Brigham Young University’s Department of Independent Studies
is offering two free online genealogy courses. The first is a basic introductory
course titled "Finding Your Ancestors" and is targeted to a general
audience. The second is targeted to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and is titled "Providing Temple Ordinances
for Your Ancestors." I took a look at the first course, and it looks like a
good one.
"Finding Your Ancestors" is aimed at the newcomer to
family tree searches. It is divided into two lessons:
Lesson #1: Where Do I Start?
- Home and Family Resources
- Search for Ancestors on FamilySearch™ Internet
- Collaboration Lists on FamilySearch Internet
- Surname Search of the Family History Library Catalog
- Resource Files on Compact Disc
- Other Internet Sources
Lesson #2: Recording Family Information
- Paper Forms
- Recording Family Information in PAF
- Estimating Family Information
- Viewing Family Information in PAF
- Preparing a GEDCOM file for the Pedigree Resource File
- Review of Basic Concepts
- Where Can I Learn More?
The Personal Ancestral File program is obviously sed because
the LDS Church produces it. BYU is closely affiliated with the LDS Church.
However, the concepts taught in this course should apply to any other genealogy
program as well.
The BYU online course features (optional) Flash video and sound
clips. The lessons are in a logical sequence, and I found the writing style was
light and easy to follow.
The "Finding Your Ancestors" online course provides an
excellent overview for getting started in genealogy. It is not in-depth a course
and does not compete with some of the for-fee courses mentioned in earlier
newsletters. At the end of the lessons, the course gives several references to
other online courses.
The "Finding Your Ancestors" online course is a great
source of information for beginning genealogists. I would suggest that all
genealogy newcomers take a look at it.
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Dick Eastman Online
