CyberFair Project ID: 8463

Close this Window

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

International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Mr. Lu Quan-En,who institute Silver Star weather station
Category: 1. Local Leaders
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2019/gsh8463/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2019/gsh8463/index.htm

School: Hemei Senior High School
    Changhua, Changhua, ??

10 students, ages 12-15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 16, 2019. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): none

Classes and Teachers: Yang Chong-Qin, Cai Yun-Ni, Wang Jia-Wen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.hmjh.chc.edu.tw

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, is an island located in the eastern part of Asia and on the northwestern Pacific Ocean. It is located in the southwest of Japan, north of the Philippines, and across Taiwan Strait from the mainland of China . With an area of about 36,000 square kilometers, it is the 38th largest island in the world, of which seventy percent become mountains and hills. The plains are mainly concentrated on the western coast, and the elevation of the terrain varies greatly. Changhua County is known as 'the granary of Taiwan'. It is located in the central part of Taiwan's main island. It borders Nantou County in the east and the Taiwan Strait in the west. The south side is bounded by Choshui River and Yunlin County, and the north side is bounded by Wuxi and Taichung City. Hemei is located in northwest Changhua, with about 9 million populations as the satellite city of Changhua City. Dadu river is by its north, Shengang and Xianxi by northwest, Lukang and Xiushui by southwest, Changhua City by east. It experiences a subtropical monsoon climate, average yearly temperature is 23?, the rainy season is mostly between February and September, its ratio by type of rainfall in descending order are plum rain, typhoon, southwesterly flow and spring rain. In winter, northeast monsoon brings strong winds. An early name was “Khah-lí-sian”, taken from the aboriginal Babuza language, it means the junction between hot and cold, warm weather and beautiful environment. After Yuanlin is upgraded into a county-administered city, Hemei becomes the biggest urban township in Changhua County. It is also the third biggest township in Taiwan (only fewer than Caotun, Nantou and Zhudong, Hsinchu).

2. Summary of Our Project

Lu Quan-En, the stationmaster of the 'Silver Star Weather Station' in Hemei Town, Changhua County, Taiwan, has set up weather observation equipment on the roof of his house. Through gathering the observations from the 'Weather on the Roof', he has kept updating the weather conditions on the fans page of Facebook' Preemptive Forecasts of Taiwan Weather ' .So far, he has provided more than50,000 fans with the first-hand weather forecasts for free. Master Lu Quan-En’s “Silver Star Weather Station” is the only private-owned weather station with registration certificate from Central Weather Bureau. It used to be the only “weather station” in Changhua and Yunlin area. He once stopped observing for ten years, and the equipments are not good enough for observation anymore. He wishes to rebuild his station by fundraising, and the station can become a pivot for promoting weather knowledge. Inside a normal alley of Hemei, Changhua, a blue sign “Silver Star Weather Station” is on the door of a townhouse. Master has been struggling to keep the station running, and his instruments can only spread around the corners of his house. “Siphon type rain gauge” and “anemomter” (which was destroyed by Typhoon Soudelor in August, 2015) are placed on the platform of tin roof. “Aneroid barometer” is ticking on a cabinet in the worship hall. At the clothes drying yard, a notebook is on the desk and a box of weather chart sheets is on the steel cabinet which contains weather related books and information. However, master Lu isn’t giving up, and he still shares weather information on the internet.

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:none

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

When we are making the website, we don’t have answers for some questions. We ask parents and teachers to drive us to the interviews. We really appreciate their helps so the project can continue smoothly. Only when we arrive at master Lu Quan-En’s studio and conduct the interview, we can realize success takes a lot of time and effort.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Through this project, we get to know about Silver Star weather station and to witness his dedication to educate more students on how to observe weather. We believe that his effort will pay off and the seed of weather observation will increasingly grow.

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

(1). Language: The main language is Mandarin we use in school. We speak Mandarin during the entire interview with Mr.Lu, and he alternates with Minnan to explain proverbs about weather for us. Afterwards when we organize the interview audiotapes, through discussions, we learn a lot about weather knowledge. Truly we have benefited a great deal!

