CyberFair Project ID: 8431

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Boundless Love, Taiwan Root. ~ TRMPC
Category: 2. Community Groups and Special Populations
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2019/gsh8431/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2019/gsh8431/08-1.html

School: New Taipei City Chi-Jen Primary School
    New Taipei City, Taiwan, R.O.C.

9 students, ages 11-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 10, 2019. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2015

Classes and Teachers: Teachers: Feng-Chun Yen, Fu-I Hung, Wen-Lin Lee Fifth-grade Ai class: Yu-Chi Weng and Yu-Chi Wang; fifth-grade Hsin class: Yuen-Yu Yang; fifth-grade He class: Meng-Chieh Chou; sixth-grade Ren class: Shu-Hui Yang and Jo-Ching Wei; sixth-grade Ai class: Che

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://New Taipei City Chi-Jen Primary School

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Xindian District is a municipal district under the jurisdiction of Taiwan's New Taipei City. Located in the south of the outskirts of the Greater Taipei Area, most of it is on hills. The Xindian River and its tributary the Jingmei River in the north is bounded by Wenshan District on the southern margin of Taipei City. The Bitan Scenic Area in Xindian, one of the famous tourist attractions, is the source of the Dapinglin Canal and Liugong Canal. There are a lot of transportation infrastructures completed in the later period, among which the 2nd Northern Highway passes through the district, with Xindian and Ankeng interchanges built. In addition, the Taipei MRT Xindian Line and its branch Xiaobitan Line are run across the region.

2. Summary of Our Project

The Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps (TRMPC) was founded in 1995 when Dr. Chi-Chun Liu learned from the newspaper that Jianshi Township, Hsinchu County was short of doctors, and he called on more than 10 medical staff and pharmacists to go to the countryside in December. At that time, the National Health Insurance system was just launched and there was no medical tour in the mountains. After the tour was finished, the volunteers felt a sense of achievement, and they hoped to go there again. In January of the following year, they went to the mountains again. From then on, he and the volunteers visited the mountains every month for 23 years without interruption. Its patients are distributed all over Taiwan and overseas, and countless medical miracles occur from their dedication. It is hoped that through our project, people will be able to know more about these selfless people, and their spirit of realizing medical treatment without borders with a view to uniting internationally and achieving the ultimate goal of equitable access to medical care for all mankind.

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

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

The school is equipped with 100M bandwidth services provided by Chunghwa Telecom HiNet for our use in the computer room. At present, there are two computer rooms offering a total of 100 computers with Internet access. Moreover, each classroom is equipped with computers and LCD projectors. In addition, we also had our own Internet hard disk space to store our works and files. And as we all have a computer at home, on top of joint operations at school, we were able to gather and collate information back home as well as share and transmit our own data via E-mail and the cloud platform.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1) Time coordination: To fully introduce the TRMPC, we interviewed Dr. Liu and visited the organization for our project. Dr. Liu was very busy, so it was very difficult to arrange an interview and a visit. For this reason, we would like to express our gratitude to him for taking time in his tight schedule to give an interview and provide us with valuable materials. 2) Interview skills: Interview is a special skill unfamiliar to us, and we were even very afraid. But under the guidance of teachers and parents and with our repeated practice, we were finally getting better and better and could notice the required etiquette in the process. 3) Guiding and explanation skills: We have never made a formal presentation on public occasions. In order to give an explanation in the classrooms, we, under the strict requirements and encouragement of the instructors, practiced repeatedly and made corrections. Slowly, we became more confident and self-possessed after getting over confusion and bewilderment. 4) Complex work content: The whole process, starting with gathering together for discussion, data collection, collation and preparation, interviews to giving presentations to the classes, was demanding for us as there were so many things we have never experienced before. Over the course, despite a few disagreements among us, we managed to work out a timetable through rational discussion and analysis, and learned to collaborate with each other based on division of work. 5) Data integration and results: When we were going to show the results of our efforts on the website, it turned out that data integration and schedule control were being more difficult. However, after full communication, we integrated the opinions with the help of the teachers. This website and this project research were a great challenge we have never faced before, but they were also the most rewarding experience for us.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

The first and only non-governmental organization in the nation to join the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) in the name of Taiwan, the TRMPC offered free treatment the first time in 1995 since then has been practicing medicine at home and abroad for more than 20 years. It is hoped that through our project, more people will be able to know more about the TRMPC and appreciate the spirit and value of medical treatment without borders, altruism, sharing, collaboration and inheritance. Collecting data, determining the title, writing work logs, organizing and making reports, conducting an interview and visit were all refreshing for us. The whole process has taught us not only about the ability to gather and collate data, and the courage and confidence needed for giving an guided tour and explanation, but also about learning the deeds from those unsung heroes of the TRMPC who have treated patients without charge.

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

CyberFair aims to encourage students to explore local culture and environment through project research and teamwork and employ the Internet as a communication tool, and we aim to promote information, environment and local education, and cultivate the vision and ability of the future generation to keep up with the world.

