Multimedia and Miromaa

Multimedia, such as images, videos and audio bring your entries to life. Miromaa is so powerful that you can house all of your multimedia together with its entry in the Editor. Miromaa makes it easy to enrich your entries with multimedia and to create resources that make learning fun by being beautiful to look at and engaging.

It also helps to make language easy to understand and pronounce correctly and help to describe concepts that are visual or don’t have an equivalent in English.

Attaching Multimedia in 5 Easy Steps

These steps are explained in detail for each different type of media in the following chapters.

Best-Practice tip:
Before adding your multimedia to your entries it’s a good idea to transfer your multimedia into its ‘Pictures’, ‘Audio’, ‘Video’ or ‘Activities’ folder in your ‘Media’ folder you created in the File Management and Backing Up chapter.

Being organised helps you find things, work faster and avoid losing work.
Trust us please!

Relax! Your own personal Librarian is looking after your files!

Did you know that living inside your computer there is a tiny little librarian who works for Miromaa, who:

1. Takes a copy of every Multimedia and Library file you upload (leaves the original where it is).
2. Files it away for you in Miromaa’s world-class archival system in your database.

So, you can always find everything you upload quickly and easily via the Editor, all without doing any (boring) filing...how convenient is that?!

All you have to do is backup your database at the end of each day and all of your work and resources are kept safe and organised!

Adding Images

The first image you add will be your primary, or default, image. This means that by default it will be the one to show up in your dictionaries, word lists and exports.

You can change the settings to include all of your images if you wish.

Best-Practice tip:
Programs like Miromaa and Lexique Pro are able to help you produce picture dictionaries. We are also now making high quality media products like Apps. We always recommend to obtain images in the highest quality possible. Ensure Images are at a minimum 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution from your digital camera. This will ensure that you can go and create professional quality Apps and Dictionaries.

1. Click on the title of the type of multimedia you would like to add, in this case ‘Image’. It will go blue.
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the ‘Add’ button
   This will open your computer’s file explorer window.
   If you do not see your ‘Miromaa Language Work’ folder, click on ‘Documents’.
   
   
   

   Then click on ‘My Documents’

3. Double click on your ‘Miromaa Language Work’ folder, or wherever you keep your images
   
   
   
   
4. Double click on your ‘Media’ folder
   
   
   
5. Double click on your ‘Pictures’ folder
   
   
   
   
6. Click on the image you wish to upload
   
   
7. Click on ‘Open’
   
   

Your image will now appear in your Miromaa entry!

Congratulations you have just added an image to your entry!

Adding Multiple Images

To add another image:

1. Repeat the same steps a-f that you completed to add your first image.
   
   
2. When you Click on ‘Open’, to open your image Miromaa will ask you to give the image a short description
   We have named our second image ‘Whale 2’.
   
   

3. Give the image a short, descriptive name

4. Click ‘Ok’

5. Click on the [+] next to the word ‘Image’
   
   You will see both your primary/default image and your image name in the list.
   
   
   

6. Click on the name of your second image to view it.
   
   

7.  

    Repeat for as many images as you wish to upload.

Congratulations you have added multiple images to your entry!

Deleting Your Uploaded Images

So you’ve changed your mind, and you want to delete an uploaded image:

1. Click on the name of the image in the list
   
   
   
   
2. Click on ‘Remove’ Miromaa will ask “Are you sure you want to remove this attachment?”
   
   
   
   
3. Click ‘Yes’
   The image is now gone and the name has been removed from the list.
   
   

Adding Audio

There are two ways to add audio to your word entries. You can:

• Upload audio that you have found or pre-recorded
• Record audio as you go via the Editor using Audacity (see the Working with Audacity chapter).

Audio Recording Options

There are many different options for recording audio. Please take the time to read the following Miromaa Method tips before you get started.

