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Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Roed, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMT
TAIWANESE-AMERICAN COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS AS FACIUTATORS
OF THEIR CHILDREN'S WEBPAGE CREATION
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Yu-Lin Fang, M S.
The Ohio State University 2000
Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. William D. Taylor, Adviser Dr. Suzanne K. D am arin Dr. Shelley D. W ong Adviser
College of Education School of Educational Policy and Leadership UMI Number 9962393
UMI
UMI Microform9962393 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by
Yu-Lin Fang
2000 ABSTRACT
This research investigated how a group of Taiwanese-American parents facilitated their children's leaming to create their Web pages at home. The participants are children and their parents. All the young children participating are Taiwanese Americans bom in the United States. At least one of each set of parents immigrated from Taiwan. In six stories, I explored the ways that the parents assisted their children in developing Web pages, and the participants' attitudes toward the World Wide Web and Web design.
Qualitative case study methods guided this study. The techniques of data collection included a grounded survey, interviews, participant observation, journals, and audio- and videotaping. A dual perspective, compatible to a socio-cultural perspective, grounded in Vygotsky's idea of a "zone of proximal development" and the ideas of Confucius aided my analysis of the data.
This research finds that these Taiwanese parents were good facilitators in this Web activity, capably guiding their young children into development of their
Web pages. Some positive facilitating factors such as approval, reassurance, patience, and personal concern are found in the fam ily context. A Web page design activity can obviously provide the family with a chance to become more
u aware of its own learning culture, while allowing the young children to exercise
m ore control over their leam ing process.
There seems to be a relationship between the parents' personal attitude
toward the Web and the way in which they served as facilitators. The more
positive the attitude of the parent, the more enjoyment the parents and the
children displayed during the Web design process. In addition, these
Taiwanese-American parents, to a certain degree, have high educational expectations of their children's performance not only in schoolwork but also in any leaming activity.
m Dedicated to my parents
and
my dear grandmother who nursed me for 18 years and passed away on April 20,1998
IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am convinced that I am a person with luck. There are always many
people supporting me, especially during the period at OSU. I have so many
professors and hiends I wish to thank, but first, I want to thank God. W ithout his
protection and blessings, I would not have survived a car accident and completed
my dissertation in the time I had expected.
I would like to extend my special thanks to Dr. Taylor, my advisor, who
has provided me with inspiration, encouragement, and strong support. He has
spent many hours debriefing the data with me and reading the various drafts. To
Dr. Damarin, I express my gratitude for her generous assistance. To Dr. Wong, I
wish to express my thanks for her thoughtful suggestions concerning my research
perspective and the literature review of Chinese-American parenting.
To the parents and the children who participated in this research, I give my
thanks them for their cooperation and consideration. It was so joyful to work
with them and observe their processes of Web pages development. Thanks for allowing me to put their Web pages in the appendices. Those will be part of my beautiful m em ory.
To my writing group, my appreciation goes to Dr. Unice Teasley who has been working with me as a peer debriefer and writing counselor since my dissertation proposal. Thanks to Dan Schmitmeyer and Kathi Bennett who helped me illustrate my ideas and always made time available for me when I needed proofreaders. My thanks also to Yao-Li Lee who shared her experience of being a Chinese-American teacher and examined my English translation. To my support group, I express gratitude to Karen Keys-Qock, Philip Liou and Donny
Chang for showing warm support.
Finally, I deeply appreciate for my parents, Jion-Ben Fang and Lian-Ze
Fang-Chang, who have been a source of strength and support throughout my graduate school career. Additionally, I especially thank my nine-year-old nephew Peter Fang. He has been asking the same question for three years —
"When will you come home?" His question has become a motivation for the completion of my dissertation.
VI VITA
M arch 8,1964 ...... Bom —Tainan, Taiwan
Jxily 1986 ...... B_A. French, TamKang University, Taipei, Taiwan
June 1989 ...... M.S., C urriculum and Instruction, College of Education University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon, USA
January-September, 1998 ...... Graduate Teaching Assistant Department of Policy and Leadership College of Education The Ohio State University
September, 1989-present ...... Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences National Open University, Taiwan
PUBUCATIONS
Research Publication
1. Fang, H.T. (1990). Design an d execution of sim ulation games. Journal of Business and Management. 3 2 .91-110. Taipei, Taiwan: National Jong-Shing University.
vu 2. Fang, H.T. (1994). Teaching speech com m unication in the Junior high school in Taiwan: An instructional design approach. Tournai of Social Sciences, 2. 1-38. Taipei, Taiwan: National Open University.
3. Fang, H.T. (1994). The m essage design of educational radio program . Tournai of Humanities, 3.60-82. Taipei, Taiwan: National Open University.
4. Fang, Y.L. (1995). The leam ing strategies of designing educational TV program. Tournai of Distance Education, 7 .73-91. Taipei, Taiwan: National Open University.
5. Fang, Y.L. (1995). T raining for workers and staff of cable TV, Tournai of Social Sciences, 3,125-157. Taipei, Taiwan: National Open University.
6. Fang, Y.L. (1999). Y oung children and com puters: Major concerns and potential benefits. Tournai of Social Sciences, 7,93-116. Taipei, Taiwan: National Open University.
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Education
Areas: Cultural Studies in Education Early Childhood Education
vm TABLE O F CONTENTS
Page Abstract...... ii Dedication ...... iv Acknowledgments ...... v Vita...... vii List of Tables...... jciii List of Figures...... xiv
Chapters:
1 Introduction...... 1
Background of the study ...... 1 Research questions ...... 4 A dual perspective ...... 5 The zone of proximal development ...... 6 Ideas of Confucius...... 11 Confucianism in Taiwan and the Taiwanese-American parents ...... 16 Reflections on Confucianism in Taiwan...... 18 Reflections on my perspective ...... 20 Significance of the study ...... 21 Assumptions of the study ...... 21 Limitations of the study ...... 22 Definition of terms...... 23 Organization of the chapter ...... 24
2 Literature review...... 26
Introduction...... 26 ix Chinese-American parents ...... 27 Demographic characteristics ...... 27 Chinese cultural values...... 29 Parental attitudes and child-rearing practices ...... 31 Computers and the family ...... 43 Technology and the family culture ...... 43 Home com puters for leam ing...... 44 Safety on the Internet...... 44 Young children and Web publishing ...... 46 The W orld W ide W eb ...... 46 H ypertext...... 47 Hypertext within the context of education ...... 50
3 M ethodology ...... 53
Rational for qualitative case study ...... 54 Pilot study ...... 55 Site and selection of participants ...... 56 Access...... 58 M ethods and procedures of data collection...... 59 Introductory stage ...... 59 The intensive data collection stage ...... 61 Case researcher roles ...... 65 Roles to the parents ...... 65 Roles to the children ...... 66 Data analysis and presentation ...... 67 Rational for bilingual presentation ...... 68 Ethical considerations ...... 70 Trustworthiness...... 70 Credibility ...... 71 T ransferability ...... 72 Confirmability and dependability ...... 72
4 Descriptive data ...... 74 Introduction...... 74 Background of the setting and participants ...... 74 Chinese American in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area ...... 74
X The Columbus Chinese Academy ...... 75 Participants ...... 76 Demographic data ...... 76 Computer experiences ...... 79 Selection of the HTML editor ...... 81 Abby Kan ...... 83 Jackie Cain...... 96 Esther Lee ...... 106 Noah Thomas ...... 119 Jessica Chin ...... 132 Joey W ong ...... 144
5 Interpretation ...... 155
Introduction...... 155 Conceptual frame for interpretation ...... 156 The Taiwanese-American parents ...... 158 Characteristics of the main facilitators ...... 158 Attitudes toward the Web ...... 160 Roles, expectation, cultural values, and resources supports...... 163 Children's responses to the parental suggestion ...... 166 Facilitating styles and problem solving ...... 167 Chinese culture values...... 169 The Taiwanese-American children ...... 170 Content organization and selection ...... 171 The use of the HTML editor ...... 174 Presentation and publication ...... 176 Fam ily culture tow ard leam ing and com puters...... 179 Parental definitions of leaming ...... 179 Parental values of leaming...... 180 The control of leaming in the Web activity ...... 180
6 Reflections and suggestions ...... 183
Introduction...... 183 Reflections on the study ...... 184 Suggestions for the future practice ...... 186 xi Bibliography ...... 189
Appendices A. Grounded survey ...... 201 B. L etter to parents ...... 207 C. Questions of the first interview ...... 209 D. Instruction of the working journal...... 211 E. Q uestions of the second interview ...... 214 F. D ata codes ...... 217 G. Abby Kan's Web pages ...... 220 H. Jackie Cain's Web pages ...... 227 I. Esther Lee's Web pages ...... 231 J. N oah Thom as' W eb p ages ...... 235 K. Jessica Chin's Web pages ...... 239 L. Joey Wong's Web pages ...... 242
xu List of Tables
Table Page
Table 4.1 Participants' gend^, ages and grade ...... 77
Table 4.2 Demographics of participants' parents ...... 78
Table 4.3 The home computer equipment, times of children's use of the computer weekly, and home computer activities ...... 79
Table 4.4 Computer capabilities of the children ...... 80
Table 4.5 Computer experiences of young participants' parents ...... 81
Table 4.6 Schedule and progress of Abby's sessions ...... 87
Table 4.7 Schedule and progress of Jackie's sessions ...... 98
Table 4.8 Schedule and progress of Esther's sessions ...... 110
Table 4.9 Schedule and progress of Noah's sessions ...... 123
Table 4.10 Schedule and progress of Jessica's sessions ...... 137
Table 4.11 Schedule and progress of Joey's sessions ...... 148
xm List of Figures
Figure Page
Figure 3.1 My working journal...... 63
Figure 4.1 Andrea's portrait ...... 87
Figure 4.2 Abby's navigation view ...... 89
Figure 4.3 Jackie's draft...... 102
Figure 4.4 Esther's draft ...... I l l
Figure 4.5 Esther's comparison ...... 117
Figure 4.6 Noah's draft ...... 124
Figure 4.7 N oah's first developing W eb page...... 125
Figure 4.8 Noah's first draft of self-introduction ...... 127
Figure 4.9 Joey's draft ...... 151
XIV C H A P T E R l
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The World Wide Web (WWW, or W3, or the Web) has grown rapidly to
become a popular electronic medium in schools and homes in the United States.
According to the Census Bureau's report, "One in five (57 million) citizens age 3
and older surfed in 1997" (CyberAtlas, October 15,1999). In the 1996 State of the
Union Address, President Clinton points out his commitment to give every
12-year-old access to the Internet by the year 2000 (Whitehouse, 1996). The
Clinton Administration believes that "technology can help expand opportunities for American children to improve their skills, maximize their potential, and ready them for the 21®‘ century workforce" (http:// www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/ edtech/ html/ edtech_accomplishment.html). Under President Clinton's effort,
K-12 schools are wired and increasingly providing Web access for students.
The Web's attributes include print, audio, and video with the addition of mass content and worldwide distribution. This scope is thought to enhance communications, information retrieval, and publication. The hypertext aspect of the Web allows users to intertwine information in multiple directions and layers.
In addition to surfing on the Web, the user can utilize the Web as a publishing
1 tool to present information in a multimedia context to a worldwide audience.
More and more educators and parents consider the Web as an information and
publishing tool because it provides students with potentially valuable connections with teachers, other schools and students, and a wide network of
professionals around the globe (Lee, 1998; Carvin, 1996).
The increasing number of computers in public schools is evidence of their popularity in education. Additional evidence of their importance in education is provided by organizations such as the International Society for Technology in
Education (ISTE) which has developed technology standards for schools of education to use in preparing future teachers (Taylor & Wiebe, 1994). According to families who buy computers, education is frequently the motivating force for the expenditure (Giacquinta and Lane, 1991). More and more parents view the computer as an effective leaming tool in the home. Several researchers claim that many negative factors found in academic settings such as competition and teacher-paced leaming may not be present in the family context (Schall & Skeele,
1995). The use of the computer's academic potential should be emphasized not only at school but also at home. As the Web continues to grow, Kenny (1994) points out, significant breakthroughs with communication may happen at home, rather than in schools, because on-line access is easier and more convenient for children at home.
Surveys in Great Britain reveal that children's expectations of computers are not always matched by what they find in their schools (Strack, 1997). As the number of home computers increases nationally, Strack (1997) argues that it would make sense to involve children in more computer activities at home in cases where schools have too few computers or computers that are less sophisticated than those children have in their own homes.
Students are using the most recent developments on the Web. Many studies report findings of Web activities for students of different age on topics such as research on the Internet, on-line classrooms, and hypertextual multimedia presentations (Lehrer, 1993; Gam er & Gillingham, 1996; Backer, 1999). Since there is easy access to the Web at home, many students are also involved in Web activities outside of school. A few students use the Web as a publishing and presentation tool to develop Web pages. However, not many studies have examined this topic, especially for Web users under nine years old.
The United States is a pluralistic democratic society. Multicultural education that aims to increase equal educational opportunities for all racial, ethnic, gender, social-class, and cultural students has become increasingly important (Banks, 1995). The ethnic studies and multiethnic education movements have been pushing for change in the United States' educational institutions, specifically in helping educators become more sensitive to the specific needs of different ethnic groups. Acquiring knowledge, attitude, and value in this area becomes important because it could help all students, teachers, and educators including the White mainstream ones, to eliminating acts of intolerance and oppression in this diverse society.
Asian Americans are the fastest-growing minority group in the United
States (Chan, 1998), and the largest subgroup within this population is Chinese
American (Zhang & Carrasquillo, 1992). Many researchers claim that the high value parents place on education results in Chinese-American children's high academic performance (Yao, 1985; Siu, 1992; Fong & Wu, 1996). For a long time, a small number of researchers were interested in reporting this subgroup in terms of academic achievement and parental assistance. There have been documented cases showing how Chinese immigrant parents facilitated their children's leam ing in m athem atics (H untsinger & Jose, 1997). H ow ever, I w as unable to find studies that examine how these parents facilitate their children with Web leaming activities.
Research Q uestions
This study is based on information from participants in six
Taiwanese-American^ families living in Columbus, Ohio. Most of the facilitating parents came from Taiwan, and all the young participants are Taiwanese
Americans bom in the United States. All the adult participants are familiar with the use of HTML (HyperText Marked Language) or an HTML editor, and the children have experience in using both Macintosh and IBM computers.
The purpose of this study is to examine how these Taiwanese-American parents assist their young children to create Web pages in the family context. My emphasis is on the children's leaming processes and the parents' facilitation styles instead of highlighting the final product. This study will explore three sets of questions.
iln most research reports on Chinese Americans, the reseacher usually used "Chinese Americans" to refer to the people of Chinese heritage. Besides Mainland China, Chinese Americans originate from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and numerous other Southeast Asian countires (Chan, 1998). Since most of my participants came from Taiwan, I specifrcally used "Taiwanese Americans" to refer the group in my study, and used "Chinese Americans" to indicate the general population of people of Chinese heritage. In order to authentically present previous research findings, I retained the term "Chinese Americans" in chapter 2- the section of my literature review. 4 The first set of questions is related to Taiwanese-American parental
attitudes, values, and teaching styles. What are these parents' attitudes toward
computer technology, especially the Web? What roles and expectations do these
parents assume with regard to their children's use of the Web and development of
Web pages? How do these parents assist their children by using their educational
and social resources? What teaching strategies and styles do these parents use?
How do these Taiwanese parents bring respect for their culture to these interactions?
The second set of questions is about Taiwanese-American children's
experience of Web page development. What do these young children experience
in designing their Web page with their parents? What and how do these children
select the content and plan to design their Web page under parental facilitation?
How do these children respond to their parents' suggestions? How do these
children and parents attempt to solve problems coUaboratively?
The third set of questions is related to family culture toward leaming and
computers. What is the contribution of the home leaming culture on the activity
involved in developing Web pages? Has this activity changed the attitude of
these parents and children toward leaming?
A Dual Perspective
The purpose of using a dual perspective is to examine different dimensions of a single event(s). The perspective for my analysis is grounded in Vygotsky's idea of a "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) and the ideas of Confucius. This is an epistemological position, concerned with how phenomena may be interprétable from within the settings of their appearance and production (Heap, 5 1989). In the context of this study, this dual perspective is used to examine the
parents and children's interactions.
Vygotsky considered the zone of proximal development a strategy for
development and leaming (Bodrova & Leong, 1996). A Vygotskian perspective
on leaming does not assume that children will naturally leam on their own.
Instead, it assumes that they need someone more knowledgeable to plan and
guide their leaming. The ZPD focuses on what adult - parents or teachers - do to
augment chüdren''s leaming through social interaction. Since young children are
given the opportunity actively to constmct their Web pages in this study, a
consideration of the ZPD allows me to clarify further the possible relations
between the cognitive and the social. Cultural identification is an element of an immigrant s sense of himself or
herself. Many Chinese immigrants have brought values different than the
traditional values in the United States. Tu (1998) pointed o u t th at "From the time
that Confucianism was generally accepted by the Chinese populace (second century B. C.), it has become an integral part of Chinese society as a whole and of what it means to be Chinese" (p. 8). Based on this Chinese cultural background,
in this study, 1 use the ideas of Confucius himself to examine family leaming values, actions and events such as the talk and gestures of interaction between parents and children in Web pages construction activities.
The Zone of Proximal Development For Vygotsky, cognitive development is due to the individual's social interactions within the environment. He defines the zone of proximal development (ZPD) as: The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more able peers. (Vygotsky, 1978)
The ZPD has become an important idea for clarifying the relationship between
development and instruction. According to Vygotsky, instruction both precedes
and leads development. He emphasizes that
What the child can do in cooperation today, he can do alone tomorrow. Therefore, the only good kind of instruction is that which marches ahead of development and leads it; it m ust be aimed not so much at the ripe as at the ripening function. (Vygotsky, 1962, p. 104)
Vygotsky (1986) believes that good instruction is aimed at the learner's zone of proximal development.
The concept of the ZPD represents two basic and essential aspects of human development (Wegerif & Scrimshaw, 1997). One is that leaming with assistance or instruction is a common and important feature of human mental development. The second is that providing the right kind of assistance or instruction can expand the limits of a person's leaming or problem-solving ability.
The ZPD is not static but shifts as the child attains a higher level of thinking and knowledge (Bodrova & Leong, 1996). With each shift, the child becomes capable of leaming more and more complex concepts and skills.
The Zone of Proximal Development and A Shared Activity. Bodrova &
Leong (1996) point out that a shared activity is a means of providing the assistance children need at the higher levels of the ZPD. Using the computer can be regarded as a shared activity providing a meaningful social context for
learning. While engaging in activities with adults and more competent peers,
children leam to use signs (e.g. language, numbers) to mediate or, in other words,
to shape and define their thinking from the lower mental processes (eidetic
memory, involuntary attention) to the higher mental processes (voluntary
attention, voluntary memory, and thinking).
In proposing activity as the unit of analysis in human development,
Vygotsky believes that analysis must focus on the activity as a whole, in all its complexity, not on isolated elements (Moll, 1990). A shared activity provides a
meaningful social context for learning. The child may try to leam simply because interacting with the adult is very enjoyable. Social interaction provides support in a physical sense as well as a motivational sense. Therefore, children's cognitive development must be studied in context— in terms of activities.
The Participants' Relationship. Instruction within the ZPD begins with the Vygotskian idea that the path of learning is from social interaction to internalized independent functioning (Wertsch, 1984). It is an ongoing progression from other-regulated^ to self-regulated^ performance. The mentor and the learner are partners within the ZPD. Bodrova and Leong (1996) use the term "teaching/learning" (p.39) to describe both a child's learning and the mentor's teaching of knowledge and skills within the ZPD. Both the learner and
2 The other-regulated performance refers to a child's activity that comes under another person's control. 3 The self-regulation performance posits that a child can plan, guide, and monitor his or her behavior from within and flexibly according to changing circumstances (Diaz, Neal, & Amaya-WiUiams, 1990). 8 the mentor are active in this process. It includes the contribution of both the learner and the mentor.
Cole (1990) and his colleagues (Griffin and Cole, 1984) stress some important aspects of Vygotsky's ZPD that further clarify the role of the mentor such as a teacher during an instructional activity. The mentor provides support as the child develops novel, creative understandings and analyses during social interaction. The type of mentor support provided differs with various learning activities. The mentor's role in supporting learning with the ZPD involves three key elements:
1. The mentor mediates or augments the child's learning.
2. The mentor's mediation role is flexible.
3. The mentor focuses on the amount of support needed.
Spontaneous and Scientific Concept Development. The basic theme of
Vygotsky's work in cognitive development is his idea that the child's thinking develops through social interaction mediated by language (Vygotsky, 1986).
Words are the labels for concepts, but there is a qualitative difference between concrete spontaneous concepts and the more abstract scientific concepts.
Spontaneous concepts develop informally, growing upward as the child accumulates everyday direct life experiences. The everyday social interaction within which spontaneous concepts evolve focuses on what is being communicated. Scientific concepts are part of a culture's systematically organized bodies of knowledge usually associated with particular school subject areas and are learned by the child within a system of formal instruction through schooling (Vygotsky, 1978). Gallimore and Tharp (1990) refer to scientific concepts as "schooled " concepts because children leam them through formal education and school instruction.
Vygotsky (1978) states that "development based on instruction is a fundamental feet" (p.206). Children become consciously aware of their thinking during instruction. Effective instruction depends on the integration of scientific and spontaneous concepts. Vygotsky emphasized that spontaneous and scientific concepts are interconnected and interdependent (Moll, 1990). Their development is mutually influential. He wrote that scientific concepts grow down into the everyday, into the domain of personal experience, acquiring meaning and significance. As these scientific concepts grow downward, they "blaze the trail for the development of everyday concepts" upward toward the scientific and facilitate "mastery of the higher characteristics of the everyday concepts"
(Vygotsky, 1978, p. 219). In teaching children, mentors and teachers can use
Vygotsky's idea of integrating spontaneous and scientific concepts to help learners develop thinking processes.
Vygotsky (1981) claims that the intellectual skills children acquire are directly related to how they interact with others in specific problem-solving environments. He posits that children internalize and transform the help they receive from others and eventually use these same means of guidance to direct their subsequent problem-solving behaviors. Therefore, the nature of social transactions is central to a ZPD.
1 0 Ideas of Confucius
When discussing traditional Chinese culture^ it would be impossible not to talk about Confucianism^. Tu (1990) points out that "Confucianism is still an integral part of the 'psycho-cultural construct' of the contemporary Chinese intellectual as well as the Chinese peasant; it remains a defining characteristic of the Chinese mentality "(p.l36). Confucianism, termed fu-Chia^ in Chinese, is a highly developed philosophy which prescribes basic rules for personal behavior such as the obedience of younger to older, and the subordination of inferiors to the authority of superiors (Lee, 1998).
Confuciaism is a historical phenomenon inspired by the Confudan® tradition, and has been developing for over 2,000 years. However, Confucius did not established Confucianism. Tu (1998) distinguishes the relationship between
Confucius and Confucianism.
Confucius was not the founder of Confucianism in the sense that Buddha was the founder of Buddhism and Christ was the founder of Christianity. Nor did Confucius live up to the highest Confucian ideal, the sage-king. Throughout Chinese history, followers of Confucian tradition openly acknowledge that only the legendary sage-kings such as Yao and Shun fully embodied the Confucian idea of "inner sageliness and outer kingliness, (p. 4)
Confucianism is a generic Western term coined in the eighteenth century in Europe (Tu, 1998). 5 fu-Chia literally means the "the family of scholars" signifying a genealogy, a school, or a tradition of learning (Tu, 1998, p. 4). 6 Many scholars use "Confucian" to indicate the body of teaching that can reliably be ascribed to Confucius himself, and the far broader body of theories and doctrines that developed after his death (Reagan, 1996; Lee,1998; Tu, 1998). II Confucian tradition has been shaped by many Chinese philosophers like
"Confucius, Mencius, and Hsun Tzu in classical times, by the Han dynasty
synthesis of Tung Chung-shu, by the Confucian revivalists of the T ang and Sung
dynasties (culminating in the achievements of Chu His), and finally by further
elaborations in Ming and Ch'ing times" for over 2,000 years (Tu, 1990, p. 113).
The core of Confucian thought is found in the Lun-yu, also known as the Analects,
in which Confucius' disciples recorded all his thought after his death. Over the
last 2,000 years, some of Confucius' ideas, such as the notion of dem ocracyw ere
not strictly kept in the Confucian tradition. In order to develop a close
correspondence with the ideas of Confucius, in this study, 1 use his ideas written
in the Lun-yu rather than Confucian tradition or Confucianism to examine actions
and events in Web pages construction activities.
Confucius. Confucius (551-479 BC), w hose real nam e was Kung-Chiu,
was bom in the ancient Chinese province of Lu* during the age of the "hundred
philosophers’." Living in a time of considerable social, political, and economic
unrest and uncertainly, Confucius attempted to raise the ultimate question of
learning in order to revitalize the institutions that had been vital to political
stability and social order^°: the family, the school, the local community, the state,
and the kingdom (Tu, 1998). He believes that virtue is an indicator of a personal
7 Dr. Sun Yat-sen claimed that both Confucius and Mencius were exponents of democracy (Creel, 1960). However, their ideas of democracy was not seen in Confucian tradition. ® The state of Lu is now Shan-tung provice in Mainland China. 9 The age of the "hundred philosophers" was during the period 550-200 B. C. The period is known as a golden age in classical Chinese thought (Tu, 1998). Mencius (371-289 B.C.) suggests that the Chun-tzu are supposed to show the twin qualities of benevolence [Ren] and propriety [Li] in five basic human relationships: ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older brother and young brother, and between hiends (Yen, 1985). 12 quality and is a requirement for leadership, and is essential for individual dignity, communal solidarity, and political order (Tu, 1998).
The Lun-yu (Analects) and Confucius' Ideas. The Lun-yu is a sacred scripture centered around Confucius' ideas, and has played an important role in traditional Chinese culture. Reagan (1996) makes the following analogy to help
Western readers understand the significance of the Lun-yu: "The closest analogy that one could draw to the role of the Analects in the western tradition would probably be the role of the Bible." (p. 77). Since the Lun-yu was recorded by
Confucius' disciples, it does not provide carefully organized or argued philosophical discourses (Ebrey, 1993). The purpose of collecting the statement of
Confucius was not to "present an argument or to record an event but to offer an invitation for its reader to take part in an ongoing conversation" (Tu, 1998, p. 10).
In the Lun-yu, Confucius' personal spiritual development is used to exemplify that education is a ceaseless process of self-realization;
At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty 1 firmly took my stand; at forty I had no delusions; at fifty 1 knew the Mandate of Heaven; at sixty my ear was attuned; at seventy I followed my heart's desire without overstepping the boundaries of right. (Lun-yu 2:4)^^
Confucius frankly admitted that he was not bom of knowledge, but " love to leam " (Lun-yu 5 :2 8 )^^ response to a student who had difficulty describing him,
Confucius said: " Why did you not simply say something to this effect: he is the sort of man who forgets to eat when he engages himself in vigorous pursuit of
" Lun-yii is translated into English in different sentences. I quoted Tu's English translation (1998, p. 10) because his translation is close to Confucius' ideas in Chinese. u The quote is available at http://www.confudus.org/english/ed0528Jitm [1999, December 7]. 13 learning, who is so full of joy that he forgets his worries and who does not notice that old age is coming on?" (Lun-yii 7:18)^3 pjg dem anded a high standard for himself: "It is these things that cause me concern: failure to cultivate virtue, failure to go deeply into what I have learned, inability to move up to what I have heard to be right, and inability to reform myself when 1 have defects" (Lun-yu
7:3y*. In teaching he demanded learning willingness from his students: "I do not enlighten anyone who is not eager to leam, nor encourage anyone who is not anxious to put his ideas into words" (Lun-yu 7 :8)^^ As a teacher, Confucius taught his students literature, conduct, loyalty and trustworthiness (Lun-yu 7:24)^^.
His objective in education is to bring about good government. This does not mean that the end product of education should be an efficient administrator; instead it should be an ideal m an (Creel, 1960).
The Notion of the Nobleman (Chun-tzu). In Lun-yu, Confucius did not illustrate abstract ideas such as the state of nature. Instead, he aimed to "restore trust in governm ent and to transform society into a m oral com m unity by cultivating a sense of human caring in politics and society" (Tu, 1998, p. 12). To illustrate this idea, Confucius advocated the conception of the nobleman
[Chun-tzu] that emphasized the twin qualities of benevolence [Ren] and propriety [Li] (Reagan, 1996). He believes that self-cultivation of each person is
^ Tu's translation (1998, p. 11). Tu's translation (1998, p .ll). Tu's translation (1998, p .ll). 16 The quote is available at http://www.confudus.org/english/ed0724Jitm[1999, December 7]. 17 The term C hun-tzu is used in the more general sense of "gentleman. " Reagan (1996) translated this term as "the good man" (p. 76) whereas Tu (1998) used "the nobleman" (p. 9). Because Chun-tzu refers to a superiority of character and behavior, I use Tu's translation. 14 the root of social order and that social order is the basis for political stability and universal peace (Tu, 1998). To Confucius, the notion of Li is far more than simple ceremonial correctness. Li entails both knowledge of traditional practice and behavior, and a sensitivity that would allow their modification as required by contemporary circumstances (Creel, 1960). In his explanation of Li, Creel (1960) wrote:
Li was in fact a kind of balance wheel of conduct, tending to prevent either deficiency or excess, guiding toward the middle path of socially beneficial conduct. Confucius stated it thus: "Courtesy, if not regulated by Li, becomes labored effort; caution, if not regulated by Li, becomes mere timidity; courage, if not regulated by Li, becomes mere unruliness; frankness, if not regulated by Li, becomes mere effrontery." (p. 86)
Li is not just m oderation. The goal of Li is both a social and an individual one, grounded in the proper expression of social and cultural tradition. Education is the means by which the individual learns what Li will require in a particular situation. For Confucius, theChun-tzu will seek to develop what are called the
"Five Virtues": right attitude, right procedure, right knowledge, right moral courage, and right persistence. Taken together, the practice of these virtues would lead to a new society based on justice and wisdom. The nature of the
Chun-tzu includes the following characteristics:
Confucius said, "Do not be concerned about others not appreciating you. Be concerned about your not appreciating others." (Lun-yu 1:16)^*
18 The quote is available at h ttp://www.confucius.org/english/ed0116iitm [1998, December 7]. 15 Confucius said, "The gentleman wishes to be slow to speak but quick to act/ {Lun-yu 4:24)^^
Confucius said, "A gentleman is ashamed if his words outshine his actions." {Lun-yu 14:29)20
The "golden rule" of Confucius in social participation is "What you do not
wish upon yourself, extend not to others" {Lun-yu 15: 23)2i. Filial piety is an
important value to Confucius. He sees filial piety as the first step toward moral
excellence. Filial piety indicates how children behave toward parents, how
younger people behave toward elders, and how family members behave toward
one another (Shon & Ja, 1982). The first test of having Ren is to cultivate
meaningful relationships with family members.
Confucianism in Taiwan and the Taiwanese-American Parents
Cultural identification is a significant element of a family's sense of itself
(Hanson & Lynch, 1992). Many families who are newcomers to the United States have brought approaches to child rearing that differ from traditional child rearing
practices in the United States. Handson and Lynch (1992) point out that we should not ignore the impact of socio-historical events on families. Since most of
the parents in my study immigrated from Taiwan when they were adult, they definitely were raised and influenced by the Chinese culture in Taiwan.
