ne r6on I love being a genealogi$ is b@use there k aleysemething new to ldn. \fhefier ir is tiackns down derails

abour an eluiive Dcsror solving a proverbial brick-*dl problem,

coonecdng with, new @usin via social nerworking or discovering

a no databue, the posibilid€s for discovery are viftually endiess.Books, naguins. conferencs, md insdrutes have long been

a way to turdrr our study in the field. Bur now, rhank ro the

Inremer, rhere m even noe eduarional opportuids available

tor beginms r well r moe advmed researche$. The even'bener

news is that muy of drae opporrunitio are accesible right lion

rne comfon ofourown ho-*.During my Nenry-plus yeas as a resea.cher, I have seen

both sides ofthe coir when ir comes ro genealogy educarion.I have been a student and a teacher in the clasroom, at

confe.ences. and online, and rhings have cerrainly evolved in

rerms ofthe contenr, plattofln, and delivery For this article,

I have pur on my insrrucrort har o *rie abour rbe an of

reaching genealog. I f you l i le help ing re* iami l l l - i roq

deuihs find thei. anc€srcn, ot want to share your expert

knowledge about a panicular resear.h techniqoe or new

technolosr, rhis anicle will oudine how to hone your skills to

r<rrh orhen. md hou ro 6nd genealo9l rerh ing a ' ignmenls.

Online and Offline OpportunitiesGenerlogy insrruclion can rake place i. peso.. in i confarence

or formal cluvoom setting, orvia rhe Internet rhrough virtual

appearances. self-study lesons, or webinars. lt used to be that

we were limited rc rwo narional conferences. and one or vo

insrilllres, bui rhe rwenry-first century genealogist now has

plenry ofopporunities to acquire new research skills, apply

mcdrodologr, and le*n about new technology. For an excettenr

overviw, watch the APG video by Elissa Salise Powell, cc,

on t hoo, ing rhe 8es Cont inuing Fducrrron Opponuni t ie i<w.apgen.org/publications/pmc-web.si.hml>.

Conference PresentationsSpeaklng ar a national or hishly visible sraie or regional

conference is ofren the goal ofmany genealogists who

cunendy work in rhe 6eld or wanr to explore genealogr

as a profession. As you can imagine, there is signi6cant

conpetition for a small numbe' ofp.ogram slos, so do not

be disappointed ifyour proposak are not selected lhe firr

rine (or even ihe sccond, or ihird rime) you submit. A good

way to build your "speaker's

cred" is to start locally and work

your way up to rhe bigger venues. Srar! with you rocar

or regional genealogical society or an erhnic genealogical

sociery Use Google ro nnd them in your area, or sites such

as Cyndi's List Socieries & G.oups <\i/rw.cyndislist.com/

socierie> or Federation of Gedealogical SocietieFSociery

Hall <rm.fgs.orgAocieryhall/index.php>. Family Hisiory

r \po, . Inc. M. f rmi lyh i r ro, te \poi .com- of rp1 pre,en,r ion

opporruniries io genealogy speakers who wan! to break id

ro rhe speaking circuir or for mole experienced speakers

ro expand rheir audiences or try out new lectures. Family

Hisrory Expos k run by long-rime genealogy professional

Holly Hansen and *ates on irs homepage that it "provides

exciring evenrs offerins ihe laresr in genealogy skill building,

professional research assisiance, technology developmena,

vendor inreecrion, deNorkingopportuniries, and unlimited

tunl' You will find Fanily History Expos all over rhe.ount.y.

Check their website for more information.

Many ofthe large co.fetences. such as the National

Genealogicai Sociery <{,sry.ngsgenealogy.org or the

federarron ofGere, log 'cr l 5ocier ie . - \^^s iC. .otg ' . i *ur r

call for papen in advance of their .onferences wirh specific

subnission deadlines and guidelines. You will find many srate

genealogical socieries and orher g.oups also seeking spcake6.

