Tsai, Cheng-Hung, instructor

　I became the homeroom teacher for Class Three of sixth grade last year. My job is sometimes easy, since the students are the oldest in elementary school, and do not need constant attention and care, but they are also on the brink of becoming teenagers, thus requires more time and effort to teach and mentor.

　I encourage them to not only study hard and exercise more, but also participate actively in competitions and school clubs. These would be great opportunities to learn and to know how to work with other as a team. One year has passed, and I am very pleased to see that my students share a strong camaraderie, and perform very well in various sorts of competitions.

　I was very happy when they decided to participate in the Cyberfair contest. It is crucial for children of their age to meet more accomplished people around them, as this is the time when children set their life goals. I believe this is a wonderful and valuable opportunity for them to experience the spirit and personality of these successful people.

　The inter-grade team includes five sixth grade students, three fifth-graders, and one fourth-grader. The boys all love sports. They are not only on the school teams, but also participated in off-campus the Iron Kids. The girls are very talented and have won awards in various arts and literature contests. I have great faith in you, Design Fairy, good luck!

　Ding,Yun-Jong, instructor

　I have been teaching for a long time, and have always encouraged students to participate in team competitions and sports. Most of all I always hoped that my students could participate in creative activities that require team work and collective intelligence. I had tried to organize such events, but my students were to either too young, or not very enthusiastic, so I gave up.

　Last year Xinsheng Elementary School organized a website competition team which included students from the fourth to six grade. They won first prize at the Taipei municipal level competition, the Taiwan level, and then the international level. It was so exciting! I remember when “The sky dreamer” had just started out, I shared my experience and thoughts with them, even though I was not their instructor. And when they interviewed kite expert Buteo Huang, I also tagged along.
This year we also have a team of students from fourth to six grade, some of the participants competed last year. This year’s interviewee and his works are more professional, more international, and the team has more people, therefore needed more instructors to help out. I was honored to be one of them. 　

　So besides teaching, I also designed the interview, taught them how to write the articles, monitor their progress and so on. It was a challenging journey, but I know it was worth it. Wish them the best!

　Yeh, Chiu-Hsin, instructor

　I was honored and pleased when my students told me that they wanted to participate in the Cyberfair competition. I was not only happy that they were willing to tackle the challenge, but also that they would be able to gain practical experience of what they had learnt in the classroom.

　 Besides acting as homeroom teacher, I also teach Chinese, math and English. I have always believed that it is the teacher’s responsibility to prepare diverse educational activities for students at different levels to actively learn and discover. Learning should not be one-direction, and teachers should teach them learning skills that will help the students for life.

　 Although this competition involves a lot of IT technology, but the main point is “content”. Various tasks in this competition test students’ basic skills. At the international level, websites must be presented in English, this also tests the students’ English abilities.

　 I’ve taught most of the team members English. Yu-Ting was in my homeroom. He shows great talent in drawing, and expresses his unique views through comics, posters and other artistic outlets. I’m sure he will perform well with the website illustrations.

　 I hope they can perform as well as the team last year. Work hard, think hard, and present yourselves in this project. Wish you all success!

　Li, Xiang-Ping, instructor

　The trends of IT bring inevitable impact on all of us, and the internet plays a bigger and bigger role in our lives. From entertainment to business transactions, all of them are done online. This also means that no matter who you are, you will be living in a Global Village in which IT technology is everywhere.

　I have been teaching IT education for many years and find it very important. So my curriculum includes the basics: Chinese and English key-in, Excel and PowerPoint, and also blogging, Facebook, and games. Sometimes I mix up my courses and encourage students to try and learn on their own, to discover the information they need on the internet.

　Five and six graders have the basic skills, and are always trying to design their own unique pieces of work, for example, websites. Websites are more challenging, not only because of the limited resources on campus, but also the technical aspects: program design, illustrations, animations and site content. It cannot be done by one or two students alone. A team, under the guidance of instructors, can learn from each other and grow together. And this competition provides exactly the opportunity.

　Lu, Su-Huei, instructor

　I T education is becoming more and more important, especially in the younger generations. And we all need the internet in our daily lives now, a trend proven by the rapidly evolving cell phones and handheld devices. In the future, we will be living in a IT Global Village.

　 I’m honored to be one of the instructors of this team, even pleased to be able to train the next generation in IT and computer skills.

