(I) Relevant web information on research project  

   1.Our submission to the Internet exhibit：Our work；Backup of our web site

　2.Home page of our school：http://www.lcps.tpc.edu.tw

　3.Completion date of the research project：13th January 2005

　4.Name of school: Lu Chiang Elementary School, Lu-Chou City, Taipei County

Address: No. 1 Min Chuan Road, Lu-Chou City, Taipei County

　5.City/County: Lu-Chou City, Taipei County

　6.Name of teachers: Shuhui Chang, Tsai-Chieh Lin, Yunju Chen

　7.Name of the team: Egret force - eleven students in total participated in this research project.

　8.Age of students: 11~12 in six grade

　9.E-mail address for this research project：leader0208@pchome.com.tw

(II) Overview on research project  

1.Category of the Internet exhibit in which we participated：“Local leaders”

2.Our community：

　　Lu-Chou city is situated on the west bank of the lower Danshui River; its northeast side faces Shilin District in Taipei, separated by a river; its west side connects with Wugu Township and its southeast side is adjacent to Sanchong City.  Its shape is that of a vertical rhombus.  The area of the city is 8,321 square kilometers and, of the 29 townships/cities in Taipei County, it is only slightly larger than Yonghe City.  Lu-Chou was originally a sandbank formed by river alluvial deposits with a flat terrain and rich soil; which made it suitable for farming and residential purposes.  However, due to frequent floods in the area, the pace of its development has been slower.  In 1982, its flood problem was alleviated due to the “Plan for urban construction of Sanchong and Yonghe”, approved by the central government, together with the completion of an initial plan for flood prevention in the Taipei region and the Erchong flood release canal. In addition to the convenient commute to Taipei, its resettlement population from other regions increased dramatically.  And “Lu-Chou Township” was upgraded to “Lu-Chou City” in 1997.

Historical Lu-Chou as a predominantly agricultural society	Present day Lu-Chou as a commercial and industrial city.

3.Outline of research project:

4.Our Internet environment：

　　The network in the school uses fibers of 10MB to connect with Educational Internet Center of Taipei County.  The Internet equipment of the computers at home uses 56K dial-up modems, as well as ADSL, to connect online.

5.The problems we conquered：

(1)Pressure from class and insufficient time

      All of us are sixth graders from Class 16.  Since the decision in October was made to participate in the competition, we have continuously devoted our efforts everyday.  Since we are sixth graders our class load is heavier than usual.  In addition we have our graduation trip coming up, a competition filled with fun planned, and after school lessons for many of our classmates. Thus, it was surprising that we were able to have all of our classmates present at one time. Sometimes it was quite a headache when the Internet exhibit team requested us to submit our homework.

       Luckily, we were able to use our lunch hour and self-study period in the mornings to complete most of the work, thereby solving such difficulties.  However, at times when the work could not be finished, we still had to sacrifice our leisure time to complete our goal.  Nevertheless, the tasks were completed!  Although it felt like such hard work, we experienced new things and gained new knowledge during the course of each task work.  Even if we achieved only a little, it gave us great sense of achievement and we did not feel like it was so hard all the time.

(2)Difficulties in recording the broadcast drama

      Since we had never recorded a broadcast drama and understood little about it, it was quite uncomfortable and awkward to speak when we first started practicing. After practicing several times and familiarizing ourselves with the drama, we were able to somewhat grasp the characteristics of the performance.  However, the recording equipment in the school was rather basic, so the results of the first recording were awful and we were very depressed about it.

     Luckily we had Teacher Tsai-Chieh to encourage us and to analyze the problems for us.  We continuously learned through practice the secret of recording a broadcast and finally succeeded after many trials.  However, we felt that we could do even better if we had the chance to practice a few more times.

      In fact, Teacher Tsai-Chieh was the one who worked the hardest throughout the entire process.  Although she did not present in our broadcast drama, she had to train us, give us lessons, help us understand the story of Grandma Yen and teach us how to use the equipment.