Varch Twi$er .ffi.!wirtercom> or Facebook.***.

facebook.com>, or follow genealogy blogs-see Geneablogges

124 Associatian at' Pofessianal Genealogisb Auanerly September 20l I

TeachinsGen6alo

BY L SA A. ALZO. [4.F.A

<w.geneabloggen.con>. If you belong ro rhe Genealogicalspeaker\ Guild <rl/rw.seneaioSicahpeakeBguild.org> rheyhave a special Call for Papers secrion on irs websire. Anyonepresenring in rhe neld ofsenealosi crn join ($40 per year rorindividual membeshiP).

Here are a few dps on how ro break in:l� Define your a.eaG) ofqperrise.2. Decide on yourplatform (in-peson, online, or borh).3. Stan smalland work your way up.4. Get refenals and reviss/rcsrimonials.

5. Nerworkwith other genealogis$ (er people knowyou are

For addirional informarion, I highly recomnend rhe boobAp?rcachi11g the Lectern: Hotu ta Bmne d Genealog Speahel,6yIlomas MacEnree (available ar Lulu <\^^N.lulu.com>, $12.95print; $8.99 e-book).

Institutes'Ilere

are several genealogical in$itures for rhose who wanrin-depth insrruction. or more inrensive srudy wirh guidancefrom narionaUy prominenr genealogical educarors. Hererre a few ofthe popular prograns Gee sidebar for more

l. Bosron University's Genealogical Rsearch CerrificareProsram <hrrpr/professional.bu.edu/programs/genealog:)D. Available on-campus and onlide Geewebsire for details).

2. Gene'logical Research Insrirure of Pirtsburgh <ll/rw.GR]Pirr.org>. New Held in JL y.

3- The Sah Lake Institute of Geneatogy <w-infouga.orp.Held in January.

4. ]lle Smford Insdrure of Genealogymd HistoricalResearch <M4.sanford.eduAchools/ighD. Held in June.

Adult Eiucation/Lifelong LearningProgramsMany local community colleges, and even some lafserunive$iries, vocarional schools. or libnries may oFer courseson genology end fanily hisrory. simply do a search on Goosle<w.google.com> ro find programs near you. In addition,loo\ io , "n O45l \ . \M.odFrrer .org progrJm in your . i ry ortown. Geared toward rdulis (fifty and older), "OASIS programs

p,omo,e ' . ,c ,c , , tu1 d8in8 rhrough t i fe long le"rn ing \er t rh

programs and volunreer engagenent." The OASIS Insdrue inSr. Louis is the headguafters ofa narional netwolk rhar serves adive^e rudie l . e rh,ough edu.atronal tenter . and .ommrrni ryparhers in Nedtl,'seven U.S. ciries locared primarily in.ommuniry \ : re, . I ind d l i \L ot . iUe, on rh web. i ,e .

Online LearningThe National Iftrntute fot Geneakgical Studies<www. genealo gicalstudies.com>The Narional lnsrirute for Geneaiogical Sttrdies. in aiiliarionwirh rhe Conrinning Educarion Unit ofrhe Universicy ofSr. Michael's College ar rhe Univ€.siry oFToronro, has beenofiiring family historians and genealogisrs couBes for overrhifteen years. firsr in-classroom and now online for the last

"The Narional In$iiute for Genealogical Studies wasesiablished to a$isi all genealogisrs-from family hkroriansto pracricing professionals-by providing srudies in a varietyofgenealogical topics. Educarion provides an imporran! rolein nising levels ofpersonaland profesional growth," saysLouise St Denis, managing directoi St Denis adds, "Wiih ihisin mind, a group ofprofessional genealogists came togetherro creare courees and programs conforming to recognizedgenealogical srandards. Their inrenrions afe'to assisr ihetamily historian research and record informarion regarding

September 20l I 4r,utdLnn at Petp+siandt benpaloq'sts A,ana 4 125

their ancestors in a responsible and profesional manner: tohelp the serious amateur genealogisr gain rhe skills required

to apply for cenification or accrediarioni and ro help rheprofessional genealogisr develop a pan-rine or full-rime careerin our chosen 6e1d.