The Grade 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines aim to equip students with humanistic sentiments and thoughts, integration ability, democratic literacy, local and international consciousness, and the ability to carry out lifelong learning. “Boundless Love, Taiwan Root. ~ TRMPC” as our project theme, we hope to provide students with the skills needed for the future through project data collection and production, and web page creation. Language Studies: In every discussion, progress report, and thoughts writing, students were able to develop creative thinking skills and active exploration and research capacities, as well as gain the ability to express, communicate, and share. Integrative Activities: When we gave an explanation to and shared our thoughts with the classes, we learned how to plan, organize, practice, and appreciated the spirit of respect, care, and teamwork during the preparations, PowerPoint and lecture draft production, thus laying a foundation for lifelong learning. Social Studies: Social science teachers guided us in the field of social sciences, to work on the theme of 'International Organizations Overview.' Teachers and students school-wide could have a better understanding of the TRMPC with its devotion to treatment without borders, altruism, sharing, cooperation and inheritance. Nature & Living Technology Studies: Over the course of research, we used a lot of information knowledge. Digital cameras, video cameras, and recorder pens were adopted to help us make detailed records. We also searched for information via computers and the Internet. Our ability to use information technology has improved a lot.

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Project Elements

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

1.Telephone: Contact interviewees and team members 2.Recorder pen: Recording interviews 3.DV: Recording theme exhibitions and guided tours 4.Digital camera: Taking photographs and taking a photo of file images 5.Scanner: Scanning the photos on books and old photos 6.USB flash drive: Backing up data 7.Computer: Writing progress reports and thoughts, making web pages, accessing data, searching the Internet for information, etc. 8.Internet: Searching for data via the Internet 9.PhotoImpact: Editing graphics on web pages 10.Internet Explorer: Seeking information and contacting and communicating 11.Filezilla: Transferring files 12.Microsoft Word: Processing documents 13.Flash: Producing animations 14.Dreamweaver: Making and editing web pages 15.Illustrator: Editing graphics on web pages 16.Photoshop: Editing graphics on web pages

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

The project members gave presentations to the classes at the end of the semester for school students to know about the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps (TRMPC), the first and only non-governmental organization in the nation to join the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) in the name of Taiwan, which has offered free treatment at home and abroad for more than two decades. At the end of the event, we integrated all the outcomes into a website with articles and images. In addition to the space provided by CyberFair, we also added a link on the school's webpage, so that all the parents, alumni, and netizens from all over the world could learn more about the TRMPC, recognize love without borders, their contributions at home and abroad and their selfless dedication and enthusiasm.

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

We usually see doctors when we are sick, but never thought that many people in the world do not have such benefits. Before we interviewed Dr. Chi-Chun Liu, the teachers had showed the film “The Disappearing Borders” in class, which let us know that many remote villages in Taiwan and some backward countries are in desperate need of medical resources. By Dr. Liu’s explanation, we got to know the TRMPC and appreciated the spirit and value of medical treatment without borders, altruism, sharing, collaboration and inheritance.

Over the process of the activity, though we could learn many things that other people couldn’t have experienced, we must sacrifice our lunch breaks and some holidays to juggle studies and discussions in the computer room or participation in activities outside the school, and our schoolwork. In the process, we never complained about the workload. It took nearly five months from choosing a theme to completing the whole project website, during which moments of joy and pain were intermingled, and some teammates even quit due to the hard work, while others still stuck to the end. When the fruits of our efforts were presented before our eyes, that sense of accomplishment was wonderful! It made us realize that as long as we never give up, we will gain what we give.

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

In class, our teachers repeatedly told us that we should pay special attention to the copyright of others when using the information on the Internet. This time when planning the website for the CyberFair project, in order to avoid getting involved in the issues of intellectual property rights, we wrote all the project contents on the webpages. Besides most of the photos taken by us, the rest were used in accordance with Creative Commons (CC).

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Through a fierce open selection, the teachers finally chose us to participate in the CyberFair. To be honest, our fear was more than excitement. Some of us really wanted to back out after a while in that we not only did not know what to do, but felt uneasy about doing this project with unfamiliar faces. Nevertheless, after a series of difficulties that were overcome, we felt very happy and lucky to have been part of this competition because we could gain different experiences from this event, such as our first interview, our first visit to the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps (TRMPC), our first time to participate in the medical service, and explanation sessions by the “walk-in” classroom presentation. They were all about teamwork to finish difficult and complex work together.

When giving an explanation to the classes at the end of term, we were so nervous and terrified that our eyes were glued to the notes and the tone was very stiff when speaking in front of so many people. Despite attempts to improve, the effect was limited. However, following discussions and repeated practice and correction, everyone thought it was fresh and fun. In fact, when we came on, there was even a sense of excitement in the heart and we adapted quickly to the situation. We had no desire to give up in spite of many emotions mixed together.

We have learned a lot from the CyberFair activities that we couldn’t have gained in our textbooks, which will surely be a wonderful memory for us in our lifetime.

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