(3) Difficulty in distinguishing and promoting our activity with other activities in the school

     Since our school is quite big, we already had many activities on normal days.  The question of how to attract people’s attention to our activity was really a pain in the neck for us!  Furthermore, we ourselves had three activities to promote, which created a problem of how to distinguish the characteristics of these three activities.

    To solve this, we used three different types of methods to promote our activities.  First, we offered prizes for a quiz on the broadcast drama to induce interest from the kids in the school.  In addition to the active promotion for this activity in the morning rally, we specifically put the audio file of the broadcast drama on a web page for the school in case students did not hear the broadcast clearly.  Students could choose what they wanted to listen, and we encouraged for greater participation on the activity when we met classmates we know in the school or their brothers and sisters.  Since we knew that the content of the broadcast drama was better suited for students in the middle and higher grades, we simplified the story of Grandma Yen to tell it to the lower grade students during their free time.  After telling the story, we would ask them to draw the part that impressed them a lot.  In this way, we would not leave out the group in the lower grades.  Subsequently, we displayed the pictures we made in the courtyard so that teachers, students, and parents in the school could get to know the characters in the story as they were taking a rest or walking.

(4)Poor communication skills

         We thought that preparing promotional materials for the activity was all we had to do.  We discovered though that poor communication of many details would cause delays in the entire project.  For example, sometimes portions of the work couldn’t be completed because people had different understandings of the same words during our promotions. There were also times when we didn’t properly confirm the loan of equipment with teachers in various departments. This caused last minute chaos and unexpected situations.

    When an unexpected situation occurred, we were all willing to cooperate with each other to take on an extra share of the work, thereby solving the problems accordingly.   We learned that we would rather take the painstaking steps of confirmation and reconfirmation rather than face any unexpected situations resulting from our negligence.

6.Things we learned:

      We study at Lu Chiang Elementary School.  Most of us were born and have grown up in Lu-Chou.  Yet we shamefully know nothing about the historical characters and events that took place in this area.  We only recently learned that we had a strong and tender heroine among us after our interview with Madam Yen.  She bravely fought in the war for her country and people, but when she talked about her husband, Mr. Yubang Lee, she also showed her tenderness with charm.

　　We thought this type of person only existed as a proper noun in text books…distant from our own lives.  However, we truly and really interviewed a woman like this by listening to every word she said.  We saw the solemnity and righteousness in which she talked about historical facts.  We also saw her determination in not giving up on her desire to protect of Chinese culture.  We were very lucky because we could personally interact with someone of such historical significance without using a CD and interacting with a computer.  We also did not need a text book to tell us about the people, events and things that took place on this land upon which we live.  We could witness for ourselves on this land through our own efforts.  Such a feeling of satisfaction to participate in history was far beyond the satisfaction of reading a social studies textbook.

 

(III) Key elements of the research project  

1.How did you combine the subject that you used for this “Internet exhibit in Taiwan” with nine years of consistent education and standard classes in school?

I. Things learned:

1.For the teachers:

         (1)Better understanding of community topics:  Most of the teaching in the past was limited to knowledge found in text books.  Although consciousness of community education started to rise, the method of education was still limited to conveying knowledge through text books.  Therefore, community education had not truly been introduced into the community, and people’s feeling to their hometown was not that deep.  Through this project, we practically explored and searched for every topic in the community. As a result, we gained greater knowledge about the community.

         (2)Enhancement of the teachers’ professional ability:  Such a project involved extensive attributes and the capabilities needed are even more diversified.  The scope contained not only the methods of research and Internet application, but also the compilation, studying and application of knowledge from each field.  The teachers could show their own skills to each other during the activities; and indiscernibly making up for the aspects lacking in the other teachers’ professional knowledge through continuous discussion and study.  Moreover, this was a cultivation of leadership, a skill involving the ability to lead students in long term research while keeping them continuously motivated.  Experiencing this sense could only be encountered during the activities.