(2). Social studies: Social study is a field about incorporating self, person to person, and person-environment relationships. In order to make this project, we browse books, search on internet, interview professionals and teachers, and begin to contemplate its related issues. We wish this project can make everyone learns more about weather and further initiate intentions to join weather observation.

(3). Natural science: In natural science, Mr.Lu leads us to see the weather station on the roof. Our understanding to weather goes from nothing to having a basic idea. Our teachers also enthusiastically teach us about interpreting various observation data of Hemei High School weather station. It turns out that weather is an ever changing and unpredictable master in the natural world.

(4). Information technology: One indispensible process in cyber fair project:collect many written data and pictures for making the website. Doing so, we have to use computer and internet regularly. While we organizing these words and pictures,we also need to use various application programs. We don’t usually have the chance to make and edit website, so this is a rare occasion for us to learn and improve our computer skills!

(5). Integrative area: For this project,we learns greatly about interactions during interviews, mutual assistances in team cooperation, striving to promote weather knowledge to locals in Hemei, and time distribution and management when collecting information.

Top
Project Elements

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

(1)Network School Network : academic network to inquire relevant data,Weebly to make the website online and PhotoImpact 10 to edit pictures. Home network : ADSL, inquire relevant data. (2)multimedia Camera: taking picture of events. (3)Other Printer: print related reading data, and questionnaire

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

(1). To passing on the knowledge of weather, we wish to become the ambassador for “weather promotion” After studying thoroughly about weather, we realize how important it is, but we are also worried about its future. We wish we can become “weather promotion ambassador through this project, in hope of drawing more attention to it. More people will try to learn about it, so its culture can be passed on perpetually.

(2). As Hemei residents, we wish to become the ambassador for “Hemei mass communication” Silver Star weather station is the only private-owned weather station in Hemei. Its creator master Lu Quan-En is the local leader we are all very proud of. However, most town people in Hemei never hear of it, so we wish to become “Hemei mass communication” ambassador. We want to disseminate information about Silver Star weather station to Hemei, to Changhua County, or even to everywhere in Taiwan. Everyone can learn about his uncompromised spirit in weather observation.

(3). As students at school, we wish to become the “weather seed” ambassador Weather is closely linked to our life, and it was incredibly valuable to establish a weather station at Hemei High School. We wish to become the “weather seed” ambassador, promoting with the local Silver Star weather station together, so seeds of weather observation skill can grow gradually and appeal to more people. We wish to inject a new passion and energy into weather observation.

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

The impression Changhua gives people is a big agricultural county. Hemei is a top textile industry town, but are there anything else worth paying attention to here?

Residents of Hemei are blessed. We can look up daily weather forecast every day online for more than a decade, all thanks to master Lu Quan-En. Through this project, we get to know about Silver Star weather station and to witness his dedication to educate more students on how to observe weather. We believe that his effort will pay off and the seed of weather observation will increasingly grow.

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

?Master Lu Quan-En: Master Lu is the heart and soul of this project. We gather a lot of information by interviewing him. Other than oral history, there are also his publications and up to date weather forecast on his facebook page. ?Parents: It is still difficult for us students to visit master Lu and Silver Star weather station by ourselves. Therefore, we deeply appreciate parents of team Pika members driving us there and joining us with the visit. ?School administration staff and teachers: We are grateful to three teachers for their attentive guidance, and for driving us to visit master Lu, so we can finish the project smoothly. We are thankful that they help us making appreciation certificate and information license agreement. Besides, there is also Mr. security guard, for deactivating the security system at every Saturday and during winter vacation, so we can use computer classrooms.

6,Intellectual property specifications for our project ?Website content: Every Pika member organizes related information, and then finishes the draft objectively. We put all of our references under the “Little weather angels / References” page. ?Interview transcripts: Team Pika members discuss and write the transcripts together. Pictures taken during interview including equipments at Silver Star weather station and valuable historic records are by our teachers and parents.

Top

View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 8463)

Close this Window