　 In the 21st century, information is easily gained. Young people of this generation not only need a global view, but should be familiar with the internet. Numerous websites make up the internet, and the goal for this year’s competition is to let children know how to set up a website from scratch. As a teacher, I was so touched to see them go from completely clueless to masters of Dreamweaver, and even learnt how to discover and solve problems.

　Hsiang-Jung’s Mom

　Hsiang-Jung teamed up with classmates when she was in fourth grade and entered the science fair. They did research, worked hard, and eventually won second place. I was amazed with the potential and strength of the children, and it also changed my views on these competitions.

　This time was a brand new experience, as the team was composed of students from different grades. They cooperated and designed a website. It was an opportunity to meet new friends, learn new skills: website design and set up. Although this time would not involve slimy reptiles and animals, but still the process was not easy. Professor Lin is well known internationally, and has a wide repertoire which includes the arts and commercial design. For fifty years, he has been active in both academic and expertise sectors, which encompass so many interesting things.

　Originally, I thought these pieces done by “the master” would be difficult to appreciate, but after I saw them, I was surprised by how close to our daily lives they were. The Taiwan souvenirs I see in large chain bookstores were inspired by Professor Lin’s “My Homeland” series. And the logos of many enterprises and groups that we see every day were actually designed by him, too. But the public seldom notice that Professor Lin is the man behind all these business logos.

　Now I am one of the mothers behind the team. I need to make sure the children finish their work on time, contact and arrange interview details, and also accompany them to all the venues. But I can’t complain, because the children actually enjoyed the process. For me, the process and what they had gained along the way are more important than the results. I hope you will like this project, and more people will know about Professor Lin and his wonderful works.

　Tzu-Liang’s Mom

　As Asians, our education processes are similar: study, sit through exams. Parents always tell us to study for higher grades, go to the best schools, and everything will be fine. But in today’s world, with everything changing rapidly, getting high grades is no longer everything. It is very important for us to let children explore and discover their interests, and teach them how to discover and solve problems, skills that will help them through life.

　Tzu-Liang came home one day announcing he was going to team up with friends and enter this year’s Cyber Fair. They wanted to tackle the challenge and make some memories during their last year in elementary school. I was so happy and was grateful to that the school encouraged students to learn and try out new things.

　For their project, the children interviewed Professor Lin, the pioneer of Taiwan’s design scene. The children learnt that in earlier times, design was not highly valued in Taiwanese society. But Professor Lin chose this difficult path, never gave up, and received numerous awards at home and abroad. This changed the public’s view on design. And I’m sure the children also felt his courage and perseverance during their interactions with the professor.

　The roads we choose are all different, some are filled with obstacles yet memorable, some are smooth but boring. I want to tell our team this year: you still have much potential in your life, and don’t forget your teammates who have been beside you.

　Hao-Wen’s Mom

　I’ve worked in the education sector for a while, and witnessed many Taiwanese students stumble along the path of learning. From a very young age, loads of knowledge are crammed into them, and later on they face the pressure of getting good grades and into good schools. They have no individual thoughts, no interests, no morals, and only know how to obey. So when Hao-Wen was invited to join the team, we immediately agreed to let Hao-Wen experience the entire process.

　　Every team member took their responsibilities seriously, they shared their thoughts, gathered and read a lot of information, and started discussions with other group members. Of course there were many meetings on interview records and such. It was very important for the children to participate from the planning stage to the actual execution stages.

　　Instructors and parents helped a lot along the way: guiding their direction and discussion frameworks. I’m deeply touched by how hard Hao-Wen and the others worked. I am so proud of all of you!

　Meng-Jie’s Mom

　It has been Meng-Jie’s dream to participate in the competition. Children of this generation are very familiar with technology. Through this event, Meng-Jie was able to learn how to think, how to pay attention to the environment around us, and how to solve problems. These are all qualities that are very important in life.

　　 Traditionally, our education overlooks society and cultural issues, but the children were able to get in touch with groups and other people, and learn how to finish a project from the initial interview invitation, the scheduling, question design, to data collecting. Through these hands-on experiences, I’m sure the children gained better understanding of what they were taught in the classroom.

　　 Throughout the project, I saw their determination and strength, the children outdid themselves again and again in order to reach their goal. This competition was a very big challenge, and they also learnt to be grateful to their teammates, instructors and parents, because without their help, the children would not be able to gain so much.

　　 The world is changing rapidly now, I’m sure that our children will continue to grow, work well with others, and be compassionate to society. They will be global citizens who can balance science and the arts.