Best Practice Miromaa Method tips recommends you:

• Always record in the highest quality possible
• Invest in good quality equipment
• Think long term
• Consider what this recording may be used for now and in the future
• Remember this may be the one and only opportunity you have to record this person or event
• Think of the outputs you may make from this recording (such as Apps, talking dictionaries)

3 WAYS TO AUDIO RECORD

1. Using the inbuilt microphone of your laptop or computer

• Pros: Cheap
• Cons: Poor quality; Recording in analogue; Picks up internal noises from computer; Picks up noises in the environment; Recording may not be good enough to use in resources

2. Plugging an external microphone into your computer

• Pros: moves microphone closer to speaker; Improves quality of your voice slightly
• Cons: Recording in analogue; Still susceptible to computer noises; Picks up noises in the environment depending on quality of microphone

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED OPTION:
3. Recording your audio into a digital audio recorder 

• Pros - + Excellent quality; Clean sound; Used by music industry; Wide choice of microphones to choose from that you can match to your need; Feature-rich devices; You have full control; Comes with a range of accessories; Can also serve as digital interface; May also plug directly into video camera.

Adding Audio That You Have Found Or Pre-Recorded

To add audio that you already have stored on your computer:

1. Click on the title of the type of multimedia you would like to add, in this case ‘Audio’.
   It will go blue. Your image will disappear as you are now in the Audio section of the Multimedia Panel
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the ‘Add’ button
   This will open your computer’s file explorer window. If you do not see your ‘Miromaa Language Work’ folder: Click on ‘Documents’
   
   
   
   Then click on ‘My Documents’
   
   
   
   
3. Double click on your ‘Miromaa Language Work’ folder, or where your audio is kept.
4. Double click on your ‘Media’ folder
   
   
   
   
5. Double click on your ‘Audio’ folder
   
   
   
   
6. Click on the audio clip you wish to upload
   
   
7. Click on ‘Open’
   
   
   
   Miromaa will upload your audio and take you back to the Editor Screen. To listen to your audio:
   
   
8. Click on ‘Audio’ in the list
   The word ‘Audio’ is now written in black instead of grey, this means that something has been uploaded
   
   
   
   
9. Click on the play button (>) to listen to your audio
   
   

Congratulations you have just added audio to your entry!

Adding Video To Your Entry

1. Click on the title of the type of multimedia you would like to add, in this case ‘Video’.
   It will go blue.
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the ‘Add’ button
   This will open your computer’s file explorer window.
   If you do not see your ‘Miromaa Language Work’ folder:
   Click on ‘Documents’
   
   
   
   Then click on ‘My Documents’
   
3. Double click on your ‘Miromaa Language Work’ folder.
   
   
   
   
4. Double click on your ‘Media’ folder, or wherever your videos are kept.
   
   
   
   
5. Double click on your ‘Video’ folder.
   
   
   
   
6. Click on the image you wish to upload.
7. Click on ‘Open’
   
   
   
   
   To watch your video:
   
8. Click on ‘Video’ in the list.
   The word ‘Video’ is now written in black instead of grey, this means that something has been uploaded.
   
   
   
   
9. Click on the play button (>) to watch your video.
   
   

Congratulations you have just added video to your entry!

Adding Activities To Your Entry

1. Click on the title of the type of multimedia you would like to add, in this case ‘Activity’. It will go blue.
   
   
2. Click on the ‘Add’ button
   This will open your computer’s file explorer window. If you do not see your ‘Miromaa Language Work’ folder:
   Click on ‘Documents’
   
   
   
   Then click on ‘My Documents’
   
   
   
   
3. Double click on your ‘Miromaa Language Work’ folder
4. Double click on your ‘Media’ folder, or wherever you keep your activities
   
   
   
   
5. Double click on your ‘Activities’ folder
   
   
   
   
6. Click on the activity you wish to upload
7. Click on ‘Open’
   
   
   
   To view, open and download your activity:
   
8. Click on ‘Activity’ in the list.
   The word ‘Activity’ is now written in black instead of grey, this means that something has been uploaded.
   
   
   
   
9. Click on the title of your activity top open it, this will open it with an external program. You can save a copy onto your computer if you wish from this program.
   
   Miromaa will have given your activity a title based on the word entry into which it was uploaded.
   
   

Congratulations you have just added an activity to your entry!