Life-Long Learning for Genealogy & DNA

In the past several weeks, my life has been filled with a course that I’m taking through the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG). It’s called Intermediate Foundations and I’m really enjoying it.

SLIG offers courses in Salt Lake, but this course is offered online. There was another course about DNA, but it required a pre-requisite of a previous SLIG course, so I thought I’d try this one. Despite doing genealogy for a long time, it’s not a cakewalk. Each week there are lectures for 3.5 hours and then 5 hours of homework. During the 11 week course, there is also an ongoing project that you work through.

How about you? Are you taking any courses? If you’re not, then I thought I’d offer some ideas as to how you can learn more about genealogy and DNA. Some of these are free, and some have a fee.

There are several different ways you can choose for your life-long learning experience. There are courses, webinars, and conferences. These are just a few of the things you can look at; perhaps this should be one of my regular posts as there are so many others. Hmmm, or maybe a dedicated page.

Just this week, the Genealogy Guys announced their new Learn platform. They offer three levels of study; Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced. Have a listen to their recent podcast, and you’ll receive 10% off the yearly plan for the level that works for you. (BTW the podcast is also another way of learning something new and, it’s FREE)

Speaking of podcasts there is also Amy Johnson Crow’s podcast call The Genealogy Cafe. Amy’s site has a written portion that ties in with the podcast.

One final podcast I want to mention is a podcast that I’ve been listening to for many years, and that’s Lisa Louise Cooke’s; Genealogy Gems. At the writing of this blog, there were 233 episodes that are free, and there are also additional paid episodes you can purchase.

How about webinars? I’m going to tell you about two sites that I can think of.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars is a site that has been around for many years. With over 1,000 webinars, there is something on every subject in the genealogy and DNA world. There is free content as well as a paid subscription, and now they also offer webinars in other languages. Each week there are new webinars that you can watch at the time of recording and for FREE up to one week after. But a subscription costs $49.95 US annually, and I like that because then I can watch whatever, whenever I have some time. (even in my pj’s)

Another site is put on by Legacy’s parent company; MyHeritage. This site was launched at the MyHeritage Live this past September. It’s called MyHeritage Education, and you’ll find “how-to” videos, webinars, and articles about Family Trees, Research, DNA, and Health.

Of course, going to a conference is a great learning experience, and best of all, you will be doing it with other peeps that love what you love. I’m not going to get into specific conferences here because then this post will be outdated as soon as they are over, but you can find conferences by checking the FamilySearch page called Upcoming Conferences or by going to a site run by a friend of mine called Conference Keeper. Conference Keeper is great because you can not only learn about conferences either by date or by location, but you’ll also find cruises and jobs and more.

Also, check out the Virtual Genealogical Association site for their virtual conferences.

In Canada, another friend; Dave Obee, has a page for upcoming Canadian conferences that you can find HERE. Be sure to have a look around his site as there are so many links to Canadian resources.

Of course, I need to mention RootsTech. I’ve been going to RootsTech in Salt Lake City since the beginning and will be enjoying the first RootsTech London very shortly. First, as an attendee and then more recently as an Ambassador. The beauty of this conference is that if you can’t attend (but you should really go to one if you can as they are so much fun), you can also enjoy the live streaming of the event and records of some of the lectures.

Finally, there is YouTube. You can find so many recordings on genealogy and DNA on YouTube. My son says that’s where he learns much of what he works on. He’s not into genealogy, but he has an acreage and a small business, so he’s always tinkering with something.

One friend that has quite a few videos is Devon Noel Lee with her family The NextGen Genealogy Network She and her family have been creating videos for over five years, so there is quite the selection.

I even have a YouTube channel, but after speaking about Devon’s site, I’m ashamed to say there aren’t a lot of videos, but I will be adding more very soon.

So if you’ve thought you’d like to learn more about genealogy and DNA and you didn’t know where to begin, I hope these ideas have helped. These are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many other sites, and I wish I could mention them all.

I think learning every day is what keeps us young.