C!rrend)', <M.genealogicalsrudies.com> offers over200 couhe. in J wide v"r ier) ofBene. lognal .Jb jecr , . 'othere is lircrally somerhing for every researcher Smdents ofthe progr-m ."n r .ke ,ny number of . ou, \e( Lh

in .ercs lrhem o focu ' or eI r in ts a ( r , r i6 .J(e rn one ot n i r e counr yspeci6c concentrations, includilgAusualia, Canada, England,heland, Gerdany, Scodand, and rhe Unired Siates; GeneralMedodologyi and Librarianship. Soon, rhe specifics ofanEastern European ceniGcate progr:n willalso be announced.

Farnil! Ttee Urrirclsit!<\r{ry.familytreeuniversicy.com>

Fanily Tree Universiry (lTU) is the online educational arnof Faniu 7iu Magtuihe <w.familytree nagazine.com>,published by F+w Media, rnc. FTUI cuiiiculum is developedfor hobbyisrs. As Ailison Sra+ publisher and edirorialdirecrornores, "onlide

educarion can mean a lor ofdiFerenr things rodifterent people, and FTU is not geared toward senealosisrsseeking educadon for professional development or certification.Thar puts FTU in averydilferent caregory from progrums llkethe Samford Insrirure ofGenealogy and Hisiorical Reselrch.Bosion Universiry or even the Narional Insrirure."

"I feel Fanily Tree Universirys sftngrh is lharwe donr onlytea.h genealogral re.hniquc. Jnd . r " .egie, . buL $e,e rea.)sftons i. whar I call 'genealogy lifesryle' classes (for example,classes on serting orgmidd and buildins a websire),'says fbrmerOnlire Connmiry Ediror Grace Dobush. "Giving genealogissrnd hobbyisr the rook rhey need ro work snarier add sharerheir findings is someding I rhinkweie really great ar. And rheclases and insrructon ue approacheble we avoid beins iooschola.ly or sru& jusr like Fanilr Ttee Mdgdzine;

Stacy adds,'hnother advamrage to Family Tree Universiry ist h e t l e r r b i l r g o u r . l a * e ' o l t e r r o $ r d e n F . v i r h ' h c i r n , J . ( o r -

led online courees, students can login lnd go !o class anFimethar's convenient. and complere rhe coureworkar rheir ownpacewirhin rhe class session. \se orer independenr srudyversions ofmany online couses for people who prefer m workon their own. People who like a shorter, concenrhred bursrofprogramming can sign up tor a webinar ro warch live and/or download rhe recotding ro view on rheirown schedule.'Toread srudent testimonials, go to <1^|w.hmilytreeuniversiry-com/

rvhar-is-fanily-lree universiry^esdmoniah>.In Augusr, Family Tree Univeriry En i$ 6rsr Viriual

Contarence. Parti.ipanrs werc able ro experience a wide varieq,ot topics and presenters over rbree days, sinilar io an in-personseninar and conference, but with the freedom ro make theirown schedules. As Sracy notes, 'Srudents didnt have io choose

berween sessions happening at rhe same rime, or worry about

gerring a sear in a tull clasroom.' lle sesions were in video

format for atrendees to watch in wharever order they chose:r rd the ' ideo, se,e even rur lable ro dounload lor vrewrngafter rhe cooference.

W'ebiursA big rrendsweeping the genealogy indusrry is thewebinar.Awebjnar n shon for \?eb based seminr-imply rr rs ap.esenradon, lecrur€, workshop, orseminar rhar is transmitted

