3rd March 2009, John, Michael, Dhäŋgal and Trevor, helping Gotha, set up for teaching (video).
On March the 3rd 2009 before the first Yolngu Matha Class of the year we did a trial session with Guthadjaka from Gawa on Galiwinku presented a teaching session with John Greatorex using Skype, Teamviewer and a telephone. Michael, Dhanggal and Trevor also participated in this trial. The video file below is a record of this session. The video is 23 minutes long and 49 MB in size. Click on the image below to view the video.
Transcription below or open transcription in a new window
MC Michael
J John
G Gotha
D Dhanggal
M Matt
T Trevor
At the beginning John and Gotha are working on their computers and talking to each other over the phone….
G I’ll have to go to ‘sign’ when you’re ready?
J Yow
M John’s got the ‘Wheel of Death’
J Ŋarra ga bulu connecting dhiyaŋ-bala (I’m trying to reconnect now) ….. Bäyŋu (nothing)
T Maybe she should quit and start hers again
J Yeah, I thought… Nheny dhu quitting Teamviewer-ŋur (you will quit out of Team viewer),
1:00
G So open up team viewer, bala nhä? (then what) team viewer… it’s off.
J Ma’ ga bulu lapmaram (okay now open it again)
M Do you think if we paid for it (ie the Teamviewer software) it would be any more reliable?
J This hasn’t done this before?
G Mmmm Yow it’s open now.
J And I just need to wait too until these numbers come up. Maybe I was too hasty.
2:00
T So if you’re not going to use Skype you could use the blue cord (ie not use the wireless modem but connect straight into the university internet system – the university doesn’t allow Skype)
J No, we will use Skype initially.
MC So that the students can see Gotha and where she is.
G Yo.
MC And she can see them.
J This isn’t connecting. Something has happened with, I think the numbers are.
G Mine is open already.
J Mine isn’t working properly.
T It’s still saying activate.
J I’m just going to restart the computer.
G Eh, what about mine?
J No, leave yours. Yours seems to be running okay.
G Ma.
G Ma. Yo.
J Did you quit out of team viewer.
F Yaka, still here.
J You can see it but I’ve quit out here. Nhä mak bäy? (What’s going on?)
3:00
F Yo. Maybe that little thing that I’ve quit?
J Yeah, maybe that little window.
F Yow.
J I’ll try and connect you to again.
F Yow.
J Can you quit out of team viewer please?
G Okay, yo.
J And start up again?
G Yo.
J Just trying to connect now. Password?
4:00
G 4374.
J … Bulu lakaraŋ (Say it again)
G 4374. …. yow
J … Wanhan? (What’s happening?)
G Yow.
J What did you just click?
G No I didn’t.
5:00
MC It’s bäyŋu and … buwayakthin, (disappeared, )
J This has never happened before.
G Bäyŋu ŋarra dhuwal click anything. (I didn’t click anything over here)
MC Yeah well, it’s dhuwal ga muka midikirr (it’s over here that it’s going bad)
J Ma’. Ma’ Ma’Let’s try presentation and I’ll give my number to you.
G Yo.
J Wanhan? (anything?)
G click, ŋi?
J Presentation.
MC Presentation and then.
G … liŋgu
J … ga ŋarraku password yaka ID, 132…
G Password?
J Yaka password. Yan ID.
MC Has she clicked ‘Connect to Partner’? Liŋgu (already) ‘Connect to partner’
T No she has to put the ID in first.
J No, we need you to put my ID into ‘create session’. 132247871.
6:00
G Already here.
J Ma. Have you clicked presentation?
G Yeah.
J Now connect to partner.
G Bäyŋu. (no)
J Galkurr (wait)
G Yow.
J Bäyŋu? (nothing)
G Um… ID 132247871.
J Yow.
G Ga blue thing is not coming up on that connection-ŋur … Yow, it’s on now. Connecting now.
J Presentation liŋgu (already) clicking blue.
7:00
G Yow.
J Ma. Connect to partner.
G Yow.
J It says here incoming connection, awaiting authentication.
G Password.
J 1704.
G 1704?
8:00
J Yo. Now can you minimize that team viewer window with the orange button, not the one on the top right hand side of your screen but the big blue one, Yow, that one up there.
G Ma.
J It’s going here, going. Still going, half gone. Do you need applications open?
G Yaka, closednha ŋi? No, shall I close them?
J Yeah, close it.
G Yow.
J Liŋgu (already?)
G Yo.
T Yeah, there’s a 10 second delay.
