Back to school: Online gen classes begin, Oct. 11

It's back to family history school on October 11 with Family Tree University classes.

New classes this term at the education site of Family Tree Magazine include Death Records 101, Cemetery Research 101 and a two-week sampler class called "Discover Your Family Tree."

Here are all the classes offered at Family Tree University:

• Advanced Google for Genealogists: Techniques to Take Your Research to the Next Level
• Build a Family Website: Make a Site for Your Family in Four Weeks
• Cemetery Research 101: Dig Up Your Family History
• Creating a Family History Book: Start-to-Finish Guidance for Assembling and Printing a Family Keepsake
• Death Records 101: Find What Your Ancestors Left Behind
• Digital Photography Essentials: Techniques to Capture and Preserve Your Family History
• Discover Your Family Tree: Genealogy for the Absolute Beginner
• Exploring City Directories: How to Trace Your Family in Yesterday’s Yellow Pages
• Find Your German Roots: From America to Deutschland
• Finding African-American Ancestors in Newspapers: Research Strategies for Success
• Finding Ancestors in the US Census: Online and Offline Research Strategies
• Finding Your Ancestral Village: Strategies and Tools to Pinpoint Your Family’s Place of Origin
• Google Earth for Genealogists: Plot Your Ancestors’ Lives
• Google Tools for Genealogists: Four Resources to Enhance Your Family History
• Land Records 101: Using Deeds, Plats, Patents and More
• Mastering Google Search: Secrets to Smarter, Faster Online Research
• Newspaper Research 101: Find Your Ancestors in American News Sources
• Organize Your Genealogy: Get Your Research in Order (and Keep It That Way)
• Published Genealogies: How to Use Others’ Research to Grow Your Family Tree
• Research in Foreign Records: How to Find Your Family Across the Pond
• Reverse Genealogy: Working Forward to Break Down Brick Walls
• Trace Your Polish Roots: Strategies for Searching in the US and Poland
• Tracing Immigrants: How to Research Your Family’s American Arrivals
• US Military Records: Trace Your Ancestors’ Service
• US Vital Records: Researching Births, Marriages, Deaths and Divorces
• Writing Your Family Memoir: Create a Capitvating Record of Your Family’s Story

For more information on classes, instructors, cost and registration, click here.

JGSLA 2010: What you will find!

Don't bother getting vaccinated for the genealogy bug - it won't help! Just be prepared for an amazing genealogy immersion experience this year.

From gold-rush pioneers to goniffs, from geo-tagging to gazetteers, and many other exciting topics, JGSLA 2010 has gathered experts, archivists, professors and authors from around the world to share their knowledge of a diverse range of fascinating topics with you and your fellow conference attendees.

These experts will bring genealogy - and possibly your personal genealogy - to life and present a new world of possibilities.

Regardless of whether you identify as a mind-mapper, Google geek, PC-pusher, Mac-Maven, Litvak, Galitzianer or "somewhere in Russia," JGSLA 2010 is for you!

In fact, you don't even need to be Jewish or researching your Jewish heritage - many programs provide general information, no matter what you are personally researching.

You'll never know whom you'll connect with at lunch, having a cup of coffee or taking a workshop. A long lost cousin? Descendants of your ancestral village? Someone investigating your family?

Will this be the year you find someone to share your research, to collaborate with others, to design a website for your research interests? Will a new resource or database provide that all-important clue enabling a major breakthrough?

You won't know unless you come to this year's conference!

A few tidbits:

-- Ancestry will provide classes and a free (by-appointment) digital scanning service for attendees.

-- JewishGen's Warren Blatt and Michael Tobias will present "JewishGen LIVE at L.A. LIVE” on their latest databases and search capabilities.

-- Steve Morse, a household genealogy name, will present a series on his website's resources, but his new program, presented with daughter Megan, will be "DNA and the Animal Kingdom: Evolution and Genealogy in the Natural World."

Stay tuned for news on workshops, special interest groups, birds-of-a-feather groups, films, breakfasts and tours. Everything you need to know is at JGSLA 2010.

GenClass.com: A new year, a new format

GenClass.com offers many genealogy classes in diverse topics, and is now using an improved format for these practical and economical online classes. Think of the new format as providing a personal genealogy tutor for each student.

GenClass instructors are excited as it will provide a greater opportunity to work more closely with each student in a more effective and enjoyable learning experience.

