What are your genealogy goals for 2012? For some genealogists, the answer to that question is that they want to take a some genealogy classes. The cost of those classes might be holding you back. Fortunately, there are some free, online, classes that are offered by FamilySearch.
The start of a new year is an opportunity to make changes. It is time to make new goals, or “New Year’s Resolutions”, about what you hope to accomplish in the next twelve months. For genealogists, this could mean anything from finally starting work on a family tree, to signing up with the online genealogy website that you have had your eye on for quite some time.
No matter how long you have been doing genealogy, there is always something new to learn about it. One way to continue your education is to take a class. It is up to you to determine exactly what it is that you would like to learn more about. Do you want to learn more about how to do a specific type of genealogy research? Would you rather learn about genealogy resources that you are currently unaware of? What about learning how to find a genealogy group to share your research with?
Education can be expensive, and this is the primary factor that holds people back from signing up for a genealogy class at a college or university. Fortunately, you can find some online genealogy classes that are free to view. FamilySearch provides a wealth of information for genealogists who are interested in learning more about how to do genealogy.
FamilySearch is an extremely popular genealogy website. This is the website that is run, maintained, and updated by members of the Mormon Church, (or the Church of Latter Day Saints). The website is free for all genealogists to use, no matter what their religious beliefs happen to be.
Recently, FamilySearch updated their online learning center to include some new classes. There are five of them, and each one is absolutely free to watch.
“Family Search Tips” is a video that takes ten minutes to watch. It shows you five techniques that can help your searches on the FamilySearch website be successful. There is a pdf that you can download, for more information.
“Five Minute Genealogy Episode 12: Learn From a Record” is, as you would expect, five minutes long. It shows genealogists how to create an identity for their ancestor by learning everything that can be learned from a record. You can download this video to your computer for free, if you want to.
“Genealogical Proof Standard” is a twenty-two minute piece of audio for you to listen to. Christine Rose, author of the “Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case” is featured. She explains five key principles, best practices for selecting information sources, how to evaluate evidence, and how to summarize a clear and solid conclusion. You can download this audio file for free.
Two other free classes are in relation to certain locations or countries. There is a thirty minute video called “Germany Beginning Research Series Lesson 2: Learn about Historical Background.” There is also a fifteen minute video called “U.S. Midwest Beginning Research Lesson 3: A Case Study”. All of these free classes, and more, are available on the FamilySearch website.
Image by Asim Bijarani on Flickr