J Now, tomorrow I think you should have the Powerpoint open.
G Yo.
J And don’t have any other windows open.
G Mmm-hmm.
J Can you open your turtle one? The miyapunu
G Yo.
9:00 Long Pause.
G Can you see it?
J Yep, I can see them all now. Now, can you show us one at a time?
G Yow. Nhä Like that or itnto slide or maybe.
J I think go to slideshow and then use the arrows to…
G Yo.
10:00
J Yow .Show us one at a time but you need to tell us a story about each one.
G Mmm-hmm. So yow, hello.
(All): Hello. ‘Alo
G (practising) My name is Gotha, I’m from Gäwa homelands.
J Well, I’m just thinking now, would it be good to have a picture of her? Of Gutharra as the first slide. (John use the kin term gutharra to refer to gotha)
G Yaka, bäydhin (laughs), (no don’t worry about it -being modest).
Dh Yaka bäydhin, (don’t say don’t’ worry about it ie don’t be modest, have your picture up there. )
MC I think it’s better to have her on the Skype.
J We will have Skype as well though.
MC Can you do that now on top of that or is that too complicated?
J Um, We’ll go back in a minute. We’ll go through it once now and … just have a look at this.
Dh Gatjuynha, dhäwu rakaraŋ. (Off you go, tell us a story)
G J Yeah, and tell us the story.
11:00
G Today I’m going to tell you a story about this little boy, my grandson. The season is nyumukuniny midawarr (last of the wet season) Until now I am trying to find turtle tracks. That’s why he’s got that djimuku (iron bar) in his hand.
T What’s a muku?
MC Djimuku.
G Yeah, what do you call djimuku in English?
MC Bar, iron bar. Digging stick.
G Yo. Digging stick.
MC So when you’re telling those stories, if you say something like ‘midawarr’ John might write it up on the whiteboard, so that after you’ve gone he’ll say okay, there might be a few words here that you don’t understand but you can write them down and learn them. The first one is ‘midawarr’ means the wet season, the second one is ‘djimuku’, it means an iron bar or whatever.
12:00
G Yo. So it’s the beginning of midawarr, the dry season, and he knows that he wants to go for a walk right up to the point, and try to look for turtle eggs.
MC So where was that picture taken?
G Here at Gawa at the point.
MC So John, what will happen if they want to ask questions. Will you tell them not to or do they have to ask them through you or?
J I would think, what we might do is listen to the story first.
G Yow.
J And then if we need to we can go back into the slides, and that’s what we might do now. I’d like to see them, we go through these slides first, then we’ll go back to the first one, try to get Skype going, and see how the voice compares with this telephone.
MC Okay.
13:00
J And then at the same time see if we can go back easily and ask questions then. Does that sound okay?
G Yo. So there are three kinds of turtle that lay eggs. Birrŋarr, Malarrka No, four. Garriwarr and Dhalwatpu. So Birrŋarr and Malarrka are easy to find. Maybe a four year old boy or child or four to five, they can find because they can pick a stick and try to poke the sand, and when the stick or anything goes deep, they know it’s turtle inside, so they start to dig. Clear?
14:00
J/M Yo. Turtle eggs.
T Would you like another question from back there?
M Um, I don’t have any questions.
MC Can you hear Matt?
G Yow, sorry.
M Yeah, you can hear him. He’s at the back of the room.
J Introduce yourself, Matt.
M Hi there, my name’s Matt.
G Yow, hello.
M How are you? (Speaking Yolngu Matha)
G Manymak
M That’s good. I’m going now. See you.
MC Are you off? You know where the key is.
J Ga Number two. See you Matt. I did send an email to Steve Larkin today, He’s actually interested in a meeting, Brian Stacey wants a meeting to talk about it.
15;00
M Sounds promising.
G Number two. Number two picture.
M Yo, the same picture but with different, some extra words.
G Yo, and that’s the, the birrŋarr track you can see and that’s easy where you can see the seaweed, that … is the tide mark, the turtle coming in.
J Can you show us that with your cursor? Can you move the cursor?
G Yow. See all this here, seaweeds? That’s where the tide came in last night, and turtle same time. …
M Oh.
16:00
G Turtle. And somewhere here, this is where the garriwarr birrŋarr, laid their eggs here, like, what’s this?
J It stopped. I don’t know why. I haven’t had this problem before.
G Something is here on my…
J It’s stopped working here.
G … “This was a free session sponsored by www.teamviewer.com”. Please note that free sessions are available for non commercial use only. Thank you for playing. … okay…wutthun? (shall I click it?)