Many genealogy companies, genealogical societies, andindividuel speekers are offering webinars for free or a smaufee. One of the pioneers of this new type ofgeneaiogicaleducarion is Thomas MacEntee, a professional genealogisr

specializing in rhe use ofrechnology and social media toimprove genealogical research, and as a means ofinreracriDswirh orhels in ihe fenily hisrory communiry He believesrhar the rend will become in.reasingly popular. "One

ofrhe advantages ofan lnrerner presence, which moregenealogiss and genealogicai societies are adopting, is that

rhe world becones smaller," says MacEntee. "This means tharwhile we once travereed long distances ro attend en evenr$ i ' h gerer logv edu." t ioa. re t -n nou . implv parr rcrpareremotely from ihe conrorr ofour hotu€ and otice. LesacyFamily TIee <w.legacyfamilyrree.com> and RootsMagic<wwwroorsmagic.com> have also become major phyerein rhe world ofwebinars, as has rhe Southern CaliforniaGenealogical Sociery <lw.scgsgenealogy.com>. whose

Jamboree draws large cowds io Burbank each lune. Lesacyoffered irs firs webina. in Septenber 2010- 1le webinarsprovide speakers wirh an unBpped audience and for a speakeris a wonderful way to promore rhei! name and lalenrs iD lhegenealogical connuniry A speaker doesnt need much-anInterner connection and a preseniarion, wherher it: via livedemonstiations or a P,u.rP,l,t," says GeoFRasmussen. ho$ofrhe Legacy FamilyTree webinar series.

A list ofupcoming webinaB can be found on Genea\Yebind6<hmp://blog.geneawebinars.com>, which provides a one-srop

shop for 6ose interesed in nndingwho is hosrins awebina.andwhen. The site senes r a centratized calendar and blogfor announcements and was saned by Par Richley (aka

DearMyrrle).

Self-Paced EducationFor rhose wbo prefef more intormal insrrucrion (video or self-paced tutorials). check the fre researcb couises otrered q-

FmirySearch <M.familysea.ch.ors/learo/rcsearchcouseD,

Genea-lo$i-con <w.genealosacom/univeriryhtml>, and anynunber of videos available via YouTube <w.youtube.com>.

In addirion. conferences such ar RooBTech <w.roorsrech.

com> and rhe Southern California Genealosical SocieryJamboree

126 Assaciatian of Pturessianat 5eneatosis$ Auaftely September 2ot I

. h(p://genealogyjmboree.blogspot.com' b,ought se'etJ

..1.'.r p.esenrarions ro dre masesvia livevideo streams from

:hcir confe.ences so rhargenealognrs who could not tranl long

.iinances could carch sessions at home on their own computen.

Conclusionilenelogy n a field rhat will continue m evolve in rerms of horv

rnd rvhcn we acces information anddocuments, dre technology

,'e use to do so, and ho-we acquire md applyour horvledge

ro bel< dorvn ourbrickwalls and sohr complex tesearcb

problems. Ar we hope to arracr new rcscarche$, and especiallr

Five Steps to Becoming an Effective Educator

I Know your rnaterial inslde and out Practice aheadof I me. Test URLS and webs tes lo make sure theywork Try to anlic pate common questions yoll mayreceive on the topic in advance. Th s gets eas er todo once yo! have gven a part cular ta k a tew t mesHowever, many I mes a student w ask a qlesl onand you raay not kno\,! the answer never clarm loknow it al l . l f you do not know the answel do nol. d . - O - o . n d o L o h - p e r . o - F . h " g -contact inloTTaation. and then fo ow !p with lhem\ ro - n d o r pho ' . o - r r yo . qdv 'd 'oppor lu r

see them aga n al a conference or other event.

rry io enrice turure generarioDs ro rake an inre.est in lhtir

rooc. rve s,ill need experienced profcsionak to reach rhem the

r e , ' . . r . U l . r o b e , r . . q . , t u l r r ' e i r L r r n , l y h i . o n o r , ' r . .

