School: Yu-Tsai Billingual Elementary School
    New Taipei City, , Taiwan

10 students, ages 10-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 30, 2017. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016

Classes and Teachers: Christina Chen, Sunny Peng, Tina Yang, David Chen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.ytes.ntpc.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

Out school is located in Yonghe district, New Taipei city. Yonghe is located in the south-east corner of Taipei Basin, and its boundary with Taipei City is marked by Xindien River. There are currently Zhongzheng Bridge, Fuhe Bridge, and Yongfu Bridge that connect the two cities, and they facilitate the prosperous growth of Yonghe district. There are many business districts and markets for residents of Yonghe to enjoy. Besides the Korean Street and Lehua Night Market, Yonghe residents can head to Yang San Lang Art Museum or Fuhe Holiday Flower Market for more artistic venues. Residents of Yonghe can enjoy the city’s relaxed atmosphere. The topic of our research is the Museum of World Religions in Yonghe district. The museum has been here for fifteen years. It is not only a place to educate the public, but also a precious tourist attraction for Yonghe. Yu-Tsai Life Expedition would like to take you on a tour to explore the Museum of World Religions. Let us examine religion with our hearts and experience the diversity that the world has to offer at the one and only Museum of World Religions.

2. Summary of Our Project

In 2001, Master Hsin Tao of the Lingjiou Mountain Wusheng Monastery founded the Museum of World Religions in the bustling city of Yonghe based on his principles of ‘Love is our shared truth’ and ‘Peace is our eternal hope.’ The museum does not represent any single religion. Instead, it holds an unbiased perspective on bringing major religions around the world to the people through visual and audio apparatuses. It hopes to educate the public on religion, so people will get to know the diverse world of religions, rituals, and ways of life. The museum hopes to raise awareness on the subject of life education, and, in turn, promoting respect, forgiveness, peace, and love among different religious groups. For this research, we decided to proceed as a team. We hope to conduct interviews, fieldtrips, research studies, and experience sharing activities to get to know the Museum of World Religions better. We want to explore the diversity in religions, cultures, and the meaning of life in order to foster a sense of respect and tolerance for different cultures. We hope each member of Yu-Tsai Life Expedition can become seeds that will grow through dedicated researching, learning, and experiencing and share the MWR’s dedication to religion, culture, and life education with our school, our community, and the entire world.

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):

We relied on school’s academic network to access the Internet. There are fifty computers in the computer room for regular classes and the Cyberfair project. There are one to four computers in each administrative office, and there is one computer in each classroom. Each computer has access to the Internet, and this allows us to discuss, research, and print materials for the project. Our Internet runs on the fiber optic network that is connected to the education network of New Taipei city. We also have wireless connection for teachers.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1.Time allocation:The workload for Cyberfair is very heavy, and we also have our regular school work to attend to. Therefore, we usually make the best use of off-school hours to work on the project in the computer room. Even so, there is still tons of work to be done. We learned to manage out time so we could get all the work done on schedule. 2.Researching for religions around the world:Besides learning about religions at the MWR, we have done some research online. We often found duplicated information or information that needs to be verified. As a result, we learned to cross reference information among different websites to sort out the correct information for use on our website. 3.Becoming a junior guide:Become a junior guide represented a huge challenge for most of us because we had to make a lot of preparations. We had to not only deliver the right content to the audience, but also control the crowd and other minute details. Worst of all, we had to do all that in front of so many people. No wonder we were all so nervous! With countless practices, our presentation skills got better, and every one of us was able to present his or her assigned exhibition at the MWR. 4. Interviews and surveys: In order to make our research more comprehensive, we invited staff at the MWR to share their personal experience. We also got to know how visitors feel about the MWR through surveys. But, it did not matter if it was the interview or the survey, we had to overcome our inner fear and nervousness to finish our job. In the end, we were able to conduct the interviews and surveys successfully and get our hands on valuable first-hand information!