2.For the students:

 (1)Different learning experience:  The experience of participating in the Internet exhibit was a totally different way to learn from studying text books.  The nine years of consistent education emphasized a lot on demonstrating the ability to put things together.  The students learned each type of experiences through a series of activities in this research project.  For example, through the process of preparing and planning for the trip and promotion practice, they learned to cooperate with others, work with others, research with others, discuss with others, etc.  The kids would learn that demonstrating and the holding an event needed a long time to plan and prepare, and that more careful planning and thinking in advance could make for a smoother process.  For example, a small piece of note paper let the kids clearly understand whether the promotion was progressing smoothly or not, where there were defects, or what classes were not promoted.  Although it was only a tiny piece of paper, the effect was enormous when valuable records and memories often disappeared instantly without such piece of note paper.  To the kids, these experiences were totally different with learning from text books.

II. Combined with nine years of consistent education:

1.Scope of language study:  The entire project included information collecting, reading of relevant books, writing in journals on what has been learned, the arrangement of the content on the website, the design of the quiz format, the actual interviews of local people,  and the promotion within and outside of the school, etc.  These items enhanced the student’s ability to listen, speak, read and write.

2.Artistic and cultural study:  Through the design and making of the study sheets, together with the artistic design of the web page to promote within the school, the students cultivated their ability to create and appreciate beauty, as well as enhance their artistic knowledge.

3.Study of nature and life sciences:  Since the commencement of the project, the students cultivated their abilities to observe, question, plan, conclude, judge, work in teams and get along with each other in harmony, communicate with people and cooperate, as well as criticize and create.  The students also learned how to use scientific resources as a tool for research to explore problems, search and compile resources and information, which allowed students to enjoy the fun of study through exploration and independent thinking.

4.Study of composite activity:  Through the project, the students experienced, practiced, and directly felt the influence and significance of a historical person in Taiwan.  Their participation in the project allowed students to express and think about their experiences freely.  They could also use their own ways to express the meaning of the project.  They were also able to examine and think about cultural preservation and conflict in reality.

 5.Six major topics

        (1) Informational education:  During the research project, the students researched, processed, analyzed, demonstrated and applied information using various skills, while the information was used as a tool to expand study and communication.

        (2) Environmental education:  We combined the experience of environmental activity into the learning process through the project, which made the students study our community more closely.  The project cultivated students’ ability to handle problems in their hometown, and students were able to have deeper feelings of belonging, recognition, and participation in the community.

III. Standard classes in the school and community classroom:

1. Standard classes in the school: The nine years of consistent education gives the school a 20% right to structure flexible classes.  In addition, a research project for a community web page such as this is an activity that is worth participating in for all teachers and students in the school.  During the project, we saw the passionate energy exuded by the kids to participate.  This involved learning something that was closely tied to an area in which they lived and was different from other lessons taught through text books (e.g., English).  This type of class was worthwhile for us to promote, and it makes the students’ life more diversified and richer.

2.Community classroom:  “When there is a classroom in the community, one can study everywhere.” This belief revealed a very important idea over recent years.  The words “when there was classroom in the community” is different from the studies in our country’s education in the past, which was mostly limited to knowing the place that we live in or the delivery of knowledge on culture, special treats, etc. in our hometown.  The community classroom, on the other hand, expects kids to walk out of the room and not base everything on books.  Instead, it makes every corner in the community full of study through actual experience, visits, etc.  However, the community classroom emphasized one thing –one must be able to feel and care for his hometown in addition to knowing it.  This is mainly because we all exist in certain periods of history and we will all be a part of the historical story of our hometown in the future; with our own strength, the culture of our hometown might be further developed.  This will allow more local residents to know their own hometown better; which is also a very important mission for our participation in the Internet exhibit.

2.What information technologies did you use to complete your research project for the Internet exhibit? 

3. What methods did we use to play the role of “ambassador” via the Internet or to gain personal and group contact?

(1)Broadcasting over the entire school.

   We used our lunch hour to broadcast the story of Grandma Yen using the broadcasting system throughout the school.  We also used prizes for quizzes on the broadcast drama to get all the students in the school to know more about Grandma Yen.

(2)Place information of broadcast drama on web page for the school.

　　We asked Teacher Weng, as the chief of information of the school, to put the audio file of our broadcast on a web page for the school, as well as to publish the name list of the prizes for the quizzes on the web page, so the kids access the relevant information online all the time.

