Description of Our Community

Houbi Township is commonly known as owl-bi-liaow. Situated in the northern end of Tainan County, the northern and western sides are bordered by Pachang Creek and Chiayi County. It is connected to Baihe Township in the east, Yenshui Township in the southwest, Dongshan Town in the southeas, and Hsinying City in the south. In terms of natural terrain form, it is elevated in the northeastern part and is tilted toward the west. However, the relative height is not significant, and the land form is rather flat. The territory is mostly Chianan Plain in attribute.
Geographically, Houbi Township is located at the border between Tainan and Chiayi Metropolitan. Houbi Township is bound to play the role of a rural village as a result of this location distribution. Therefore, the entire humanities and landscapes of Houbi Township are apparently plain agricultural town oriented. Fields are seen everywhere especially rice fields. In addition, commercial activities in major villages within the precinct are rather slow. It is especially so as compared to neighboring towns and townships.
　

Summary of Our Project

Yong-Shin soy sauce factory is located in the Chong Chen Dong village, Ho-bin town.
This factory has already existed for hundred years. Inside the factory, the owner purchased the equipments of boiling and machines for sterilizing; just because of the owner insists the original taste of the soy sauce.
He uses the old and traditional way to produce them. He focuses on the each processes of the producing, and he cares the qualities of them. Each bottle of soy sauce is made from the owner’s heart and hard-working. He selects the black beans to produce soy sauce. The main product is “Master Grade Black Bean soy sauce” He doesn’t use any gourmet to make them tasty. They’re all nature made. You won’t fell thirsty after tasting them. And he doesn’t use caramel to color them. The color still stays amber and clear. Besides the “Master Black Bean soy sauce,” it also produces “the regular soy sauce” and “Fermented Bean Sauce.”
This topic is researched about “how the Yong-Sin factory working,” “To know the owner’s business concepts,” “To know how the all equipments working in the factory,” “Introduce all the products in this factory.” Of course, we are not just going there for visiting, but also create the curriculum which related to our lessons. For example, “How to recognize good or bad soy sauce,” “What to add to make things tasty.” After learning theses tips, we can use that knowledge in our daily life.
　

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:2-3
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):
Our school is equipped with 1 computer classroom. Almost every classroom has a computer. All the school computers are connected to one another though special line or internet. The online connections are quite smooth. The campus internet is a regional internet work where resources from each computer are shared.

Problems We Had to Overcome

(1) Unfamiliar with the research project:
Soy sauce is the essential seasoning for a meal in our daily lives. It is used for stir-frying, fish steaming or stewed meat. However, we have difficulties to explain what exactly soy sauce is when we have to. What is traditional fermentation method? What is chemical soy sauce? What is black bean soy sauce? We are confused about such a small bottle of soy sauce full of knowledge. Surprisingly, we know nothing about soy sauce which we use every day. On the other hand, the research on a project which everybody is not familiar with is supposed to be meaningful. Hopefully, this research project tends to make us get familiar with the special Taiwanese flavor. In the meantime, it is also a good opportunity for us to explore this small-scale manufacturer located in remote countryside which insists on following traditional methods and creating quality handmade products under the competition and stress brought by large-scale manufacturers.
(2) Arranging all research members’ meeting schedule:

Under the school’s flexible schedule system, extra-curriculum activities can be arranged during on non-course schedule. All members can meet together to discuss research theme structure, interview question digest and visit appointment during daily rest time at noon, afternoon in every Wednesday, and time after school course end every day.

Our Project Sound Bite

It is the seventh year that Hsin Chia Elementary School carries out a research project for Taiwan School Cyberfair. All of the projects being completed were associated with the customs or local industries in Hou Bi. This time, we would like to introduce a small plant which produces traditional black bean soy sauce. This plant is not a landmark here but its traditional flavor and its insistence on “no additives” form a model worth promoting. The students can learn the concepts of sustainable environmental protection and moral behavior through close visits and observations. Such concepts are rarely found in the utilitarian society. The contents of this project not only serve a good source for people to know their residence of origin but also a reference for education in character and environmental protection.

How did your activities and research for this International Schools CyberFair project support content standards, required coursework and curriculum requirements?

Attending this research project can allow the teachers not only to improve professional knowledge but also to direct students by developing the teachers’ professionalism. The Students also learn how to complete a project by continuous discussion and coordination and to understand the important of group cooperation and to change from passive knowledge learning to active knowledge construction and explore and cultivate interests and talents fully.
Theme research is a theme or integration learning which can be combined with various learning fields. For example, we have ever learned in simple formula function and graphic edition in EXCEL (Examination questions for Computer Course in Tainan County). The statistics concerning egg ratio used in school lunch in theme research and annual egg production volume provided by Council of Agriculture can be displayed by graphic charts of which the graphic chart meaning can be discussed. Such curriculums can also be integrated with 「Statistics Charts」 in Mathematics Course. In summary, the knowledge of all courses are integrated into the theme research procedures.