5. Our Project Sound Bite

With more than six months working on the project, we found that learning about a museum that focuses on religions and life education could also be so fascinating. Visitors learn about religion while playing with different interactive facilities. After we walked into the MWR, we found it to be more than just a museum about religions; it is also about promoting love and peace. Over the six months period, we have learned about the MWR through different ways. From activities like visiting, learning, participating, and sharing, we understood the museum’s founding mission. We would like to share the MWR that we have come to know with our eyes and heart. Cyberfair activities are very enriching and fulfilling. They gave us a chance to study on a topic that is in our neighborhood, and these are fascinating experiences that cannot be learned from books!

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

1. Language: We raised our composition ability through designing the interview script, surveys, and writing up the report. Finally, after each activity, we always had to record the event in writing, and this had also enhance our listening, speaking, reading, writing, and integrating skills. 2. Math: After each activity, we conducted surveys to find out the audience’s perception on our performance and their level of satisfaction.We analyzed the results on a spreadsheet. Through graphs, we presented our findings clearly to show how much the public knows about the MWR and religions. 3. Social Studies: From this project, we got to know different aspects of the MWR better, like religions around the world, life education, and working at the MWR. After more in-depth studying, we received certification as junior guides and taught our schoolmates, teachers, and visitors about the museum, world religions, and life education. During the junior guide training and storytelling activities, we were learners; during the Religion Ambassador in Class and Fifth Grade’s MWR Visit, we were teachers and guides; and during performances and experience sharing activities, we were promoters who share our experiences. 4. Arts: We applied our artistic skills in making posters, signboards, worksheets, graphs, and an online video guide. We used our image processing skills to edit the photos that we used on the website. 5. Science: We collected information on the Internet. We recorded every interview and activity with digital cameras, video recorders, mobile phones, and tablet computers. We used cloud technology to access and save files and put together an online survey. 6. Integrative Activities: We have also organized sharing and experiencing activities in school and in the community and invited people in the community, school teachers and schoolmates to visit the MWR and learn about world religions and life education.

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

[Software]*Windows 7:Operating system for the project.*Internet Explorer, Google Chrome:Collecting information on websites.*Microsoft Power Point:Recruitment reports, presentation to the principal, storybook for the play.*Microsoft Word:*Designing survey, compiling reports and thoughts about the project.*Microsoft Excel:Analyzing survey results, drawing graphs and spreadsheets.*PhotoImpact X3:Editing and designing of videos, team badges, posters, signboards.*X-mind:Drawing of mind map for the project.*Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft SharePointDesigner:Building the project website.*GoogleForm:Designing online surveys.*Google Drive:Saving and storing files.*PowerDirector:Editing video for the play. *Photo Story 3 for Windows:Introduction video for guides and religion ambassador [Hardware]* Digital camera : Recording events and progress of the project .* Digital video recorder : Recording performances and videotaping the play .* Microphone : Promoting events and performances .* Projector and computer : Playing videos .* Tablet PC : Recording interviews, taking photos of events, play exhibition videos at the MWR, outside of school surveying .* Scanner : Scanning related data and hand-drawn pictures .* Laser Printer: Printing event related data and project related information.* Smartphone: Recording interviews.

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

1. Interact with the MWR: After confirming our topic, we started contacting the Museum of World Religions. We first collected some preliminary information on the museum through its website. Then, we visited the museum, went on its in-house tour, and trained to become a junior guide to try to learn more about the museum. We also participated in the activities held by the museum and realized just how dedicated the museum was in promoting religions and life education. After 6 months of learning, we invited the museum to organize a seminar at Yu-Tsai, and we also invited museum staff to join us on our research presentation. 2. Interact with the Community: After participating in the Enchanted Fairy Theater, Storytelling with Fairies, and other activities, we organized a storytelling event that focused on life education. Besides performing for our teachers and schoolmates, we also performed at other locations and discussed the issue with the audience. For example, the plays that we put on at Yu-Tsai kindergarten and National Taiwan Library helped younger audiences to learn about the value of life and start thinking the meaning of life. 3. Interact with Teachers and Schoolmates: We organized many activities to share our research results with the school. We guided the entire Grade Five Blue Class to every exhibition at the MWR. We told stories to students in third grade to teach them about religions around the world. We designed posters and signboards to help the audience understand religion. We made our own video to introduce MWR to the fourth grade teachers and students. We performed a play using a life education storybook to teach and discuss with the audience about the meaning of life. We invited experts from the MWR to introduce unique holidays to expand the horizons of the fifth graders.