M yep
17:00
J Quit out of team viewer and we’ll start up again, and leave your Powerpoint on. That’s interesting. It hasn’t happened before.
M No. Have you done it this time of night before? Because Trevor was saying this is the time when … it was the time when we wanted to do it so.
J When people are downloading and computer …?
T Is it when Europe comes on line no, it’s when Americans get home after work Anyway, the in Australia in the afternoon there’s a surge on the internet.
J That’s okay. I’ve got my, you’ve got my number there.
G Yeah, who?
J 132, connect again to me if you can.
G No, off this?
J Did you quit out of team viewer?
18:00
G Yaka (no)
J Can I ring you on the phone again and I’ll turn down the volume and can you, if I do that, can you turn down the volume so you can’t hear me through the computer?
G Yow
(phone ringing).
G Hello.
J Can you see the volume on the computer? Just under my picture.
G Yes.
J Can you turn that down?
G Yow.
19:00
J So now we’ve got reasonable picture, have we? And some voice although it won’t be at the same time.
M Yeah.
J How does that seem for you to talk to students like that?
G Mmm, Manymak (good).
J What do you think, Trevor, … ŋändi (Dhäŋgal)?
T Yow, Nhama rra nhumalany ga manawiny.
G Yow dhaŋun nhäma ŋaya nhumalany yaka. (Yes I can see you)
J Yep.
T There is a whole lot of light coming in from the right hand side, there must be a window there.
Dh Yow windowmi nhuma light nhawi? (Yes do you have a window there lighting you up?)
G Yow walu muka dhuwal. (Yes it’s the sun) Walu marrtji gärri, (its setting)
J It’s probably hot too.
G Yaka manymak guyiŋarr. (no it’s okay it’s cool)
20:00
T Is there a light in the room that you can switch on or bäyŋu (no)?
G Mmm, light. You want the light on?
M Just try it.
Dh yän muka nhänharaw, latjukunharaw (just to see to make it better)
G Yo.
J So that’s where we’re talking about headphoneso for the telephone. Because it does seem to be a better option, doesn’t it, this …?
T Yeah.
J Rather than having to have the…
G Wanha? (How’s that)
T It’s worse
J No, it’s not as good.
T the lights behind you.
J Um, We’re just thinking about tomorrow so that you’re not all very dark.
G Yow.
J But I think without the lights on because the lights are also behind you.
M Can she sit back a bit so that there’s more light from the window?
J What happens if you lean back a little bit, Michael’s asking.
M Just lean backwards.
21:00
J Back in your chair.
T Yeah, turn that light off though.
G Ŋanydjala’yurr bitjan bala (turn that way)
J Humbug nhunany bulu? (Can I humbug you more?) Nhä dhuwal ŋurru dhapirrk. (What a fine nose!)
F Yaka ŋarrany warku’yurr John, djäma ŋarra nhuŋu ga. (Don’t tease me John, I’m working) We’re doing the work. No teasing.
J Now can you move the screen forward a bit, just the top of the screen down a bit, so that we can see you in the middle of the picture. …
M Yow,
J Yaka latju Ehe, brrr! (That looks great!)
T And turn the light off and it will be perfect.
G The light off?
M Yeah. Trun the light off now.
J Bäydhi napurr ga nhunany humbug ŋalapal …(Sorry for humbugging you a senior person.)
G Yo.
M Yeah, that looks good.
J I think that’s good.
G Mmm.
22:00
M So will you start with that and then move onto the team viewer.
J Yeah.
M So if the team viewer blows out at least they’ve seen..
T As a back up measure can Gotha send you the Powerpoint file and if it all goes pear shaped you could talk to her on the phone saying I’ve got the picture of such and such.
M Yeah. That’s a good idea. Did you hear that?
G Yow.
M So if you send the Powerpoint to John tomorrow, so that if we lose contact you can still tell the story on the Skype.
G Yo. Ma’. Manymak. Or yalala? (Can I send it later tonight?)
M Wo Yalala, yow (or later, yeah)
T On the email yow.
G Ready for tomorrow.
M Yep
J We could even try it now.
T Because you could actually at times turn your camera around to the screen, so that.
23:00
F Mukthuwana connectionma lostma (I has gone quiet, connection lost)
G Yo.
J That’s what it says. Oh yeah, of course it has gone hasn’t it. We’ve lost your picture.
G I lost my picture too.
T She’s actually off line there.
J Well, that will still work though, if we do have the Powerpoint here at worst.
G Yeah, Manymak.
End of Recording.