of our questions. He even jokes about himself occasionally. We often cracked up at his amusing remarks and we think that is why he is so popular. As the say goes, “Three minutes glory on stage, 10 years hard work off the stage.” Jerry Huang’s outstanding performance is the result of years of practice. Efforts may not always lead to success but laziness will never bring accomplishments. Diligence attracts opportunities. Jerry Huang is willing to spend more hours than others and practice has become a big part of his life. He is often hurt on the thorny road to his dreams. However, there is no gain without pain. Aren’t the young people today lacking in the perseverance and persistence that he has? The students in Taiwan are often stuck in their comfort zone and clueless about their plans for the future. If even they do have a vision for their future, they often do not take actions. Jerry Huang inspired us to explore what interests us. We can only develop passions for what interests us and only with passions can we confront challenges and cope with frustrations.
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View our CyberFair Project
(Project ID: 8294)
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