A Week of Webinars

All webinared out

In the past seven days I have watched four webinars from different providers in Australia and the US.

1. Evernote for Genealogy, Cyndi Ingle for The Society of Australian Genealogists $10

2. Golden Genealogy Rules, Shauna Hicks for MyHeritage FREE

3. Getting started with Research, Joanne for Queensland State Archives FREE

4. Staying Safe Using Social Media, Thomas MacEntee for Georgia Genealogical Society  FREE

I learnt a little from each presentation and a lot from the Queensland State Archives as I was not at all familiar with that institution amd its holdings. I learnt about presentation techniques from Thomas, he is an excellent and experienced presenter who speaks slowly and clearly with lots of humour (although having known Thomas for a while I have heard some of those oneliners before). He does not rely solely on slides but gives live demonstrations showing how things work on his computer. He engages with attendees during his talk by naming some of them, we realise he can't do a full roll call.

Three of the presentations used the GoToWebinar platform while the Queensland State Archives used another that I much preferred as it showed a video stream of the speaker as well as her slides, this webinar was recorded in front of a live audience and the moderator did a great job of involving the online attendees in the event. I did not realise that one could show a livestream of a presenter on GoToWebinar but Thomas came on screen at the beginning and end of his talk giving it a more personal touch.

This was Shauna's first webinar, she commented on her blog afterwards " I found it a bit strange just sitting in my study talking to my laptop knowing that there were about 120 people out there listening to me."  Shauna and Joanne were first time presneters and did an awesome job in their debuts. 

Having become used to Google Hangouts on Air, where there is video of presenters and panel and more interaction,  I find that, although I learn from them, some webinars are real "chalk and talk" formal lecture sessions. I fear that the moderators do not realise that they are using social media tools and that they have a role to make presenters feel comfortable and to interrupt presenters occasionally to ask questions and pass on comments from attendees.

While my $10 for the The Society of Australian Genealogists wasn't too expensive there were empty seats in the room (webinar lingo) I can't understand why SAG don't offer seats to non-members. This could be done as a last-minute offer via social media once members have had a reasonable time to enrol. I know my mates in country Queensland and the Northern Territory would be happy to add to SAG's coffers if they had a chance to attend the webinars.

Thank you to those three organisations who used their webinars as outreach or marketing tools, I appreciate being able to use your services. Getting a freebie leaves me with a good impression of your organisations.

Cyndi's Other List

Most genealogists should have heard of Cyndi's List, a huge directory of genealogy resources on the internet. I have been lucky enough to have met Cyndi Ingle in person at Rootstech.

http://www.cyndislist.com/

I am a huge fan of Evernote who is always looking for further ways to further use the product. When I heard that Cyndi was presenting a webinar for SAG members about Evernote for genealogy in National Family History Month I signed up and joined 74 other members and moderator, Heather Garnsey, online for the gig.

If one thinks of Evernote as list of things then this presentation could have been called Cyndi's Other List. Cyndi packed a lot into the allocated time talking at a rate of knots to get through her topic, thankfully she speaks clearly and well. She quickly outlined the structure of Evernote before launching into live demonstrations using her Evernote account.

It was interesting to see the way Cyndi uses Evernote in her genealogy. She uses it heavily for tracking her research and saving resources. I picked up a couple of tips from Cyndi that I will find useful.  I like the way she sets up a folder and saves related stuff into it when she is doing freebie research for friends and that she can then share the bits in that folder to the friend via a link.
I hadn't used the Table of Contents feature and will find that useful for one notebook I have. I was also reminded that one can save notes to different formats - something to explore.

Having grown used to Google Hangouts on Air I found it strange going back to the Goto Webinar platform, I missed the interactivity and video components of Hangouts. The webinar felt like a formal lecture, a "chalk and talk" activity. There was time for five minutes of questions at the end of the lecture, I wish this could have been extended to allow for more discussion. I was lucky to have had a couple of questions answered but I should have asked if Cyndi uses Evernote as an organisational tool for Cyndi's List.

Thanks Cyndi for sharing how you use Evernote and for the handy handout you prepared for us. It was great to catch up with you from downunder.

National Family History Month 2014 Geneameme

My blogging mate Pauleen from Family History across the Seas has issued this challenge for National Family History Month. Being a bit of a meme fan I just couldn't resist it.  

Thanks also to Pauleen for giving me this opportunity to reflect on my genealogy practices. As I am committed to reflection and evaluation this activity provides me with an interesting instrument for that purpose. 

As a geneablogger it is pleasing to see a #NFHM2014 activity just for us. I hope that many of my geneablogging mates complete this activity.. You can find details here on Pauleen's blog.

