Miromaa Workshop Training Outline and Outcomes

The following information is what is used as a guide to understand what we do when we do training in a community language activity.

Training Outline

Day 1

The morning will consist of a demonstration of Miromaa and the major software programs that will be learnt, during this time participants will setup their own language database and have some practical use of it, Everyone will get to see how you can make a picture dictionary in 3 minutes, we hope.

The essence of working in a language program whether the outcomes are to produce resources or preserve a language is excellent storing of language/knowledge. Miromaa enforces excellent archive practices and these will be learnt as we progress.

Participants will be given time to enter about 10 entries of language records into Miromaa, these records will then be used by everyone in examining the features of Miromaa and then using this data to export and begin making lexical resources with other software.

During this process we will expose everyone to the wonderful world of Multimedia through using cameras and audio recorders.

The goal of Day 1 is to be totally comfortable with using Miromaa and understanding of its features. Everyone should also have a good understanding of best practice for recording of multimedia.

Day 2

As day 1 introduced everyone to other software products like Lexique Pro, Photostory etc. Today everyone will learn in-depth how to use these auxiliary programs. They will continue to use Miromaa and by the end of Day 2 will be experts at using Miromaa.

Lexicons, Word Lists, HTML Web pages and distributable lexical cd's should be able to be produced by each participant. If time allows Photostory and other software will be reviewed.

Day 3

Depending on how the previous 2 days have gone, day 3 may be used to continue on what was missed from the previous days (a catchup day), it will also include refreshes of all of the products used. This day will also be used to look at producing real resources that could be used at anytime for preserving and teaching of language, this may be led by the participants or we may decide on the exact outcomes as we get more familiar with everyone.
Training Outcomes

All participants will have achieve a good understanding of practical skills in the following:

1. Excellent users of Miromaa
2. Storing and editing still photographic images
3. Importing digital media to the computer
4. Creating resources from stored data
5. Recording metadata
6. Recording standards, from basic to archival. The appropriate applications of wav, mp3, mpeg and avi files.

Digital audio Recording: People will have been shown how to record language using either a laptop computer with Audacity (free software) or with a Zoom digital recorder.

Editing digital audio files

Storing and editing still digital images: Using Microsoft free software or other alternative.

Transferring digital data from equipment to computer:

Managing text, audio, still and video images on the computer to produce language resources with the Miromaa Language Program. Participants will have been taught how to use the program and began inputting data and images to create their own wordlists.

How to produce a dictionary and lexicons

Recording standards: from basic to archival. The appropriate applications of wav, mp3, mpeg and avi files.

Summary

At all times we will find that everyone is going to be pretty flat out during the days and exhausted at the end, there really is a lot to take in but everyone will be so surprised at actually how easy it can all be, everything which they will learn will stimulate and compliment their current activity with traditional languages.