Each class is designed in an independent study format where each student works at his or her own pace on eight lessons (two per week) over four weeks, and interacts via e-mail with the instructor, who may also schedule optional class chats.

February's lineup - registration open now - includes the following:

Jewish Internet Genealogy
Adoption Investigative Class
Basic English Research
Brick Wall Research
Canadian Research - Internet Resources - Part 3
Eastern European Genealogy Research: Part 1 (Basic)
Jumpstart your Genealogy!
Salt Lake City: Part 1 - the Largest Genealogical Library in the World!
Scottish Genealogy

Click each class to learn more.

Want to plan ahead? March classes include: Australian and New Zealand Genealogy, Canadian Research - Internet Resources - Part 1, Eastern European Genealogy Research: Part 2 (Intermediate), Family Tree Maker 2009 - The Basics, Finding your Female Ancestors, Jumpstart your Genealogy, Lost Friends and Family Investigative Class, Native American Genealogy, Organizing Your Family History, Salt Lake City: Part 2, the Largest Genealogical Library in the World.

For other details, click GenClass.com.

Back to school: GenClass

Haven't you always wanted to find out more about your family? Here's a chance to get started in a short-term, information-packed online course at GenClass.

Basic Jewish Genealogy and Online Jewish Genealogy will begin after the High Holidays.

Starting August 2:

*Adoption Investigative Class: Detailed search advice and assistance for successfully locating and reuniting adoptees and birth families.

*Basic English Research: Learn how to start researching your English ancestors - historical background, geography, finding the "bones" of your family.

*Eastern European Genealogy Research: Part 2 (Intermediate): This class will continue on from the basic Eastern European research class, focusing on how to expand your research beyond your own family into a more community-oriented protocol.

*Lost Friends and Family Investigative Class: Detailed search advice and assistance on the methods to use for successfully tracing "lost" relatives and friends.

Starting September 3:

*Adoption Investigative Class: Detailed search advice and assistance for successfully locating and reuniting adoptees and birth families.

*Canadian Research - Part 1: This course does more than get you started. It takes you deep into some of the country's best records - many on the Internet.

*Family Tree Maker 16 - Advanced: Advanced features, like books, trees, reports and web sites.

*Lost Friends and Family Investigative Class: Detailed search advice and assistance on the methods to use for successfully tracing "lost" relatives and friends.

*Native American Genealogy: Learn how to start your research for your Native American Ancestors.

*Salt Lake City - Part 1: Access the largest genealogical library in the world. Perform searches, knowledgeably; and understand what you've found.

*Write Your Family History Step-by-Step:
How to write your own family history - a detailed, step-by-step guide.

Learn genealogy online

Looking to jumpstart your genealogy project?

Learn the essentials with a a group of enthusiastic and expert teachers.

Among the practical online genealogy classes from GenClass to begin May 3:

Adoption Investigation
Eastern European Genealogy Research: Part 1 (Basic)
Family Tree Maker 16 - Basic
Lost Friends and Family Investigation
Native American Genealogy
Write Your Family History Step-by-Step

Each class is only $29.95 for four weeks of instruction (eight lessons and class chats). Detailed information about each class and instructor is at the Web site.

Registration is open now at GenClass.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll mention that I'm a co-teacher of Jewish genealogy for this venture. See the online calendar for the next scheduled Jewish genealogy class.

New online classes begin March 1

Just a reminder that registration is open now for GenClass's new March and April classes. Several new courses will be offered, and the line-up includes many useful topics for readers of this blog.

Jewish Genealogy - Researching on the Internet (Part 2): Focus on finding the information you need on the web, search engines, general and Jewish Web sites, building on Part 1's basic skills.

If you plan to attend the 27th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy this summer in Salt Lake City, consider this two-part class:

Salt Lake City: the Largest Genealogical Library in the World! (Part 1): Using the Internet, access the largest genealogical library in the world. Perform searches, knowledgeably; and understand what you've found. Part 2 (in April) will take you into sections most people never use.

If you use Family Tree Maker software and want to get more out of it, Family Tree Maker 16 (Advanced) demonstrates advanced features such as books, trees, reports and web sites.

Eastern European Genealogy Research: Part 2 (Intermediate): Continues from the basic class, and focuses on expanding research beyond your own family into a more community-oriented protocol.