1. What are you doing for NFHM?
   I am attempting to respond to this geneameme.
   I am trying to work through those of the 31 Activities for researchers that I haven't previously attempted.I hosted a Geniaus Google Hangout on Air that you can view here and have planned another for the final day of #NFHM2014 that you can watch here. To hear about future Hangouts how about joining my Google+ Geniaus Community?
   I attended a talk at Hornsby Library.I am attending a talk at Hawkesbury Library
   I have signed up for a SAG Webinar about Evernote with Cyndi Ingle.
   I will be listening to Shauna Hick's webinar with MyHeritage
   I am writing blog posts.
   I am tweeting about #NFHM2014 events and activities sousing the appropriate hashtag so that those with an interest can easily find info and stories related to the event.
   Paying it forward by doing some Familysearch Indexing.Perhaps i'll find some time for some research!
2. What do you hope to learn in NFHM?
   I am hoping to be surprised. I have a commitment to CGD - Continuing genealogical Development  and know that I will learn smething from all the activities in which I participate. From Cyndi I hope to learn more ways to use Evernote in my genealogy day.
3. Do you research at a family or local history library?
   Sure do. I love the State Library of NSW and National Library of Australia and The Family History Library in Salt Lake City which I will visit again in 2015. I'll be visiting the SoG Library in London later this month. I have a research log in my Family Historian database into which I save tasks for these libraries and archives as well so that when I visit I can get straight to work.
4. Do you do all your research online?
   No way. I do lots of online research but most of this leads me to repositories here and overseas where I continue my sleuthing.
5. What’s your favourite place to store your family tree?
   In my Family Historian database which is synced via Dropbox between my big (home) laptop and my little hot pink (travel) laptop. I also have my tree online at www.geniaus.net, I use the brilliant program TNG to share my data.
6. If offline, which genealogy program do you use? (do tell us its strengths/weaknesses if you like).
   In my Family Historian database. I like this program because it is so customisable and flexible, it comes out of the UK (where my ancestors came from), it uses a native gedcom format and it has super multimedia capabilities. A band of committed and experienced users have written and shared lots of widgets and addons that extend its usefulness even more. How long is a piece of string - I could go on and on about this software package.
7. How do you preserve your family stories for future generations?
   In my Family Historian database with related pictures, documents and clippings on an external hard drive (x2) and in blog posts on the Geniaus Blog.
8. Have you any special research projects on the go?
   I am so caught up trying to sort out myown family history that I haven't started any other projects. I am considering a One-Na,e study for my grandmother's maiden name Pusell but fear that I may not be able to give it the time it deserves. I am wrestling with whether I should just jump in and perhaps do a poor job or leave it. But I guess that a poor attempt is better than no attempt al all.
9. What is your favourite family history research activity?
   It's not research as such. The old adage  "once a teacher ...always a teacher" describes me. I love sharing my knowledge and passion for technology and genealogy via social media and by giving presentations online and in person. I like to talk to the living as well as the dead.
10. What is your favourite family history research place/library etc?
    There's no place like home. I love sitting in my geneacave researching, thinking, writing and sharing.
11. What is your favourite website for genealogy research?
    It's a tie for first place. I love Trove for the wealth of treasure it adds to my tree and good old Google search for the odd things it leads me to. A well-crafted search and persistence with Google will reap rewards.
12. Are you part of a Facebook genealogy group? If so which one?
    I am not a fan of Facebook but because it has such a huge user base I use it reluctantly. I belong to around a dozen Facebook Genealogy Groups that are useful but I fear for some of the advice given in  as some of the generous souls offering assistance are sometimes lacking in appropriate expertise or knowledge. 
13. Do you use webinars or podcasts for genealogy? Any tips?
    I am both a participant and host. I love being able to learn and share from the comfort of my geneacave and in my own time. My advice is give it a go - you won't break anything.
14. Do you use social media? eg Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn
    Do I use social media? I am obsessed but realise that I need a personal socila media policy so that I am not overwhelmed.I have many accounts but I use Google+ as my main social media vehicle for genealogy, I prefer to use Facebook for personal stuff but have been swept up by the hordes of genies who use it. I use Twitter to share news of events and I don't quite get Pinterest although I am trying to get a handle on it once more.
15. What genealogy topic/class have you learnt the most from this year at a webinar/conference/seminar?
    It has to be on the Unlock the Past Genealogy Cruise in February where we were exposed to a range of top international and Australian presenters. The informal learning opportunities afforded by being locked up on a ship in the middle of the ocean make this an incredible learning experience.
16. Do you have a favourite research strategy to knock down your brick walls?
    The PIP Process. Persistence, Inventiveness and Patience. Persistence - keep at it, try, try and try again. Inventiveness - harness your creative powers, think laterally to find your way around a problem. Patience - just like Snow White believed that "one day my prince will come" believe that some day you will find your answer, it make take two, ten or twenty years to find that magic sledgehammer. Hey - I just invented the PIP process - my bit of creativity for National Family History Month.
17. Have you used DNA testing for your genealogy?
    The test kits are sitting on my dressing table - must get around to it sometime. 
18. Have you made cousin connections through your DNA tests?
    Not yet!
19. Do you have a wish list of topics for NFHM 2015? 
    More online events.
    I am thinking of hosting a 12 hour GeniAus Hangout on Air event - if I can get a few genies to help out. I envisage drawing up a roster of group of genies who will talk about various topics close to their hearts with a panel who will ask questions and contribute questions just like Dear Myrtle did in her recent 24 hour Geneasleepover. Who's up for the challenge?
20. What do you most love about your family history research?
    The ancestor stories that emerge after years of personal sleuthing and collaborating with new found cousins.

My Geneacave