1. Category: Environmental Awareness and Issues
2. Description of Our Community:
Luzhou City is situated near the western bank of Tamsui River. Shilin District, Taipei is across the river and to the northeast of Luzhou. Wugu Township is to the west of Luzhou, while Sanchong City is to the southeast, which forms a diamond. Louzhou City's area amounts to 7.4351 square kilometers and now it is the city with the third highest population density in Taiwan. In the past, there were 2 high voltage transformer stations and more than 70 high voltage towers. After many years of residents’ struggle and striving of mayors, legislators and councilors, the underground of high voltage tower has been realized one after another in recent several years. However, Luzhou City still plans to build extra high voltage transformer station. Every time this issue is mentioned, residents will certainly struggle against it.
3. Summary of Our Project
(1) Origin:
Growing up in Luzhou, we are familiar with the surrounding environment where there are numerous electric towers. In the past, thanks to the striving of Ms. Yueh-e Li Weng, Former Mayor of Luzhou City and many legislators, the measures for underground of electric tower are gradually taken in the downtown, and lots of green spaces and public facilities are also increased in Luzhou District. The previous struggle events bear the common memories of many parents. Once the hazard of transformer stations and electric towers is mentioned, we can always think of a mysterious noun -- electromagnetic wave. We intend to understand what electromagnetic wave is and to transfer the knowledge gained through our hard-working exploration to more people.
(2) Research content and method:
In order to research and promote the knowledge related to electromagnetic wave, we began with information collection. We had an interview with relevant personnel, designed reading and learning sheet in the campus, made a presentation in each class, used school broadcasting and flag rising time for promotion, designed barrier passing activity and participated in the school achievement presentation. We hoped that students could better understand electromagnetic wave around us through these activities. Although transformer station facilitates our life, it also causes lots of doubts.
a. Collection of information:
a-1. Collection of network information: we made use of internet to collect the information related to the events of fighting against extra high voltage transformer stations and electric towers in Luzhou. Besides, with “electromagnetic wave” as the principal axis, we associated the relevant issues and contents. During the process of collecting the network information, we have already had a basic understanding of electromagnetic wave.
a-2. Interviews: for the purpose of knowing the causes and effects of initial struggling events and understanding Taiwan Power Company’s opinions on this issue, we decided to invite the relevant figures to have an interview, including Ms. Yueh-e Li Weng, the City Councilor, and Mr. Cheng-chang Chiu, the Chief of Luzhou Service Center and Taiwan Power Company. With these interviews, we could further form the opinions on electromagnetic wave.
a-3. Field survey: we hoped to verify the arguments on the network personally and experience the feelings of residents living near the electric towers, so we went out of the campus to measure electromagnetic wave values in Sanlu Superhigh Voltage Transformer Station and electric towers along Yamugang.
b. Education activities:
b-1. Design of reading and learning activity: in combination with annual writing competition on campus, we screened out various opinions and news among the collected knowledge related to electromagnetic wave to design a reading and learning sheet. Thus, the students in higher grades could get to know electromagnetic wave in a manner of reading articles.
b-2. Presentation in each class: in order to make students further understand electromagnetic wave in the life, we designed the presentation to make an illustration and explanation in each class and used magnetometer to actually measure electromagnetic wave value of electrical appliances in the classroom so as to deepen students’ understanding of electromagnetic wave.
b-3. Barrier passing activity: whereas the 5th graders’ answering results in reading and learning sheet are less desirable, they seem not to quite understand the relationship between electricity and magnetism and have much wrong cognition for electromagnetic wave. Thus, we designed barriers passing activity, in hope that students could get to know electromagnetic wave on the basis of electromagnetic relationship in a funny way.
b-4. Promotion in our school: we have found that students in higher grades not necessarily hear of “electromagnetic wave”. As a result, we decided to take every opportunity to promote relevant knowledge. We applied the school broadcasting, flag-rising activity and the most famous PPAP to attract all the students and teachers’ attention by means of dialogue of “Electromagnetic Wave Riders”, thus they can have a basic knowledge of electromagnetic wave.
c. Questionnaire:
the design of questionnaire aims to understand students’ cognition degree of electromagnetic wave after a semester of promotion activities. In case of any insufficient cognition found in the results, we hope that government and relevant units, teachers or students (being interested in the issue) can continue to strengthen the subsequent teaching materials or advocacy activities related to electromagnetic wave.
4. Our Computers and Internet Access:
Our school boasts complete information equipment. Each classroom has a computer. There are three computer rooms with a 100MB fiber optic network. The host computer room is equipped with Window 2003 and several Linux servers. Our team members have computers at the home mostly connected to a broadband or fiber-optic network, and we can adopt the method of Google Drive and MAIL to record research process.
5. Problems We Had to Overcome
Challenge 1: the group discussion of Cyberfair project and students’ participation in other associations coincide.
Some team members of Cyberfair project may also participate in National Music Club, chorus, municipality and track and field team at the same time and the assembly and practice time of almost all the association activities is set at morning self-study time or lunch break time. Therefore, members’ being absent in the discussion of Cyberfair project is very common. To solve such problem, we applied network log to record discussion results and would also announce the discussion issue and homework for next meeting in advance, so that students failing to participate in the discussion personally can also keep pace with our group discussion.
Challenge 2: limited ability in information collection and sorting
When we decided to collect the issues related to electromagnetic wave, too much network information was found: some of them are the false network rumors, while some are too professional to be understood. In terms of the safety of electromagnetic wave, the official statement is completely different from non-governmental environment-protecting association, so we have no idea which argument should be believed and adopted. After the process of massive retrieval, collection and reading and several times of discussion, we have gradually clarified and generalized the network data to be displayed.
Challenge 3: being difficult to control promotion content
In order to make students understand electromagnetic wave, we need consider which places will be introduced, how to introduce them, as well as time duration. We have found that most students are very strange to electromagnetic wave. It is difficult to give consideration to the following three aspects: the introduction to electromagnetic wave should be explained briefly, can answer students’ questions and arouse their interest. Consequently, we have planned reading and learning sheet, making a presentation in each class, barrier passing activity, school broadcasting, flag-rising performance, static achievement presentation, etc., hoping that students can get to know electromagnetic wave as much as possible through these different methods, promotion activities with different difficulty levels.
Challenge 4: being difficult to build a website
For the establishment of webpage, we need to accumulate webpage data step by step in the semester, learn to use mind mapping to plan chapter heads and apply drawing software and google questionnaire assistance description. In fact, we feel stressful in every item due to much school work. In the initial period of Cyberfair project, we always felt that we were burning the candle at both ends. We feel grateful for our tutors to arrange suitable schedule and help us adjust and allocate work, thus we can have more learning and experience opportunities during the process.
6. Our Project Sound Bite:
Cyberfair project makes us begin to care about our hometown. These issues explored by us can are hidden in the daily streets and lanes, in the past historical traces and in the current convenient life environment. We are glad to have this opportunity to participate in Cyberfair project and we are able to observe and think about these issues carefully and attentively. In order to make students better understand electromagnetic wave, we have put lots of time and efforts into the activity and we hope that everyone can have a correct concept for electromagnetic wave, that a set of course related to electromagnetic wave can be set up and that our hometown - Luzhou can become the first demonstration city with low electromagnetic wave.