Lnr A. AIza, M.FA. it 'tt'eeln,.. u,it.t:l..t1tct, ad rstnnu: L rtu i"ttt6t oJjll di'.hturc, jt it "at.d rat lE knche'

eow:e: far Fdn;! Tre Uniuertiry and the

Ndtiodl h6tit'lte fot Gredlogi.zl Stdict,

r"d hr' ?te'dted tuebitu"i lnt LcsncrFanij liec datl the Surthn CzliJnnitr

Wireless networks are nolorious ior going down orsomeumes a rel iab e conneclion i5 not avaiabLe. Havegood, cLear Screenshots ol your examples to use i ineceSSary

Be p easant and be accessib e. Try lo creale awe com ng atrnospheTe For sludents who are therebecause they wanl to earn lrom you. Do nol demeanoT insult your studenls or make inapproprialeremarks Putyoursell n their seat. Remernber:everyone was a beglnner once (even youl) A so,accept lhat despile yo!r best efforts. there wi betirnes where you will not p ease everyone. Ernbracethe positive comrnents. bul eval!ate any negat veones objectivey to see if lhere is somelhing you canlearn irom them that w he p you irnprove your nexlpresenlatlon or course.

Consider cerl i f icat on. While there s no awlhat stales yoLr must have a set of postnom nalsd F r )o . rd r . ro F " ' 8F ' a log ) . ob . i n i rg

- r n . d t o . g o - . a o n g ̂ d j t o F \ o b . g v o .

credibi l i ty. espec al ly f you desire to be an instruclorfor one of the more prest Sious programs. Thereare lees associated witfr the cert fication processconsu t the Board ror cert i f icat on or Genea ogists<www.trcgcert i f i cal on.or8> lor fu(hernforrnation. l l you irnd lhal you cannot ai lord lhemo -a . - o t . - r pe . o r " l . . " o - o r no - p r . u ingcerl i frcation. then raake sure you have plenly of reaworld expeTlence many years of well-docuraenled

. . ( e , . - . n o r r o v \ _ 1 6 6 d t . c d t d o L d p I

others lhis wil l also help to prove your authority/expert se on a top c.

2

5 .

Take an interest ln youT Studen|s t the course issmall enough. have them introduce themse ves andstate why they are taking the course. ll a larger c ass,ask some SeneTa quest ons How many are new Logenealogy? How nrany have been do ng researchfor five years. ten yeaas. e!c.? Th s wi enable youto gel a leel ror who 15 in the class, 50 you can ta loryour presental ion appTopriate y as needed l i you areteach ng on ne. posl a welcome messaSe and follow-up messages lo check on lhe sludents progress.troubleshoot any isslres or prolr ems. and encourageparticiparion

Be prepared. Make sure you are fan'riliar wilh lhetechnology (cornputer projector, remote. etc.). lf yoLrare not usrng your own equ pmenl. get to Ine roomor og-on eary to fam iar ze yourse t w th what isprovlded for you Have good handouls (be sure toinclude Lhe URLs for any websites you mentlon sostudents do not have to wr le them down) Do notrely on the lnLernet lor your examples or demos.

September 2O11 Association at' Ptulessianal Genealogis\ Auanerlv 127

Nevv Certificate Programs for GenealogistsBY EL 5SA SCALISE POWELL, .G. cGL

^ n o - - o p t p 6 . - L - o - . - , o g d i b o - F \ . - I . F

Inal educahon s needed to hnd nnd understand sourcesqu ck y a rd eff ic endy They are wi l l ng to pay for th sknowledge because they know that by be ng el l ic enllhey are actua y saving research t me and moneyMosl genea og srs are a feady larnl l iar w th the IGHR alSamlord lJn vers ry <www4.samford.edu/schoo s/ ighr>.and Salt Lake lnsr i tute of Genealogy <www infougaorg> lo n ng lltese programs are two few edlcat onaloppo(!nitiesr Boston Un vers ry's Genea og cn ReseafchCert i rcate (BUGRC) progran'r < h| |p: / /professionalru edu/progranrs/genea ogy> and the GenealogicalResearch Inst i tute ol Pir tsburgh (GRIP) <www.cRtPir lo r g >