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

Before we began studying about the Museum of World Religions, none of us was familiar with the MWR because we had never been there. Most of us even thought it was a place to covert people into certain religions. After 6 months of studying and researching, we had not only gained a better understanding about the MWR, but also realized it is not a place the convert people into any religion. It is a place, founded on love and peace, aimed to bring different religions to people from an unbiased perspective. It is also a place that promotes life education. We used MWR’s founding principles and learned about different religions and the meaning of life. We not only studied common religion, but also created our own religion. We not only read storybooks about life education, but also performed the story to educate more people on the topic. Over the six months, we were not only the ones learning about the MWR, world religions, and life education, teachers and students at Yu-Tsai elementary school and people in the community had also learned and experienced the founding mission of the MWR. For the website, besides introducing about the MWR, we had to convey the spirit of the MWR in different ways, like introducing world religions, life education, sharing, and experiencing activities. Through the website, people could learn about the MWR, the cultural characteristics of different religions, issues concerning life education, and how the team got creative with religion and life. After the website was completed, we invited MWR staff and school teachers to give us feedback. Everyone said we had done a great job with the research content, and the way we learned and shared our experience was really interesting, worthy of a second look!

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

We would like to thank Master Hsin Tao for building such a unique museum. Visitors are able to learn about religions and life education through the museum, and we were able to become junior guides and help the museum to promote its spirit and central belief to people in different corners around the world. We would like to thank the museum curator for assisting us in completing the project. Through this project, we were able to complete a thorough study on religion, and we have also got more familiar with the inner workings of the operation of a museum. We would like to thank Ms. Si Shen. Every time we visit the MWR, Ms. Shen is always there to accompany and assist us in completing our work. We would like to thank every volunteers for helping us become junior guides. They accepted our interviews, helped us become junior guides, and tested us on our skills as guides. Storytelling volunteer helped us learn so much about storytelling techniques and how to interact with the audience. Through your training, we were able to put more ideas into planning and designing for our life education play and sharing activity. We would like to thank all those who took their time to accept our interviews or fill out our surveys. Everything that you have shared with us is invaluable to our project. Without your help, our research would not have been able to proceed so smoothly, and it would not have been so comprehensive. We would like to thank our principal, teachers, and parents. With your support, encouragement, and help, we were able to complete each learning and sharing activity smoothly. With your help, we were able to share what we have learned with all students at Yu-Tsai.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

[Discoveries] 1. Power of Teamwork: When we were doing the research, we studied the MWR together, we promoted the spirit of the MWR together, and we complete the research project together. It is just like inside a museum, everyone must do his or her job right so the museum could operate smoothly. 2 Information Overload: There are lots of information about different religions waiting to be uncovered on the Internet. 3. Not Just a Website: We put everything we had learned and every activity we had participated into words. We drew some pictures by hand and some by using drawing software. Pictures and videos are edited to make them more presentable. [Lessons] Before each activity, we need to make sure our performance is suitable for the audience. We may make changes to our delivery, performance, and mentality according to the audience’s age, type, and preference. After a few tries, we started to get the hang of it, and we finally realized how much hard work one must put in before having a stunning performance on stage. But when we saw the audience was so engrossed with our performance, we all felt very proud of ourselves! [Surprises] After this project, we discovered the MWR is truly a special place! Unlike its boring name, the MWR has adopted modern technology to bring interactive experiences to the visitors. We used these apparatuses and artifacts to introduce the world of religions and life education to visitors. It doesn’t matter what the visitor’s age is, they are guaranteed to be amazed! They will believe, just like we do now, that the MWR is truly an interesting place!