2. Utilizing technology for presenting Poetry... by Madhumathi

Introduction

Technology provides enough scope for innovations. With that hold, it is possible to generate various methods and practise for teaching English. So, the paper explains about the feature of Windows Movie maker and how it can be used for presenting poetry. Windows media player is simple tool which can be used for producing home videos. It is useful for creating the dream world. The concept behind the usage of this Moviemaker is for extensive than the regular use of technology. Wordsworth says ‘Poetry is a spontaneous emition of powerful emotions’. So that, poetry demands the overflow of the emotions when it is taught in classrooms. This desire effect in teaching poetry is possible utilizing the Moviemaker. Thus, the paper explains the structural and functional aspects of the tool for producing a movie for teaching poetry.

Technology makes the user powerful. Teaching using technical tools is an innovative phenomenon. At present technology plays a vital role in developing teaching learning process irrespective of the discipline. As far as language teaching is concern, technology is a bone. Having that in mind, any number of innovative teaching methods can be created. Innovative ideas can be effectively implemented only with the help of technology. With the help of Moviemaker a slide show along with the audio can be created with appropriated pictures related to the poems. The audio file of the poem recitation can be incorporated along with the pictures. Therefore, it is appropriate to use windows Moviemaker to teach poetry at classroom, perhaps, it will kindle the emotions of the students.

Working with Windows Movie maker

Windows moviemaker is a default feature in windows applications. Windows Moviemaker facilitates the user for producing a personal movie. It has a capacity to create a professional movie with titles, transitions, effects and music. Moviemaker appears to be like a slide-show on your computer, but it generates the desired effect on the part of the viewers. It is an absolute home package, which is feasible for a personal use.

Windows Movie Maker is divided into three main areas: the panes, the storyboard/timeline, and the preview monitor.

player so that we can use the buttons underneath the preview monitor to play or pause a clip, or to advance or rewind a clip frame-by-frame. The Split button permits us to split a clip into two parts at the same time displayed in the preview monitor. The preview monitor can be altered in size by clicking View, pointing to Preview Monitor Size, and choosing a size. Dragging option is also available for arranging the size of the window.

With Windows Movie Maker, we can add a title, your name, the date, credits, and other text to your movie. we can add title text to various places in your movie. It may be at the beginning or end, before or after a clip, overlaying a clip. For example, you might want to add a name of the person who edited the movie or mention the meaning of the scene that appears in your movie. The title plays for the specified amount of time as instructed in the tool. The title disappears fromthe scene once the specified time limit exit. But, the video clip or picture continues to play without any disturbance.

The following file name extensions can be used as mentioned in Windows Movie Maker website for producing the project:

• • Video files: .asf, .avi, .dvr-ms, .m1v, .mp2, .mp2v, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpg, .mpv2, .wm, and .wmv

  • Audio files: .aif, .aifc, .aiff .asf, .au, .mp2, .mp3, .mpa, .snd, .wav, and .wma

  • Picture files: .bmp, .dib, .emf, .gif, .jfif, .jpe, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .tif, .tiff, and .wmf

It allows import files into Windows Movie Maker that have a different extension from the ones listed above, but not all file types will work when you try to use them to make a movie.(windows website)

The video files and pictures files from Windows Photo Gallery can also be imported by dragging into Windows Movie Maker. Windows Movie Maker, give a very good garnishing tools for adding a title, your name, the date, credits, and other text to the movie, so that the movie looks complete.

For example, you might want to add a title to introduce a person or scene that appears in your movie.(windows website)

The following picture shows a project with a title that appears before a video clip:

There are several panes in the Moviemaker based on which different tasks can be performed. Every panes specifies clearly the keynote of it usage. The Tasks pane lists the common tasks that you may need to perform when making a movie, including importing files, editing, and publishing your movie. The Collections pane displays your collection folders, which contain clips. The collection folders appear in the Collections pane on the left, and the clips in the selected collection folder are displayed in the Contents pane on the right. The above picture shows the Collections pane.

The project is created based on the story board and time line. The transition between the story board and the time line is the concept behind the movie making. The software allows the user to switch between these two views when making a movie.

Storyboard: The storyboard is the default view in Windows Movie Maker. It is used for creating stories. The sequence or ordering of the clips in the project can be edited, rearrange, deleted on the storyboard. There is a video effect or a video transition that has attached to storyboard. This enables us to view the effects and transitions which is framed due to modulation in the storyboard. Audio clips added to a project will not be displayed on the storyboard, but it can be seen in the timeline view. The following picture shows the storyboard view in Windows Movie Maker:

The following picture shows a project with credits that appear at the end of the project:

Once the desired work is achieved the project can be published as a form of movie with .wmv file name extension and for video .avi file name extension. The greatest advantage of publishing a movie with Windows Movie Maker is that the file will be suitable for any version and so it can be shared with others in a number of ways—through your computer, on a recordable CD, on a recordable DVD, as an attachment in an e‑mail message, or on videotape in a DV camera.

The teacher should carefully match the picture to the lyrics of the poem. The time line is the important factor that decides the interest of the students. Try to find out an attractive picture for every meaningful word in the poem. No picture should extents more than five second in the poem unless the poem demands. Therefore, the picture is changed constantly in the slide show. This will enhance the curiosity among the students so that they will never move their eyes from the movie.

Choosing a colourful and beautiful picture is necessary to grab the attention of the students. The teachers must create the audio files with at most care and interest. The recitation of the poem should itself mean the theme of the poem. Voice plays a vital role in kindling the emotions of the person. So that the poem recitation must be carefully chosen. It is essential to choose a clean voiced poem with less background music so that the students can listen to the audio without any disturbance. The objective of teaching the poetry as mentioned in the curriculum can be justified.

Conclusion

Thus, Moviemaker enables the students to get the exact feel of the poem. Besides that it provides awareness among the students on how to recite the poetry. The rhythm, the tonal variations, the phonetic notations, figures of speech etc., can be taught easily to the students. The students can use the file repeated. Thus, the poem reaches the students not as a subject. It will be used for entertainment. Thus, observation of the students improve tremendously and so the poem remains in their heart for longer time. It is a best tool that brings out the teacher’s creativity. And the real talent of the teacher enables the effectiveness of the poem.

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Timeline: The timeline view offers a more detailed view of your movie project. It allows us to point out even miner mistakes and enables us to make finer edits. With the help of timeline view we can trim video clips, adjust the duration of transitions between clips, and view the audio track. It is also used for review or modify the timing of clips in the project. the timeline buttons enables to switch to storyboard view. The zoom in or out option is available to get details of the project. We can also adjust the audio levels by using timeline. The following picture shows the timeline view in Windows Movie Maker:

The preview monitor make possible to view individual clips or the entire project. before publishing it as a movie, we can use the preview monitor to check themovie. The preview monitor has got the features of video