Other March classes are Adoption Investigative Class, Lost Friends and Family Investigative Class and Native American Genealogy, while new classes in April are Jump Start your Genealogy, Basic English Research, Canadian Research (Part 1), Genealogical Research in the Great Lakes Statesand Scottish Genealogy (Intro).

Go to GenClass for all details, instructors and registration.

Online basic Jewish genealogy begins in February

Back in December, I mentioned the start of GenClass - Online Genealogy Classes.

The first series of January classes is underway, and registration is open now for February and March, when two Jewish genealogy classes will be offered.

On February 1, Basic Jewish Genealogy will start. This is a step-by-step introduction to Jewish genealogy covering calendars, languages, geography, names, archives, emigration, immigration, searching online and more. It provides all the essentials to start making great discoveries.

In March, Jewish Internet Research is all about how and where to find the online information you need, and builds on information provided in the basic class, as it covers general sites and indices, general genealogy sites, general Jewish sites and resources, major Jewish genealogy sites and much more.

The four-week classes are an easy, practical, economical way to learn the essentials and begin making major discoveries in the comfort of your home. Each class has a detailed syllabus, lessons to download, and twice weekly online class chats.

Both Jewish genealogy classes are co-taught by Internet specialist Micha Reisel and myself - we formerly provided them at MyFamily.Com for several years.

Other February classes, taught by experienced instructors, include Adoption Investigative Class, Eastern European Genealogy Research Part 1 (Basic), Lost Friends and Family Investigative Class, Organizing Your Family History and Write Your Family History Step-by-Step

Visit GenClass for more details, including information on all scheduled classes, instructor bios and easy online registration.

Jewish genealogy online class - update

More details are now available about GenClass - Online Genealogy Classes.

Both January and February registration are now open. The February Basic Jewish Genealogy class covers the following topics:

1. Introduction to Jewish Genealogy (glossary, Hebrew calendar and dates, handwriting, languages, life cycle, records, sources, etc.)

2. Tools of the Trade (charts, soundex, databases, reference books, software, Internet, interviewing and reading tombstones, etc.).

3. Jewish Geography and Names (maps, name origins - Ashkenazi and Sephardic, etc.).

4. Geography and Archives (border changes, types of documents, access documents, Sephardic, Holocaust, Yad Vashem, etc.).

5. Emigration (reasons for, origins, transportation, travel, Hamburg, Ellis Island, name changes, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, etc.).

6. Immigration (arrival information, creative spelling, naturalization, Western Europe, Africa, Australia/NZ, South/Central America, Israel, contemporary from Russia and Moslem countries, etc.).

7. Searching (major websites, general, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, etc.).

8. Culture of Remembrance (connecting, learning, sharing, privacy issues, publishing, etc.).

The four-week class is an easy, practical way to learn the essentials and begin making major discoveries.

New online genealogy classes

For several years, I taught basic Jewish Genealogy and Jewish Internet Research for MyFamily.com.

It was a great experience, and co-teacher Micha Reisel and I thoroughly enjoyed helping students learn not only the basics, but how to find the information they needed. Our students lived in the U.S., UK, Canada, the Canary Islands, France, Australia, Israel and other countries.

In several classes, students discovered not only research partners of the same geographical areas, but even relatives!

Last year, when MyFamily.com dropped the online classes for various reasons -the classes were called "the best-kept secret in genealogy" - the former instructors joined together to see how we could continue to assist those interested in researching their families around the world.

I'm delighted to report that GenClass - Genealogy Classes Online is now live for January class registration. The February schedule is also up, as is information about each instructor and class outlines.

While Micha and I will be teaching the Jewish genealogy classes, other experienced instructors will offer January 2007 classes in Adoption Investigation, Family Tree Maker 16 (basic), Jump Start Your Genealogy, Lost Friends and Family Investigation, Scottish, Native American and Northeastern U.S. Genealogy.

In February, classes will include basic/intro Jewish Genealogy, Adoption Investigation, Eastern European Genealogy (basic), Organizing Your Family History, Write Your Family History Step-by-Step and Lost Friends and Family Investigation.

Each four-week class has a detailed curriculum, two lessons to be downloaded each week, online class meetings and other features. Each class costs a nominal $29.95. Other classes and instructors may be added later in 2007, including advanced versions of some of the basic classes.

International readers are welcome; the class language is English, as are all printed materials.