The BIIGRC progra.n is olfered on the BostonlJnive.sity carnpus in the lal and spring sernesters andrneets for fourteen Salurdays fro.n 9:00 A M. to 5:00PM Each modLre s two oT three weeks ong and islaughl by a wel -qua i f ied instructor The rnodules werevlr ften at an inteTrned ate eve and ernphasize prolllern,so v n8, ev dence eva uat iof , and souTce c tat on5 l l t5not a couase atroul records 50 as much as how lo useevrdence n records to make k nsh p determ nat onslo ow ng the standards in the lie d The course also hasa Profess onal Genealogy module for those exp of ntlhe business side and a Forensic Genea ogy modu ewh ch exp ores photo idenl ltcation he r seaTch np. andco d ca5e5. The atter mod!le is not of lered in any otherpfograrn ol sludy The irltimate classroorn env ronmeft s

r d u . - o - " i o r i g f r - d p ' r . o r l

o . - L o 8 B U - - d . o & d | . i g o r o

The BU program s a so offered three I mes a year as.rn on rne course w th the Same number of modules Theon ine expefence s ess persona as each person si ts nfront ol their computer no matter wlrere they are in thewor d. bLrt car be very nteractive as d scussion boardsve chats. and e mai take the p ace of c lassroom

cornmun cat ionS. Bolh onl ine and on caTnpLrs cou seshave graded assrgnments and an average ol a C+ acrossal l raodules must be mainta ned in order to rece ve thecert hcale ol achievement After fourteen \,r,,eeks, t isqurte an ach evement to be proud of

t 5 nterest ng lo compare the program5 becauselhe on campus course is held once a n,eek whi le the

on rne couTse can hnd someone n the coLfseware 2l l7.t s a s.r nlense r the sefse fhat lhere s so much to

exp ore r the text materla and Sugte5ted webs tes thalone can ose lrack of al l t me eas ly. And i t takes 5omed i o - r o d . 0 6 I n 6 | - . n o I g - . " g p -chat5 or extraneous nforrnat on

GR P is a new insl i tute which w have i ts debutn Pit l5b!rgh Pennsylvania 22 ta 2l )uly 2O12 t is

a week ong nsl lLrte wh ch of lers lour courses lhalrLrn sirnLl taneoLrsly. Students w choo5e one of thelo .rwng aol l rses: ntef inedinte, Advanced GerrnanResearch. or Befeath the Homepage Prob ern Solvingw i t h O n n e R e p o s i t o r i e s E a c h c o u r s e s l a u g h t b y awe -qua i f ied instructof who has a proven lrack recordof 5e ng out the r courses at other nst tutes luslm nules after reg Stfat on has opened

GRIP w a so have sorne spec a evening ac|vi t eso a .o6n '

plb ic We hope to ioster a cornmun ry sp r t dur ng theweek wrth severa act v l t e5 lhal w I br ing the stLldentsfr'orn the varoLrs courses togefier This i5 a veryaffordab e n5t i t l r te lor out ol towners because ol thedormitory opl ion Five n ghts and f i f teen mea s s on y

5245 per person n a doub e and 5280 lor a s ng e roomwrth a refr igerator m crowave ;nd prvate bath. Formore inforrnat ion p ease see the website <www GRlPit t .or8> and sign up for e mai updates to keep abreast ofnformat on as r f s announced

For l roth progfams. students can expect to hearpresental ion5, do hands on exerr ses perhapS havefromework and network w, i th the r te ow studentswho become fr ends, aol eagues. and re ab eresources al tef the coLrrse s done They can expecllhe al lenl on ol the in5tructors who are tru y therelo help slLrdents gain a better gfasp ol genealogicareSearcn

Frorn the instructor s v ewpo nf r f s an enioyab eexpenence lo 5ee the ightbu b mornents wrten asrLrdent 'gels i t . l t ls a chance fo he p those whoare research n8 the r own furmi ly apply genea ogrcals t a n d a r d s a n d p r o f e 5 5 o n a l e c h n q u e s t o l h e rresearch. l l s a satrsfact on ol he ping the nexlgeneral on of genea ogists to be better and ach eveLlrerf goal5

128 Assaciatian af Prcfessian al G enealagis\ Aoa de y Seprember 2011