Tu (1998) points out that "From the time that Confucianism was generally accepted by the Chinese populace (second century B. C.), it has become an
19 The quote is available at http://www.confucius.org/english/ed0424.htm [1999, December 7],
20 The quote is available at http://www.confucius.org/english/edl429Jitm [1999, December 7],
21 The quote is available at http://www.confucius.org/english/edl523.htm [1999, December7], 16 integral part of Chinese society as a whole and of what it means to be Chinese"
(p. 8). In Taiwan, four principles grounded in Confucianism guide the
individual's behavior (Miller, Yang, and Chen, 1997):
1. Individuals obey five hierarchical human relationships (national leader and
subjects, father and son^, husband and wife, elder brother and younger
brother, and between friends). Those who maintain these relationships take
mutual responsibilities in each. These responsibilities originate from one's
sense of obligation or gratitude.
2. Harmony of the family relies on authority, structure, the role, and behavior of
each individual.
3. All are encouraged to treat others as he or she wants to be treated.
4. Education results in a happy, successful life for the individual. Due to this
principle, teachers receive great respect because they are the transmitters of
education.
To the Taiwanese, harmony is important and rests on meaningful, respectful and
hierarchical relationships with others. The most important of these relationships
is filial piety. Additionally, it is held that the success and happiness of the
individual is positively connected with the amount of education he or she has
received.
— The relationship between parent and child as "father and son", and the relationship between teachers and students, as "between friends."
17 Reflections on Confucianism in Taiwan Being Taiwanese, I am influenced by Confucianism. I did not have a clear sense of this influence until I was submerged in the environment of a different culture. As a female international student at the Ohio State University, my cultural background makes me behave and think differently from American mainstream students. I quickly found myself examining my beliefs, especially those I call "traditional Chinese educational values." This examination increased d u rin g m y research.
In the ancient Chinese context. Stole (1998) says, "Confucianism was rigidly authoritarian and bolstered by a social matrix that was essentially totalitarian. As such, the legal (but not the psychological) power of males and rulers approached the absolute. The rights of women and children were minimal, and during various historical periods they were essentially nonexistent. Class structure was rigidly set, and in spite of civil service examinations, which hypothetically were open to all, it was exceedingly difficult to transcend class limitations" (p. 37-38). However, the social and political climate has changed after the anti-Confucian iconoclasm of the May Fourth movement (1919) in China.
"Confucian heritage as the embodiment of authoritarianism, bureaucratism, nepotism, conservatism, and male chauvinism" (Tu, 1998, p. 33) were criticized and asked to be eliminated by the society.
I was bom in the 1950s at the time when Taiwanese society was gradually shifting from an agricultural to an industrial society. Due to this shift in
Taiwanese society there was a change in family living styles, parental roles, sex roles, and marriage patterns which were formed by Confucianism. For example, in my mother's generation, married women added their husband's last name 18 before their last name. This custom was regarded as a cultural product formed by male chauvinism because it did not respect women's right as equally as men's.
Therefore, most of Taiwanese women do not accept this traditional custom now.
The ancient social and political forms of Confucianism have almost died out in present day Taiwan. However, "the substance of Confucianism, particularly in terms of interpersonal relationships and ethical values" still exists (Stole, 1998, p.
37). Taiw anese are educated to respect their elder, parents, and teachers. As a college professor for seven years, I was respected by my Taiwanese students. I did not realize that 1 had felt honored to receive my students' respects until 1 was in the American academic environment. This was especially evident to me when one of my adult participants asked her child to show respects by greeting me in the traditional way. 1 found in this greeting that 1 am very proud of being a teacher and of this Confucian value.
Personally, 1 have appreciated the ideas of Confucius since 1 was a senior high school student. When 1 first read^3 his thoughts, 1 was surprised that many notorious characteristics of Confucianism such as authoritarianism are contradictory to Confucius' ideas. He respects hierarchical human relationships, but indicates virtue as a requirement for leadership. His goal is to aim at the ideal state of harmony with the universe through human relations. Along with the development of the Confucian tradition, it is a pity to see that some of his ideas are misinterpreted.
23 Students in Taiwan are required to study theLun-i/ti in junior and senior high schools. 19 Reflections on My Perspective
My dual perspective of connecting with the ideas of Confucius and
Vygotsky may be surprising to many readers. With my adult participants' cultural background, this perspective can be regarded as a socio-cultural perspective used to examine Taiwanese immigrant families. Understanding these
Taiwanese-American families from a Confucius' perspective helps me interpret the impact of Confucius' learning ideas on these families.
The focus of this study is on attempting to determine how young children leam to use new tools - HTML editors - with the assistance of more capable adults. Instead of highlighting the final outcome, children's Web pages, the emphasis is on the children's learning processes. Vygotsky (1962,1978) suggested that learning must be socially situated, and that for learners to move through the zone of proximal development they must internalize what they have learned through social interaction. Computer activities are regarded as shared activities providing a meaningful social context for learning (Ashton, 1996). The notion of the ZPD allows me to examine how these Taiwanese-American parents facilitate their children's learning.
The purpose of examining this study through my situated perspective is to understand the beliefs and values of these Taiwanese-American parents and how they might impact teaching and learning. By looking through my research lens, I can understand and report the parents' attitudes through social interactions and events in the families.
20 Significance of the Study An important part of this study is to increase the current understanding of
the research findings on learning and the Internet. As I stated previously, only a
few studies examine how young Web users utilize the Web as a publishing tool,
and how immigrant parents facilitate their children's learning through Web
activities. My study offers a chance to closely examine the Taiwanese-American
parents' facilitation and the parent-child interaction in Web development
activities. The six families I investigated represent a group of middle-class
Taiwanese-American families with highly educated parents who have high-tech
knowledge and skills. My study also allows me to know more about how the
family learning culture of these Taiwanese Americans impacts the use of this
computer technology.
The second consequence of my study is the perspective used to analyze my
data. I use a dual perspective grounded in Vygotsky's idea of a zone of proximal
development (ZPD) and the ideas of Confucius to examine the parent-child
interaction. Vygotsky's notion of the ZPD is probably the most well-known of his
ideas in the United States. Applying this notion allows me to clarify the
relationship between development and instruction. Moreover, examining the
findings through the lens of Confucius' ideas helps me examine and interpret the
social interactions and events in the families.
Assumptions of the Study
In conducting this study, I am not a neutral researcher. I have my own well-developed beliefs about my study. My assumptions are the following:
1. The user is the agent of thinking and learning, not the computer. 21 2. The Web is a potential learning and publication tool that enables children to present their ideas in multimedia format.
3. Children age seven or eight are able to develop Web pages with the help of a
capable adult, and are not too young to be involved in this task.
Limitations of the Study
There are three limitations in my research. First, the participants of my study do not represent most Taiwanese-American or Chinese-American in the
United States. Instead, they are in the middle-class with specific educational attainment and have been living in Columbus, Ohio for several years. Great caution is required to apply any of these findings to other Chinese American populations. Second, my study focuses on the facilitation of the development of children's Web pages. It does not include parental facilitation of other computer activities such as playing games, drill and practice activities, interactive CD-ROM, or Web searching.
The third limitation is related to the research site. Since the Web pages were developed in different private residences, 1 was unable to maintain the observation schedule I had planned. Sometimes parents' working obligation and children's activities made it necessary to reschedule sessions. I could only collect data while attending a scheduled Web activity or while interviewing participants.
Since my study was a unique project for the families, my adult and young participants undoubtedly talked about it in their daily life. It is obvious that some of the parent-child interactions happened when 1 was not present. For example, some participants even worked on the Web pages outside out sessions. In order to make up for this limitation, I asked the parents to tell me about their Web 22 creation interactions while I was not on site. All the parents agreed to my request and described to me the family dialogues and their observations of their child's reactions, but their reports were based on recollections that were obviously not verbatim.
Definition of Terms The following definitions were used in this study:
Editor: A software package that automates Web page development.
Home page: A home page is like the front door into your Web site. It is generally
the first page you see when you enter a site. A splash page can also be used
as the entrance page.
HTML: HyperText Markup Language, the computer language used to create
World Wide Web pages.
Internet: The vast collection of interconnected networks that all use the
Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol.
Second-generation Chinese Americans: There is an inconsistency in the usage of
the term "first generation." Some authors use "Chinese immigrant parents"
or "Chinese American parents" rather than "first generation" to describe
Chinese parents who had immigrated to a country (Lin and Fu, 1990; Lung
& Su, 1997). In this situation, children of the immigrant parents would be
regarded as "first generation." Other authors used "first generation" to
describe the children of immigrants, and their children as
"second-generation" (Takaki, 1989; Hxmtsinger & Jose, 1995; Fong & Wu, 1996). I have chosen to use "second generation" to indicate Chinese
23 Americans who were bom in the United States, and who have at least one Chinese immigrant parent.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, the address of documents on the World Wide
Web. Every Web page is identified by a unique URL. The URL for my
personal Web page is http://www.cgrg.ohio-state.edu/~yfang/mypage
/ index.htm
Web page: An individual document on the World Wide Web.
Web site: A collection of Web pages that make up a collective document.
Organization of the Chapters
The first chapter functions as an introduction, and presents the background of the problem, significance of this study, researcher questions, my analysis perspective, my research assumptions, the limitation of the study and a definition of terms. Chapter two provides the review of literature. Three sections are used to examine the previous research findings related to my target questions:
Chinese-American parents, computers and the family, and children and Web publishing. The third chapter details the methodological approach of this study.
This chapter describes the researcher's rationale for selecting a qualitative case study and the benefits of the previous pilot study. In addition, the following sections are presented: participants, access, data collection, data analysis, the researcher role and trustworthiness.
Chapter four presents the descriptive data of the researcher's findings. In order to offer a whole picture of my participants, 1 provide the background information of the setting and participants, as well as the participants' demographic data and their computer experiences organized and presented in 24 several tables. My fîndmgs on the six families are written in sbc case studies. The fifth Chapter presents my interpretation of my findings. The six families are compared by different themes, and are discussed from the dual perspectives. The final Chapter provides the summary of this study, my reflection on several methodological issues, and my suggestions for further research.
25 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature related to my research questions. This chapter is comprised of three sections. The values and behaviors of parents can have significant impact on children. Therefore, I first focused on Chinese immigrants' parental influences on their American-bom children. In the first sections, the review begins with a brief overview of the demographic characteristics of Chinese-American families currently living in the
United States and their traditional Chinese values related to family and education.
The issues of parental attitudes and child-rearing practice discussed are parent-child relationships, parents' educational expectations, parental teaching, and parental involvement. The second section, which reviews the literature on computers and the family, is comprised of three topics: how technology interacts with the family culture, the use of home computers for learning, and safety for children using the
Internet. The third section focuses on young children and Web publishing. Most of the studies examine children's use of the Web or hypertext software as a publishing tool in the school setting. Only limited studies have focused on Web
26 publishing in the family setting. As only a few articles in research journals that deal exclusively with Chinese Americans' computer learning experiences, 1 have included in journal articles that discuss the Web within the context of schooling to give as complete a picture of this topic as possible.
Chinese-American Parents
Demographic Characteristics The population of Asian Americans^-* has been increasing rapidly. This is the fastest-growing minority group (Chan, 1998) and the third-largest ethnic minority in America (Ownbey & Horridge, 1992). The largest subgroup within this population, nearly 23% of them, is of Chinese heritage (Zhang& Carrasquillo,
1992). According to the 1990 census, there are 1.5 million Chinese Americans that constitute 0.7% of the U.S. population (Hidalgo, Siu, Bright, Swap & Epstein, 1995). Since the Chinese-American population has doubled each decade since
1970 (Chan, 1998), it is expected that the number of Chinese Americans will continue to increase.
Chinese were the first Asians to immigrate to the United States in large numbers. Chinese Americans who have immigrated to the United States come from diverse cultural and language backgrounds. Besides the People's Republic of China, they originate from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and numerous other Southeast
Asian countries (Chan, 1998). There were three waves of Chinese immigration to the United States occurring mainly around the middle of the 19* century, after
2-» The termAsian Americans refers to people of Asian descents and Pacific Islanders in the Unites States (Liu & Yu, 1995). For many educators, this term is the same asAsian Pacific Americans (Pang, 1995). 27 W orld W ar H, and after the 1965 Im m igration A ct w as passed (L ung & Su, 1997).
Once Chinese Americans, as well as the other Asian-American groups, were
negatively regarded as poorly educated and blue-collar "Orientals". They are
now often perceived as the "model minority" to distinguish their education
achievement (Zhang & Carrasquillo, 1992). This image has led many educators
and employers to view Asian Americans, including Chinese Americans, as an
intelligent and hardworking group. However, Asian Americans also thought this image was harmful and "want more freedom to be their individual selves, to be
'extravagant'" (Takaki, 1989, p. 447).
Park (1990) pointed out that the polarity is especially extreme for Chinese
Americans in several ways: age, country of origin, current geographical area of
residence. Kwong (1987) used "Uptown Chinese" and "Downtown Chinese" to
present two very distinct groups of Chinese American. The former are entrepreneurs or professionals enjoying higher incomes and having more education than the national average. They tend to come from Taiwan and
Hong-Kong, and possessed a first-class education before they came to the United
States, especially those Uptown Chinese of Taiwanese origin. On the other hand,
"Downtown Chinese" are manual and service workers who lack a high school diploma from the homeland. Most "Downtown Chinese" have immigrated from the rural areas of Quangdong Province in Mainland China. Because of the polarity, Siu (1992) suggested that we must be careful in interpreting averages, and believed that "To say that Chinese Americans are super achievers is to oversim plify reality" (p. 5). There is no single "Chinese language" but rather a multiplicity of Chinese dialects. Every province of China has at least one dialect. Mandarin is a common 28 dialect spoken by about 600 million people (The W orld Book Encyclopedia, 1995).
More than 70% of the Chinese speak this dialect (Chan,_1998). This may be because M andarin was selected as the national language in Mainland China,
Taiwan, and Singapore. Most Chinese speak Mandarin on public occasions, whereas they speak other dialects (e.g., Cantonese, Taiwanese) at home. Children in Chinese-American families typically become bilingual or, in some cases, trilingual once they start to attend American schools (Uba, 1994). English is the second language of most current immigrant Chinese-American parents. Those who were from Mainland China and Taiwan had studied English for at least six years in junior and senior high school in their native countries. It is common for second-generation Chinese American children, who are not fluent in the native language of their parents, to respond in English w hen a fam ily m em ber speaks to them in the ethnic language (Lung & Sue, 1997). Fillmore (1991) pointed out that one result of this is that Chinese immigrant parents lose the means for socializing and influencing their children when they are unable to conununicate effectively because of their poor English.
Chinese Cultural Values Cultural values are the core conceptions of what is desirable within the individual and the large society of a given group of people (Gollnick & Chinn,
1990). These values are a major factor in contributing to characteristic ways of perceiving, thinking, feeling, and behaving. Many articles discussing
Chinese-American children's academic performance include some reference to the Chinese immigrant parents' cultural values. Chinese-American parents usually place a high value on children's academic performance and put great 29 pressure on them because of these expectations (Fong & Wu, 19%). Many studies indicated that the model Chinese-American educational achievement is rooted in the traditional Chinese culture, especially Confucianism (Lin & Fu, 1990; Siu, 1992;
Zhang & Carrasquillo, 1992). Although the Chinese Americans are diverse in their original countries, Confucianism causes similar cultural values about femily and education among Chinese Americans whose ancestors immigrated from different Asian countries (Fong & W u, 1996).
Family. According to Confucian principles, the family serving to guide and protect the individual is the basic unit of society. The family structure is based on the Confucian doctrine of filial piety. The traditional fomily was male-dominant and hierarchical, with clearly delineated roles for parents and children. This family had a cohesive, extended family structure that stresses duty, obligation, sacrifice, importance of the family name, respect for elders, and ancestor worship" (Siu, 1992, p.ll). In terms of family relationships, suppression of emotions, modesty, and maintaining interpersonal harmony were emphasized.
Social change and communication with the outside world has gradually brought about modifications in the male-dominant and hierarchical structure of the family. After Sun Yat-sen, revered as the Chinese national father, engineered the Revolution of 1911 and the Chinese philosopher Hu Shih led the Chinese
Renaissance of 1919, Chinese intellectuals attacked filial piety and other aspects of
Confucianism. However, the substance of Confucianism, particularly interpersonal relationships and ethical values, still influences the Chinese (Stole,
1998). Education. Valuing education is regarded as a high priority among
Chinese Americans, especially in first-generation Chinese immigrants. This value 30 is embodied in the Chinese sayings: "A gold mansion and a beauty await you inside your books" and "Compared to scholarly pursuits, everything is lowly."
Chinese parents traditionally believe that education is the road to fame and material success. Therefore, Chinese parents assume that their primary responsibility is to secure a good education for their children (Chan, 1998). A child's obligation to the family is achieved primarily through successful academic achievement.
Parental Attitudes and Child-Rearing Practices
There are similar beliefs about education and family among different kinds of Chinese Americans. To gain an overall understanding of Chinese-American parents, the research literature is examined in four different areas.
Parent-Child Relationship. Chinese Americans in general retain many values from the past, although the Chinese American family structure and subcultural values are changing. Due to the emphasis on social control and academic achievement in the Confucian tradition, child-rearing values and practices are relatively restrictive, and protective of the children (Chan, 1998).
Many Chinese American children are taught a set of normative behaviors characterized by impulse control, emotional restraint, strict discipline, and obedience to authority figures at a young age (Lung & Sue, 1997). In the Chinese culture, these behaviors are thought to be preconditions for mastering self-discipline and achieving academic success later on in life (Ho, 1994)
Only a few empirical studies have examined Chinese-American parental control. The finding of BCagan, Kearsley, and Zelazo's study (1978) revealed that
Chinese-American infants vocalizing less, smiling less at external stimuli, and 31 demonstrating more social restraint than European-American babies. They therefore hypothesized that Chinese-American children leam social restraint from infancy. Hsu (1981) found that Chinese parents, especially fathers, are less emotionally expressive and less emotionally involved with their children than
American fathers. Lin and Fu (1990) conducted a study that investigated the differences and similarities in child-rearing practices among Chinese, immigrant
Chinese and Caucasian-American parents of 138 children enrolled in kindergarten, first and second grade. They found that Chinese and immigrant
Chinese parents tended to have higher ratings than Caucasian-American parents on parental control.
Studies conducted in the 1980s reported that Chinese parents are less likely to encourage independence than American parents. King & Bond (1985) found that American parents tended to encourage independence or individualism more than Chinese parents. Asian children including Chinese Americans were classified as field-dependent learners who needed reinforcement from teachers than children of other ethnic origins (Garfinkel & Sharyl, 1982; Peterson, 1983).
The Chinese-American children's behavior seemed to echo the conclusion that
Chinese parents tend to discourage independence in their children. However, contrary to the preceding findings, Lin and Fu (1990) found no difference among
Chinese, Chinese-American and Caucasian-American parents on open expression of affection. Moreover, the Chinese and Chinese-American parents in their study had higher ratings on encouragement of independence than Caucasian-American parents did. Lin and Fu concluded that "patterns of child rearing are undergoing a change" among their Chinese and Chinese-American participants (p. 432).
32 These parents were "seemingly adapting to the necessary changes, while holding
on to certain traditional family values" (p. 432).
Parental Educational Expectations. Findings from many research studies reported consistently that Chinese immigrant parents have high expectations of their children's performance in school (Yao, 1985; Lin & Fu, 1990).
Chinese-American parents believe that a good education will eventually offer a good living and that people can always be improved by consistent effort (Zhang
& Carrasquillo, 1992). This belief is a basic tenet of Confucianism. Yao (1985) conducted a study of 5 ^ through ll*-grade students who scored above the 90* percentile on achievement tests, and found that the parents of Chinese American children had higher expectations for their children's grades, and were less satisfied with the grades their children obtained than were the European
American parents. Consistent with Yao's findings, Lin and Fu (1990) reported that Chinese-American parents emphasized their children's educational achievement more than Caucasian-American parents.
While Chinese American educational achievement is generally attributed to Confucian values, some researchers have argued that we ignored other contributing factors (Sanchirico, 1991; Pang, 1995). Sanchirico (1991) examined a survey of 170 adult Chinese residing in Washington, D C. and found that parents' small-business ownership had a positive influence on their Chinese-American offspring's educational achievement. He believed that families who own small-businesses transmit high aspirations to the next generation. This is a factor that has resulted in Chinese-American high educational attainment. Hirschman and Wong (1986) believed the success of Japanese- and Chinese-American groups was encouraged by the closure of immigration from Asian countries at the end of 33 the 18* and early 19* century. The fear of having decreasing numbers of the population in their ethnic minority group became a factor to attain high academic achievement. When the policy changed, Chinese Americans were ahraid that their numbers would decrease and after several generations they would be gone.
To prevent this, they tried to help their children to move into the mainstream of
American society with the hope that they would no longer be excluded. Since the process of achievement is extremely complex, numerous variables may contribute to academic success. These variables may keep changing in immigrant groups because the demographic characteristics of immigrants are constantly changing.
Asian-American parents are also found to be more willing than other ethnic groups to make sacrifices for their children's education. A study conducted by Schnieder & Lee (1990) examined the academic success of Asian and Anglo students by interviewing their parents. Eight of the nine Asian parents said without hesitation that if necessary, they would sell their only house to send their children to college while one of five Anglo parents responded the same way.
Lung and Sue (1997) pointed out that Chinese-American parents may be neglecting other aspects of their children's development since they overemphasizes children's academic achievement. Surprisingly, some of the recent immigrant parents have the same concern as Lung and Sue's. Many of these Chinese-American parents today are aware of the emotional needs of their children and balance these needs with other values. In an ethnographic study,
Siu and Feldman (1996) classified 10 Chinese-American parents into three patterns: highly secure, moderately secure, and tenuously secure. "Highly secure" parents were classified as those Chinese-American families in which at least one parent was bom in the United States and had gone through the 34 American educational system. When asked about her expectations, one "highly secure" mother— Mrs. Woo answered: "To be happy, to be well-adjusted, to get
along with other people. [I have] no particular professional goals for him." (p. 10).
This attitude is in contrast to the attitude of the "tenuously secure" parents who
completed their schooling overseas and do not perceive themselves to have
achieved success or security in a socioeconomic sense. The comment by a father
was typical:
I think our expectations and goals are quite ordinary; they are the same as other Chinese parents. Attend a good school, get into college, find a steady job and earn a decent living.. .1 expect him to do well in school, all A's...(p. 10)
"Moderately secure" parents are immigrants who received their earlier schooling overseas, but also attended graduate school in the United States.
According to Siu and Feldman's (1996) description, they "tend to display ambivalence in their views as well as practices, perhaps reflecting a strong desire to strike a balance between the traditional Chinese way and the mainstream
American pattern of involvement with the child's education." (p.4). When asked about parental expectation, Mrs. Ma, one of the four "moderately secure" mothers
"expects him to ...if we can afford it... to go to college. Any college is fine." (p. 31).
Moreover, she expressed her concern about her son's character development saying:
James (my son) is rough in our viewpoint compared to the suburban kids. H e's just like a city kid. His father w an ts him to be around a good community. Maybe a good teacher, something like that. We think that is good for him and he need not be an excellent student, (p. 31)
35 In the Siu and Feldman's study, there is evidence that the expectation of first-generation Chinese-American parents has changed overtime. More and more parents accepted the mainstream educational value and developed a new, more balanced expectation for their children.
Parental Teaching. Cross-cultural research on parental teaching of different ethnic groups has shown that ethnicity is a good predictor of maternal teaching and child response (Steward & Steward, 1973). Reviewing existing cross-cultural findings, the author found that studies comparing the parenting practices of Chinese Americans with European Americans and Caucasian
Americans have been well documented.
Steward and Steward (1973) observed six mothers teaching their young male children from each of three ethnic groups (Caucasian American, Mexican
American, and Chinese American). They found that ethnicity was the best predictor of maternal teaching and child response. The Chinese American mothers provided very specific instructions and more positive feedback to their sons. Additionally, Chinese-American mothers thought teaching was a very important part of their maternal role. Caucasian-American mothers, on the other hand, perceived teaching as only one of several roles that they fulfilled with their boys, and were less certain of what they should be teaching their sons.
A study with large samples conducted Stevenson and his associates indicated that the entire Chinese family typically participates in helping children with schoolwork (Stevenson, Lee, Chen, Stigler, Hsu & Kitamura, 1990). Topics of conversation among Chinese parents and children are likely to be school related.
Social interaction has been found to be greater between American parents and 36 their children than among Chinese-American parents and children (Stevenson et al., 1990) and topics of conversation are often not related to school.
To examine socio-cultnral dimensions that may influence mathematics achievement, Himtsinger and Jose (1995) audiotaped interactions of 24 first-generation Chinese American and 26 Caucasian-American mother-father-daughter triads in which the fifth-and sixth-grade girls solved a computer-presented spatial rotation puzzle. They found that Chinese-American triads were quieter, more respectful, more serious, and more orderly, whereas the
Caucasian-American triads were more sociable, more likely to use humor, more talkative, and more interactionaUy complex. Chinese-American mothers and
Caucasian-American fathers appeared to be more responsive to their daughters' skills and behaviors.
Huntsinger and Jose (1997) conducted a longitudinal qualitative study designed to look at how Chinese-American and Euro-American parents facilitate the mathematics development of their preschool and kindergarten children. They found that parents in the two ethnic groups were equally warm, directive, clear, and involved in problem solving. Parents in both cultures use similar teaching styles in teaching mathematics. Although there were many similarities, subtle differences were found. Chinese-American dyads made more use of written representation of the problems than did Euro-American dyads. Both
Euro-American mothers and fathers gave more encouraging comments to their children than Chinese-American parents did. When teaching a counting game to their children, Chinese-American parents were found to be more directive than
Euro-American parents. For example.
37 Mom: Do you know how m any is 4x4? Child: 18 Mom: (Shakes her head no.) Child: I m ean 20. Mom: (Shakes her head no.) No, no, no. Try one more time. You know that. Child: So it's 4-8-12-16. Mom: Good. It's 16. (p. 10)
In the same activity, some Euro-American parents hesitated to tell their children that their answer was wrong. For example.
Child: 14? (incorrect answer) Dad: W e ll ...... Child: 16? (correct answer) Dad: O.K. WeU O K. (p.lO)
Chinese-American parents also referred much more often to higher (than grade level) mathematical concepts as something that the child already knew, whereas
Euro-American parents referred to the same concepts as something they would leam in the future. For example, in Chinese-American dyads:
Dad: You already learned multiply and divide. So what would this problem be? Child: Multiply. After reading the problem. Dad says: Is this a plus question? Child: No, it's time. (p. 10)
The Euro-American dyads follow:
Mom: You're probably going to leam this in 5* grade or something.
38 Dad: In school, they're going to teach you how to do multiplication and division, (p. 11)
In comparing different ethnic groups, similarities and differences in
parental teaching styles are easy to identify. However, there is a lack of
explanation of parental teaching beliefs. Why were these Chinese-American
parents more directive? Are they always directive? Why did they prefer to use
higher mathematics concepts to challenge their children? Was this directive style
grounded from certain Chinese cultural backgrounds or from patterns of
schooling parents had received? These questions wait to be answered.
The role of language used in these studies should be examined. To
immigrant Chinese-American parents, English is their second language. It could
be that Chinese-American triadic interactions were quieter and more direct
because parents were less comfortable speaking English (Huntsinger et al., 1995).
In two studies by Huntsinger and his associates, Chinese-American parents were
found to use directive phrases such as "You have to rotate that." rather than
indirect phrases such as "Why don't you ...?" Using more directive phrases may
be due to the usage of Mandarin. For example. Mandarin speakers usually do not
use indirect phrases, especially negative phrases such as " 1 don't think going
there is a good idea. " In this situation, the Chinese usually say " 1 think going
there is a bad idea." Therefore, 1 suggest that it is important for the researcher to
realize the differences in speaking styles of Mandarin and English speakers.
Another issue lacking explanation in existing studies is sociocultural communication styles, for example, children's reaction toward parental teaching.
What do Chinese-American children feel when receiving direct corrections and
39 being challenged by higher concepts? Will Chinese-American parents change their teaching styles and strategies after living in the United States? If the answer is yes, how and when will the parents change? What influences the change? How do children and parents create their learning culture in the family context? If there were more studies examining the proceeding questions, it would definitely broaden the knowledge of current multicultural education.
Parental Involvement. According to Epstein (1992), there are two types of school and family partnership: basic parental obligations to make children ready for school and parental involvement in home-based learning activities.
Chinese Americans feel most comfortable with the latter type of child-centered involvement (Hidalgo et al., 1995). Epstein (1992) suggested that the term
"parental involvement" need to be conceptualized broadly as school and family partnerships. Parents should not be assumed to be the only ones involved in their children's education. The involvement usually includes members of the extended family such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even older siblings.
They are sometimes key players in a child's schooling, whether or not they live under the same roof (Siu, 1994). A review of the literature (e.g., Schneider & Lee, 1990; Yao, 1985) reveals many ways in which Chinese-American families attempt to support children's school performance at home: reducing the number of household chores for children during the school year; using Chinese proverbs and folk stories to motivate children to study; purchasing workbooks; establishing study times; scheduling children's free time; taking children to the library; teaching the three
R's before children enter kindergarten; enrolling children in language schools and music classes on weekends or after school; and assisting them with homework. 40 For many Chinese immigrant parents, they seemed to create homework as a common strategy in their home-based learning activities. This strategy is motivated by a firm belief that practice makes perfect.
Contrary to active parental engagements in the home-based learning activity, Chinese immigrant parents are not involved much in the school. Ho &
Fong (1990) used two phrases to describe their school involvement: "A cool response to school activities" and "a hiding of dissatisfaction deep in the heart"
(p.l). Hidalgo and his associate (1995) also dted an interview of a White teacher’s complaint of the lack of Chinese-American parental involvement in the school.
My biggest headache as a teacher is the non-involvement of Chinese parents. They only care about their work and how much money they make. They have no idea how their children are doing in school.... Phone calls to discuss the child's progress are not returned. Invitations to come to school for parent-child conferences are ignored. It seems that no matter what the school does, Chinese parents simply don't want to be involved. Why are they so busy? (p. 508)
Ho and Fong (1990) conducted a survey to discover the degree of Chinese immigrant parents' school participation in New York City. For many of the parents, the child's report card was the only means of school-home communication. 42% of all respondents could read and understand everything without the help of a dictionary or translator, and 1% of the parents surveyed did not read the report card. While most claimed that parental involvement was necessary to improve education for children, only 27% regularly attended parent-teacher conferences and other school functions; only 11% voted in parents' council elections or on school issues. Yao (1985) comparing Chinese- and
41 Caucasian-American parents with college education and middle-class or over reported that the former visited school and attended activities less frequently than the latter did.
Two reasons were usually used to explain the low participation of
Chinese-American parents in schools: lack of English proficiency and long working hours (Hidalgo et al., 1995). However, applying these two reasons to explain the low involvement of Chinese American parents seems not convincing.
The low parental involvement in schools might be a Chinese cultural custom formed by the value of respecting teachers' authorities. It is possible that the parents may not have felt welcome in the school, or may have been intimidated by the school. Unfortunately, no study has conducted to explore this issue more.
Communities are an important source of support and resources for families. Friends, extended families, cultural groups in the community can provide needed information for children and parents. Moll and Greenberg (1990) proposed a term "funds of knowledge" as an "operations manual of essential information and strategies households need to maintain their well being" (p. 323).
They believed that households' funds of knowledge are wide-ranging and abundant in home life and in the community. The social relationships provide a motive and a context for applying and for acquiring funds of knowledge.
Therefore, studies of community contexts and their influence should be not ignored.
Studies of Chinese immigrant parental involvement in the community, however, are very few. In 1995, Hidalgo and his associate reported: "This is an area in which there is practically no research" (p. 510). In their literature review, they considered that the famous Lau v. Nichols case (1974) "is perhaps the best 42 known illustration of how Chinese American parents mobilized themselves to demand appropriate education for non-English-proficient students" (p.510). In
Siu and Feldman s finding (1996), they reported that parents who were with less secure in their socioeconomic status had a sense of belonging to the Chinatown community, whether they Hve in Chinatown or not. The parents who were highly secure in socioeconomic status regarded the school of their children, the church they attended, and the company in which they worked as their communities.
Computers and the Family For families that purchase home computers, education is frequently the motivating force for the expenditure (Giacquinta and Lane, 1991). As the computer has been popular in many environments, it presumably could be an effective tool for social and academic growth in the home.
Technology and the Family Culture
Studies suggest that existing family behaviors determine the nature of home computing. SchaU (1985), a field researcher, commenting on a family she observed, noted "while certain routines or activities may change with the arrival of the computer, the basic values that govern all behavior do not. The family remains the same" (p.49). Fears or the assumption that technological wonders, such as the computer, would replace or change the family culture dramatically may not be found. However, the use of computers reveals how the family is concerned about learning. Papert (1996) pointed o ut that com puter learning experiences give the family a chance to become more aware of its learning culture.
43 Researchers have discovered benefits in increased home computer use.
Deringer (1986) found that home computer use for educational purposes caused children to decrease television viewing. In addition, home computer use has an impact on the amount of collaboration. Increased interaction with other users enhanced meaningful use of home computers.
H om e C om puters fo r L earning
Using home computers for learning can offset the negative impact of a teacher-dominated environment (SchaU & Skeele, 1995). During shared learning experiences with adult famUy members, the child often becomes the teacher
(Ferrari, 1985), and some of the best learning occurs when chUdren have to explain what they know to others. Meaningful, extended, and uninterrupted time on the computer can be provided in the home more easily than in school.
The use of computers improves learning transference and students' perceptions of their personal capabilities. Researchers have reported
"improvements in self-concept, reduction of emotional dependence, and self-management of behavior and learning" (Ryba and Chapman, 1985, p.l23). If chUdren perceive that they can control their own learning, they are likely to leam more. Home computers can teach students to think independently, make critical judgments, and exercise more control over their learning processes.
Safety on the Internet By bringing users connections with a wide network of professionals, the
Internet broadens the educational community. However, many educators and parents are concerned that the information on the Web is anarchic (Sherman, 1998; 44 Lee, 1998). Parents are concerned that this feature makes the use of the Internet
less safe. They worry that there is no way to protect their children from "harmful"
material. Since the issue of Internet safe^ is intertwined with social and political
conditions, there is no easy answer for this complex issue.
In June 1997, the U S. Supreme Court toppled the Communications
Decency Act, ruling that the Internet is protected by the First Amendment. To
respect freedom of speech. First Amendment defenders object to electronic
censorship. They contend that all Americans have the right to post information
on the Internet, and that only the parents may restrict their children from access to
information on the Internet. At the same time, freedom of speech and protection
of children remain issues when the information such as directions for building a
bomb is posted on the Internet. Parental involvement in Web use becomes
important. Magid (1994) suggested the following guidelines as family rules for
parents:
1. Never give out identifying information—home address, school name, or
telephone number—in a public message such as e-mail, chat rooms, or bulletin
boards.
2. Get to know the service that your child uses.
3. Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer
user without parental permission.
4. Never respond to messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive,
obscene, belligerent, threatening.
The influence of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling is international. Parents and educators all over the world are struggling between freedom of speech and
protection of children. In order to protect young children, many Web sites 45 developed for children contain their own search engines with a filter that
excludes "harmful" materials. Yahooligans^s, a Web site for children, is an
example. Yahooligans has its own search engines developed for K-12 children.
The engine excludes information related to violence, sex, or the use of drugs.
When keying in terms such as "homosexual", the young and teen user would see
the following message: "No match found for homosexual."
Young Children and Web Publishing
The World Wide Web The Internet is composed of hundreds of individual computers linked
together in smaller interconnected networks (Peters, 1996). In other words, the
Internet is a network of networks that links more than fifteen million people in
more than 50 countries (Miller, 1993). These computers have the capability to
provide information to other nodes on the Internet through a common language,
or protocol. On the Internet, people communicate and retrieve information. In
1989, British computer scientist Tim Bemers-Lee developed an entirely new
Internet publishing protocol that he called the World Wide Web (Garvin, 1996).
The Web's documents are formatted in a language called HTML (HyperText
Marked Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as graphics,
audio, and video files.
25 Yahooligans is available at http://www.yahooligans.com [1999, December 11]. 46 The Web allows the Internet user to access information in multiple directions and layers by using a browser^. This means that users can jump from one document to another simply by clicking on a hot spot such as underlined words, icons, and images. With the Web, the user can view those texts and links to other information on the same screen. Because of the "jumping" attributes of the Web, people recognize that the Web presents information in a non-linear format. A user may begin with any given starting point (often known as a home page), and using hotspots, jump to any location in that document or another document prior to quitting the browser without coming to a defined end. The user, rather than the author, determines the sequence in which data is accessed.
Besides navigating on the Web, the user can utilize the Web as a publishing tool to present information in a multimedia context. A Web page may present segments of text as well as graphics, audio, and video. Carvin (1996) pointed out that the form in which it appears on the Web is commonly referred to as hypertext. Thus, many educators and users regard the World Wide Web as a hypertextual application (Russell, 1998; Carvin, 1996).
H ypertext
Hypertext, a term coined by Theodore H. Nelson in 1965, refers to a computer-based technology that supports non-linear reading and writing (Nelson,
1987; Bolter, 1991). Landow and Delany (1991) defined hypertext as " the use of the computer to transcend the linear, bounded and fixed qualities of the
26 A browser is a computer program that allows a person to access and read documents on the Web. The browser provides some means of viewing the contents of nodes (or "pages") and of navigating from one node to another. 47 traditional written text" (p.3). Instead of looking at a predefined sequence of text, hypertext allows a reader to read non-sequentially.
The idea of "linking related information" is the basis for hypertext (Marsh
& Kumar, 1992, p.3). Links connect the contents and enable the user to navigate around the text. By linking, the reader can build his or her own paths, to select and organize information relevant to his or her needs or objectives. To the author, links allow him or her to present several different paths for the reader to select.
Hypermedia refers to the combination of using images, sounds, and videos with the text in computer-based applications (Bolter, 1991). Some people think that the definition of the term "hypertext" implies that it is a system for dealing with plain text (Nielsen, 1990). Therefore, they prefer using the term hypermedia to stress the multimedia aspects. However, some scholars do not limit hypertext to purely textual information (Landow, 1990; Foss, 1989). Foss (1989) suggested that "hypertext systems contain frames of text, pictures, sound and animation that are organized non-linearly into a network of linked frames." (p.407). Landow
(1992) stated that hypermedia simply extends the notion of the text in hypertext by including visual information, sound, animation, and other forms of data. To him, hypermedia simply combines hypertext and multimedia^. Thus, many writers like Landow have been using hypertext, and hypermedia interchangeably to represent non-linear electronic documents (Nielsen, 1990; Landow, 1992; Tergan,
1997). I agree with Foss' suggestion and do not Limit hypertext to purely textual information. In this essay, I would use the traditional term "hypertext" for all hypertext and hypermedia systems and software.
27 Multimedia is another term that refers to the use of text, graphics, audio, video and animation in computer-based applications (Kommers, Grabinger & Dunlap, 1996). 48 Vannevar Bush originated the concept of hypertext. In his influential article As May Think published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1945, he envisioned a mechanized information storing and retrieving machine called Memex (or Memory
Extender). Memex was conceived as a data storage device " in which an individual stores aU his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility"
(http://www.ps.uni-sb.de/~duchier/pub/ vbush/vbush6.shtml). For Bush, the
Memex was also conceived as an information retrieval device. Bush described its ability to retrieve any item, and select another by association as the essential feature of the Memex. Bush pointed out that "the process of tying two items together is the important thing" (http:// www.ps.unisb.de/~duchier/pub/ vbush/vbush7. html). Although the Memex was never built. Bush's vision inspired numerous computer pioneers such as Theodore Nelson.
In the early 1960s, Theodore Nelson translated Bush's intriguing idea into hypertextual exploration using computers. He defined hypertext as
"non-sequential writing" (Nelson, 1987, p. 29). Nelson (1993) pointed out that we think writing is sequential since we are used to write sequentially. He argued that writing is not intrinsically sequential because "a structure of thought is not itself sequential" (Neslon, 1993, p.l4). He stated that our thought is interwoven by ideas. Ideas are usually connected, but do not always come in sequences.
Moreover, Nelson argued that it is not appropriate to force everyone to work in the same writing sequence. The same sequences do not fit each individual. It would be ideal if a writer could create different paths for different readers.
Therefore, Nelson proposed to use computer technology to create an environment for non-sequential writing. 49 When Nelson (1987) spoke of hypertext for learning, he accentuated that
"the student is in control and may use his initiative dynamically; the subject is not
artificially processed into a presentational sequence" (p. 31). Nelson saw that the
student could exercise control over what he or she is learning in a hypertext
learning environment. The role of the learner in the learning process becomes
m ore dynamic a n d active.
Hypertext within the Context of Education
Recent developments of the World Wide Web have heightened the impact
of hypertext on learning. Generally speaking, learners enjoy using hypertext
technology. Students using hypertext as a tool for learning have experienced an
increased sense of control and increased levels of intrinsic motivation (Becker &
D w yer, 1994).
There are many ways of using hypertext in the classroom. The most
common way is for educators to use hypertext application software for students
to work collaboratively to develop projects in specific disciplinary topics
(Ayersman, 1996). Research shows that taking this social constructivist approach
offers many benefits. Lehrer (1993) observed two groups of 8*-grade students
using HyperComposition and found that there was a high degree of involvement
in working on their presentation.
Besides involvement, hypertext software has shown other positive effects.
A descriptive qualitative study examining 4*-grade students' methods of expression using both hypertext and paper and pencil as the presentational tool found that the students develop more new ideas and actively engaged in peer collaboration when using hypertext software (Riddle, 1995). When students work 50 in small teams, the interactions and activities frequently involve higher order and reflective thinking. Talk assists students in sharing knowledge and the accompanying interactions often lead to creative thinking and the generation of new ideas. Collaboration helps individuals to progress through their zone of proximal development through the communication and the activity in which they are engaged (Oliver & Omari, 1998).
Learning carmot be studied independently of the social context. A broad range of sociocultural factors influences Web-based learning. Warschauer (1998,
1999) observed an online English as a Second Language (ESL) writing course in a conservative Christian college and examined four overlaying contexts from a sociocultural perspective: the church and college. The teacher s personal teaching philosophy, the role of the English languae program, and the triangular relationship that developed between teacher, researcher, and students.
Warschauer (1998) found that "the teachers were able to harness the power of the
Internet to bring about important positive results, including increased apprenticeship learning, the development of important new literacy skills, and increased student motivation" (p. 84). The use of the Web were shaped by factors such as the teachers' beliefs about the nature of teaching and learning. It seems probable that "ethnic and language minority students may be the least likely to use computer networking in ways that enchance critical thinking and collaborative problem solving" (p.85). Warschaur suggested that educators who have a critical awareness toward the Internet can "introduce this awareness and thus provide some small counterbalance to the weight of conservative institutions" (p. 85) and induce change to students' resistance.
51 Joyce (1992) describes hypertext as a new pedagogy that fosters a
"reciprocal relationship" (p. 9) among teachers and students. Bruner (1986) describes the traditional pedagogy as "a transmission of knowledge and values"
(p. 123) from the experts to those who know less. Learning and teaching with hypertext will make teachers and students rethink the hierarchical structure of knowledge, and the power relationship between the knower (the teacher) and the known (the students). A hypertext classroom will focus on "creating knowledge rather than the mere ordering or inventory of the known" (Joyce, 1992, p. 12).
Toomey and Ketterer's (1995) study supported these assertions. They conducted a case study in which they observed three elementary teachers using hypermedia as a tool for students to construct knowledge. Their observations indicated, that the introduction of hypermedia into the classroom as a tool for students to use in their learning, created a classroom context in which the instructors' roles were somewhat changed. The teachers adopted constructivist learning approaches and became "influential mediators and facilitators by working collaboratively with the other mediators in the room, namely other children and technology" (Toomey &
Ketterer, p. 480).
52 CHAPTERS
METHODOLOGY
As a student who speaks English as a second language, I have a tendency
to seek out a community where 1 can speak my native language. Therefore, 1
have been making Taiwanese friends since 1 came to Columbus in 1997. The more
I understand about the Taiwanese-American community here, the more I find
that the educational values of the Taiwanese-American parents are different from
the values of those living in Taiwan and of mainstream American parents.
Additionally, I find that American as well as Taiwanese educators and
researchers know little about the parents of the Taiwanese-American subgroup.
Since many Taiwanese-American parents still have a certain degree of contact
with family, friends and colleagues in Taiwan, it is worth studying them and their families in order to expand a Taiwanese scholars' understanding of the
Taiwanese-American. As 1 was interested in those differences, 1 initiated this study with the intention of discovering more about these differences as well as their attitudes toward Web page design.
53 Rationale for Qualitative Case Study
A paradigm represents a researcher's worldview, general perspective and way of breaking down the complexity of the real world (Patton, 1990). Currently there are two primary paradigms of investigation employed in social research: positivism and post-positivism. Positivism indicates the objectivist, conventional, or quantitative paradigm that uses statistical or experimental methods to test hypothetical-deductive generalizations. Post-positivism refers to the naturalistic, interpretive, constructivist, or qualitative paradigm. Social inquiry in post-positivism includes interpretive, phenomenological, hermeneutic, naturalistic, critical, feminist, neo-marxist, constructivist and post-paradigmatic approaches (Lather, 1991). I used post-positivism in contrast to positivism and for "opening up of paradigmatic alternatives for the doing of social science"
(Lather, 1991, p.9).
Positivism has long been the dominating paradigm. Positivists believe that only one objective and external reality can be known, and that reality can be measured, categorized and quantified. Therefore, positivists view the investigator and the investigated as two independent entities. Their relationship has a one-way direction and the investigator should have an unbiased research attitude. In contrast, in post-positivism, there is not only one reality but multiple, and these can be known through the intertwined interaction between the investigator and the investigated. In order to understand the realities, the investigator needs to realize the story of how people make meaning of their w orld. Although there has been an ongoing debate among researchers about the legitimacy of post-positivism as a research method, the post-positivism has 54 gradually become accepted as a legitimate tool for conducting research in the field of education (Chandler, 1992). I selected the qualitative approach for this study for two reasons. First, it fulfills my personal research interests of exploring, describing, and understanding "what happens" through the interactions in a particular phenomenon. Second, of the methods Patton (1990) recommends for conducting case studies, which I felt this would best provide the answers to my research questions.
A case study is not a methodological choice, but a choice of the object to be studied (Stake, 1994). The object I chose to study was an unusual group of parents who originated from Taiwan, who have second-generation
Taiwanese-American children and have the technological competence to design
Web pages. According to Stake's (1994) classification, there are three types of case studies: intrinsic case study, instrumental case study, and collective case study.
An intrinsic case study is conducted to understand a particular case better, whereas an instrumental case study is aimed to provide insight into an issue or refinement of a theory. If researchers want to "study a number of cases in order to inquire into the phenomenon, population, or general condition" (p. 237), a collective case study is appropriate. In this study, a collective case study will be used.
Pilot Study
During coursework in the methods and the philosophies of doing qualitative research, 1 did a pilot study designed to provide insight into the attitudes of Chinese-American children toward the World Wide Web. In this study, my primary focus was on the gender differences in young children's 55 computer-related attitudes about Web-based learning activities. In the context of
this study, I taught two third-grade Chinese-American children^* (one girl and
one boy) to use a browser, observed their behavior, and interviewed them on how
they made their decisions about selecting a link. In addition, I interviewed the
children' parents in an effort to see if their attitude towards the Web had had any
impact on their children's attitudes. The data was transcribed and severed coding
systems were experimentally applied to analyze the data.
The small population I used prevented the pilot study from generating
sufficient data for analysis. However, it stimulated further questions regarding
the parents' attitude toward the computer, and the strategies parents use in
facilitating their children's learning. In addition, this pilot highlighted problems
in methodology and grounded my theoretic perspective. Although I changed my
research focus, this led to the formulation of a "grounded survey" (Bogdan &
Biklen, 1992; see Appendix A) which I used in the introductory phase of my
present study. The pilot study also gave me familiarity with my participants and
qualitative research methods.
Site and Selection of Participants
The aim of this study is to understand how Taiwanese-American parents
facilitate their children's learning in the creation of Web pages at home. Therefore,
the research sites were at the participants' residences. Patton (1990) stated that
"the logic and power of purposeful sampling lies in selecting information-rich cases for study in depth" (p. 169). Since the purpose of this study is to work with
28 The parents of these two children came from HongKong and Vietnam. 56 a specific minority group—immigrant Taiwanese-American parents and their children, purposeful sampling was the method used in locating participants for the study.
Based on my initial thinking, I generated the following basic criteria in selecting ideal participants for my study.
1. I selected six seven-year-old children (three girls and three boys) living in the
Columbus metropolitan area who were interested in learning Web-based
activities. They are second-generation Taiwanese Americans who were bom
in the United States. I anticipated that they would all be second graders. In
order to have a homogeneous group of participants, I decided to choose
Taiwanese-American families in which at least one parent came from Taiwan
after the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act.
2. I selected computer competent parents who were willing to participate in this
study. Their computer competence was required. At least one parent has to
be fluent in the use of HTML(HyperText Marked Language) or an HTML editor.
3. The parents could provide maximum opportunities and support for my
observations and interviews.
Two purposeful sampling techniques were used in this study: homogeneous sampling and snowball sampling (Patton, 1990). The purpose of choosing a homogeneous sample is "to describe some particular subgroup in depth" (p. 173). Snowball sampling is an approach for locating information-rich key informants by soliciting names from well-positioned people who could answer the question, "Who can I talk to about this phenomenon?" (p. 176).
57 My friend, a mother of two children and a teacher with four years
experience in the Chinese Columbus A c a d e m y ^ s (CCA), was my target
well-positioned person. 1 contacted her and got a phone/ address list of all the
students enrolled in this school in 1998. She also recommended several families
to me who met research my criteria.
Access Bogdan and Biklen (1992) suggested that a field worker should be flexible,
creative, and persistent. In the Spring of 1999, Human Subjects approved my
dissertation proposal. After getting this permission, I sent a letter (see Appendix
B) to parents, whom 1 thought might be interested, based on my friend's
recommendation. I then contacted each set of parents either by telephone or in a
face-to-face conversation at CCA.
After talking to all the parents with seven-year-old children in CCA, I
found that the number of ideal participants was insufficient. Some parents did
not have the needed computer skills. Some families planned to stay in Taiwan for
their two-month summer vacation. This shortage of participants forced me to
expand my sampling parameters by adding eight-year-old children. In my
search, I located some eight-year-old children who were second graders, and
other eight-year-olds who were in a second-third-grade mixed classroom in a
public elementary school in Columbus. These two situations were beyond my knowledge and expectation because there is no mixed-age programs in Taiwan and Taiwanese seven-year-old children are second graders. Therefore, 1 decided
^ The Columbus Chinese Academy is a non-profit school in Columbus, Ohio offering Mandarin Chinese language classes for children fiom pre-kindergarten to high school. 58 to have mixed-age participants in my study and to extend the study to examine
differences in Web design performance between second and third graders.
Because the Taiwanese-American families were at least bilingual, I was
flexible about which language the parents and the children wanted to use when
the interview was conducted. Generally speaking, the parents preferred to speak
in their native language. Mandarin^, whereas the children wanted to speak in
English.
I divided my study into two stages: the introductory stage and the intensive data collection stage. The introductory stage was from March 21,1999 to Jime 6,1999. Since the children were very busy with their school and extra-curricular activities during the semester, most parents wanted to schedule the Web session during their summer vacation. Because of varying schedules, each family started and ended their Web sessions differently. My intensive data collection stage was from May 10,1999 to August 2,1999.
Methods and Procedures of Data Collection The Introductory Stage
In the introductory stage, I spent five Sunday afternoons at CCA to familiarize myself with ail the families. This was accomplished by chatting with the parents and the children to leam about their family activities, the children's academic performance, and the parents' educational attitudes. The parents usually left CCA as soon as classes were over. Therefore, I chatted with the parents while they were waiting to pick up their children. I met the six children
Every Chinese province has at least one dialect. Mandarin is a common dialect which was selected as the official language in Mainland China and Taiwan. 59 either before the class or during the break between their classes. Although the
time was limited, I did my best to focus on building trust with my young
participants.
Grounded Survey. In this research, I used the grounded survey^i that
emerged from my pilot study. Since my target participants were young children,
1 redesigned this survey to make it appealing and interesting to children. I used
this survey before scheduling the children's Web development sessions.
There are three sections in the survey: (1) tell me more about yourself, (2)
tell me about your family, and (3) let me know about your computer experience.
Section one included items relating to the children's demographic data such as
their ages and schools, and any experience each has had in their parents' home countries. Section two related to their parents' working position, the parental native country, and the number of siblings. Section three listed questions about their home computer activities cilong with their understandings, experiences, eind desires to participate in Web activities.
All six children filled out the survey in CCA on Sunday, April 25,1999.
Before they answered the survey, I explained it to them by going through it briefly with each child. When the children saw the bean people on the last page, they all laughed at the graphic. The children answered the survey with assistance from either their parents or me. In questioning the children about their responses,
1 discovered that some of them really knew what a Web page was, but were unable to define it independently. In asking them some Yes and No questions, I was able to make sure of their understanding.
See Appendix A. 60 The First Interview. An interview was used to find out what is in and on
the participants' minds for the purpose of uncovering their understanding from
various perspectives (Patton, 1990). In order to understand the parents'
educational beliefs, I conducted my first interview with at least one parent from
each family between April 25,1999 and June 6,1999. Since I dealt with the
Taiwanese parents, we spoke our native language during the interview. The
interviews, lasting 40 minutes, were tape recorded and later transcribed into
Chinese. The questions (see Appendix C) were open-ended and related to topics
such as the values of educating children, relationships between the parents and
their children, parental roles, their personal computer experience, and their
attitudes toward the Web and Web design.
The Intensive Data Collection Stage
In this stage, the primary data was collected by participant observations,
the children'^s working journal, my personal journals, and interviews. In addition,
supplemental data collection techniques included using videos, audiotapes and
field notes. Each parent and child set was expected to meet four or five times to
work on the child's Web page. The performances of two children differed from
the time frame projected for completing the Web page. One child finished her
Web pages in three sessions and the other child needed seven sessions.
Participant Observations. Participant observation is a method in which an observer takes part in the daily activities, rituals, interactions, and events of the people being studied (Dewalt, Dewalt & Wayland, 1998). This method served a dual purpose in my study: to engage in the children's Web page design as a participant, and to observe the parents and children's interaction. This way of 61 knowing people allowed me to join the perspective of outsider, the perspective of insider, and the interaction between these perspectives (Stewart, 1998).
Dewalt and his colleagues (1998, p .262-263) classified four degrees of
participation": nonparticipation, moderate participation, active participation, and
complete participation. "Nonparticipation" and "complete participation" are the
two extremes. The former means that the researcher acquires data by watching
television, reading newspapers or diaries, and the latter indicates that the
researcher becomes a member of the studied group. Although some of my
participants regarded me as a member of their Web project, 1 tried not to involve
myself as a complete participant observer physically and emotionally. Actually, 1
often used "moderate participation" meaning that the researcher "is present at
the scene of the action but doesn't actively participate or interact, or only
occasionally interacts, with people in it" (p. 262). However, in certain sessions
with two families, due to the parents' requests, I found myself in "active
participation" indicating that I, as the researcJier, engaged in almost everything
that the participants were doing.
Participant observation enabled me to avoid the discrepancy between real
and verbal behavior, and allowed me to ask questions over time without
misunderstanding. Through observation along with interviews, I was also able to gain a better understanding of my participants' perspectives. From May to July
1999,1 spent almost 60 hours observing at my six participants' residences. During my observations, I kept field notes and a "reflexive journal" (Lincoln & Cuba, 1985) in order to record the event, the interaction of my participants, and my personal impressions.
62 Personal Journals. Throughout the study, I kept a reflexive journal in which I recorded the chronology and other specifics of the research endeavor.
Similarly, I asked and encouraged the six children to keep a personal journal of all their ideas and design processes. I designed and offered this personal journal entitled "My Working Journal" (see Figure 3.1). The children received their journal when I first visited their residence. I asked the children to read through the instructional page originally printed in yellow (see Appendix D) to make sure they understood how to keep a journal.
Figure 3.1: M y w orking journal
Informal Interviews. Informal interviews with parents and children were conducted by talking face-to-face, by e-mail, and by telephone. Those interviews, always short, were before, during, or after the Web sessions. The informal interviews allowed me to clarify my doubts after each session, or to improve the details of my notes. This method also reduced my interviewee's
63 discomforts and improved their willingness to share because they could talk in
the environment they were familiar with. This was especially true of the children.
The Second In-depth Interviews. After each family finished the Web
sessions, I conducted a second in-depth interview, which lasted about one hour. Since one of the parents^^ speaks English and very little Mandarin and some
questions were more clearly understood in English, I designed and asked the
questions (see Appendix E) in English and conducted clarifying discussions
primary in Mandarin. The questions were open-ended and related to the topics of
parents' facilitation in different activities, children's learning, and their evaluation
of this Web activity. After interviewing the parents, I asked the children some
questions about their design experiences (Appendix F).
Supplemental Data Collection Techniques. An au dio recorder and a
Panasonic video 8 camcorder played important roles in my data collection. Since
my focus was on the interaction between the parents and children, I planned to
use a combination of the audio recorder and the camcorder to record the whole
Web construction sessions. Before the Web session, all the parents and the
children agreed to be videotaped and audiotaped. However, after starting the
study, two parents changed their mind and only allowed me to audiotape. One
child did not want to be videotaped and expressed this by hiding from the
camcorder. In order to comfort her, I stopped videotaping. Therefore, all of the
Web interactions were audiotaped but only three families were videotaped.
Without the videotape, I did not have a chance to check the monitors movement.
I was forced to transcribe my audiotapes as soon after each session as possible.
He can read some Chinese characters and understand some Chinese sentences such as "Is your wife at home?" 64 Case Researcher Roles The researcher plays different roles and has the option of selecting one or many at given points during the study. The choice of roles could be a teacher, advocate, counselor, evaluator, et cetera (Patton, 1995, p-91). Since I dealt with two different-age groups — young children and adults, I consciously assumed different research roles with each age group.
Roles to the Parents
It is unquestionable that a qualitative researcher s role is always and inevitably a part of the study scene (Ball, 1990). In the parents' eyes, my main roles were as a researcher and a counselor. When I was on site, my primary role was as a qualitative researcher observing, taking field notes, and interviewing them. In terms of a counselor, the parents considered my suggestion as to which
HTML editor they should use and frequently asked my advice about Web construction during the study. In addition, I offered supplemental information such as the locations of children's Web sites created by children, the locations of
HTML procedures for putting a counter into a page, and other HTML techniques.
As I became more familiar with the families, our interactions indicated that many had come to consider me a friend. This was especially evident after my car accident, which occurred at the beginning of my data collection, when I found them expressing concern about my health, providing me with rides to their residences, or scheduling a more convenient places for me to conduct interviews.
In this study, I also saw myself as a learner. In demonstrating to me their teaching styles, and sharing the struggles of being Taiwanese-American parents, 65 they helped me to gain a respect for children's rights, an idea I had never
considered in Taiwan.
Roles to the Children When the researcher studies children, the roles can be differentiated on
two dimensions: (1) the extent of positive contact between adult and child, and (2)
the extent to which the adult has direct authority over the child (Fine &
Sandstrom, 1988). Since I, as an adult participant observer, was attempting to
understand the children, the supervisor role (authority; no positive affective
relations) was incompatible in my study. Fine and Sandstrom (1988)
recommended the role of the friend because it is conducive to the development of
trust.
1 determined that being a friend was the best role for me to use with the
children in my study. However, there were two conditions that hendered the
development of friendship between me and the children. The first condition was
the time contraints. 1 met the children once a week on average. When 1 was with
them in the Web sessions, most of the time, the children worked with their
parents. Although 1 collected data for almost six months, 1 did not have sufficient
off-task time to develop friendships with the children. The second condition was
the Taiwan-American parents' cultural value. In Taiwan, children are not encouraged to call adults by their first names. Instead, children are taught to call female adults "Ah-yee" meaning "Auntie" in Mandarin to show their respect.
Although the parents in my study have been living in the Unites States for more than ten years, they still keep this custom . Some of the parents even called me
"Lao-Shi" meaning "the teacher" because they knew I still have a teaching 66 position in Taiwan. These two greetings imposed authority on me and created a hierachical relationship that served to distance me from the children. In order to create a positive affect and low authority for the children while respecting the parents' cultural decision, 1 told my participants that I personally preferred to be called Ah-yee. But only three of the six families adopted this term.
Data Analysis and Presentation
My initial analysis began with data transcription. After each Web session,
I transcribed all the data gathered on the audiotapes or videotapes by using a word processor. 1 created a two-colmnn transcription form as a means of becoming familiar with the raw data. This form consisted of two sections: the participants' actions on the left and the researcher's reflective notes on the right.
Spoken words and sounds (e.g., vocal tone, sighs, etc) from the parents and the children were also noted on the left column of the transcription form. After reducing the data to those that were relevant to my study, I organized this raw data into episodes. I defined an episode is defined as one event in the Web session starting with the parent's or the child's initiation of an interaction.
Therefore, in Chapter Four, 1 used the following data code to indicate my data's resource: " AK, SI, #3" means the data is from the third episode of Abby Kan's first session. The symbol "#0" was used to indicate the events that took place after I arrived but before the Web activity started. The detailed data codes are listed in Appendix F.
Field notes were word processed in order to recognize emerging patterns and categories. Emerging coding categories included: Chinese cultural values, parents' expectations, parents' attitudes toward the Internet, parents' teaching 67 styles and strategies, the parent-child relationship, the home learning culture, and
children's experiences. I assigned each of the coding categories a color and
marked the colors while reading the field notes, interviews, and other data sources. The analysis of the data was guided by the target research questions stated previously.
I had two reasons for choosing to present the six families in six stories in
Chapter Four and for discussing my interpretation in Chapter Five. First, since parental attitudes, teaching styles, children's experience, and family learning cultures were interwoven in the Web design activity, presenting the activity as a whole would provide the reader with a more complete picture of the parents' facilitation of Web page construction. Additionally, although there were similarities in the six families, the manner in which each family approached the activities was different.
Rational for Bilingual Presentation Except for one parent, my participants are bilingual. Bilingualism is a normal adaptive response to living in a situation where two languages are used - one primarily for official, public purposes, and the other for informal, private functions (Valdes, 1988). Such a situation exists in my participants'families. One of the unique abilities of bilingual speakers is their abilities to codeswitch which is defined as "the alternating use of two languages on the word, phrase, clause, or sentence level," such that there is a "clean break between phonemic systems"
(Valdes & Fallis, 1978, p.l). Most of the Chinese-American participants' talks cited in research papers or dissertations in the United States are written or translated only in English. As a 68 bilinualist reading these papers, I have always wanted to know what the
Chinese-American participant said originally. Especially as translations, always
subjective to some degree, also depend on the translators' linguistic proficiency.
Since most of my participants codeswitch automatically, I was further motivated
me to present the raw data in two languages—Mandarin and English.
Context is necessary if the participants' codeswitching is to be clearly
understood. English translation helps the English reader to understand easily,
but limits the Mandarin reader to the translator's understanding of the nuances of
the spoken language. A s a qualitative researcher, I have the responsibility to
present the original data. Therefore, I decided to use both languages.
Since most of the parents and I come from Taiwan, I use Chinese
traditional complicated characters^ to transcribe the interviews. When 1 wrote
the six stories, 1 translated only the data 1 used. All English translations of
original Mandarin is written within the symbols of [ ] to enable the Mandarin reader to differentiate the original data.
I did not translate word for word as this is often a detriment to understanding. Instead, my goal was to help the English readers to understand what was said in the context. 1 tried to make my translations as close as possible to English usages. My Taiwanese friend, who speaks Mandarin, reads Chinese traditional characters, and immigrated to the United States when she was 10, examined and edited my translations. We discussed points that were not clear to
” The Chinese characters are written in two forms: traditional complicated and simplified characters. The former keeps the meaning and the principles of creating words. In order to show respect to the Chinese traditional culture, Taiwan officially uses complicated characters. The latter was created in the Chinese Cultural Revolution to make writing easier and faster, and are used in Mainland China. 69 her or that did not use correct English grammar. In situations where we disagreed, I explained the context to her and we discussed the meaning in order to decide on the best terminology to be used. For example, "Do as much as you can." I first translated as "Do how much you can."
Ethical Considerations
As Glesne and Peshkin (1992) stated, "ethical considerations are inseparable from your everyday interactions with your others and with your data" (p. 109). In this study, participants' data were guaranteed both anonymity and confidentiality in my letter to parents. The names written in my study were pseudonyms selected either by the children themselves or by the parents.
In order to put my participants at ease, 1 emphasized informally that they were not being tested under the study. Furthermore, 1 explained that my focus would be the process of Web page construction rather than the final product of the children's Web page. To protect my participants, special effects were used to blur the faces in any personal images shown on the Web pages attached in the appendices.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is a measure of qualitative inquiry, which is related to validity in quantitative inquiry. Four criteria are conventionally used in quantitative research: internal validity, external validity, reliability, and objectivity. However, these criteria defined in positivist paradigm may not be appropriate for judging actions taken from the post-positivist perspective
(Lincoln and Cuba, 1985). In order to ensure the quality of qualitative research, 70 Lincoln and Cuba (1985) proposed four parallel four criteria: credibility,
transferability, dependability, and confirmability. For this study, these four criteria are used to establish the trustworthiness of my study.
Credibility Four means of establishing credibility are used in this study: prolonged engagement, triangulation, member check, and peer debriefing. In order to build trust and rapport with my participants, 1 spent six months interacting with them either at CCA or at their residences from March to August 1999. In addition to observing 28 Web page construction sessions, I conducted 12 interviews, and numerous follow-up discussions to clarify unclear items.
Member check is a means for giving the participants an opportunity to clarify the accuracy of the data. 1 gave each set of parents a copy of my transcription of their interview and field notes. I asked them to correct any errors and to revise the transcriptions. It was difficulty to do member checks with my young participants. Because of their reading abilities, 1 read the transcription to them, and encouraged them to correct my data. However, they did not have any revisions because they usually had forgotten what they had previously done or said.
Triangulation of data sources serves to crosscheck information that was gathered at different times during the study. 1 confirm data through multiple sources and methods such as participant observations, the survey, formal and informal interviews, and audio and video recordings. The method allowed me to verify findings through different lenses.
71 Peer debriefing was used to discuss data collection, analysis, tentative findings and conclusions with peers in order to explore assumptions, biases, and interpretations cis the study was in process. Throughout this study, 1 met with a friend regularly, who had received her doctoral degree in the program of
Instructional Technology, was a lecturer at OSU, and a qualitative researcher, to debrief myself and to discuss my finding. In addition to being a peer debriefer, my friend also expanded my knowledge of the educational system in Ohio.
Transferability While quantitative research is concerned with generalizability, qualitative research is concerned with transferability. 1 provided "thick description" to meet this standard. By presenting a thick description of the site, participants, data gathering techniques, data analysis methods and data presentation, 1 leave conclusions about transferability to the reader (Lincoln & Cuba, 1985).
Confirmability and Dependability Confirmability and dependability are also means of establishing trustworthiness. To prevent the researcher from simply providing her/his unsubstantiated interpretation of the data, confirmability deals with the extent to which assertions about the data can be corroborated by the context and participants. Dependability verifies that the data collection method were appropriate to the study. I want to be sure that the process and product of my study could be thorough examined by educators. Therefore, I kept a researcher journal throughout the study, and archived all materials related to the study.
72 These materials included hard copies of interviews, field notes, audio
transcription, and document used for analysis.
73 CH APTER4
DESCRIPTIVE DATA
Introduction
Writing is not just a mode of "telling" about a social activity bu t also a way of "knowing" - a method of discovery and analysis (Richardson, 1994, p.516).
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the findings of how the
Taiwanese-American parents facilitated their children in creating their Web pages.
The data presented below were questionnaires, observations, videotapes, audiotapes, field notes, and interviews. Before continuing with the presentation of my findings, it is important that readers have an understanding of the background of the participants and their community. I will therefore attempt to give readers an understanding of one of the Chinese American community in which my participants are involved in Columbus before 1 introduce the study's participants and report my findings.
Background of the Setting and Participants
Chinese Americans in the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area
After World War II, more and more Chinese arrived in the Midwest from
Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and from other places around the world in
74 several waves (The Chinese American Librarians Association, 1995). Compared
to California and New York, the Chinese population in the Midwest is relatively small. The Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) reports that in 1995,
there were only 18,467 in Ohio. Ohio ranks 14th out of the 50 states in terms of
the size of its Chinese population. Although this ranking is not high, three of the top-ten mid-west cities with large Chinese populations are in Ohio. They are
Columbus (the second place), Cleveland (the sixth place) and Cincinnati (the tenth place).
There were 3354 Chinese-American^ in Columbus Ohio in 1995 (CALA,
1995). These Chinese Americans in the Midwest, including Colum bus, reported by the CALA on-line (http://lark.cc.ukans.edu/~eastasia/calamwrg
/ midwest951.html) are "highly educated" and "living in traditionally White suburban communities." They "have been better accepted by the American mainstream and are respected for their academic excellence and hard work" than other ethnic minorities. Since there is no research or survey reporting
Chinese-American employment in Ohio, it is hard to know more detailed data about this aspect of this subgroup.
The Columbus Chinese Academy The Columbus Chinese Academy (CCA), founded in 1973, is a non-profit school which offers Mandarin Chinese language classes for children from pre-kindergarten to high school. Students are classified for classes by their
Mandarin fluency instead of their ages. Classes meet on Sunday afternoons from
^ The term "Chinese American" in the report of The Chinese American Librarians Association refers to any person of Chinese ancestry who may or may not be an U.S. citizen. 75 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Besides the language courses, the school also teaches painting, arts and crafts, Chinese folk dance, and music from 3:30 p jn. to 4:30 p.m . CCA does not have their own building; instead, the Academy uses a high school facility in Columbus each Sundays. The Mandarin phonetic system^ and
Chinese complicated characters are taught in CCA. Since these systems are used in Taiwan only, most Taiwanese-Chinese parents prefer to send their children to this school.
CCA offers an opportunity not only for learning, but also for creating a sense of community. The members of Chinese Senior Club meet in CCA monthly.
Social gatherings and informational speeches on issues of interest to Chinese
Americans are held here. During my visits, there were always mothers sitting around a table working on their embroidery and sharing information such as child rearing, health improvement, or family problems. Teachers, the staff, parents, and children socialized here.
Participants
Demographic Data The following demographic information was collected from the children's grounded survey and the first parents' interviews. Table 4.1 summarizes the six children's gender, ages and grades. Two children were in the second-third- grade mixed program in the same school. The others were either second or third
35 There is a particular phonetic system used by Taiwanese. In Taiwanese schools, children use this system to leam how to pronounce Chinese whereas Mainland Chinese schools use Pin-ying. 76 graders. The ages listed were the participants' ages at the time they agreed to
participate in this study.
G ender G rade Age A bby K an Girl 2/3 8 years and 2 month E sther Lee Girl 2/3 7 years and 6 months Jessica Chin Girl 2 7 years and 7 months Noah Thoma& Boy 2 7 years and 8 months Joey W ong Boy 3 8 years and 8 months Jackie C^m Boy 3 8 years and 8 m onths
Table 4.1: Participants' gender, ages an d grade
Table 4.2 presents the demographics of the participants' parents, including their country of origin, the length of time they have lived in the USA, and their working positions.
77 Origmal Nationality A ge Length of W orking Position Range Staym gin N am e the USA Abby Kan Father—Taiwan 30-35 14 Father—Programmer Mother—Taiwan 30-35 14 Mother—Student Esther Lee Father - Hong-Kong 40-45 15 Father—Programmer Mother—Taiwan 40-45 12 Mother—Housewife Jessica Chin Father - Taiwan 40-45 20 Father—Company Mother - Taiwan 35-40 18 President Mother—Programmer Noah Thomas Father - America 35-40 39 Father—Programmer Mother - Taiwan 35-40 10 Mother—Housewife Joey W ong Father—Taiwan 40-45 14 Father—Manager M other—Singapore 35-40 14 Mother—Accountant Jackie Cain Father—Hong-Kong 45-50 40 Father—Company Mother— Taiwan 45-50 20 President Mother—Manager
Table 4.2: Demographics of participants' parents
All six children in this study were bom in the United States, but the home language is exclusively English in only the Cains household. A mix of Mandarin and English is the primary language used in five of the homes. These parents talk in a unique way. They firequently include English words when they speak
Mandarin. Two of the children have no siblings and five are firstborn. Parental education level ranges from current enrollment in an undergraduate program to recipients of doctorate degrees. Only one child has a parent who was bom in the
United States. The rest of the parents immigrated to this country at various stages in their lives from Taiwan, Hong-Kong and Singapore.
78 Computer Experiences Among the six families, all have at least one IBM compatible PC at home.
All the children have had the experience of using both Macintosh and IBM computers. Table 4.3 summarizes the computer equipment available to each child, the average number of times each child uses the computer each week, and the types of computer activities engaged in by each child at home.
Home Computers Times of using Home Computer Equipment computers weekly Activities Abby Kan 3 PC+1 printer 3 times Playing games 1 Laptop Printing pictures 1 Scanner Esther Lee 1 PC+1 printer 3 times Playing games Printing pictures Jessica Chin 1 PC+1 printer It depends. Playing games (Sometimes more Printing pictures than 3) Reading stories Noah Thomas 1 PC+1 printer More than 3 times Playing games Printing pictures Reading information Learning programming languages Typing homework Joey Wong 2 PC+2 printer 2 times Playing games 1 Laptop Reading stories and information 1 Digital Camera Jackie Cain 3 PC+2 printer 2 times Playing games 1 Scanner Printing pictures Reading information Learning and practicing Typing homework
Table 4.3: The home computer equipment, times of children's use of the computer weekly, and home computer activities
79 In Table 4.4,1 have summarized the children's computer capabilities, including their keyboarding skill, their familiarity with drawing and word processing applications, their access to the Web, and their e-mail usage.
Key Word Drawing E-mail World boarding Processing Software Experience Wide Software Web A bl^K an Yes Yes No No Accessing the Internet with her father Esther Lee Yes Yes No No Accessing the Internet with her father JessicaChin No No Yes No Accessing flie Internet with her mother Noah No Yes No Checking Downloading software Thomas her mother's Connecting to the server account Joey Wong Yes Yes Yes Having his Connecting to the server own account Using search engine Jackie Cain Yes Yes Yes Having his Connecting to the server own account Using sezuch engine
Table 4.4: Computer capabilities of the children
Table 4.5 lists the main facilitators in the Web page construction, and their experiences of Web page design, their familiarity with the HTML editor, and their programming experiences.
80 Main &cperiencesof Famfliari^of Experiences^ of Name Facilifator(s) Webpage HTML editor Programmmg Design Abby Kan Father No Yes Yes Esther Lee Father Yes No Yes JessicaChin Mother Yes No Yes Noah Thomas Mother No No Yes Joey Wong Both Parents No No Father—Yes Mother — No Jackie Cain Both Parents Father — Yes No Father -Yes Mother - No Mother — Yes
Table 4.5: Computer experiences of young participants' parents
Selection of the HTML Editor
Although the children use the computer at school, the six children had had no experiences in developing Web pages. Because of their ages and previous computer experience, the HTML editor they used in this study needed to look familiar and be easy to use. Since some of the children were familiar with
QarisWorks in school, I suggested that the parents used Claris Home Page. The final decision was based upon the parents' choice. Except for Abby's father who chose to use FrontPage, all agreed to use Claris Home Page as the HTML editor.
In addition, I used e-mail to offer my participants the URLs for four Web sites that had been created by children as reference information. The Web sites^^ were created by first to third graders and are available at the following URLs.
Eddie Dagli:
36 These four Web sites were retrieved from the Internet on May 5,1999. 81 Jan Carlo'^s H om epage:
Using the computer can be regarded as a shared activity providing a meaningful social context for learning. In proposing activity as the unit of analysis
in human development, Vygotsky believed that analysis must focus on the activity as a whole, in all its complexity, not on isolated elements (Moll, 1990).
Parental attitudes, teaching styles, children's experiences, and family learning cultures were interwoven in the Web page construction activity. Although there were similarities, the manner in which each family approached the activities was different. Therefore, I wrote up the six families as six cases.
82 A b b y Kan The Kan family lives in a two-story townhonse not far from the campus of
The Ohio State University (OSU). Since Mr. Kan works at OSU and Mrs. Kan studies at OSU, the short distance to OSU benefits them in going to work and to class. This house is relatively small for four people and one cat. The living room is filled with furniture. When I came to the house for observations, 1 found magazines, letters, and toys were spread on the living room floor. This indicated that Mr. and Mrs. Kan must be busy. The messy living room excited me because it showed that the Kans were exposing their real daily life to me for data collection rather than showing me a perfect family in a perfect home.
Abby was enrolled in a second/ third grade split class at a Columbus public school. She is very interested in fashion and has her own taste. She painted her fingernails, wore earrings, and dressed in the latest-fashions. Abby has a 4-year-old sister, Jaclyn who always stayed with her father and Abby because she loved to watch our Web activities.
Mr. Kan was Abby's facilitator. Mrs. Kan was rarely present during this
Web activity. I chatted with her only once in CCA and during my last visit. In explaining this situation, Mr. Kan said that he and his wife worked individually, and she did not realize she could participate in this study.
Abby evaluated her computer skills as "little skill" in the survey primarily because she had no idea how to start a PC. Her skills were actually not as poor as she thought. According to Mr. Kan's description, she became familiar with using
Macintosh at school. Abby's keyboarding is good. Surfing on the Internet with her parents is a common activity for her.
83 Parental Attitudes, Expectation and Concern Mr. Kan did not like the computer when he first used it in his twenty's. Even though he thinks the computer now is [a necessity in daily life]", he still does not like it very much (AK-Il). The computer, to him, is a tool that can help people leam faster, but has negative impacts on the development of the user's creativity. He gave me the example:
Frontpage % Template mm ’ IMAGE • b u l l e t ÿ j » [Templates of FrontPage create a well-designed package for the user. You don't have to think over what image you want to use, where you want to put the image, and what bullet you like.. .You are not encouraged to develop your creativity.] (AK-Il).
Although his attitude toward the computer is negative, his attitude toward the Web as an information tool is very positive."
Web ' ° [I think that everyone is supposed to know how to be on the Web, and how to find the information he or she wants.]", he said
(AK-Il). Compared with the use of the Web, he does not think Web design is a need-to-know skill because it is a profession requiring the designer's artistic talent.
Since he knows Abby well and is confident of her artistic ability, he was convinced that she would do a good job in the visual design of Web pages.
Therefore, he wanted his daughter to experience the Web design process. This desire was based on what his knowledge of his daughter and his thoughts about this tool from a technology expert's point of view. As far as Mr. Kan remembered, the whole family had never completed a project together nor had he completed a project with Abby. Therefore, Mr. Kan 84 appreciated this particular opportunity to work together with his daughter. He explained,
• m K Æ ^ n ' mnmimmmmmm « » me i Frontpage • Web design • ° #\ game • # -& ?'# # : = P've been hoping she could have a formal opportunity to leam Web design. Otherwise, she just sits next to us, and watches where we go on the Web. There has not been a specific time that we both could agree to leam FrontPage or Web design. W ithout your study, I could not do it and she prefers to play games.] (AK-I2).
His expectation motivated him to set up an objective for his eight-year-old daughter by selecting the FTTML editor, deciding the content to be taught, and preparing the lesson. He highly valued this as a family activity.
Mr. Kan did not want to post Abby's Web pages on the Web for two reasons. The first reason is " g # # ? [Who is going to look at her pages?]" (AK-12).
He does not think children's Web sites are appealing to the public. His second concern was the safety issue. He did not want his daughter to be hurt. Although he has discussed this issue with Abby by visiting a Web site about Internet safety, he still does not plan to allow his daughter to be on the Web without parental supervision until she is 15 (AK-12).
Mr. Kan was not only as a facilitator but also a curriculum designer. He considered thoroughly what he wanted to teach before the project started. After knowing why I suggested they use Claris Home Page, he chose to use FrontPage because " PC 3^# > FrontPage. [For PC users, everyone is using
85 FrontPage.]" He wanted Abby to leam the most popular software. As to his objective of this project and the reason for using the Template, he said:
w eb design HTML » Web design = AM • m m m internet m m # Web . gather information, ’ m# flow chart design » —IS$n mmmm HTML code • es • i^wmm ' - [With an eight-year-old, you don't want to force and tell her: "When you are ten, you must run a Web design company, know how to write HTML codes from the beginning to the end, or how to do Web design." To a kid this age, you should develop her interests in the Internet and the Web, show her how to gather information, and use the flow chart. You should not teach her how to write HTML codes at this point. There are 65 templates already there. You teach her how to use them and make her feel that it is easy to design Web pages.] (AKI-2).
Based on this belief, Mr. Kan focused on making this Web activity interesting and selecting the easy to use features of the software. He did not emphasize or show any concern about how Abby organized the information and what the pages presented. Therefore, some instructional sentences written in the FrontPage template are still left on Abby's Web pages.
Abby's Web Design
Mr. Ken and 1 assumed that Abby would finish her Web pages within five sessions. However, her Web pages (see Appendix G) were completed to their satisfaction at my third visit. Table 4.6 lists the session date and summarizes the progress of the work.
86 Sessions Date Time Working items First May 10,1999 6:30pm — ■ Familiarization with the software ( Monday) 7:40pm • Working on her home page and "interest" page. Second June 5,1999 4:00pm - ■ Adding favorite links (Saturday) 5:00pm ■ Adding titles to the photos Third June 9,1999 6:30am - ■ Adding pictures to the photo page (Wednesday) 7:30pm ■ Visiting 4 kids' Web sites
Table 4.6: Schedule and progress of Abby's sessions
Abby loved her working journal. As soon as she finished reading the joumaTs instructional page, she drew her portrait with a computer mouse in one hand and a real mouse in the other (See Figure 4.1). Abby's father viewed the journal as an important learning tool. Therefore, he asked Abby to work in her journal after each session.
Figure 4.1: A bby's portrait
87 Mr. Kan and Abby used a laptop to work on the Web pages in the living room. Before they started, Mr. Kan asked me what language to use. Abby yelled
"English" at her father almost immediately with a funny smile. Therefore,
English is the language they used in the activity. My role was more of an observer than a participant in this family. I only occasionally interacted with them. I commented on this outsider role in my journal:
When the computer was turned on, I seemed to become invisible. They were busy with discussing what procedures to do and what pictures to insert. They were so concentrated on their work that I felt like a stranger. I was just an "objective" researcher to them and excluded from the chance to be a friend.
Their Web activity started with Abby's father saying "Lesson one". He was using the FrontPage user's guide as his teaching materials. Mr. Kan always read the user's guide while Abby worked on her own. I was curious about his intention.
He told me after the session:
tutorial design — Web page • % START m FINISH « =[There is a tutorial section showing the user how to design a simple Web page from the start to the end. I did not follow all the procedures. I just wanted to see the procedures.]
They first started from the navigation view (see Figure 4.2), which is a template existing in the software to show the designer the structure of a personal Web sites.
This template consists of three pages entitled: Interests, Photos, and Favorite. In constructing her Web pages, Abby basically used this template with few changes.
88 I F h o A A I b n r«von>4
Figure 4.2: Abby's navigation view
Mr. Kan positioned himself as "a helper" and his principle role was to help her "try very hard, but not take over."(AK-I2). His respect for Abby was evident from the mouse manipulation. Most of the time, Abby held the mouse and followed Mr. Kan's verbal instruction. Mr. Kan usually told his daughter what to do without much explanation. His instructions were usually composed of short, simple, and concise sentences. The following episode exemplifies the interactions seen often in their sessions.
Episode 1: (AK, SI, #1)
—Abby was working on the Navigation View. ("A" indicates Abby and "F" indicates Mr. Kan)
89 F: (pointing the screen) Right here. A: Here? F: Yes! Click. Then OK... then...Hum...(reading the user's guide) Select one-page Web. (talking to Abby) Select one-page Web! A: Here? F: No, go down! A: Here? F: Yeah! F: Next.. .(reading aloud the instruction of the tutorial handbook) New FrontPage Web. Type personal Web! (waiting for Abby to type and reminding her) Personal Web! A: This one? F: Hum, hum! Then choose a title for your FrontPage Web, Abby's Web. A: Here? F: Yes, dick and type Abby's Web. A: Abby's Web? F: (turning the page of the user's guide) Yes! Click OK. A: (clicking OK) F: Now you got a home page and three other pages!
Since Abby already had three pages, Mr. Kan guided her to browse and choose the theme templates. Her interests were obviously aroused by selecting templates with backgrounds.
Episode 2 (AK, 51, #3)
1. F: You can play themes. It is (a) different style. You could check everyone of those. They are very cool. 2. A: Wow! How many are they? 3. F: Probably 30 or 40. 4. A: You could check Neon or Nature, or Kids 5. F: You just click it. Click those. 6. A: There? 7. F: Click more. See! Here are different pages! 8. A: Wow!
90 9. F: That's good! 10. A: Cool! (giggling) 11. F: You could go up and click anyone. 12. A: (clicking) 13. F: Kids! Kids! 14. A: Wow! (giggling) 15. F: Fiesta is good too! 16. F: Wow! 17. A: Cool! 18. F&A: (exclaiming) Fiesta! 19. A: I like it!
They had a good time in reviewing these templates. Although Mr. Kan suggested and recommended his preferred templates to his daughter (line 13 &15), he did not try to overly influence her decision. He encouraged Abby to try (line 5& 7) and enjoyed the reviewing process with her (line 16-18). I did not see the traditional Chinese father's authority here. Moreover, he tried to be her playm ate.
Episode 3 (AK, SI, #9)
—Abby was saving her files to a floppy disc. F: W e're done today. A: Wow! F: Okey D okey, O key Dokey!
Mr. Kan is against pushing the child too hcird and has his own ideas about fatherhood. either push > #### = [I have seen many negative examples in the USA and Taiwan that parents either asked their children to leam less or pushed them
91 coo hard.]", he commented on the parental role (AK-Il). I asked him to explain a good approach of parental assistance. = [Give
her two or three items to leam and observe her interests.]", he answered. This
belief was seen within their interactions. He always gave her many choices and
allowed her to make her own decision. Here was an example.
Episode 4 (AK, SI, #4)
—Abby was working on her home page. 1. F: You can introduce yourself, ad d text, or put a picture. Type w hatever you like" 2. A: O .K a y ! 3. F: (after waiting for 30 seconds, he suggested to her with a funny voice) My name is ... 4. A: (saying w ith her daddy) A-bigger Kan, (giggling) H ah, h ah ... 5. F: Type it! Space! Space. Jaclyn was echoing: "my name is A-bigger Kan...") 6. F: Anything (else) you want to say? 7. F: (waiting for 70 seconds) Anything more? 8. A: Any pictures? 9. F: Next tim e to p u t the picture.
He was a patient father who waits calmly for Abby's answers and decisions (line
3 and 7). He was so sensitive to Abby's reactions which allowed him to give her feedback appropriately and immediately. From the language they used (line 3-5), it was obviously that they had a close relationship. Although Mr. Kan was sensitive, his suggestion style was usually direct. The example was following.
92 Episode 5 (AK, M l, #4)
—Abby was working on her home page. F: You want to type something? You could change this one (pointing to the text on the screen) Welcome to Abby Kan'^s Web site. A: (hesitating) Ye ah. F: Do you know how to delete it? A: Could it be like about something and change it? F: Yeah, you could move this and go to here. Use backspace to delete them and add your name.
1 think his directive teaching style might be caused by two factors. First, he did not know what problems Abby would have. He had never taught anyone how to design Web pages, and using the software was "common sense" to him
(AK-12). Except for procedural techniques, he did not come up with new content to teach his daughter. In addition to being a computer expert, his parental belief about facilitation influenced his teaching. He believes that parents,
[should not overbearing while trying to help.]"(AK-12). To him, parents should facilitate their children in the area that they know. Because of this belief, he used his expertise to facilitate his daughter in familiarizing FrontPage.
The second session was not scheduled until almost a month later because
Mr. Kan w ent out of town on business. During the second session, four visitors
(parents and two children) came to their house. Since the parents were chatting with Mrs. Kan in the kitchen and the two young visitors were fooling around in the living room and occasionally observing our activity with curiosity, we were working in a very loud setting. It seemed not to bother Mr. Kan and Abby too much. They were at ease and worked on the Web pages as usual. 1 found it interesting that Abby's behavior differed from the first session.
93 Episode 6 (AK,S2,#1)
—They were working on "Favorite" pages. Abby was typing the URL of her favorite Web sites. 1. FiTYdotCOM 2. A: (repeating while she was typing)T... Y.. .dot.. .COM 3. F: OK, then you highlight it. 4. A: (repeating Mr. Kan's instruction while doing) High...light it! 5. F: OK, then you go to MENU. Edit 6. A: Men...u. Edit 7. F: Then, HYPERLINK 8. A: Hyper...link 9. F: Then you type it here. WWW (interrupting by Abby) 10. A: (refusing her father's cueing and yelling) I know! I know! I know! I know! 11. F: You know? The address... 12. A: (replying impatiently) Yeah, Yeah, Ye....s! 13. F: (trying to help) TY d o t COM. 14. A: (becoming upset and replying with a sharp voice) I know! 15. F: OK, OK. 16. A: How do you go back? 17. F; G o backNormal. 18. A: (clicking) 19. F; you could try Yahoo. 20. A: I don't like Yahoo. 21. F: OK, you could try Microsoft. 22. A: Backspace? 23. F: No! 24. A: (giggling) highlight it.
Abby had obviously become more active and showed more enthusiasm on
her Web design. This may have been due to her excitement from having the
guests or to her familiarity with the HTML editor. She controlled her learning by asking questions to solve her problems (line 16-22) instead of always obeying her father's instruction. She seemed to want to show off her expertise and did not
94 want her father's help (line 10-15). Mr. Kan was not upset about Abby's refusal of
his suggestions, and continued to be patient. When I asked him about his feelings informally, he was confused about the question and replied, "# # # % # ?
! [Did she say that? It doesn't bother me!]"
Abby was happy but not very excited at the start of this project when she first learned what my study would involve. Her father explained that she always loves to leam something new. At the end, she thought this project wéis really fun, although she was confused and frustrated by the "complicated" procedures
(AK-12). For her, the most interesting part w as inserting her photo and the clipart.
After looking at four other given Web sites, she was content and proud of her
Web pages.
Episode 7 (AK, S3, #3)
—Mr. Kan and Abby were looking at the last one of four given Web sites. Research: W hat do you think of their Web pages? A: H...um (hesitating to say and looking at her father). They... F: (talking to Abby) Mine is better, right? A: (nodding her head and smiling with relief and shyness) Yeah! Mine is better.
95 Jackie Cain
The Cains have been living in the same house for eleven years. Since the house is on a road that is famous for a big shopping center, I expected to see a house on a busy road. To my surprise, I discovered that this traditional house is located in an affluent and quiet community.
Jackie goes to a private school. His extra-curriculum activities are playing violin and chess, and going to Chinese Columbus Academy weekly. Since Jackie has no siblings, he has become "the king" of his two big dogs. Jackie's mother is from Taiwan. Mr. Cain originates from Hong Kong, but he came to the United
States when he was very young. Therefore, he only speaks a little Mandarin and can read only a few of the Chinese characters. His limited Chinese does not limit his involvement in the Chinese-American community. Because of his profession, he is the Web master of the Columbus Chinese Academy's home page.
To Jackie, the computer is a tool for entertainment, learning, and practicing.
He loves computers and uses the computer in his home twice a week. Since he uses ClarisWorks in school, keyboarding is not a problem to him. Additionally, he has had experiences with the Internet with Mr. Cain at home and with teachers in school. Jackie wanted to put his Web pages on the Internet because "people will be surprised." (JC, 51, #2). He hoped his Web site would impress people.
Parental Attitudes, Expectation and Concern
Mrs. Cain has a very positive attitude toward computers, the Web, and
Web page design. She has loved computers since college and thinks the Web is a very good information tool. ° [There is lots of information, but be cautious.]", she said (JC-Il). Since she was concerned with the 96 safety issue, she did not allow Jackie to access the Internet without parental
supervision. When talking Web page design, she said;
...(SxStME)Sî®$?Çc6!l ' —# learning activity •
# ' = [...It is a fun and a good learning activity for him, at least, giving him a chance to start. I think it is wrong not to let kids explore on the Web. Because there is much good information, but you should educate kids not to misuse it]
Her positive attitude made her highly value this activity and the family enjoyed
developing Jackie's Web pages.
As to the parental role, Mrs. Cain's role as: "to prepare him to be ready for
the world" (JC-Il). Since she is concerned about her and Mr. Cain's ages, she
wants Jackie to be independent as early as he can. Therefore, Mrs. Cain tends to
expose Jackie to activities that develop his ability to problem solve and act
independently, such as playing chess. They applied this principle to this Web
design project. Mr. Cain told about his expectation toward Jackie:
I expected that he would leam some techniques or leam what to do to create a Web page. I didn't expect him to be very elaborate. I think to let him develop more .. .you (Jackie) should ask questions and I can tell you. (JC-I2)
My role was more that of a helper or teacher to both parents and Jackie at the
Cain's. Their respect was evidenced by always calling me "Lao-Shi" (#0P),
97 meaning "teacher" in Mandarin. wrote in my reflexive journal: "I have not
been respected as much since I came to the United States. I almost forgot I was a
teacher before. However, in this family, I felt that 1 was a TEACHER again." (My
journal dated on June 14,1999).
Jackie's Web Design
We met five times in total. Table 4.7 indicates the dates and times of the
Web sessions. His final work (see Appendix H) was also available at
http://www.cgrg.ohio-state.edu/~yfang/Jason/ pokemonhtm.
Sessions Date Time Working items First June 14,1999 7:00pm - ■ Visiting four children's Web sites ( M onday) 9:00pm ■ Discussing the safety issue Second June 23,1999 7:00pm - ■ Using the template of Claris Home (Wednesday) 8:00pm Page to develop the pages T hird June 27,1999 10:30am - ■ Developing a new home page (Sunday) 12:30pm entitled "Pokemon " Fourth July 7,1999 7:00pm - ■ Inserting the drawings to the home (Wednesday) 9:00pm page ■ Developing the "ALL ABOUT ME!" page Fifth July 14,1999 7:00pm - ■ Evaluating his Web site (Wednesday) 8:30pm
Table 4.7: Schedule and progress of Jackie's sessions
37 The Taiwanese tielieve that education results in a happy and successful life for the individual. Therefore, they show much respect to teachers who are the transmitter of education. As a Taiwanese professor, I received much respect hrom my students. Since I am a doctoral student in the United States, I do not expect to be respected as much as I did in Taiwan.
98 My first visit was late in the evening. Mrs. Cain came to open the door for me and asked me how Jason should greet me: "Lao-Shi" meaning
"Teacher" or Ah-I meaning "Auntie." "Auntie % I said. I preferred being called Auntie because 1 did not want to be labeled with authority. After hesitating two or three seconds, she surprisingly asked Jackie to greet me "Lao-Shi." Her decision revealed that she upholds the educator. Even though she has been in the
United States for 20 years, Mrs. Cain still keeps the Taiwanese educational value of respecting the teacher, who is regarded as "Little Confucius^." Following Mrs. Cain'^s direction, 1 went to the study ro o m —my research site. The room was not big and was filled with books and the computer equipment. Appropriately speaking, this room should be called a "home-based" computer lab. All the books could be categorized into one category only: computers. In addition to print materials, there were lots of disks piled on the desk around the scanner, the printer, and another computer. Since 1 did not see
Mr. Cain and he did not participate in my first interview, 1 assumed that Jackie's mother was the main facilitator. But, Mr. Cain showed up late and joined us.
This was the first time 1 met him. Mrs. C ain decided to talk about the purpose of a personal home page before Jackie developed one. She used KayNet^^ to lead him to think over the
38 Chinese culture in Taiwan has been dominated by Confucianism. One of four principles grounded in Confucianism is that education results in a happy, successful life for the individual (Miller, Yang, and Chen, 1997). Due to this principle, Taiwanese teachers who are regarded as "Little Confucius" receive a great respect. 39 KayNet was one of the children's Web sites that I gave to my participants as reference information. This Web site is available at http:// www.digitaljewel.com/ kaynet/indexJitml [1999, Decem ber 8]. 99 purpose of personal Web pages. She encouraged Jackie to read aloud the text he
saw on the screen. Mrs. Cain explained why she asked Jackie to read aloud since
"flÈâlJ writing ° [His writing is not so good! I
wanted him to read more about written articles.]", after the first session. To Mrs.
Cain, designing a Web page or writing e-mail messages are also activities that
would benefit Jackie's writing.
Based on their understanding of their child, Mr. and Nhrs. Cain led Jackie to
familiarize himself with the procedures and to organize the Web page content.
Interestingly, Mrs. Cain attempted to let her husband teach the boy technique
knowledge, while she assigned herself the task of guiding his content
organization. Mr. Cain did choose to take the role of "trying to help in technical
aspects" (JC-12). He shared his ideas about his role and expectation:
We let him do most of it. 1 did not expect him to do an elaborate Web page... 1 guess he can do more if he likes the ideas right now, and follows up on it. But some of the technical stuff, we need to help him. (JC-12)
As for Mrs. Cain's role, she positioned herself "to help him understand what a
Web page is and what he can do with Web pages." (JC-12). Mr. Cain commented on her facilitation that "She is a good teacher "(JC, 52, #0). In the following episode, she was guiding her son to understand the function of a personal Web page.
Episode 8 (JC, SI, #1)
—They were visiting KayNet and Jackie was reading the texts. ("M" indicates Mrs. Cain and "J" indicates Jackie) 1. M: I [Sit still!] So, what did she try to tell people about?
100 2. J: His W eb page or h e r W eb page! 3. M: What did she try to tell people about? 4. J: H um ... 5. M: Did she give people some games? 6. J: N o... 7. M: What did she give to people? 8. J: Inform ation 9. M: What kind of information? 10. J; A bout her or him. 11. M: A bout Kaylyn's w hat? 12. J: W eb page... —Mrs. Cain pointed to a section on the monitor. 13. M: What does she say here? (waiting for his answer) Is a place for people to do what? 14. J: A place to ... 15. M: (interrupting) She is going to tell everybody what? 16. J: That... 17. M: Did she tell everybody she likes to go to King's Island? 18. J: No! 19. M: Did she tell everybody, "Hi, I like the Snoopy", "Nice place on the Web", "I like to go surf." 20. J: No! 21. M: So, what does she try to tell people? 22. J: Hum...that...hum, people could look at her Web page... 23. M: What do people leam, from the information sheet? 24. J: T hat.. .there are a lo t of am azing stuff. 25. M; W here? 26. J: O n m y Web page! 27. M: Did you see any? 28. J: Yeah!
Jackie had a vague idea of a personal Web page (line 1-12). He could not state exactly what a Web page's function was after reading the Kaylyn's (the author of KayNet) introduction. After asking several questions, Mrs. Cain quickly sensed her son's weakness and changed her teaching strategies. Instead
101 of asking the open-end questions, she asked yes-no ones by providing concrete exam ples (line 17-20). The first W eb session was ended b y a discussion on the safety issue. Mrs. Cain thinks it was important to talk about this before fam iliarizing Jackie w ith the software since:
There has been news about kids got abducted through Internet communication to strangers. I want him to know how to protect himself just in case. And we also don't want him giving out personal information to strangers. (E-mail dated on July 29,1999)
After looking at the children's Web sites, Jackie outlined all his ideas on three pages of the working journal. Figure 4.3 is one of them.
- . . .,^r06oaT^«E f
A visitor counter
Figure 4.3: Jackie's draft
102 He drew a visitor counter for tracking how many people would look at his pages. I was surprised to see his draft in the second session and curious as to whether Mrs. Cain had asked him to do it. However, she told me that
[No, I just reminded him that Lao-Shi would come
tomorrow!]"(JC, 52, #0). His performance surprised her too. She said, "He came
up with those pages so quickly, in the car, when we are driving. That surprises
me." (JC-12). Although Jackie had a good start with his creative ideas, during this
session he did not develop his pages smoothly. He was tired after swimming.
Moreover, the computer did not run as fast as it usually did, perhaps because of
the template. He could not help asking to take a nap. His request ended the
second session.
I saw an energetic Jackie in the third session. Mrs. Cain told me the
reason secretly: ’ # # impolite to do that! [Because 1 told him that
it was impolite to do that!]" Giving up on the use of the template, Jackie
redesigned his home page under his parents' facilitation. Jackie named his page
"Pokemon" to indicate his fondness for it. He is so crazy for Pokemon that I would say he is an expert in this topic. After his father's suggestion, he introduced to me his book-marked Pokemon Web sites in order to help me understand his favorite cartoon characters better.
His previous computer experiences helped him become familiar with the
HTML editor quickly. He did not have any problems in changing the size, the font, and the color of the text. He keyed in all the descriptive texts of his home page. When he puzzled over: "How to put Pokemon pictures in? ", he was able to figure out the solution fairly quickly. From his parents' explanation, he knew he should respect copyright and could not scan the Pokemon cards he had 103 purchased in the store. In order to accomplish his ideas, I suggested he use his own drawings. Therefore, Mrs. Cain asked him to finish his "homework": drawing and writing for his self-introduced Web page.
Jackie finished his homework in an hour and was very proud of his work.
As soon as I came into the house on my fourth visit, Jackie started telling and showing me about his drawings. As Mrs. Cain was not present when I arrived,
Mr. Cain assisted Jackie in inserting the images. Jackie was happy to leam the procedures. Mrs. Cain came home firom work and apologized to me for being late.
She grabbed a chair and joined us without changing her outfit. Under his parents' encouragement and advice, Jackie completed two pages almost individually.
"How do you put two pages together?", 1 asked to challenge Jackie. He looked at all the three adults and shook his head. "Ask Lao-Shi to show you howl", said
Mrs. Cain assigning me a task. After following my verbal instruction, Jackie was stunned by his link. His parents cheered his successful performance and Jackie was so excited that he gave his parents big hugs. His self-achievement made the fourth Web session a happy one.
In the fifth session, we had a guest, Mike, a Chinese-American fourth grader. Mike is Jackie's classmate at CCA. Jackie was in a happy mood since his father had just promised to buy him a new computer. While he was talking about the future location of his new computer, 1 gave Jackie the URL 1 had used to post his Web site. He and Mike were curious about how his personal site would look on the Internet. As soon as the two boys saw the home page, they started a feverish discussion of the links and Jackie's drawing. Mike made many suggestions that 1 thought were excellent in terms of Jackie's content organization.
Jackie was satisfied with his pages, and kept talking about his plan such as adding 104 the voice of the Pokedex talking and showing the Pokemon jumping. When he was told that this would be our last session, he was surprised and disappointed.
He asked me: "Why? I want you to help me work on my Web page!" His disappointment did not last long since Mr. Cain promised he would be the helper.
Jackie thought it was fun from the beginning to the end of the project. He described his learning: " I made a link. I used a tool to create a home page and made a Web site. Well... I leam how to link to someone else Web page. I leam how to put pictures on that." (JC-12). I remembered that Mrs. Cain had expressed her concem about Jackie's behavior, when I first contacted her. She worried that
Jackie is so active that he could not concentrate on this so-called "a quiet activity."
However, Jackie's performance surprised her. "He is really interested in this project! ", she commented.
Not only did Jackie leam but so did his parents. Mr. Cain sensed that
"there is a technological gap" between his child and them, and that he needed to
"use elem entary term s w ith kids" (JC-12). He explained "Because w e've w orked with professionals all the time, we kind o f... are expecting that you should know what we say. If I told you how to do twice, you should know that. But he (Jackie) is a kid... "(JC-2). Similarly, Mrs. Cain explained that "I tried to assist but I feel, actually I w as learning m yself." (JC-12).
105 Esther L ee Esther was the most unusual in my study. First, she was the only child with whom I was acquainted before I started this study. She was one of my kindergarten students when I taught at the Chinese Columbus Church in 1997. I remembered her as a pretty girl with big eyes, a quick learner of new knowledge, and who liked to distinguish herself in class. Since Mrs. Lee has a serious health problem, Esther and her younger brother had been sharing some house chores since they were five years old. I had not seen her again until I started this Web study. She had grown taller, of course, and now wears eyeglasses.
Second, she was the only child whose family moved to a new house during the period of my data collection. The Lees were renting a small two-story townhouse near the BCan's house where the Web sessions were held in the basement. The last session was held in a traditional middle-class suburban house to which they moved prior to the session.
Third, Esther was the only child in the study who did not attend the
Mandarin class at CCA. Nonetheless, she spoke much better Mandarin than the other five children. I think this was because the main language spoken at home is
Mandarin rather than English.
Fourth, she was the only child to whom I taught the usage of the HTML editor. Since Mr. Lee, Esther's facilitator, has negative attitudes toward the Web, he expressed after my first interview that he did not have "the motivation" needed to teach her how to use Claris Home Page. "Moral education" concerned him more at Esther's age rather than computer activities. Therefore, he was willing to assist her in developing her pages but sincerely wanted me to teach
Esther to use the HTML editor. 106 I was welcomed into this family's home. The parents and the two children
treated me as an old friend. Each time I came into the house, Esther always
prepared a piece of handicraft as a gift or a cup of juice for me. Not only was she
happy to see me, but so was her younger brother. The two children always loved
to help me set up the camcorder.
Mr. Lee was bom in Hong-Kong. However, he moved to Taiwan in his late
teens and became a Taiwanese son-in-law in his 30s. Esther's parents graduated from National Taiwan Normal University which was established to prepare student teachers for junior and senior high schools. Before they came to the United States, they taught in Taiwanese senior high schools for more than five years. Mrs. Lee was not very involved in my study ' ffD Ji.
° [. .. because 1 have no idea about the computer and also have to take care of my little guy]", she explained to me (EL-12). However, she participated in the interviews and she, along with me, considered herself a participant of this study.
Parental Attitudes, Expectation and Concem Mr. Lee views the computer is his tool for making a living. As to the computer and learning, he told me that: motivation > real test > teaching °
[Learning couldn't depend on the use of computers. The computer arouses children's motivation and interests. It gives you a chance to test your learning.
The conventional ways of teaching work better.]" (EL-11). Mrs. Lee agreed with her husband's comment and said • » [It is necessary to 'stuff
107 ducks'^]" (EL-Il). They are those who have a strong desire to strike a balance
between the traditional Chinese and the mainstream American educational
values and teaching ways. Mr. Lee did not encourage his daughter to use the Web since
tradition » library • Web ° P am still
more traditional. I encourage her to go to the library. The stuff there is
comparatively complete... The Web should be used as a supplemental tool.]"
(EL-11). A lthough his attitude was not positive, he w as w illing to be E sther's
facilitator and highly valued this Web activity because this was a learning
opportunity, which could bring Esther new experiences. Mrs. Lee added her
point of view: —# » #### soccer $0# # # % # # # —# ' push #. pVe don't give her many items to
try, but the items were diverse to broaden her experiences. For example, giving
her the chance to play soccer. If she likes it, we hope she continues with it, but we
don't push her.] (EL-Il). Since Mr. Lee and Mrs. Lee are Christians, I was curious
about whether their religion affects their attitude toward the use of the computer.
Mr. Lee meditated for almost a minutes and told me "No" while Mrs. Lee was
shaking her head to indicate the same answer.
pronounces "Tian Ya" and means "to stuff ducks." This is a metaphor that the Taiwanese usually use to describe their educational approaches. In Taiwan, students have to pass the national entrance examination in order to get into the university. In order to get high scores on the exam, teachers often ask students to recite the knowledge written in the textbook. When students do their best to stuff all the information they need into their heads, it is similar to ducks stuffing themselves with food. 108 Esther's Web Design When Esther first saw the working journal, she used crayons to decorate it with lines and flowers. To my surprise, Mr. Lee asked her to work in the journal immediately after each Web session. Besides keeping a working diary, he also asked Esther to use her journal to plan her ideas, to take notes of some concepts and procedures, and to write down her summary.
It took Esther seven sessions to finish her two Web pages^^ (see Appendix I) in seven sessions. Actually, the sixth session probably should not be counted because the computer crashed when we tried to turn it on at the start of the session. Table 4.8 indicates Esther's Web sessions.
■•1 Her Web pages was also available at http:// www.cgrg.ohio-state.edu/ -ytang/ Esther/ mypage.htm [November 1,1999]. 109 Sessions Date Time Working items First May 18,1999 6:45pm - ■ Visiting 4 kids' Web sites (Tuesday) 8:00pm Second May 27,1999 6:45pm - ■ Familiarization with the software (Thursday) 8:30pm ■ Creating two pages and a link. T hird June 1,1999 6:45pm - ■ Organizing the outline of her home (Tuesday) 8:30pm page • Developing her home page Fourth June 8,1999 6:45pm - ■ Comparing several Web sites with (Tuesday) 8:30pm her hom e page Fifth June 22,1999 6:45pm - ■ Developing Daddy's pages (Tuesday) 8:30pm ■ Improving her home page Sixth July 6,1999 7:00pm - ■ Mr. Lee's computer was crashed (Tuesday) 7:50pm d urin g the session. Seventh July 29,1999 7:45pm - ■ Evaluating her pages on the 9:00pm Internet ■ Improving her home page
Table 4.8: Schedule and Progress of Esther's Sessions
The computer Mr. Lee and Esther used was in the basement. The computer was connected to the speakers of a hi-fi stereo player instead of regular computer speakers to provide sound. In the first session, Mr. Lee seemed to position himself as a technology supporter. He helped Esther access the Internet and let her explore the sites. Esther was excited to click the links. In the second session, Mr. Lee was a complete observer watching my teaching and the interaction between Esther and me. Before starting the third session, Esther showed me the plans for her home page on a piece of paper. She had come up with six questions for guiding the development of this page on the day before my visit: What do I like? W hat am I
110 good at? Who am I? W hat is my school? Who is my teacher? Who are my parents?
After I asked how she organized the outline, she showed me Mr. Lee's example in which he used "a house" as the subject. At the same time, he also told me his intention: technical ! [Because you taught her technical skills, I thought 1 would work on the content!]"
Before Esther developed her pages, Mr. Lee asked her to revise her plan.
She took it as an important and serious task and used rulers to organize her target content (see Figure 4.4) independently, while Mr. Lee was sitting next to her reading his JAVA user's guide.
I 7 .7 5
p/'/^A % P 'ÿ ’
Figure 4.4: Esther's draft
Since Mr. Lee viewed this as Esther's Web page, he held his "facilitator" position firmly. The computer mouse was always in her hand except for the times when it
111 was necessary for him to do trouble shooting. When Esther asked his opinion, Mr.
Lee kept telling her " g G # /# [Write/think on your own for your own stuff]." He always made suggestions indirectly because he did not want to influence any of her decisions. Asking questions or having her make comparisons was his teaching strategy. Here are some examples:
Episode 9 (EL, S3, #2)
—After working on her outline, Esther was sitting in front of the computer and felt ready to develop her pages. ("E" indicates Esther and "F" indicates Mr. Lee) 1. F: computer ? [You just want to put what youVe written on the computer, right?] 2. E : (shaking her head slightly) Umm, Umm. 3. F: Umm, Umm, ? [What do you mean by Unun, Umm?] 4. E : color I# ! [A dd the color onl] 5. F: (taking a piece of a paper and using it as a tool) OK, ig#:—@ page on computer OK ' OK • [OK, if this is a page on computer, OK, OK,](putting his right hand on the page and asking her) COMPUTER ? [How do you put your content on the computer?] 6. E : type ! [Type it!] 7. F: type J i ^ , MPFM: ? [Type all of them, don't you?] 8. E: (thinking) 9. F: -ÈËTJUtM I ! [It is fine, too! It's up to you! You could do whatever you want!] 10. E: (looking at her father)... 11. F: m m I typem^m i type ok? i [Fine! If you like it, then type it! We'll discuss it after you type them in, OK? You can change it later!] 12. E: (hestitating for a few seconds) continue ° [Then, I continue!]
112 Episode 10 (EL, S3, #3)
—Esther was choosing the background color. 1. F: ? [Do you think it looks nice?] 2. E : ' I got an idea! [Daddy, I got an idea!] —Esther selected one color for her background. 3. F : ? [Does it look nice?] 4. E : (shaking her head) Umm, Umm...
Mr. Lee demonstrated his good teaching skills, perhaps because of his previous teaching education and experience. He usually asked questions to lead
Esther to think over what she would do (line 1-4 of Episode A & line 3-4 of
Episode 10). Moreover, as a teacher he used an examples (line 5 of Episode 9) to make Esther think of what to do. In these two episodes, he also demonstrated how he uses parental authority. Although he politely gave directions to Esther
(line 7-8 of E pisode 9 & Une 1-2 of Episode 10), she w as hesitant to carry them out
(line 8 of Episode 9) or ahraid to express her opinion (line 11-12 of Episode 9). The type of dialogue that occurred in line 1-2 of Episode 10 happened frequently in their interactions. Esther seemed to be reading negative messages from her father's questions, and to say, "I got an idea" to correct her mistake in order to please her father.
After typing and trying different colors and fonts, Esther made a text-only home page. Instead of focusing on her weakness, Mr. Lee helped her expand her capability of evaluation.
Episode 11 (EL, S3, #4)
1. F: page interesting? [Do you think your page is interesting?]
113 2. E: » [No.] 3. F: ? [Why not?] 4. E: sentences. [There are too many sentences.] 5. F: interesting? [How do you make it interesting?] 6. E: sentences ° [Don't put too many sentences.) 7. F: interesting # # # # ! ? [So, y ou r criterion of "interesting" is based on the number of sentences? Or what else?] 8. E:... (touching the mouth and trying to change her home page) 9. F: # —“F ’ ! [Wait! Daddy is asking you!] 10. E :... 11. F: ? W home page # ^ # # 8 9 ? [Do you think people will look at this stuff? Who will look at your page?] 12. E: “ [Other people.] (changing suddenly into a happy tone)^# ! S address! [No! Because I haven't added the address ]
Esther pointed out the main weakness of her page almost immediately (line 1-6).
No matter how Mr. Lee tried, however, she could not get the idea of how to make the page "interesting" (line 7 & line 11-12). He decided to give her more concrete examples, and asked her to make a comparison of two Web sites —Disney and
KayNet. The following example was one of their dialogues.
Episode 12 (EL, S3, #5)
—Mr. Lee and Esther were looking at Disney and KayNet. F: # # # # —# ? [Which one do you like most?] E: Disney. F: Why? E: color. [There are many colors ] F: page color # ! [But, there are many colors in your pages too?] —Mr. Lee opened Esther's home page and KayNet. F: —# ? [Which one do you like most?] E: color. [Mine is more colorful.]
114 F: Home page show ff*® ? Show color information? [What is a home page supposed to show? Showing color or information?] E: Information! —Mr. Lee opened Disney and KayNet again. F: information ? (On which one was it easy to read the information?) E: KeyNet! F; ? (What did you read?) E: E-mail. F: (using a piece of paper to cover the monitor) ? (How much did you remember?) —Esther was trying to tell what she just saw.
This discussion was the last theme of the third session and also the first
theme of the fourth one. The difference in these two sessions was Esther's attitude. She did not show the same enthusiasm as she did in the former session.
She seemed to feel frustrated and bored by Mr. Lee's persistent questions. No matter how hard she tried to respond, she did not get Mr. Lee's point, which was that a good Web page is easy to read and is presented in a multimedia format. To me, she assumed that a page with text only was appropriate and seemed to be satisfied with hers so far. She did her best to figure out some revisions for her page such as making some words bigger or decorating some phrases with different colors because of Mr. Lee's pushing discussion. Tension existed while
Esther's father kept telling her to sit still, not to touch the keyboard, and not to play with her hair. The father and the daughter ended their fourth session unhappily and exhaustedly. However, this did not discourage her from continuing to develop her pages. After the session, Esther wrote in her working journal; " Today 1 learned to make a Home page. 1 am not done yet. 1 will change mine because it is not so clear." 115 Mr. Lee changed his teaching strategies for the fifth session. He asked Esther to do him a favor that was Web page • ? [Could you
develop a page for Daddy?]" in the fifth session. Esther felt very proud to take on
this task. In order to help her work independently, Mr. Lee requested that she
demonstrate the procedures such as making a link, inserting a picture, changing
the background color, et cetera. After showing her techniques with helpful hints
from me, Esther started to develop her father's Web page by looking at a draft
written by her father with his ideas including the location of graphics, size of
fonts, the background pattern, and the position of links. During her work, Mrs.
Lee and Esther's young brother came down to the basement to see Esther's work.
When she learned that Esther was working on a page for Mr. Lee, she also
requested that she make a Mommy's page. This was her way of showing
encouragement to her daughter. Probably because of the parents' trust and
encouragement, Esther finished her father's Web page quickly and independently.
Mr. Lee's actual purpose in requesting her to create a page for him was to
assist Esther in developing her sense to visual design. Therefore, he asked her to
examine and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the two pages. At first,
she hesitated to criticize her father's page. Surprisingly, with Mr. Lee's
encouragement, she wrote her comparison in the journal (see Figure 4.5) on her
own. Her father asked her to use her critique to improve these two pages. She finally decided to add some pictures on her home page.
116 Figure 43: Esther's comparison
They did not work on this project on the computer until two weeks after the fifth session. In the sixth session, we encountered a severe problem— the computer crashed. Mr. Lee suggested that they work on proofreading and editing the hard copies of the Web pages. They spent about 20 minutes editing the hard copies of Esther's Web pages. Mr. Lee then decided to end the session because it was difficult to work on the Web page without the computer. As soon as Mr. Lee said this, to our surprise, Esther wanted to put in some 3D text. I was curious about her request and asked where she came up with this idea. She explained that she did not know how she got this idea but she thought that: "It's cool!" to add 3D text on her pages (EL, 56, #2). I volunteered to create the text circled by her on the draft since Mr. Lee did not know how to do it.
In the final session, we realized that we had not had a chance to add the pictures in since Mr. Lee could not find his collection of clip art which was lost in the move to the new house. I gave Esther the URL of her pages and asked her opinion of the text. Lying on the floor kept saying, "I don't know!" I thought she
117 was trying to make fun of me. While I was trying to discover a way to leam her true opinion, Mr. Lee said "Excused me" and, holding Esther s hand, walked
away from me. I could not hear exactly what was said through most of the time, I
heard Mr. Lee's talking and asking: "OK?" When Esther came back to the
computer desk, she was serious and concentrated on her page work.
Esther told me that she liked my fancy 2D texts^ on her page and noticed
that some demographic information such as her school's name was out of date
due to their move. She also expressed her desire to leam how to create 2D text,
and asked to revise her pages. Since Mr. Lee thought it would take at least 3 more
sessions to fulfill Esther's requests, he decided to work on her pages with her after
the study ended. This Web activity came to an end.
■*21 did not try to cheat Esther. Among the Web sie she visited during her sessions, the text was all 2D texts. Therefore, I was convinced that she wanted some 2D texts and misused the term. 118 Noah Thomas Noah lives in a new two-story brick house located in a rural area an hour's drive from Columbus. Noah's mother, a housewife and a teacher at CCA, explained her reason for buying this house: ! [I heard that the school district here is very good!] " (NT, SI).
Noah is slim and behaves like a little adult. The way he talks is more mature than many seven-year-old children 1 have met. His computer knowledge and skills are excellent. He usually accesses the Internet and downloads software on his own. 1 asked how he had learned the skills. Mrs. Thomas explained with an embarrassed smile that: " ’ sfclâÉ Internet _h download [ËI
îfSlafÊfc ' ° [Because we don't want to spend money buying (games), we downloaded what we find on the Web.
He was motivated to leam all the procedures because he wanted to play the games. He learned by watching what we did.](NT, SI). Moreover, Noah showed me one of his projects designed in Visual Basic^. He is interested in any kind of computer activities. Noah's willingness to design Web pages, regardless of his mother's concern that he had many extra-curriculum activities was explained by his mother: Web site! [He said that he has been thinking about developing his Web site for a while!] "
Mrs. Thomas was Noah's facilitator. As far as 1 know, Mr. Thomas is a
Caucasian American who works as a programmer for an international telecommunication company. 1 did not have an opportunity to meet him, because Noah's Web sessions were usually scheduled on weekday afternoons.
^ Visual Basic is a programming language. 119 Mrs. Thomas has received two master degrees (one in computer science and one in international studies) and during the study was doing substitute
teaching in a Columbus high school mathematics classroom. Noah has a
five-year-old brother who speaks Mandarin better than he does. During my
study, there was a special guest in the Thomas residence—Noah's grandmother.
She is a Taiwanese and was visiting her daughter for a couple of months.
Parental Attitude, Expectation and Concern The Thomas' attitudes toward the computer and the Web had always been
very positive. They taught Noah to use the educational software such as Reader
Rabbit when he was around two years old. However, the Bible teaching changed
Mrs. Thomas's attitude. She explained:
netw ork w
strong > » [I felt it (using the Web) was good before. But now, I don't think so. I think the Bible influences me...The network seems to control the world. It echoes the prophecy... My husband still has a positive attitude. Although his attitude is not as negative as mine, he has a tendency to agree with me.] (NT-Il).
Her expectation of this Web design activity was that: "^fÊ— good experience about Web design [Give him the good experience about Web design.]"(NT-12). Additionally, she also valued highly the social interaction within the project. She said that interaction ’
Web design 0^ inspiration * ° [I w ant him to have more interaction with people. For example, when you come, you
120 could talk to him .. .No matter children or adults; they could give him inspirations for his Web design. It is very good.]
Mrs. Thomas is convinced that a Web design activity is not a learning activity. She illustrated her ideas and differentiated her concepts of "learning" and "application":
Application ^ process » learning # —# knowledge...ffeS S # computer » language learning = Visual Basic ’ —# knowledge • • • Web design)# application operation • @ absorb learning > experience > typing —# • format WMM create ’ # # art • art # learning » [Application is a process while learning is knowledge based. I majored in computer science. The way I learned the programming language was learning. For example, he (Noah) is learning Visual Basic. This is knowledge. This (a Web design activity) is the "application operation" that the designer has to contribute everything he or she knows. To me, it is not learning. It is similar to "experience." It is like typing. (If you know how to type.) You know how to create your format. It is like art. I don't think a rt is learning.] (NT-12)
Unlike the other parents, Mrs. Thomas did not supervise Noah in accessing the Internet. serious % • “
safety issu er ' IS ’ “ [My child is pretty mature...If the thing is not too 'serious', he could make his own decision. At the beginning, we told him our concern of the Internet safety. His father told him not to tell people our address and phone number. He replied to us that he already knew that. 1 have no idea how he learned it.](NT-12).
121 Noah's Web Design
I experienced some unusual situations in the Thomas's. First, Mrs. Thomas asked me to talk to Noah in Mandarin no matter how he reacted and answered. She shared her thoughts with me on the phone that frustrated » ffe
—ÎË# good student in school ® ' # proud of being Chinese-American." [Learning Mandarin frustrates him. He has always been a good student in school. Actually, his Mandarin is not too bad.. .1 would hope that he could know more about Chinese culture and that he could be proud of being Chinese-American.] Although 1 promised her, I sometimes forgot to talk to Noah in Mandarin.
Second, Noah assumed that 1 was his facilitator, not his mother. He could not figure out why my job was to observe his interaction with his mother. He interpreted my explanation to mean that 1 was working on "something about my career" (NT, 52, #0). However, he still had a tendency to ask my help when he had problems.
Third, Mrs. Thomas's facilitation style was different from the other five parents. Noah usually worked on his Web pages alone in the living room, while she was busy with the house chores. She kept asking Noah: ? [Do you have questions?]" from a comer of the kitchen. She would come in and check
Noah's progresses every once in a while. She did not help Noah until he had a problem or asked for help. Additionally, Noah's grandmother usually watched the Taiwanese TV programs in the room while Noah worked on his Web pages.
He seemed to get used to this environment because the loud TV did not distract him.
122 Since the Thomases live far hrom Columbus, Mrs. Thomas suggested that
we decrease the number of Web sessions, but increase the length of each session.
Therefore, Noah finished his Web pages^ (see Appendix J) in four sessions. Table
4.9 indicates his Web sessions.
Sessions Date Time W orking items First Jime 14,1999 2:30pm - ■ Downloading Claris Home Page ( Monday) 4:30pm ■ Visiting 4 children's Web sites Second June 21,1999 2:0 0 p m - ■ Working on Self-Introduction (Monday) 4:30pm • Creating his "surprise" pages T hird July 1,1999 2:00pm - ■ Working on an interactive form (Thursday) 5:15pm ■ Developing his "weird" page ■ Creating a page entitled "I am a hero." Fourth July 9,1999 2:15pm - ■ Inserting a visitor counter (Friday) 5:00pm ■ Finishing the page of "I am a hero"
Table 4.9: Schedule and progress of Noah's sessions
In my first visit, Noah opened the door for me, and our interaction started from Noah's comment: "I hope I downloaded the right one." Noah did not download the software we wanted; therefore, we tried to download Claris Home
Page. While working on that, no matter how hard Mrs. Thomas pushed, Noah did not want to greet me by "Ah-yee. " At first, he did not say anything but finally he said "Hi." If 1 were a guest from Taiwan, 1 might feel hurt because this
** His Web pages was also available at http://www.cgrg.ohio-state.edu/~yfang/Noah / network.htm [November 1,1999]. 123 behavior might indicate the guest was not accepted by the child. While I was a little bit embarrassed to see Mrs. Thomas pushing Noah to call me Ah-yee. As a researcher in the Unites States, I was happy for him to finally react.
While we downloaded the Claris Home Page editor, Mrs. Thomas suggested that Noah visit the four children's Web sites. After looking at all of them, Noah told me that he did not like any of them. He showed me his favorite
Web site—Lego, and told me his intended URL for his Web site that was
" WWW.NOAH.COM "(NT, 51).
When 1 asked Noah whether he liked the journal, he nodded his head, said
"yes", and changed the title to "Noah's Working Journal". After reading the instructional page, Noah told me that he would keep the journal, "if he remembered." Almost at the same time, he wrote in his journal the title of he intended to use on his home page (see Figure 4.6).
Figure 4.6: Noah's draft
124 The faithful way he kept the journal is either evidence that he keeps his promises or that he enjoyed the activity. He wrote down his comments, and also clearly noted the date and time without his mother s reminders. The journal to him was a tool for planning and organizing his ideas.
Noah could not wait to develop his Web pages until I came. W hen I arrived for the second session, I found that he had already developed the page below (see Figure 4.7).
A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE CAN GO! NOAH'S NETWORK ixxxHxxxaxxxHxxxaxxxH lions: See if you can find out the password! If you think you know it, type it in in the box. If it's right, you'll see a surprise!
My favorite link: www.lego.com
Figure 4.7: Noah's first developing Web page
125 "Who showed you how to use it (Claris Home Page)?", I asked. "I figured it out
on my own, b u t m y daddy helped m e m ake the link.", he answ ered m e (NT, S2,
#0). Honestly speaking, I had doubted Noah s computer ability because he was
only a seven-year-old child. But his continuing performance removed my doubts.
Since he was easily able to leam the procedures by reading the tutorial on his own, the Claris Home Page tutorial serves as his primary instructor. S
# tutorial » fÊWWT ! [We always tell him to read the tutorial on his own! He
gets used to it. ]", Mrs. Thomas explained to me on the telephone. Noah did not
have any problem in reading those text-based print since reading ° fÈ
#6:6#— tutorial ! [His reading is pretty good. He
is reading some books written for fifth graders now.. .Probably he reads too many
tutorials.", Mrs. Thom as told me w ith a proud smile (NT-12).
Although Noah was proud of his password design, his excitement did not
last long. I had to explain to him that I had difficulties figuring out how to make
this interactive form function. He was really disappointed with this bad news,
repeating to him self th a t "I'll talk to D addy." (NT, S2, #1). In order to change his
mood, Mrs. Thomas suggested he introduce himself.
While working on his introduction, Noah was easily distracted by finding
some cookies to eat, playing Nintendo with his younger brother, coming to read
my field notes, and turning to the TV when the narration of a Taiwanese program
interested him. His behavior bothered the grandmother so much she could not help in pushing him: "Noah, ! [Noah, hurry up on work!]" Noah finally finished the following paragraph (see Figure 4.8), and checked with a spelling checker:
126 Let me tell you about me! I cant tell you personal information, because you might be a ” bad guy I really like LEGOs, pokmon, and Star Wars:WncT\. I first started this, T was really excited, and I still am!
Figure 4.8: Noah's first draft of self-introduction
W hen Mrs. Thom as came over to check his progress, she exclaiming: "Noah,fJ5\,"^ bad guy ! [Noah, how can you be so honest! How can
you assume people are bad guys!]" (NT, S2, #2). I was curious about how Noah
got this impression. Noah answered me by shrugging his shoulders: "1 don't
want the bad guy to know me." The second Web session was ended after the
development of Noah's "surprise" page that showed his password numbers.
? Noah ! [I don't know what to do! Noah wants to quit
this project!], Mrs. Thomas told me this troubling news on the phone on June 24
shortly after the second session. He thought his pages were done and was angry
that nobody, including his father, could make the interactive form function. He finally agreed to continue this activity when Mrs. Thomas told him that:
keep your promise, even though do your best ’
"T ! [You must keep your promise, even though you could not
accomplish what you want! You should do your best. Do as much as you can!"
Mrs. Thomas and I seemed to have a common consensus in the third session. We did our best to figure out what could challenge Noah. Mrs. Thomas asked him to make another interactive form, and I promised to do my best to make the form function. Our challenge worked. He was happy to pull down the 127 menu, read the tutorial, and make his new form. Additionally, he developed his
"weird" page to replace the "surprise" page "because it s funny to be weird and I
am a funny guy."(NT-I2). Mrs. Thomas disliked his first self-introduction and insisted he change it.
Episode 13 (NT, S3, #6)
—After finishing the "weird" page, Noah was back to the home page. Mrs. Thomas was sitting next to him. ("M" indicates Mrs. Thomas and "N" indicates Noah) M: Noah, introduction %—% ? [Noah, how about changing your self-introduction?] N:... M: (with an anxious tone) Noah, %— ! [Noah, change it! It's not polite to say that!] N: ... —Noah was typing and editing the paragraph M: ! [It's much better now!] N : (looking at his mother) I want to please you!
As well as the change, Mrs. Thomas came up with the suggestion: "Noah, hero m 1 ? [Noah, you could tell the story of being a hero! You write it, and I'll type it for you, OK?]" (NT, S3, #3).
After thinking for a few seconds, he said "O-Kay." A "I am a hero" link was
created to connect a blank page.
In the fourth session, I showed Noah his pages on the Internet. In order to stimulate his motivation, I also showed him the animated visitor counter I had inserted for Jackie Cain. Noah was fascinated by it, and desired to put one on his page. Since Noah's Web skills are excellent, I decided to offer him the
128 information rather than inserting one for him. I guided him to some online Web
tutorials, and helped him figure out how to insert his own counter by reading the
instruction pages. No matter how hard he tried, he could not put an "Earth"
counter on his page. Mrs. Thomas noticed his frustration and came to help.
When she tried some procedures that Noah had tried unsuccessfully more than
three times, he told her about his previous trials hoping she would not waste time
in trying again. When Mrs. Thomas insisted on trying, Noah suddenly became angry with her, pushed her hand away, and stepped away from the computer desk. "Noah, ! [Noah, don't be angry! I just want to try!]"(NT-S4, #1), she begged. In order to appease them, I volunteered to fix the problem after the session. Noah came back holding a cup of soft drink. Mrs.
Thomas cautiously suggested he work on his hero page: ’
? [You read what you wrote, and I type. OK?" (NT-S4, #2). The Web activity kept going after Noah nodded his head. He read the half he had already written in his journal and finished the other half by brainstorming with his mother. His final Web session ended when he finished the "I am a hero" page.
During the research project, Mrs. Thomas spoke to me several times on the telephone about her dissatisfaction with Noah's Web pages. She disliked his weird page and the lack of pictures. She was also not satisfied with the style of this project: • mg amtc.. » mmw-m # ' ° [At the beginning, I set up this project to be one of our family activities. But, my husband is very busy, my mom is not interested in it, and I am busy, too.. It's kind of like an activity among him, you and me. When he becomes older, I think we'll get together to work on his 129 Web pages. His younger brother will join us. I will encourage them to keep
working.]"(NT-I2). Additionally, Nhrs. Thomas commented on her role:
m ' idea - » [I first wanted to inspire him, but I did not meet my expectation.. .Til
come up with some ideas for him when I have time available. Now, 1 kind of like learning with him.]" (NT-12). By this project, she experienced that
° [It's necessary to encourage kids to think.] "(NT-12). She explained her
thoughts on learning:
f&# basic ' foundation * creative •
creative > rigid - m m ' > m m m m • m m h i n t . mm##s# - - [ I have changed a lot now (to the definition of learning). After having the kids, 1 used Chinese ways to educate them. 1 wanted them to leam the basic things. 1 was convinced that kids should have good foundations. They should not be very creative^. But, I found the advantages of American teaching styles. They allow you to try on your own. But, it doesn't make sense to me that teachers always ask kids questions and don't explain the reason to them.. .1 discussed this with my husband. His comments were that the American way is too creative and the Chinese way is too rigid. I try to compromise these two ways. So, 1 try to ask them (her
^ I asked Mrs. Thomas to illustrate what she meant about "They should not be very cretive." on the telephone. She used Noah's violin practices as an example. Noah did not show much ethusiam when she asked him to practice violin according to the practice manual. On the contrary, he wanted to practice violin when Mr. Thomas allowed him to compose his songs. Mrs. Thomas thought that children would be lacking of the fundamentals, if parents put a great repect on their interests. 130 children) questions as much as possible. Actually, kids leam more from being asked. You ask him a question. He tries to figure it out. If the answer is wrong, you give him some hints. He would remember what he leams. Now, I prefer to use this teaching style.](NT-I2).
131 Jessica Chin .
I first m et Mrs. Chin, principal of CCA, in February 1998. She has a big round face with slim eyes, who always laughed heartily, which is unusual for women in Taiwan. She made decisions decisively. By the way she talked and made decisions, I could teU that she was a successful working woman. I learned she is a senior software architect at a top-five telecommunication company.
The Chins live in rectangular middle-class brick house with a small yard.
My American friends told me that the area where the Chins live is an upper-middle class neighberhood. Whenever I visited, Mr. Chin always came to greet me and then left the house quickly. According to Mrs. Chin, he knew neither what this project was nor what a Web page is. During the Web page sessions, JoJo, Jessica's elder sister, always stayed in the living room since Jessica refused to allow her to be involved or to help with developing the Web pages.
Jessica is a miniature Mrs. Chin. When 1 first met her, I thought she was quiet and shy. When Mrs. Chin talked about her daughter, 1 could not believe the active, outgoing and straightforw ard girl she described w as Jessica. Mrs. C hin com m ented on her: '
[According to the Chinese standard, she is a terrible girl, (laughing heartily) She does not stand or sit like a young lady should. She has a big mouth and says whatever comes to her head. But her personality fits well with what is expected in the United States.]" (JCH-Il).
Jessica's computer experience was not the same as most of the other children in the study. When she was three, she "played with" word processing software on the first Macintosh that her father bought for work on his dissertation. 132 She did not use educational software until she was four. As Mrs. Chin refuses to buy any computer games, the software Jessica has used so far has been related to education, such as reading, math and science.
Parental Attitude, Expectation and Concern
Personally, Mrs. Chin loves the computer and thinks the Web is an information tool. However, she does not encourage Jessica'^s access to the Internet at this young age. She made a comment on Jessica^s weekly computer use: so far m e ' attached > » [Her attitude is fine so far. She does not become attached to it. 1 thinks it is fine at her age.]"
(JCH-Il). In my first interview, she explained that what concerns her most is that using the computer often would damage Jessica's eyes.
In addition to concern for her daughter's eyes, Mrs. Chin expressed another concern about having Jessica become involved in learning Web design.
While she did not say this was a major factor, she did refer to this concern several times. She thinks it is important for children of Jessica's age to work on personal relationships rather than to be frequently involved in computer activities.
Jessica “ [I believe that Jessica will be interested in using the computer when she becomes older ] ", she explained. ' I tM
Language • logical thinking - # # # # # # # # # computer ■ JB# ! [Her mathematics is much better than her language arts. Her logical thinking is fine too.. .1 am convinced that she will love the computer, but she is too young now.]" (JCH-11). It seem s that to Mrs. Chin, a com puter mainly serves to develop the mathematical ability.
133 If she wishes to discourage Jessica's use of the computer, I was curious about her motivation for participating in my study. She laughed as heartily as usual and told me ! [Give her a chance to try!]"(JCH, 52). Actually, the main reason was"#iM— ! [We two have been hoping for a while to do something together. Not her father with them (JoJo and Jessica) or they with me.
Just two of us!]" (JCH, 52).
Mrs. Chin did not have specific expectations as to what Jessica would leam.
Mostly, she wanted her to have fun.
discipline...### fun °
cm m ± 6^ m ) ! p think that human beings have an inborn love to leam. But kids need a little bit of discipline.. .Having fun is very important because it motivates you to leam more.
This is my conclusion after I've been staying here for so many years. ..Maybe it is also because my parents did not care about my performance (of my school grades)!"(JCH-11 & 12), she explained. As to the parental role, she explained both in my interview and in a discussion after a Web session: " support ■>
[Schools are responsible for presenting the information for academic learning. In the kid's early stage, parents lead them to leam more. When they go to school, parents become supporters.] pCH-11).
Jessica's Web Design When Jessica knew she would participate in my study, she was extremely curious about the nature of this project and asked Mrs. Chin questions related to
134 the Web. According to Mrs. Chin s description on May 9, they had some discussion before the first Web session.
W eb page ? n ^ W m • chaUenge » cm m ) W eb page ? Web p age.. . # comment picture, —# picture > • # picture # p ic tu r e .
[She asked me why she would be developing her Web pages. 1 told her because this Ah-yee wants to challenge you. (Asking me) Am 1 right? I don't know whether 1 am right or not. Anyway, she seemed to accept it (laughing heartily). She asked me what a Web page is. 1 showed her my Web pages... Because there is only one picture on my site, she commented on my picture and said: "Mommy, the picture doesn't look like you!" So, I told her: "If you want, you could put some more pictures to make your pages look nicer." 1 also told her what links are, but she did not get it. So, 1 did not spend time in explaining to her.]
During our sessions, Jessica's behavior exactly matched her mother's description. During her Web sessions, Jessica frequently said, "no" and yelled at
Mrs. Chin and her elder sister when they tried to help. She always opened the door for me without greeting me, and told Mrs. Chin about my presence loudly.
She also yelled at me sometimes when she disagreed with my suggestions.
Jessica exhibited unusual behavior during the Web sessions. She was always reluctant to start work on her Web pages at the beginning of my visit, but refused to stop her work at the end. Her behavior confused me and made me question, " W hat did she mean by saying 'No'? Is this habitual behavior for her?
Do I 'abuse' my participant? Does she really want to develop her Web pages or
135 just participate in this project to please her mother?" (My journal dated on June 5,
1999). During several informal discussions, Mrs. Chin responded to my concerns by confirming Jessica's willingness to join my study after several informal discussions. At her final Web session, Jessica told me that she liked this project.
She pointed to the location of my tape recorder, however, and yelled, "I don't like it!" QC-S4).
Jessica did not use her working journal because she lost it at the beginning of the project and still had not found it when the project was finished. Mrs. Chin talked about her attitude toward having Jessica keep the working journal: "I really did not put much thought about how to use it. Since Jessica did not show much interests between your visits, I don't know what she would have written either." (E-mail dated on July 1,1999).
Table 4.10 summarizes Jessica's Web sessions. We could not meet weekly because Mrs. Chin often had to drive Jessica's elder sister to baseball games.
Jessica finished her Web pages (see Appendix K) in four sessions.
136 Sessions Date Time Working items First May 22,1999 10:00pm - ■ Developing her home page (Saturday) 12:00pm ■ Making a link to Disney Second June 5,1999 1:00pm - ■ Visiting one children's Web sites (Saturday) 3:30pm ■ Developing her home page ■ Drawing "Kitty" ■ Creating the "Kitty's home-page" Third June 12,1999 4:00pm - ■ Developing her home page (Saturday) 5:30pm ■ Drawing her portrait Fourth June 26,1999 1:30pm - ■ Developing "Kitty" page (Saturday) 3:30pm ■ Inserting the pictures of her family and Kitty
Table 4.10: Schedule and progress of Jessica's sessions
My first visit interrupted Jessica's fun time. She was enjoying her Saturday
TV cartoons and was reluctant to leave the television for the research site — the study room on the second floor. She questioned the purpose of this Web activity.
In order to please her, Mrs. Chin and I made a compromise and postponed our activity for half an hour. When Jessica returned to the room she was evidently satisfied to leave the television. Mrs. Chin led Jessica to develop her home page by offering direct suggestions.
Episode 14 (JCH, SI, #1)
—Jessica opened the Claris Home Page. Mrs. Chin sat behind her. ("J" indicates Jessica and "M" indicates Mrs. Chin.) Mr ! ' Jessica's hom e page! # birthday, then, you are.. .yourself" [Try to figure out what you want to write! Jessica's home page! Write about your birthday, then, you are... Write about yourself.] J: (touching the mouse)
137 M: % Jessica's home page! [Write Jessica's home page!] J: (keying in the title) M: do something, like my hobby, or talk about me... [You could do something else, such as my hobby, or talk about me!] J: (sharp tone) Mom-my! Mrs. Chin:... —After 45 seconds M: H ow old you are, your hobby, your favorite m ovie... J: (interrupting her impatiently) I know! —Mrs. Chin kept silent until Jessica finished her writing.
Obviously, Jessica knew her own mind and did not want to take directive
suggestions. In order to interest her daughter, Mrs. Chin changed her teaching
strategies.
Episode 15 (JCH, SI, #2)
M: Mommy show(s) you something fun! (holding the mouse and trying to highlight the title) J: (yelling) No, no, I don't want to change it! M: If you don't like it, you can change it back! J:... —Mrs. Chin showed her how to color the text and make the text bigger and smaller. J: How do you make it? M: Select the word first and (pointing at the screen) click the button here. J : Select the w ord.. .Click here... —Jessica was quiet and busy with coloring the title of her home page. —Jessica finished the title happily. Jessica: (satisfying and soft tone) Mom-my, Yeah! Mrs. Chin: (looking at the monitor) Very good!
138 As Mrs. Chin was to showing Jessica how to underline the text, I explained that underlining the text, in Claris Home Page, would make a link instead. When
Jessica finished what she was doing, Mrs. Chin explained w hat linking was to her.
Episode 16 (JCH, SI, #3)
J: What's that? What's a link? M: link go to another Web page.g# Web page link another Web page = link PJ Disney MuLan % Web page. [A link could go to another Web page. The advantage of Web pages is that you could link to another Web page. For example, you could link from here to the Web page of Mulan at Disney.] J: I want to do that.... M: You want to do that, hum? ÉÉÆËÊ My favorite movie is Mulan ’ ###@fT'S(Disney)69 Web page " [You want to do that, hum? Then, you type "My favorite movie is Mulan" on your page. Then you type its (Disney) Web page and link to it ] —Jessica worked busily following her mother's instructions.
They accessed the Internet to test the link. Jessica was so fond of the animation on Mulan's page that she forgot her main task—making a link. At Mrs.
Chin's reminder, she typed in the Disney's URL to establish the link. Since she had very little experience in keyboarding and was unfamiliar with the position of the letters' on the keyboard, it took her quite a bit of time in finding the target letters. She was so fond of Mulan's Web site that she willingly typed in the URL six times patiently before getting all the characters correct. The successful link ended the first session. Before I left, 1 encouraged Jessica to come up with her own ideas for our next session. She went to her room and brought back a student's writing collection published by her school district. She showed me her short essay 139 entitled " The Chinese New Year." Both Mrs. Chin and I read it for the first time.
We were astonished by her writing and encouraged her to publish it on her Web pages. "Noî", Jessica yelled to us immediately. "Why?", I asked. She yelled
"No" to me instead of answering me. Suddenly, Mrs. Chin changed the topic.
Episode 17 (JCH, SI, #5)
M: (suggesting Jessica) picture ' scan picture Web page _b? [How about choosing a picture and asking Ah-yee to scan for you? Then putting it on your page?]" J: Like what? M: picture! [Go choose one of your pictures!] Researcher: Ê 2 # ! You could draw something! [You could draw something on your own too! You could draw something!] J: (sharp tone) No! Mr # # I [Yeah!] Researcher: Draw something you know. Like... J: (sharp tone) No! Shut up! M: Jessica,:^'##^#!^ rude! [Jessica, don't be so rude!] J: (low voice) I don't want to draw! M: draw ^ picture % drawing! [You love to draw! Let's go downstairs to choose your pictures and drawings!]
W hen I set up the camcorder at the beginning of the second session, Jessica yelled "Stop it" at the camcorder. She used a piece of paper to cover her face or the camcorder lens to demonstrate that she did not want to be photographed. In order to ease her, I stopped videotaping.
Mrs. Chin led Jessica to visit Eddie Debbi— one of the four children's Web sites, and suggested:
140 Episode 18 (JCH, S2, #1)
M: ' fËÔtJ home page ^ background, heading #"—# ... [See, he used the background for his home page. His heading has some...] J: (interrupting) I don't like them. Is it supposed to be a finished one? M: finished one = ? P don't know if this one is a finished page. How about checking what he did?]
After clicking his "Star Wars" link that led to a missing page, she told us that "1 don't want to deal with the second one. Can 1 go back to my own?" (JCH, S2, #1).
From that point on, Jessica only talked to Mrs. Chin when needing help with and asking procedures such as "1 want to mix colors!" or "How can 1 get there?" She led the theme of the interaction and always made her own Web design decisions.
Perhaps because Jessica showed her independence aggressively, Mrs. Chin became quiet and positioned herself as a technique supporter.
Kitty, a black cat came into the room. As soon as Jessica saw her, she became excited and announced that she wanted to draw Kitty. It was a challenge to Mrs. Chin and me. We worked to figure out the drawing software and solved
Jessica's technical problems. She shared with us what she intended to do.
Episode 20 (JCH, 52, #2)
—Jessica was drawing her Kitty by using Microsoft Paint. Mrs. Chin was sitting behind her. J: I want to write a story about her (and her) bother^... M: You want to write something for Kitty? J: (shyly) 1 want to make a home page for Kitty. M: 1 think that's an excellent idea!
' “Her brother” means Kitty’s brother. 141 J: When you press it on, the Kitty picture can make it.^ M: Oh, to go there!
She loved her idea so much that she did not want to stop after finishing her drawing. But since we had been working on the project for more than two hours,
Mrs. Chin decided to end the second session and we let her continue working alone.
Jessica was fond of drawing. In the third session, Jessica announced she wanted to draw her portrait and use it as a link to go back to her home page. To
Jessica, the most interesting part of this project was "to draw Kitty and my picture" (JCH-I2). At my last visit, Jessica and Mrs. Chin examined the photos I had scanned, and decided to put two pictures on her page: a family picture taken in New York and another one of Kitty lying on the sofa with Jessica petting her.
What frustrated Jessica most was keyboarding. She told me that "1 donT like to type" (JCH, S4). I think it might be the reason she would not put her "The
Chinese New Year" article on her Web pages. It was a pity that Mrs. Chin and 1 did not realized her difficulty until the final session. Moreover, Jessica did not want to continue to develop her pages because: "I have no idea what to do next"(JCH-12). This is not only her conclusion but also Mrs. Chin s. ’
1 [Almost at the end, I had no idea what we could do. So, we kind of lost our energy!"(JCH-I2).
As to Jessica's performance, she said, ff ’ S surprise me - title JoJo #
# ! p don't think her work surprised me. For example, you think her title is good.
When you press the picture of Kitty, the Kitty page appears. 142 It's just fine to me. I saw JoJo did that before.]" (JCH-I2). However, typing # # # = p've never considered typing skills as important.]" She did now and encouraged her two daughters to leam keyboarding.
143 Joey W ong
The first time I "saw" the Wong family was on a Sunday at CCA while 1 was visiting my hriend who was Joey's Chinese teacher. I could not help observing their interactions since they seemed to fit into my "stereotypical"
Taiwanese-American family. Joey's parents were the only parents who stayed in the classroom with their child. The other parents left their children at the door of the classroom. Joey's parents did not stop talking with their son and sometimes with the other children until the class started. Before they left Joey in the classroom, they chatted with my friend, the teacher for a few minutes and thanked her. From the interaction of the Wongs, he acted like he was well-disciplined but well-protected child. Additionally, the parents love for their child was obvious from their interactions with him. 1 did not meet the Wongs until I visited them to request that they join my study. Mr. Wong almost immediately agreed to participate in my study because he —#!
[also wants to leam the Web by using this chance]" (JW-Il).
A third grader at a private school, Joey, who wears eyeglasses, is the only child in the family. Mr. Wong immigrated to the United States from Taiwan more than ten years ago. Mrs. Wong is Chinese coming from Singapore, but has a
Taiwanese accent because she learned Mandarin from Mr. Wong. The Wongs, who can be classified as affluent, live in a new well-designed community on a cul-de-sac with six houses each with a large yard and garage. Chinese calligraphy and Chinese paintings hang on their living room walls. Two comers of the living room are used to display Joey's medals and trophies, and gifts brought by the
W ongs from all over the world.
144 The Wongs do almost everything together in their free time. They have also worked on Joey's school projects together since he was in the first grade.
With school projects, usually Joey has chosen the topic and the parents have helped him research the data. Joey was familiar with the computer having first
used letter-recognition software when he was only 18 months old. Because of these family experiences, Mr. Wong seemed confident in sharing with me that
Web page Joey = [It won't be difficult for Joey to develop his
Web pages.]"(JW-Il). Joey said he was looking forward to starting this project "because it's going to be fun to have my own Web page." (JW-11). Mr. Wong also liked my study for two reasons: ##### Web site » ###### m ’ ° rihe first reason is that it allows him (Joey) to leam on his own. Second, 1 want to develop a Web site. I have been wanting to make one, but have had no time to work on one. Now, I would force myself to save time to leam to make one.J"(JW-Il).
Parental Attitudes, Expectation and Concern In the first interview Mr. Wong explained that he would love to leam more new programming languages, but his manger job occupies too much time. He and his wife were very positive about Joey's use of the computer. This attitude was substantiated by the large number of educational CD-ROMs arranged on the bookshelf in the study room. Joey's parents feared that his myopia might be due to his use of the computer at an early age. For this reason, Mr. Wong said that they were "W ié back off [backing off a little bit]"(JW-Il). In spite of this concem with Joey's myopia, Mr. and Mrs. Wong still wanted to participate in my study 145 because they were convinced that the Web is a good tool that will become more popular. As to the use of the Web, Mr. Wong encourages Joey to visit
Web site [the right Web sites]" (JW-Il). In order to make sure his son uses the
Web appropriately, Mr. Wong only allows Joey to go to the kids' Web sites for children designed by America Online (ACL).
Mrs. Wong's expectation of this project was to give Joey "—
° [a chance to experience something new] (JW-12), and Mr. Wong wanted to know Joey “ [what Joey thinks about it (Web design)]"(JW-12). Mr. and Mrs. Wong's educational purpose for participating in the study was to give Joey a learning opportunity and to observe his reaction.
This purpose was not only seen in their participation in the Web activity but also in the decisions that they had made to have Joey leam to play golf, tennis, baseball, and chess; to play the piano and violin, and to attend different camps.
Mr. Wong explained that he came from a very traditional and conservative
Taiwanese family. When he reflected on their parental roles, he commented:
• m m open >
Pn American society, a father doesn't have as much authority as one does in Taiwan. Here, a father is like a friend and the educational approach is different too. You're inspired to think here and you're asked to "stuff ducks" in Taiwan. You can't tell him in advance that "this is the only answer." He won't accept that. We're more like American parents, but not as open as they are. So, we place more pressure on him than Americém parents do on their kids. W e're somewhat between American and Taiwanese parents, but have a tendency to be more like American ones 146 more. Because you're from the environment (Taiwan), it's impossible for you to completely accept the American educational approaches. Your upbringing environment still influences your thinking patterns.]
Joey's Web Design I received much respect in the Wong family. Whenever 1 visited them, Joey was always waiting for me, peeking through the glass in the door. Before 1 walked to the door, he opened it and sweetly greeted me "Ah-yee " The living room and my research site -the study room -were so clean and neat, they had obviously been arranged. Mrs. Wong always provided a bottle of mineral water for me. Since they treated me so politely, I worried that they might show me only what was politically correct. However, after the second session, they gradually took off their social politeness and presented their natural reactions. For example,
Mr. Wong sometimes would become impatient with Joey"s performance or Mrs.
Wong would show me a grimace when Joey said something she thought it did not make sense. Mr. and Mrs. Wong usually talked to Joey in English because th e y " # # #
# # ! [don't have to explain (the term to Joey)?]" (JW, S2). However, the parents talk to each other in Mandarin. Mrs. Wong always called Joey "honey" whereas
Mr. Wong called his son by his name. 1 was surprised to hear Mrs. Wong's use of
"honey" because it is not a popular expression in Taiwan. I did not hear any of my other adult participants use it.
Before starting this Web activity, we assumed there would be no problem in meeting weekly in the summer. Contrary to expectation, Joey had to participate in many baseball games. His busy schedule interfered with our plans.
Sometimes we had a hard time in scheduling the sessions. Luckily, he caught on 147 quickly and was able to finished his two Web pages^ (see Appendix L) in five sessions.
Sessions Date Time Working items First June 10,1999 7:00pm - ■ Planning his home page (Thursday) 9:20pm ■ Develop his home page entitled "Mario's Home Page" • Copying images from the Internet Second June 17,1999 7:00pm - • Testing the new computer (Thursday) 9:30pm ■ Evaluating the four children's Web sites ■ Using Tables to display the images Third June 24,1999 7:20pm - ■ Developing "PikaPika" page (Thursday) 9:10pm • Taking a picture for Picachu Fourth July 9,1999 7:00pm - • Polishing his two pages (Friday) 9:10pm Fifth July 20,1999 7:00pm - ■ Polishing his two pages (Tuesday) 9:25pm ■ Taking pictures
Table 4.11: Schedule and progress of Joey's sessions
I brought my camcorder to the first visit with the Wongs who had given me permission to videotape the Web construction process. However, at the first session, Joey told me that he had changed his mind and did not feel comfortable being videotaped. Although his decision surprised me, I respected my participant's suggestion.
“ His Web pages were also available at http:/ / www.cgrg.ohio-state.edu/~yfeing/Joey/ joey's_home_page.htm [1999, November 1]. 148 Joey liked his journal. When I gave it to him, he examined his journal
appreciatively page by page. When I asked him whether he liked it, he nodded
his head and said "yes." Mr. Wong started Joey developing the Web pages as
soon as they got into the HTML editor.
Episode 21 (JW, SI, #1)
—Mr. Wong was sitting in front of the computer with Joey who was holding the mouse and. Mrs. Wong was standing behind them. —Joey wanted to use the HTML editor ("F" indicates Mr. Wong , "M" indicates Mrs. Wong and "J" indicates Joey) F: (realizing Joey was distracted by the HTML editor) Forget about the program! Now, you want to design your home page. What do you want to put on your hom e page? J: H um ... F: You need a plan. A plan, hum? —Mrs. Wong was looking for a piece of paper. I suggested using the working journal. F: What is a home page? Somebody can log in to read it, right? Just like what you saw yesterday, right? Do you have any idea(s)? J: H um ... F: You want to put your favorite things on it? J: OK, it's like. ..If I want to put a picture, how could 1 do it? F: You want to put a picture! We can post a picture later, OK? You want to put a picture o n it? J: (nodding his head) Hum, hum. F: You could write it down. Write the content, picture, right? J: (writing on his journal) Yeah, this means to design a picture... F: Look at the screen. It's about half a page, right? The screen could fit into half a page. Am 1 right? J: (continuing to write) Yeah! F: So, you decide what you want to put first and we decide where to put it. Does it m ake sense? J: Yeah. F: (looking at his journal) Picture of Mario! 149 J: I wanna put a picture of Mario! F: What else do you want to put on your Web page? Assume Chu-Lion-How-Ger-Ger^^ wants to come to see your home page. What do you want to show him? Except the Mario s picture! Hum? J : H um .. .1 don't know. F: Think about that! What else do you w ant to show him? This is your Web page! J: Do you have anything in mind? F: Hum, hum.. .Well, do you know what Chu-Lion-How-Ger-Ger likes? J: ... F: Dinosaurs, right? J: How can I apply tiiat? F: You can draw. How about leaving it as an option? —Joey was working on his draft under his father's suggestions. He added Totoro, golf, and wrote "Paragraph" to indicate the location of his self-introduction. M: Honey, what's your favorite TV channel? J: Oh, yeah...(indicating several links).
Under his father's suggestions and his mother's reminders, Joey completed his
draft (see Figure 4.9). I was surprised that Joey realized what a link is and used it appropriately. Mr. Wong had no idea where he learned the definition, and guessed ! [Maybe, his teacher told him! "](JW, SI, #0).
^9 Chu-Lion-How-Ger-Ger(^^iS^^ is Joey's cousin who is living in Taiwan at this time. 150 T . j- le. tftr to ‘ ' Qj-f
L- A m w % y
Figure 4.9: Joey's draft
Mr. Wong suggested that Joey work on putting his draft into the computer.
Joey did not have any problems using button functions to do such things as increasing the font size. Since Joey wanted to put images on his pages, Mr. Wong demonstrated how to copy and paste an image from the Web. Joey enjoyed inserting his favorite images such as Mario, Tiger Woods, and Fokemon. Because he was using so many copied pictures, I reminded the Wong family of the copyright issue. Mr. Wong then decided and suggested that Joey finish the draft of his home page as a practice to familiarize him with the HTML editor.
Joey's keyboarding skills are excellent. He was keying in data while thinking about what to write for his self-introduction paragraph. It took him around 10 minutes to complete it. When Joey had finished keying in the data, Mr.
Wong suggested making links. With the help of Mr. and Mrs. Wong's direct verbal instruction, Joey made five links. His home page was almost completed in the first session. Since it was close to Joey's bedtime, we had to end the session. 151 Joey got a new computer with a Window's 98 Plus operating system one day before my second visit. The icons and fonts on the computer were Cartoon styles. He was so excited with the mouse indicator, especially Garfield and was always yelling whenever the "F^izza" indicator showed on the screen.
! [There were too much stuH in the previous computer.]", Mr.
Wong explained with a smile. I was not sure what he meant because according to my understanding and observation, the items on the previous computer were not too huge to support this Web design activity. Even though Mr. Wong's reason for replacing the computer was not related to my study, I guessed that concem about this Web page project was a major incentive for the parents. In my reflexive journal, I wrote:
! [What I saw was the parent's desire for their children to be outstanding. If they could, they would give their children the best!]
In the second session, evaluating the four children's Web sites was the main activity. Mr. Wong visited these sites prior to this session, almost as soon as
1 sent the URLs to him by e-mail. He liked KayNet so much that he recommended it for Joey's first visit. The Wong family had a fervent discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of this Web page.
After viewing the four children's Web pages, Joey continued to develop his home page. Since Mr. Wong was not satisfied with the page's layout, 1 suggested using the Table function. It was time-consuming to arrange all the images into the locations Joey wanted. Although they did not complete placing the images, the time constraints forced us to end the second session. 152 A week later, we scheduled the third session. Because Mr. Wong was late getting home from work, we did not start exactly at seven. While I was waiting for Mr. Wong to change his clothes, Joey asked his father "Can I show Ah-yee my
Pikachu?" (JW, S3, #0). After getting his father s permission, he showed me a stuffed puppet Picachu (see the second page of Appendix L). It was so cute that I assumed it was a female. To Joey, it was a he. Therefore, we had an argument over Picachu's gender. "Why don t you write something about our fight on your
Web page? ", I suggested. The parents thought this was an excellent idea and encouraged Joey to develop his PikaPika page. When he finished the two paragraphs, I was impressed by his excellent writing. Suddenly, Joey asked me:
"If I can't find a good Pikachu Web site, can I make one for him?" (JW, S3,#l).
"Why not? ", 1 answered. The idea of developing a Pikachu Web site interested
Joey. When he came up with the idea of taking pictures of the Pikachu puppet from different angles on his own, he became enthusiastic. To him, using the digital camera to take pictures was the most interesting part of this activity
(JW-12). Joey ended the third session with great satisfaction.
Joey was busy with his baseball games and could not meet me until two weeks later. In the fourth session, he was tired and could not pay attention to polishing his Web pages because he had gone swimming in the afternoon. Mr.
Wong took over the mouse and worked on the Web pages with Mrs. Wong, when
Joey laid down on the couch. Our fourth session ended with Joey's falling asleep.
The fifth session was scheduled for two week later. This time Joey was energetic and alert. With his father's help, he tried to replace all the images copied from the Internet with his own photos and drawings. While he was working on the images, Mr. Wong suggested that Joey create Web pages in 153 Chinese. Joey said yes immediately. Since Joey was busy and it was hard for us to schedule another meeting, creating the Chinese Web page became a future goal.
When asked about the intention, Mr. Wong explained that they have many
Taiwanese relatives, who do not speak English. He sincerely hoped they could read Joey's Web site. Joey also told me his thoughts on this idea in our second interview;
Researcher: Why do you want to write in Chinese? Joey: It's a cultural thing... Researcher: What do you mean by culture? Joey: It is hard to explain (trying to find words to explain), hum... You know.. .hum.. It's a cultural thing... Researcher: Is it because you're a Chinese-American? Joey: (nodding his head) Hum.
Joey loved this project. When he knew the fifth meeting was my last visit, he cried. I was astonished by his reaction and suddenly did not know how to appease him After I promised to keep in touch with him no matter where 1 would be, he smiled through his tears. As a researcher, 1 was happy to know my participant enjoyed my study.
154 CHAPTERS
INTERPRETATION
Introduction
As a Taiwanese student studying in the United States, I began this study with the intention of finding out how Taiwanese-American parents facilitate their children's learning in computer activities—Web page design. The purpose of this chapter is to present the data analysis related to the following research questions:
Taiwanese-American parental attitudes, values, and teaching styles
1. What are these parents' attitudes toward computer technology, especially
the Web?
2. What roles and expectations do these parents assume with regard to their
children's use of the Web and development of Web pages?
3. How do these parents assist their children by using their educational and
social resources?
4. What teaching strategies and styles do these parents use?
5. How do these Taiwanese parents bring respect for their culture to these
interactions?
155 Taiwanese-American Children's experience of Web page development
6. W hat do these young children experience in designing their Web page with their parents?
7. What and how do these children select the content and plan to design their
Web page under parental facilitation?
8. How do these children respond to their parents' suggestions?
9. How do these children and parents attempt to solve problems coUaboratively?
Family culture toward learning and computers
10. W hat is the contribution of the home learning culture on the activity
involved in developing Web pages?
11. Has this activity changed the attitude of these parents and children toward
learning?
Conceptual Frame for Interpretation
My analysis begins from the dual perspective stated in Chapter One:
Vygotsky's idea of a "zone of proximal development " (ZPD) and the ideas of
Confucius. A Vygotskian perspective on learning does not assume that children wül naturally leam on their own. Instead, it assumes that children need someone more knowledgeable to plan and guide learning in an activity in order to reach their zone of proximal development. Since all the parents in my studies know
HTML or an HTML editor, there were regarded as more capable adults who could augment their young children's learning in the given Web development activity.
156 Bruner (1989) identified two important conditions that must be present for successful learning in the ZPD: the learner must be willing to try, and the mentor must provide a scaffold. All six Taiwanese-American learners respond positively to the computer and showed a desire to develop their Web pages. Noah even expressed his willingness, regardless of his mother's concem that he had many extra-curriculum activities. All the parents provided temporary and adjustable support, much as a scaffold precedes the building of a house. In order for the chüd to operate within his/her 23*0, he or she must be engaged in an instructional activity that is too difficult to perform independently and requires support by an adult (Dixon-Krauss, 1996). Although all six children had some previous experience with the Internet, not all of them had a clear understanding of what a Web page was. This Web activity was difficult for them to accomplish on their own. As to the participants' relationship, the mentor and the learner were partners in the process.
Handson and Lynch (1992) pointed out that we should not ignore the impact of the sociohistorical events on families. Since most of the parents in my study are Taiwanese immigrants, it is necessary to understand their cultural background. Many studies indicate that Chinese culture has been dominated by
Confucianism (Lin & Fu, 1990; Fong & W u, 1996; Miller, Yang and Chen, 1997).
Understanding Taiwanese-American families from a Confucius perspective assisted in analyzing the data from a lens which is compatible to a socio-cultural perspective since these Taiwanese parents were influenced by Confucianism. In addition, using a Confucius' perspective definitely helped me interpret the parental learning beliefs appropriately because Confucian thoughts have a strong influence on Chinese educational systems. 157 The Taiwanese>American Parents There are some similarities and differences among the background of the
eight participating parents, who are the main facilitators in this study. These
similarities and differences facilitated my grouping them into specific types of
parents, a feature that makes my study unique. Since demographic information
does not reveal their identities, an analysis of this information is included in order to present a clear picture of these parents.
Characteristics of the Main Facilitators
First, my adult participants can be regarded as "high-tech" persons. They all know one or more programming languages. Most of them are employed in fields related to computer technology. This characteristic is far beyond the basic criteria for the participants that I set up: the parents' knowledge of HTML or ability to use an HTML editor.
According to my observations of their home environment, these
Taiwanese-American parents are middle class or above in the mainstream of U.S. society. They match the Chinese immigrants described by the GALA repo rt (1995)
— "living in traditionally White suburban communities" and "have been better accepted by the American mainstream and are respected for their academic excellence and hard work" than other ethnic minorities (http://lark.cc.ukans. edu/~eastasia/calamwrg/ midwest951.html).
Second, they are highly educated. Four of the main facilitators completed their doctoral degree and one, the master's degree in the United States. The lowest degree earned by a facilitator is a bachelor's degree. These parents understand American educational beliefs well. To a certain degree, they are 158 influenced by the American culture. Some of them, as evidenced in their stories,
have even consciously tried to find a balance between traditional Chinese culture
and the mainstream culture, especially in education.
Third, they have been living in the United States for more than ten years.
All but three of the main facilitators immigrated from Taiwan as adults.
Therefore, they were raised in the Chinese culture in Taiwan. All the adult facilitators were bom after 1945. In the 1940s, Taiwan's economy shifted from agricultural to industrial. This shift changed Taiwanese society in terms of family living styles, parental roles, sex roles, and marriage patterns (Miller, Yang, &
Chen, 1997). Many traditional values such as girls should not be highly educated were challenged and continue to change. Generally speaking, parents from the
1940s to the 1950s, especially fathers, were busy with making money. Possibly due to their busy schedule, working parents did not spend much time in helping with children's schoolwork and in working on the parent-child relationship.
There is a definite difference in this aspect of parenting among my participants. Because their parents were so busy making money, it is possible that when they become parents, they wanted to have time with their children._Mr.
Kan expressed that when he was growing up, his father had had no idea of his age or his grade level (AK-12). Therefore, when 1 asked the parents to compare the relationship that exists between them and their children, they responded unanimously that they are closer to their children.
Fourth, they are capable of assuming the mentor's role in supporting learning with the ZPD. Bodrova (1996) uses the term "teaching/learning" (p.39) to describe both a child's learning and the mentor's teaching of knowledge and
159 skills within the ZPD. In Chapter Four, many episodes echo what she lists as
three key elements to the mentor's role in supporting learning with the ZPD:
1. The mentor mediates or augments the child's learning. All the main
facilitators in this study provided support for the child through social
interaction as they cooperatively build bridges of awareness, understanding,
and competence. Mrs. Cain's leading discussion in Episode 8 corresponds to
this element.
2. The mentor's mediation role is flexible. What the facilitator says or does
depends on feedback from the child while they were actually engaged in the
learning activity. Mr. Kan occasionally switched his roles between a
facilitator and a playmate (see Episode 2). Mr. Lee also changed his leader's
role to a helper role in order to help Esther improve her Web pages in the fifth
session.
3. The mentor focuses on the amount of support needed. The facilitator's
support ranges from vary explicit directives to vague hints. In Episode 14
and 15, Mrs. Chin adjusted the amount of her support with Jessica's need.
Despite the similarities stated above, the parents in my study are a unique group. They do not represent most Taiwanese-American in the United States.
The polarity is extreme for Chinese Americans in age, country of origin, current geographical area of residence (Park, 1990). Applying their experience requires great caution in order to avoid the over simplification of the "model minority."
Attitudes toward the Web There has been considerable debate regarding the appropriateness of the use of computers by young children. While the debate continues to a lesser 160 degree, new concerns over the use of the Internet have become fervent. The free nature in which. Web sites can be accessed and published means that children can be confronted with chaos and real dangers.
In Vygotsky's work, he wrote about the participants' relationship.
However, he did not detail what attitude toward the activity the mentor is supposed to have in order to augments the child's learning. It might be generally assumed that the mentor has a positive attitude toward the engaging activity.
Parental concerns over issues of Internet safety makes it important to examine the mentor's attitude toward this technology. Additionally, parental attitude toward the Web might influence the child's attitude.
In the six cases, the parents' attitudes toward the Web are different to some degree. Additionally, although they were all concerned about the Internet safety issue, they had different approaches to deal with this concern. Jackie and Joey's parents had positive attitude toward the Web and encouraged their children to use it appropriately. They regarded Web page development as a beneficial multi-media activity that would help their children apply their learning holistically. As to the safety issue, they chose to educate their children to clearly understand the Web in order to protect themselves, and did not allow their children on the Internet without parental supervision.
Abby's father and Noah's mother held almost neutral attitudes toward the
Web and did not discourage their children from using this technology. To some degree, they liked having their children use the Web. Mr. Kan thinks that using the Internet as an information tool is a have-to-know skill for his daughter. He and his wife always accompanied Abby when she searches data on the Internet.
Mrs. Thomas allowed Noah to be on the Internet without the parental supervision, 161 even though she has a negative attitude toward the Web. Both of these two parents did not initiate the Internet safety discussion because they had informed their children about this issue before my study started.
Mrs. Chin and Mr. Lee had negative attitudes toward the Web and did not often encourage their children to use it at this young age. However, their attitude did not stop them from participating in my study because they regarded this Web development project as a learning activity. This motivated them to serve as mentors in spite of conflicting feelings about exposing their children to the Web.
Although they were concerned about safety on the Internet, they did not want their children to miss this opportunity to gain technological skills. They seemed to choose to "protect" their children by restricting use of the Internet to times when their use could be supervised. How much did Jessica and Esther know about the Internet safety? These two parents did not initiate any discussion to explore their children's understanding of this issue. Did they restrict the use of the Internet rather than discussing Internet safety because they did not think that at seven years of age, their children could differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate Web sites?
There seemed to be a relationship between the parents' personal attitude toward the Web and the way in which they served as facilitators. The more positive attitude the parent had the more enjoyment the parent(s) and the children displayed during the Web design process. Jackie and Joey's parents not only facilitated their children's learning but also enjoyed themselves during the design and construction process. Mrs. Cain's comment reflected this attitude: "I tried to assist but I feel, actually I was learning myself." (JC-I2). On the other hand, the other parents considered this Web activity as a task for their children. 162 They were concerned more about the children's learning and ignored their own learning and enjoyment in this activity. Mr. Lee was an example. By insisting that Esther understand the importance of incorporating the image, he unconsciously created a tension in their interaction.
Roles, Expectation, Cultural Values, and Resource Supports
All six parents thought they were the facilitators, although during the Web project some of them found they were learners too. Some parents were firmly entrenched in the facilitator role as evidenced by the fact that they allowed the children to control the mouse most of the time. This phenomenon reveals that these parents' tried to develop the children's independence. The parents of Jackie and Joey, and Esther's fathers encouraged the children to show their creativity and independence by continually reminding them: "This is your page!"
Before my data collection, I worried that these Taiwanese parents might be concerned about the "face" issue, that parents might try to present everything in the home and family as perfect in order to show themselves at their best. This would have caused them to direct their children to develop elaborate Web pages.
To my surprise, except for Joey's father who was concerned with helping his son make a nice-looking table, none of the other parents pushed their children to make Web pages. It may be that as they have lived in the United States for more than ten years, their acculturation into American society has lessened their need to "save face." In Abby's sessions, Mr. Kan did not delete her errors or ask Abby to move the FrontPage instructional sentences. Jackie's father's talk may best reflect their facilitator's attitudes: "We let him do most of it. 1 didn't expect him to do an elaborate Web page. " (JC-I2). 163 The results of many of the studies conducted in the 1980s reported Chinese parents as less likely to encourage independence in their children than American
parents (King & Bond, 1985; Garfinkel & Sharyl, 1982; Peterson, 1983). Lin and Fu
(1990) compared the differences and similarities in child-rearing practices among
Chinese, immigrant Chinese, and Caucasian-American parents, and found that
Chinese and immigrant Chinese parents tended to have higher ratings than
Caucasian-American parents on parental control. Since these studies used a quantitative approach and dealt with the comparison of different ethnic groups, it is hard for me to make a connection between their findings and my study.
According to my observation, the Taiwanese-American parents in my study tended to encourage their children s independence by giving less control and more guidance. What reasons made these parents think developing independence is important? Possibly this is because they had studied in the
American higher academic environment or because of their long stay in the United States.
Findings from many research studies have consistently reported that
Chinese immigrant parents have high expectations of their children's performance in school (Yao, 1985; Lin & Fu, 1990). This high educational expectation usually is interpreted to result from a basic tenet of Confucianism: a good education will eventually offer a good living and people can always be improved by consistent effort (Zhang & Carrasquillo, 1992). Most of the research exploring the Chinese immigrants' parental expectation on their children's academic performance do not mentioned their expectation on children's other learning activities.
164 In my six cases, I found that Taiwanese-American parents, to a certain
degree, have high educational expectations of their children'”s performance not
only in school but also in any learning activity. All six parents' explanations of
the ways in which they assist their children with homework, extra-curricular
activities, and this Web project were similar. They all tried to assist their children
to have new learning experience. Although the Web project was an extra-curricular activity, Abby's father, Esther's father, Jackie's mother and Joey's parents highly valued it and asked their children to regularly work in their journals. Noah's mother encouraged Noah to do as much as he could, when
Noah wanted to quit this project. From these five parents' facilitation, I found that they tried not only to give their children a learning opportunity but also to educate their children to highly value learning. Jessica's mother was the only parent who did not present positive or negative indications of how she valued this project. She was active in facilitating Jessica to develop her Web pages but did not encourage her to keep her working journal. In a discussion at the end of the project she revealed that she seldom assigned her daughter to do homework except for the CCA homework.
The parents used their educational or social resources to assist their children's Web development. Abby's father applied his professional experiences to choose the HTML editor and design the curriculum for his daughter. Esther's father used both his teaching experience and teacher training to assist his daughter in developing her abilities in evaluating and developing a Web page. In order to provide Jessica with a clear understanding of Web design, Mrs. Chin showed her daughter the personal Web pages that she had designed for her job.
165 Mr. Cain, the Web master of the CCA, used his experiences of designing the Web
site of the CCA to guide Jackie's design.
Besides the resources stated above, I would like to know whether and how
my participants use the resources in the Chinese American community such as
CCA for this Web project. Communities are an important source of support and
resources for families. According to my description in Chapter four, CCA is not
only an institution but also a place creating a sense of community.
Moll and G reenberg (1990) proposed a term "funds of know ledge" as an
"operations manual of essential information and strategies households need to
m aintain their well being" (p. 323). They believed that housholds' funds of
knowledge are wide-ranging and abundant in home life and in the community. If
a family is a Moll and Greeberg's called "fund of knowledge", CCA is definitely a
place to "exchange fund of knowledge." However, 1 did not find that any parents
use any resources in the Chinese community or tried to exchange fund of
knowledge. This was especially true of those participants highly involved into
this community such as Jessica's mother, Jackie's parents and Noah's mother.
This Web activity was relatively isolated, something that happened only in the
family.
Children's Responses to the Parental Suggestion
Lung and Sue (1997) pointed out that at an early age Chinese American children are taught a set of normative behaviors characterized by impulse control, emotional restraint, strict discipline, and obedience to authority figures. In terms of parental authority figures, 1 did not find these behaviors among my participants. In Abby's family, 1 did not see the traditional Chinese father's 166 authority exhibited by Mr. Kan. On the contrary, I saw a father wanting to be his daughter playmate (see Episode 3 in Chapter Four). In order to help Esther to understand the design concepts, Mr. Lee asked her to "do him a favor", and encouraged her to critique some of his ideas.
Filial piety indicates how children behave toward parents, how younger people behave toward elders, and how family members behave toward one another (Shon & Ja, 1982). To Confucius, filial piety is an important value based on hierarchical relationships. He saw filial piety as the first step toward moral excellence. However, the notion of filial piety seemed missing in Abby, Noah and
Jessica's family (see Episode 6, Noah's fourth session, and Episodel4 in Chapter
Four). They felt firee to disagree with their parents, even going so far as to almost yell at their mothers to show their disagreements. Why did these three Taiwanese parents (one father and two mothers) allow their children to be impolite to them?
Do they think the notion of filied piety is not appropriate for second-generation
Chinese Americans? Or did they tolerate their behavior because of their children's young age?
Facilitating Styles and Problem Solving
Huntsinger and Jose (1995) audiotaped interactions of 24 first-generation
Chinese American and 26 Caucasian-American mother-father-daughter triads while the fifth-and sixth-grade girls solved a computer-presented spatial rotation puzzle. They found that the Chinese-American triads were quieter, more respectful, more serious, and more orderly, whereas Caucasian-American triads were more sociable, more likely to use humor, more talkative, and more interactionally complex. In Huntsinger and Jose's study, since all the 167 Chinese-American triads spoke in English that is the Chinese parents' second language, I wondered whether the use of English might have limited these parents' social expression. Therefore, in my study, except for Noah, I allowed the participants (children and adults) to use whatever language they wanted. Noah's was an exception because his mother requested that I speak to him in Mandarin in order to help improve his Mandarin.
I found, however, that the Taiwanese-American parents' teaching styles were more task-oriented. AU their topics of conversation were related to this project (see Episodes in Chapter four). They were talkative but seldom used humor. Although Jessica's mother believes that learning is supposed to be fun, the way she facilitated Jessica was quiet and task oriented. Interestingly,
Huntsinger and Jose's finding were evident in Jackie's home. Mr. Cain showed his sense of humor in the interactions. In contrast with Mrs. Cain's serious attitude, Mr. Cain was more humorous. Are the Taiwanese-American parents more respectful and more serious as Huntsinger and Jose pointed out? Or was this due to the grade levels of the children involved in my study?
During the Web session, most of questions or problems that the children usuaUy initiated were related to procedures such as "How to insert the picture?" or "How can I go back?" This may have been because the parents are computer experts or because the procedures were too complicated for these young children to remember. Whenever the children asked technical questions, the parents always gave the children the direct answers without guiding or helping them to remember the procedures. In terms of problem solving, the parents failed to develop the children's "self-regulation performance " positing that a child can plan, guide, and monitor his or her behavior from within and flexibly according 168 to changing circumstances (Diaz, Neal, & Amaya-Williams, 1990). W hen the parents helped the children solve problems, they tended to use "the other-regulated performance" referring to a child's activity that comes under another person's control. It was interesting to see that all the parents had the same problem solving styles. What surprised me was that in guiding their children to work on their Web pages, m ost of the parents tended to help the children to acquire " the self-regulation performance" (see Episode 8,11,14, and
21 in Chapter four). Does this mean 1 that most of the parents think learning the procedures did not contribute to their children independent thinking?
Chinese Cultural Values
Cultural values are a major factor in influencing people to characteristic ways of perceiving, thinking, feeling and behaving. Some Chinese traditional cultural values were evident in the parent-child interactions. For example, most of the parents instructed their children to call me Ah-yee instead of my first name.
Joey's father, Esther's father, Jackie's mother, and Noah's mother insisted that their children greet me immediately whenever they saw me. Their insistence was based on the tenet of Confucius: Respect the elder (Chan, 1998). Additionally, it is obvious that some of the parents brought the value of respecting teacher that is grounded in Confucianism into the interaction with me. As 1 wrote in my journal,
Jackie's parents showed me, as a teacher, a lot of respect. 1 found the same high regard for me as a teacher with the Lee, Thomas, and Wong femilies.
When Mr. Lee talked to Esther in private when she was uncooperative in my second interview (see the seventh session of Esther Lee in Chapter four), I seemed to see Mr. Lee trying to adopt the Confucius' notion of Chun-tzu in this 169 incident. Did he try to adopt this notion? Or did he just want to discipline Esther to be polite? The way Mr. Lee educated Esther is popular in Taiwan, however, I did not see the same behaviors happened in the other families. Is the Confucius' notion of Chun-tzu accepted or dying in these Taiwanese-American families?
Mr. Wong, in proposing to design the Chinese-version Web page, impressed me with his reverence for his home country. In Episode 21 of Chapter four, when guiding Joey to work on his draft, Mr. Wong reminded Joey of his cousin living in Taiwan. Mr. Wong's cultural connections seemed to influence
Joey. From the answer Joey presented in my second interview, he thought, "It's a cultural thing" to design a Web page written in Chinese. During Noah's Web session, Mrs. Thomas' request that 1 speak Mandarin to Noah no matter how much he understood and what reaction he displayed impressed me. Although she was married to a Caucasian American, she has educated Noah to be proud of being a Chinese American.
The Taiwanese-American Children
The focus in this study is in attempting to understand how young children leam to use new computer tools to design their Web pages under parental assistance. My emphasis is on the children's learning processes and the parents' facilitation styles instead of highlighting the final production— children's Web pages. Therefore, 1 gave all the children and the parents an opportunity to decide what and how they wanted to develop the Web pages. Although I gave them the
URLs of four children's Web sites, I did not require that they evaluate them in a certain Web session or use them as a criterion. There was no standard curriculum or required content for the children or the parents. 170 All six children told me in the second interview that they liked this project, although they were frustrated by complicated procedures, technical difficulties or keyboarding. Abby thought this project was "more fun than I expected" (AK-12).
Jackie kept talking to his parents and me about his future plans for revisions. Joey even cried when he was told that I would not be coming to help him again. Esther expressed a desire to revise her demographic information. However, not all of them wanted to continue to work on their pages. While Jessica loved her kitty page and Noah liked this project pretty much and loved his "weird" page, both expressed a desire to be finished with the project. Noah, shaking his head to indicate "No", told me that "I did it without you and I will never known about it."(NT-I2). He did not think his parents would help him continue to develop his
Web site. Jessica refused to continue since " I have no idea what to do next."
(JCH-I2).
Content Organization and Selection
Four children—Esther, Noah, Joey, and Jackie, planned the content of their page before they started to develop them. Before becoming familiar with the
HTML editor, the three boys drew a skeleton map in their working journal. Their maps showed the structure of their proposed home page hierarchically. Since
Joey and Jackie were third graders and had had many experiences in working on projects, organizing the content was not a difficult task for them. Joey completed his draft with the aid of his father's hints. After a discussion with his mother,
Jackie came up with his drafts quickly on his own. By being exposed to the Web all the time, Noah, a second grader, had the same concept too. Moreover, he was the only child who completed his draft without the parental help. 171 Esther was the only one of three girls that worked on her draft. Before the
Web project, she had not had any experience in drafting plans or organizing content. After seeing her father's example, however, she developed the concept and had no problem developing a plan for her own Web page. Jessica did not have the concept of making plans either, however, she got a rough picture of what a Web page was by looking at her mother's pages. Unfortunately, Jessica's mother also did not give her a chance to develop her ability to organize the content of her pages. A similar situation happened with Abby. By starting out clicking on the Navigation View of FrontPage, she missed a chance to leam how to organize a page.
My research assumption about children's ability was that children aged seven or above could organize content under a capable adult's help. From observations of the four children working on their drafts, I believe that this ability can be developed at an age earlier than seven years old. Joey and Jackie have been working on school projects under their parents' facilitation since they were in the first grade. Noah has been exposed to educational games under his parents' supervision and with their encouragement since he was around two.
Esther's performance supports my assumption. To a seven-year-old novice, seeing a given example was a good way to help her understand a concept. All of the parents gave the children the freedom to select the content of their pages, but cued and advised them. Except for Jackie's father, all the parents thought the information on a personal Web site should be based on the designer's self-introduction, possibly from visiting the four children's Web sites. Based on this assumption, they suggested that the children present his or her personal data.
172 Actually, a personal Web page can serve many purposes. The notion of the children as publishers is not new and has traditionally been seen in more conventional forms, such as book reports or class presentation (Carvin, 1996).
Jackie and Joey figured out the role of being a publisher while presenting their favorite cartoon creatures on their Web pages. This finding excited, interested, and motivated them to develop more with their Web pages. To Noah, a personal
Web page serves an entertainment purpose and it is supposed to be fun. The design of his interactive weird page “cause it's funny to be weird and I am a funny guy"(NT-I2) exemplifies this. Abby did not have as much freedom of content selection as the other children did since she used the template. Basically, she followed the instructional sentences written by FrontPage to present her interests, to select her photos, and to list her favorite links. Using the template enabled her to create a nice-looking page in a short period. However, it did not allow Abby to show her creativity. Regretfully, Abby and her father did not notice this limitation and were proud of her pages. According to my observations, I found that there is a relationship between the facilitator's assumption on the children's capability and the children's learning opportunity. In another words, the facilitator's belief limited or augmented the child's chances to reach his or her zone of proximal development.
The parents of Esther, Jackie, Noah and Joey noted above believed their children could complete the task, and wanted them to try. Because of the parental encouragement and assistance, the children had a chance to extend their learning abilities. Noah was a distinctive example. Because of Mrs. Thomas' traditional cultural background, she highly respects learning and has a high expectation of
Noah's academic performance. At the same time, she believes that parents 173 should assist their child's learning. Therefore, she used any available chances to facilitate Noah's learning in order to extend his knowledge. This may be the reason that Noah, a second grader, has the fifth-grade reading ability. Mrs.
Thomas seemed to show me a belief linking Confucius' learning values and
Vygotsky's idea of zone of proximal development. On the other hand, Jessica's mother thought that her seven-year-old daughter was too young to develop Web pages, while Abby's father just wanted his eight-year-old daughter to have a beginning experience. Neither of these two parents offered their children a chance to extend their ability in this project. Did they have sufficient understanding of how much such young children could do? Or they did not believe that their daughters could do? Based on my field observations, 1 believe that Abby and Jessica had the ability to better organize the content of their Web pages.