(3)Tell the story of Grandma Yen at the classrooms of first and second graders

     Our last activity was telling the story in the classrooms of lower grades.  Through our beautiful paintings and touching stories, students in the first and second grade got to know Grandma Yen better.

4.What influence and impact did the research project have on you?

(1) The influence on the students in this school

　　The thoroughness of our promotion attempted to leave no stone unturned. We then spread our message though visual, audio, and verbal channels. We discovered from this project that many kids became more familiar with this period of history.  What moved us more was that some of them even searched for information via the Internet or books/newspaper.

     Through research, we discovered that all the students knew about the Lu-Chou Lee Family House and some of them had even visited the place.  However, the understanding by everyone of the Lu-Chou Lee Family House was basically based on historical interests, but the understanding of the people was limited only to members within the Lee Family.  Thus, we decided to make everyone take a new look at the history of the Lu-Chou Lee Family House from a different perspective.

　　For students in the lower grades, we combined pictures with story telling to allow for an initial understanding from students in the lower grades of Madam Yen.  For the middle and higher grades, we used broadcast drama combined with giving prizes for quizzes to attract their attention to this project and to enhance their understanding of Madam Yen.  Furthermore, we provided students with the web address so that if they were interested, they could learn more about the life of Madam Yen via the web site.

(2) The influence on the local community

　　The spreading of this chapter of history was the biggest goal of our project because Madam Yen stood before us as a living historical legend.  While we didn’t actually experience the historical time period, we felt that we could still add our vivid mark in that period of painful history. Therefore, we really wanted to preserve some of the tracks of history by developing the project through the Internet exhibit.

 　　Madam Yen has contributed a lot to Lu-Chou.  This was not only because she kept the Lee family’s old house here, but it was also due to the important history she has left here through the story of her life. However, people in Lu-Chou nowadays are almost unfamiliar with her life.  We want to use this opportunity to place our records onto the website, so everyone that visits the site can get to know this story.  As for our project in the exhibit, we designed a static exhibit targeting people all over the Lu-Chou region.  They can view the information about Madam Yen when they visit our school.  Through the students in the school, we hope more of them will talk about this very important historical figure in Lu-Chou to their parents.

5.Explanation for copyright and quotations included on the web page.

　　All the words and content of the website were derived through personal interviews that were arranged and edited by the “Egret Force”.  The person interviewed has been notified of the parts taken from the questionnaires and interviews as content for our project.  We have obtained their consent to be quoted on the subject’s web page.  With regards to the relevant documents and books, we also got consent from the author (Madam Hsiu-Feng Yen) to include a link in a specific page on the website to list information including the name of the book, the author, the publisher, the date of publication and the page of reference, so the author’s right can be protected, as well as in respect of the author’s copyright.  With regards to photographs, in addition to the ones that we took ourselves, the author has agreed for us to use her old photos and pictures for the story.

6.Discovery, lessons learned and surprises

(1)We could also do it!

　　During the project, many of us thought about giving up as we faced challenges of varying degrees and the pressure of time.  After all, we are only sixth grade kids.  We could have used the excuse of inexperience or could have just given up.  I don’t think the teachers would blame us too much, right?  But when such thoughts came up and we looked at our teammates who were still working hard, the thought of giving up just went away.  In fact, we should say that we did not have the courage to let people know about our disappointing behavior.  We always thought that we would not last through the moment of seeing the result, but we did it!  We never knew about the capacity and ability within ourselves, but in fact we really wanted to tell people: “Ha! We could also do it!”

(2) Taking up responsibility is an act of maturity

　　We often thought that we were very mature and adults always treated us as kids.  By participating in this Internet exhibit, we wanted to let them know that we could do something very well.  Nevertheless, we usually caused delays in the project throughout the process of participation because we did not pay enough attention.  The teachers always told us that taking up responsibility is an act of maturity, and we think that we now know what maturity is and how an adult should behave due to this study.  Maybe we are still immature, but we now know in what ways we are immature.  After this experience, we believe that we will do better next time!

"Amount of contribution to the “Sixth Internet exhibit among schools in Taiwan”: