1. Description of Our Community
The project showcased, St. Michael (well known as Sr. San Miguel in locality) the patron saint of Iliganons, which is located at St. Michael’s Cathedral Church, Iligan City, Mindanao, Philippines in the caring hands of Iliganons.
St. Michael is an archangel, the patron of grocers, mariners, paratroopers, police, and sickness, is considered the protector of the Church from considerable forces from the underworld and one of the highest order of angels that is being created to serve God and His people. For the Catholic Iliganons, St. Michael is their patron saint because they believe that the miraculous image serves as the sole protector and savior of Iligan from invasion and calamities since in the olden times. St. Michael the Archangel defends the Iliganons in their day of battle; protects them against the deceit and wickedness of the devil.
The Iliganons annually celebrate Michael’s Day to commemorate the heroic feast of St. Michael the Archangel who is worshipped as both patron saint and folk hero of epic proportions. A popular legend tells of how his image on horseback has single-handedly turned away invaders during the Moro wars in Mindanao. On Michael’s Day people crowd the streets to watch the highlight of the celebration.
Iligan City is predominantly Christian (93.61%). Iliganons are a mixture of the Muslim and Cebuano population with a bit of Tagalog and some other cultural group minorities and immigrants from other places. Cebuano is the major dialect in the city (about 93%). But despite of cultural diversity, Iliganons continually celebrate the feast.
2. Summary of Our Project
Our web site features the great faith of Iliganons to St. Michael the archangel as their patron saint, how this faith united them as one and how he became a part of Iliganon’s culture.
This also reveals how St. Michael protected and saved Iliganons from disaster, calamities and danger. As well as how he became a bridge towards unity of Iliganons.
This is the first ever made documentary project about the patron saint, St. Michael. And at first, even we the researchers don’t have any idea about the origin and the real meaning of the feast of the patron and its history as the patron saint of Iliganons.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:21-50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
Additional comments concerning your computer and/or internet access: Internet access started last June 2005 to provide students, teachers, and school personnel to engage in research, classroom use, online collaboration, digital portfolio and communication through entertainment and news update around the country and around the world.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
Yes, there were problems we encountered in making this project. Since we are the first researchers who investigated about this topic, we find it very hard to find information and data in formulating this project. Aside from this, it is also hard for us to find and to budget our time to collect information from our sources. Since our schedule is always full and hectic, we find it hard to approach the people who can help us. By this problem, we have learned to interact and negotiate vigilantly in other people to get what we need from them. Another one is to carefully manage our time, to have patience, and most of all to practice unity to be able to complete this project.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
In our school, our classmates joined our Project Session, we were able to share information we have learned during the project making. Aside from this, they were able to share what they have been known about the origin and legend of St. Michael. Many have different stories which according to them came to their grandparents. We, the researchers also share to them what we have learned and discovered during our investigation. And in the people outside the campus, we were able to interview the devotees of the patron, that gives us more strength and determination to pursue our project because of their testimonies about how the patron saint touches their lives. Through this, we learned more and knew about things we were not yet fully familiarized and ever known. This project streghtens our faith and enable us to internalize the real meaning of the ceremony in honor to the Iliganon's Patron Saint.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
Our CyberFair project got us involved in all areas of our curriculum. It tied in well with the information about St. Michael and was the most interesting project we’ve ever worked on. Many of the student’s skills were improved such as; researching, creative writing and resourcefulness, critical thinking, questioning, summarizing, interacting and cooperative learning. The most important thing we learned through this project was how to create a website on internet and how to present information in a pleasing and interesting way so that people all over the world could learn about our patron saint as bridge towards unity. We are especially grateful to the people who helped us in gathering the information and pictures that we needed. For the pictures in our site, we learned how to interact and negotiate responsible people in authority, such as asking permission from Mr. Renato Pernia, one of the official photographers of Iligan City Tourism Office, he gave us the authority and protocol to use his pictures in our website. And to all the speakers and volunteers of St. Michael’s Cathedral who spent their time with us giving the enough and reliable information about our patron saint, St. Michael.
For the required coursework, as a student we are to develop our skills and knowledge in technology that would prepare us for the 21st century, for advance and high technology era, but despite of this technology advancement, there should be an intermingle of preservation of the moral ethics of the people in the community.
Preserving cultures and moral values is a part of education and curriculum of human kind that is significant to the future generation even though the oozing high technology is coming up.
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