The same relationship between the facilitator's assumption on the children's capability and the children's learning opportunity applied to the facilitator's understanding of the Web's features and Web design. The adults' predominating notion was a factor resulted in limiting the opportunity of the children's creativity development. Although these Taiwanese facilitators are
"high-tech" persons, it did not mean that they completely understood how to use the Web as a publication tool. It should not be assumed that the computer professionals do not need supports in terms of Web development knowledge.
The Use of the HTML Editor Web development involves learning technical skills, ranging from pictures editing to combining images and text to communicate a message. To the children, 174 therefore, learning how to use the HTML editor was an important step. By using the editor, they could easily build a Web page to present their ideas. Since Abby used an HTML editor different from what the other children used, I discuss her performance individually. The five children who used Claris Home Page found it to be an easy editor, although it was a new tool to them. By talking with their parents, they became familiar with some of the basic functions of the editor such as selecting the Web page's background color, inserting a graphic, and changing the color and size of fonts. Noah was the only child who figured out how to use the application on his own and used an advance function such as interactive form.
The idea of "linking related information" is the basis for hypertext documents (Marsh & Kumar, 1992). Linking allows the Web developer to present several different paths for the reader to select. By parental demonstration or explanation, the children imderstood that they could "jump to" a target site or a specific Web page after creating a link. Although the parents introduced the concept of linking, they did not encourage their children to explore with them the dynamic feature of the hypertext: allowing the designer to create a non-linear publication environment by linking. AU their links were either forward to a page or backward to the home page. Therefore, the children pages were designed in a static way that is little different in principle from the pages of a newspaper or magazine (Doherty, 1998, p. 61). The page-and-book way of thinking about a
Web site seemed to influence their Web page design heavily (Ohl and Cates,
1997).
175 Three functions confused the children: Edit Page mode. Preview Page mode, and the mode of Preview In Browser^o. After operating these functions several times, they tended to give up using the "Preview Page" mode. From trial and error, they generalized the principle of using the "Preview in Browser" function to examine their pages. The ability to problem solve was enhanced in the process of learning.
Abby's experience was unique since she was the only child to use the template. Most of the time, she followed her father's verbal instruction to operate functions. Her father kept telling her what to do without any explanation. 1 do not know whether Abby will be able to use the function when she works on her own.
Presentation and Publication
A Web page may present segments of text as well as graphics, audio, and video. These multimedia features make the Web a powerful presentation medium. All the children used bullets, pictures, drawing, or photos to enrich their Web pages. They enjoyed the experience of working with the images very much. The descriptive text was written after the drawing, and generally had a direct relationship with the pictures. The children seemed to be visually oriented designers. Using the images obviously brought them more fun than typing the
50 As the user creates a Web page in Edit Page mode, Claris Home Page inserts the HTML tags for you. This program provides two ways to preview a page as the user is designing it The user can use Preview Page mode to display a page in Claris Home Page as it might appear in a browser. And the user can use Preview in Browser mode to display a page in one or two browsers set up on the user's computer. To use this mode, the user does not need to be connected to the Web. 176 text. This might be due either to the children's young age, poor keyboarding
skills or their access to home computer equipment.
The limited ability to keyboard may have decreased their motivation to
integrate the text or to publish their ideas. Jessica did not want to put her "the
Chinese N ew Year" article on her Web pages because she d id not like
keyboarding. In order to avoid any keyboarding, Jessica drew pictures. When
Noah developed his "1 am a hero" page, Mrs. Thomas helped him type the story
he had written in his working journal. Although most of the children were capable of keyboarding, they seemed to feel more comfortable with handwriting.
The availability of computer accessories might have served as a factor
influencing the children's integration of multimedia. The presence of a scanner or a digital camera might have encouraged the children to create their own artwork.
Abby, Jackie and Joey had a good time in inserting their drawings and photos because they had the equipment to fulfill their needs. Three of the children did not have easy access to a scanner or digital camera. Jessica inserted a picture she drew on the computer using Microsoft Paint. Although Esther and Noah looked at images on Web pages created by other children, they did not show any desire to place pictures on their Web pages.
Interestingly, none of the children incorporated sound. Was this because no family has sound recording and producing equipment for the children to use?
Was it because the children were not introduced to incorporated sound? Or is it because the parents were concerned that technical limitations such as using sound would slow the download speed? As to the video clip, only Jackie mentioned it when he wanted to show the video of Pokemon's fights. Joey was the only child who had Chinese word processing software at home. This may have contributed 177 to the ease with which he accepted his fether'^s suggestion of using two languages
(English and Chinese).
Publishing on the Internet could serve as a motivation to the children for
learning. The four children who wanted to post their pages on the Web cared
more about their hnal outcomes than the two who did not. Web page production
was also a chance for the children and their parents to discuss and demonstrate a
respect for copyright. The children were encouraged to create their own
drawings and photographs for their pages instead of scanning the existing
products. They were all proud of themselves when they first looked at their
pages on the Internet. They copied the URL and told friends to visit their Web
sites.
All the boys showed a willingness to publish their pages when they first
agreed to participate in my study. Their parents supported their decision.
Contrarily, the three girls did not think about publication on the Internet. Esther
said, "Yes" when I asked her in the fourth session. When I asked Abby's father
and Jessica's mother whether they wanted to publish their daughter's Web pages,
they said no almost immediately. Mrs. Chin explained to me that she preferred to
choose a "conservative" approach to deal with the Internet safety (JC-S2, #0). Mr.
Kan also expressed concern about his daughter being hurt neither. If their
children were boys, would Mr. Kan and Mrs. Chin have allowed them to publish
their Web pages? Do Taiwanese parents protect their children differently in
terms of gender? It was hard for me to generalize a relationship between gender
differences and the willingness of Web publication because Esther's father did not
prohibit Esther firom publishing her Web pages. He did not even care if their family name showed in Esther's homepage because he felt that if someone was 178 going to harm his family there are multiple ways other than Other's Web pages for them to obtain the information (EL-S6, #0).
Family Culture toward Learning and Computers In the six stories 1 presented in Chapter Four, all the parents obviously have a close relationship with their children. They know their children in multiple aspects such as their academic performances, characteristics and personalities. By this unique computer activity, I made a close examination of the participants' basic family values toward learning.
Parental Definitions of Learning
Learning in the family context proceeds so unconsciously that parents might ignore its existence. When asked to talk about their definition of learning, some of the parents could not state it clearly. Abby's father replied me immediately that he has never thought of it, and took a while to come up with the definition that it "is to leam something new" (AK-12). Jessica's mother explained,
"Learning is supposed to have fu n " (JCH-12). Except for N oah's m other w ho distinguished between the definitions of "learning" and "application", generally speaking the other parents defined learning as to leam new knowledge.
Additionally, when talking of learning, most of parents seemed to make a comparison between Taiwanese and American educational approaches. Noah's mother, Jackie's parents, and Joey's parents liked the American ways more. They talked about their efforts to adopt American approaches in order to raise their second-generation Taiwanese-American children. Esther's parents were the only
179 parents to advocate the value of reciting knowledge. No matter how they defined learning, they applied the definition into their Web design facilitation.
Parental Values of Learning
All the parents in my study highly value this Web activity. Although
Jessica's mother and Esther's father were negative to the Web, they still wanted to participate in this learning activity. Most of the parents had a very busy schedule, but they still wanted to spend time in meeting weekly for my study. In many
Web sessions, Mrs. Cain, Mr. Wong and Mr. Lee just came back from work half an hour early for the sessions.
According to the literature review stated in Chapter Two,
Chinese-American parents have a high expectation of their children's academic performance. They have a tendency to emphasize school works more than informal learning activities. However, all the parents explained that there is no difference in the way they facilitated their children's academic activities, extra-curricula activities, computer-leaming activities, and the Web development project. The six families valued informal learning activities as high as they valued formal school activities. This Web design activity did not change their attitude toward learning. The only change was Mrs. Chin's attitude toward learning keyboarding.
The Control of Learning in the Web Activity
Bruner (1986) describes traditional pedagogy as "a transmission of knowledge and values" (p. 123) from the experts to those who know less. Joyce
(1992) describes hypertext as a new pedagogy that fosters a "reciprocal 180 relationship" (p. 9) among teachers and students. Among these parents as
teachers, I found the pedagogy Joyce described existing in Noah, Jessica, and
Jackie's interactions with their parents. The three children decided what to do and led the learning process. Parents became helpers. In contrast to these three children, the other three - Abby, Esther, and Joey's fathers - used the traditional pedagogy to guide them. In augmenting their children's ZPD, Abby, Esther, and
Joey's fathers seemed more objective-oriented. Although the parents claimed
"This is your page!" to the children, most of the time the parents decided what to leam or even insisted on what to leam. Other-regulation performance was often seen in their interaction. On the other hand, Noah, Jessica, and Jackie's mothers seemed not demonstrate as much control on their children's learning. They were more willing to give suggestions or initiate discussions. This difference may be due to the gender differences of the facilitators.
It is believed that learning and teaching with hypertext will make teachers and students rethink the hierarchical structure of teachers and learners, and the power relationship between them. Some studies supported this assertion and reported that some instructors' roles were somewhat changed (Tommey and
Ketterer's, 1995). In the family context, however, these Taiwanese parents' beliefs seem very strong and hard to change. Based on their familiarity of the Web, these parents have a critical awareness of this technology. To some parents, this awareness seems to become a hindrance in sensing a need for a change of the power relationship in the learning process. This Web activity may offer these families to examine their family learning culture. However, 1 do not think using hypertextual activity is a guarantee that they will give more control of learning to their children. Three parents gave their children authority to decide their 181 learning because of the parental beliefs rather than the parameters of teaching with hypertext. To these Taiwanese "high-tech" parents, giving them more opportunities to reveal their parental beliefs and to examine their parental facilitating styles may be necessary if we want to induce changes.
182 CHAPTERS
REFLECTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
Introduction
This study was about the experience of highly educated
Taiwanese-American parents facilitating their children in Web development.
Since there has been a debate regarding the appropriateness of young children's use of the computer, I hope to gain some sense as to how these
Taiwanese-American parents think and use the Web - an emerging technology, and how these young children build their Web pages. Based on my fixed criteria detailed in Chapter three, I came up with having a group of "high-tech" group of
Taiwanese immigrant parents to study. I used a variety of data collection methods such as a grounded survey, interviews, personal journals, participant observation, and video-and audiotaping to gain an understanding of:
■ the parents' comments and critiques toward the popular electronic tool,
■ the ways in which these parents could facilitate Web development,
■ these young children's capability of Web design—what they could do and
could not do. Being a student in Cultural Studies in the School of Education has made me more sensitive to the family culture of using m odem communication technology.
183 Reflections on the Study Whether in Western or Eastern society, the family is regarded as a
"mysterious" place that is hard for researchers to explore, and collect family
natural interaction. This could have been especially true with my participants
who were raised in a Taiwanese-Chinese culture that is concerned with the "face"
issue. To Chinese, revealing negative aspects of the family situation is considered
to lose face. Therefore, before starting my data collection, I worried that these
Chinese parents would behave politically placing emphasis on the development
of an elaborate Web page rather than on facilitating their children. As a
qualitative researcher, I did not want my young participants to be under much
stress. After I repeatedly explained to the parents that the emphasis of the study
was their facilitation, I was happy to see most of them positioning themselves as.
During my data collection, I struggled with methodological considerations.
Being trained by behaviorism, I was anxious to see my study from a different
perspective. By keeping my reflexive journal, 1 was to see my emotional
involvement with the participants and the effort it often took to stand outside the activities and be just an observer. I think this was made more difficult by the fact
that 1 am far from my home and yet, while doing the observations, was surrounded by aspects of the Taiwanese family that were like home to me.
Although 1 am still fighting with my struggles, I have learned how to conduct a qualitative research study and appreciate the contribution of both qualitative and quantitative researching approaches. In addition, I was not an expert in using participant observations, even though I had gained some research experiences in my pilot study. Therefore, adjusting the degrees of participation became my big concern. In addition, the researcher roles I played were so diverse that they went 184 beyond my expectation. Learning by doing could describe my adjustment during
the data collection stage.
Selecting the private residences as the research sites was definitely a
challenge to me—a novice qualitative researcher. As I stated in Chapter One, I
missed some valuable data because I could not be present except during formal
sessions. Although the parents described to me their important family events, I
was concerned that my data would be insufficient. In order to make up for this
limitation, I used the electronic mail and telephone conversations to contact the
parents and the children outside my visits. This concern forced me to develop my
research sensitivity and analysis skills that will be the strong basis for my future
qualitative studies. In addition, the length of time spent at the research sites was a
concern. With the busy schedules of my participants, I had to limit my
observations to sessions that lasted two or three hours. This prevented me from
exploring the home culture more and from spending more time talking with the
parents and the children about their development experiences.
Because of my participants' cultural background, 1 grounded my dual
perspective in order to understand their parental values toward learning and
teaching in a shared activity. There are some similarities between Vygotsky and
Confucius. They both believe that learning exists in the social context. Confucius
demanded his students have a willingness to leam whereas Vygotsky implicated
that the learner must be willing to try before the mentor facilitate him or her.
Along with my data analysis, I found that the notion of the ZFD merging into the
ideas of Confucius became my new perspective. By seeing through this research
lens, I also found that combining the Vygotsky's ZPD and Confucius' ideas creates potential learning benefit in the Thomas family. 185 Suggestions for the Future Practice The major findings of the study were stated in Chapter Five. Many researchers claimed that many negative factors found in academic settings such as competition and teacher-paced learning may not be present in the family context. In my six cases, the negative factors indicated above were not found.
Some positive factors such as approval, reassurance, patience, and personal concern were often found. Some of the Taiwanese parents believed that parents are more appropriate than school teachers to facilitate their young children in developing personal Web pages. As Mr. Cain commented.
If it is a personal Web page, creating at home will be a good idea because we can give him ideas. We know more about his personal experiences than teachers do. Teachers know more about school stuff. But that's not the sam e (JC-I2).
As Papert (1996) stated, that computer learning experiences give the family a chance to become more aware of its learning cultures. My findings echo his assertion and found that Web development is a good family activity. Home computer activities can teach children to think independently, make critical judgments, and exercise more control over their learning process. With the popularity of the Web, 1 recommend that parents to consider this activity as a family project.
My findings also revealed that it is necessary to make a home-school connection. Although my adult participants are experts in computer technology, and some of them have Web design experiences, they were not all effective in
186 facilitating their children. Therefore, I suggest that the school could provide the necessary human and pedagogical support to parents.
As children become increasingly web literate, it is important that parents
also receive adequate training and support to become confident computer users
and to exploit the full potential of the Web for learning. They should not feel as if
they have been "seduced and abandoned"(Schall & Skeele, 1995). As computers
link home and school, they can increase family involvement in children's
educational lives. Families committed to education shape positive attitudes about
the value of learning and take a more active role in their children's education. If
educators fail to exploit the fuU power of the computer as an instrument of
learning, they will relegate it to a limited and limiting technological coexistence
with less flexible educational tools. However, if the Web is integrated into the
curriculum, the learning environment can expand, as families and educators use
the technology to bridge the gap between home and school.
The broader questions for future research and deliberation are divided into
two sets. The first set of questions focuses on young children's learning and
Internet activities in different ethnic groups. In terms of family learning culture,
is the culture very different in different subgroups? What is the relationship
between the parental attitude and facilitation styles? What is the interaction
between young children and parents? How does learning occur in these
interactions?
The second set of questions explores making a home-school connection.
How could teachers, parents, and students build a community of learners by using the Internet? How could teachers and parents cooperate to assist young children's learning through Web activities? How could schools offer adequate 187 training and support for parents in facilitating strategies and parenting skills?
How could parents, especially so-called high-tech parents, help schools?
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200 APPENDIX A
GROUNDED SURVEY
201 Hello! AAy name is Yu-Lin Fang. I am a Ph.D. student at the Ohio State University and interested in knowing your experience o f using the Internet. Here are some questions I would like to know. If you do not want to answer these questions, you could stop anytime you wont. Thank you I______
Tell Me More about Youl
Name:______
1. Are you a girl or a boy?. 2. How old o re you? _____ 3. What is the name of your school? 4. What is your grade? ______5. What is (arc) your favorite subject(s) in school? ______6. How do you feel about learning Math? (Please circle one.) I hate it. I don't like it. I don't care. I like it. I love it. 7. How do you feel about learning Chinese? (Please circle one.) I hate it. I don't like it. I don't care. I like it. I love it. 8. Hove you ever been to the following countries? (Please circle how many apply.) Taiwan China Hong-Kong Singapore None of them
Tell Me More abw it Your Familyl
9. What does your father do? ___ 10. Where does your father come from? (Please circle one.) Taiwan China Hong-Kong Others, please write _ 11. What does your mother do? ______
202 12. Where does your mother come from? (Please circle one.) Taiwan China HongKong O thers, please w rite ______13. How many children are there in your family? One Two Three More than three
Let Me Know Your Computer Experience!
14. Do you use computers? I f "Yes", follow this arrow. I f "No", go to Question 15.
A. Do you hove a computer at home? (Please circle one.) No, I do not. Yes, I hove one. Yes, I have more than one.
6. How many times did you use the computer In a week? (Please circle one.) Once Twice Three times More than three times
C. When you were using computers, you were Alone or/and with (Please circle how many apply.) Father Mother Brother(s) Sister(s) Teachers Friends
At (Please circle how many apply.) Home School Library Friend's house
For (Please circle how many apply.) Playing games Reading stories/information Typing homework Printing pictures Learning and Practicing Others, please write ______
D. How does your father feel about you using computers? (Please circle one.) He hates it. He doesn't like it. He doesn't care. He likes it. He loves it.
203 E. How does your mother feel about you using computers?(Please circle one.) She hates it. She doesn't like it. She doesn't core. She likes it. She loves it.
F. How do your teachers feel about you using computers?(Please circle one.) They hate it. They don't like it. They don't core. They like it. They love it. ______
15. Do you know how to type? (Please circle one.) Yes No 16. Did you take computer courses? (Please circle one.) Never One Two Three More than three 17. How good are you in the use of computers? (Please circle one.) I don't know I am not good I am OK I am good I am excellent 18. How do you feel about computers? (Please circle one.) I hate it. I don't like it. I don't core. I like it. I love it. 19. Do you go into the Internet? If "Yes", follow this arrow. I f "No", go to Question "20".
A. Can you go into the Internet from home? (Please circle one.) Yes, I con. No, I cannot.
B. How many times do you go into th e In tern et in a week? (Please circle one.) Once Twice Three times More than three times C. When you were going into th e In tern et, you were Alone or/and with (Please circle how many apply.) Father Mother Brother(s) Sister(s) Teachers Classmates Friends
At (Please circle how many apply.) Home School Library Classmate's house Friend's house
204 For (Please circle how many apply.) Playing games Reading stories/inform ation Searching some data ______Talking with/ Writing to people 20. Do you know about the World Wide Web? If "Yes", follow this arrow. If "No", follow this arrow.
A. Do you know how to use the World Wide Web? If you have a chance to (Please circle one.) Yes No know how to use the World Wide Web, how B. W hat do you think people do on th e World Wide much do you wont to Web? learn? (Please circle one.) For (Please circle how many apply.) Playing games Learning and practicing I hate to learn. Reading stories/information I don't want to learn. Searching some data Talking to people I don't care. Writing to people I like to learn. Others, please write I love to learn.
C. Do you know what a "website" is? (Please circle one.) Yes No.
D. Do you know what a Web page is? (Please circle one.) Yes No.
E. If you have a chance to know more about the World W ide Web, how much do you want to learn? (Please circle one.)
I hate to learn. I don't want to learn. I don't care. I like to learn. I love to learn.
205 21. Do you know about E-mail? I f "Yes", follow this arrow. I f "No", follow this line. i A. Do you know how to use E-mail? (Please circle I f you have a chance to one.) know E-mail, how much Yes No do you want to learn? (Please circle one.) B. W hat do you think people do by E-mail? For (Please circle how many apply.) I hate to learn. Writing to people I don't want to learn. Sharing information I don't care. Learning and practicing I like to learn. Others, please write I love to learn.
C. If you have a chance to know more about E-mail, how much do you want to learn? (Please circle one.)
I hate to learn. I don't want to learn. I don't care. I like to learn. I love to learn.
Thanks for your cooperation! H f
206 APPENDIX B
LETTER TO PARENTS
207 April 16, 1999
Dear Parents:
I am a student at OSU working with Dr. William Taylor on a study titled, “Chinese-American parents' facilitation in the creation of children's webpages”. The purpose of this study is to identify advantages and problems that children have in designing web pages with the assistance o f their parents. The benefits o f participating in this research will include the opportunity for your child to improve his or her ability to design web pages and for you to share your experiences with other teachers and parents. In this study, the researcher will observe the interaction between you and your child when your child is designing his or her webpage, and also will interview you with some questions regarding your educational belief. The researcher will schedule a time that is convenient for observation in your home. You and your child will be asked to meet with the researcher eight times for approximately two hours each time (a total of 16 hours). The investigation will begin on May 15^ and end on July 30th. The whole designing process will be videotaped and the interview will be audiotaped. The researcher may also telephone or e-mail you during the course o f the study in order to clarify certain issues. The results of this participation will be confidential and will not be released in any individually identifiable form without your prior consent. Your name and any details that might identify you will be changed in any written reports in order to protect confidentiality. Tapes of the interview and observation as well as interview transcripts will be destroyed upon completion of the project or no later than January 1,2001. Please return the consent form. If you are willing to participate in this study. If you have any concerns, interest or questions, please feel firee to call Yu-Lin Fang at (614) 688-0895 or e-mail her at fang.33 @osu.edu
Sincerely,
William Taylor Yu-Lin Fang Principal Investigator Co-investigator
208 APPENDIX C
QUESTIONS OF THE FIRST INTERVIEW
209 Questions of the first interview
Q1 : How long have you been here? State.
Q2 : What are your child's extra-curriculum activities? State. ? mmm - Q3 : Could you please talk about your education? Describe.
Q4 : How did your parents assist your learning when you were in elementary school? Describe. ? cm# ' )mmm » Q5 : What did your parents expect of you? Describe. ? m m ■> Q6 : How would you describe your relationship with your child? Describe. ? mmm ° Q7 : What is the difference between two relationships (you and your parents, you and your child)? State and compare. ? m itm m - Q8 : What is your ideal parental role? Explain. ? mmm - Q9 : How do you assist your child's learning and homework? Describe.
QIO : When did you first use the computer? Do you like it? State the reason. im m m tm m m m ? ?mmm = Q ll : When did your child first use the computer? What is your attitude toward his or her use of the computer? Explain.
Q12 : How did you help your child use the computer? Describe.
Q13 : What is your child's reaction in participating in my study? Describe.
Q14 : What is your attitude toward the Web and Web page design? Explain.
210 APPENDIX D
INSTRUCTION FOR THE WORKING JOURNAL
211 Q: What is o working journal?
A working journal is a notebook used for writing notes and for drawing pictures. A designer usually keeps what he or she thinks and is going to do in a
Journal. For many designers, a working Journal is like a working diary. They keep their Journals when working on a project.
Q: Why do I keep a working journal? y o u ARE A WEBPAGE DESIGNER NOW. Using this working Journal will help you keep all your ideas, plan your Web pages, and share your creative design with your parents or friends.
Q: How do I keep a working journal?
You can do whatever you want on your working Journal. You can write a few sentences, paste pictures, or draw graphics. Remember! This is your working
Journal. You can keep it ascreaf iye as possible.
212 Q: When do I keep a working journal?
When you come up with an idea or do something, you write or draw it on your journal. Do not forget to put the date and the time on!
Examples of keeping a working Journal
(Example 1)
6:00 p.m.. May 9.1999
Mom showed me her homepage.
(Example 2)
7:00 p.m.. Mav 9.1999
Put in my COUNTRY page.
213 APPENDIX E
QUESTIONS OF THE SECOND INTERVIEW
214 Questions of the second interview
To the Parents
Ql: Have you ever worked together to complete a project? Describe.
Q2: What did you expect your child to learn in this project? Explain
Q3: Have you ever assisted your child in computer-supported learning activity such as using educational CD-ROMs, or access to the Internet? —If yes, please describe how. —If no, explain.
Q4: What was the difference of your assistance between this project and the previous computer-supported learning activity? Explain.
Q5: What was the difference of your assistance between this project and extra-curriculum activities such as piano lessons, ice-skating lesson? Explain.
Q6: Do you think designing a personal homepage was a learning activity? State.
Q7: Do you think designing a personal Web page is an academic activity? Explain.
Q8: Does your belief effect the way you facilitate? Explain.
Q9: Was designing the Web pages a learning activity for your children only, or for your whole family? Explain.
QIO: What did you leam? Explain.
Q ll: What is the advantage of participating in this project? Describe.
Q12: What is the disadvantage of participating in this project? Describe.
Q13: Will you continue to help your child work on his/her Web pages? Explain.
215 Q14: From your point of view, what did your child leam from this project? Explain.
Q15: Did your child's behavior, responses or decisions surprise you? Describe.
Q16: Do you think that you were learning from your child? Explain.
Q17: Do you think your child is too young to design his or her Web pages? State the reason.
Q18: W hat was the role you play in helping your child work on his Web pages? Explain.
Q19: W hat was the difference between the parents as facilitators and teachers as facilitators? Describe.
Q20: Do you think parents should help their children create their own Web pages, or should it be only an activity in school? Explain
Q21: W hat safety concerns did you have? Explain.
To the C hildren
Ql: What did you leam from designing your Web pages? Explain
Q2: What is the most interesting part in this project? Explain.
Q3: What frustrates you? Explain./How do you deal with your frustration?
Q4: Will you want to work on your project without my (the researcher) presence?
216 APPENDIX F
DATA CODES
217 Data Codes
AK-Il The first interview of Abby Kan's father AK-I2 The second interview of Abby Kan's father AK, SI Abby Kan's session 1 AK, 52 Abby Kan's session 2 AK, S3 Abby Kan's session 3
JC-Il The first interview of Jackie Cain's mother JC-I2 The second interview of Jackie Cain's parents JC, SI Jackie Cain's session 1 JC, S2 Jackie Cain's session 2 JC, S3 Jackie C ain's session 3 JC, S4 Jackie Cain's session 4 JC, S5 Jackie C ain's session 5
EL-Il The first interview of Esther Lee's parents EL-12 The second interview of Esther Lee's parents EL, SI Esther Lee's session 1 EL, S2 Esther Lee's session 2 EL, S3 Esther Lee's session 3 EL, S4 Esther Lee's session 4 EL, S5 Esther Lee's session 5 EL, S6 Esther Lee's session 6 EL, S7 Esther Lee's session 7
NT-Il The first interview of Noah Thomas' mother NT-12 The second interview of Noah Thomas' mother NT, SI Noah Thomas' session 1 NT, S2 Noah Thomas' session 2 NT, S3 Noah Thom as' session 3 NT, S4 Noah Thomas' session 4
JCH-Il The first interview of Jessica Chin's mother JCH-I2 The second interview of Jessica Chin's mother JCH, SI Jessica Chin's session 1 JCH, S2 Jessica Chin's session 2
218 JCH, S3 Jessica Chin's session 3 JCH, 84 Jessica Chin's session 4
JW-Il The first interview of Joey Wong's family JW-I2 The second interview of Joey Wong's family JW, 51 Joey Wong's session 1 JW, 52 Joey Wong's session 2 JW, 53 Joey Wong's session 3 JW, 54 Joey Wong's session 4 JW, 55 Joey Wong's session 5
219 APPENDIX G
ABBY KAN'S WEB PAGES
220 Home Page
Welcome to my Web site!
F rorrtP age
221 I n t e r e s t s
Interest 1 My name is ABBY and I am 8 years old I have black eyes,black hair. Interest 2 I like to draw, do art. and read. Interest 3 I collect pokemon cards and beanie babies.
222 223 (Continued) mm
- . < r :
224 (Continued)
#
225 F a v o r it e s
226 APPENDIX H
JACKIE CAIN'S WEB PAGES
227 gotta caK|^
^ em all
gbtta catcÉ entail %A%#
»
0. aboufMBt- Ikyj . AIl :' ty p' -?t7WI ' ___ ,;:/■- - -.^-: f 'Ok ' .__ # ' Q': ^ le c in x ti * — - C x e ^ . o .'I- %* 3 f ELECTRODE QBODUDE KABOTO 228 (Continued) Vf J ;;,.J ' 0 omx STARYXI? ;WEEDLE r @ 7 Z U b a^t C " , Æ- 229 My hobby is ^ Pokémon o k * # Game Boy! I kate 10 Pokenum^tharLlike. . ; ï POKEMON ^ ^ ^ T W O j r ÇHARIZAKD^, ZL: r OMASXAR f M A C liA r s c y t I b r ^ Back to my home page t-' - Lv. ’îb^-''’''îf« 230 APPENDIX I ESTHER LEE'S WEB PAGES 231 ■ s Hi! name ia Esther, parente are and ^ . Thin ia > kamapage. I f yen laent fa see Oad*e page,eMd£ I am •* f a o r s The name o frny school is bdnM WH^iit EkiMirtary teacher isjf/S. M oi«||| /' favorite cahr is FIMK! favorite foods are. Moshed Pototoes. Tomatoes and Cucumbers. Kare LADYBUô 232 DADDY I am Esther's daddy. Here are my kids and they are This is my family 233 (Continued) This is my hometown Hons Kong My favorite places Disney News Math Lego Visit me agiin. 234 APPENDIX J NOAH THOMAS' WEB PAGES 235 rnm m Ê^m Êm BSiê first.stàt^ 'IlilRSBIilill> V - ; v C . iT 236 ############## me- m m m 8)9>9 m y # # % m’wmgsKÊSÊBmm m m a m m B 9 »A liaeiiiieiB SB 237 9£Z mmmmÊÊÊmmâà APPENDIX K JESSICA CHIN'S WEB PAGES 239 Jessica's Home Page I was in second grade when I wrote my home page. My favorite movie, right now, is Mulan. I learned how to jugle. I have a cat named Kitty. Click on the picture to see Kitty's home page. I want to have a pen-pal. This is a pictnie of me and This is a pictuie.I diew,of Kitty, m y fa m ily . 240 !Kitty'sHome Page Click on the picture, of the little girl, to go back to my owner's home page. I have a brother who I have not seen, over a year. oday i& 6-11-1999, and I got some shots today, to [stay healthy. 241 APPENDIX L JOEY WONG'S WEB PAGES 242 Joe's Fun Page Mario Pokemon Pikachu Totoro Hello, my name is Joey. My friends call me Joe. I am eight years old and going on nine. Some of my hiTorite things are in the links here. I will be entering fourth grade in the class of 2008. Some of my favorite things to do are play Nintendo, shoot hoops and play with my friends. Nlckblodeon Cartoon Network Nintendo TY Disney 243 g f r f f f f Welcome ta Pikachu's Place! This is my Pikachuf i This all started one day when I was at the mall. We \fbre goin^to l^ ld en Softwar^We entefed t $ store and''ii went to the hack. W WThats where I saw it,. The Battle Of The Sexes ! ! ! ! ! Some people think that Pika is a she. Some people thiiÿ tha^ika is ^ e . I^ink it i^a he^ Who knows?sWhat gender i& Pikachu???? c Go back to home page f 244