Holiday Special Boot Camp: I'm Attending...Are You?

I'm really looking forward to this holiday weekend! Not only is it a chance to take a break and relax from my job, spend time feasting with family, and count my blessings, but I'll be participating in the Holiday Special Genealogy Boot Camp with Thomas MacEntee and Lisa Alzo as the hosts!

First of all, what is a Genealogy Boot Camp? It's a webinar (online seminar) series at Hack Genealogy where Thomas and Lisa show their audience some pretty amazing tips and tricks to help with those sticky research challenges and brick walls. Over the past year, they've hosted the Mastering Evernote for Genealogy Boot Camp, Blogger Boot Camp, Self-Publishing Boot Camp, Get Your Genealogy Groove Back Boot Camp, and Genealogy Writing Boot Camp. These camps generally involve 3.5 hours of live instruction, numerous handouts and templates, and access to the recordings to review them at later times. Normally, the cost of attending these Boot Camps is $12.95, although you can get an early bird discount of $9.95.

This weekend, however, on Saturday, November 29th, from 4 PM to 7:30 PM, PST, the theme of the Holiday Special Boot Camp will be much like a good old-fashioned variety show. The Holiday Special Boot Camp will cover a variety of topics, some selected by Lisa, some of them by Thomas, and some submitted by the attendees (you can submit your ideas here and be eligible to win a $50 Amazon gift card)! In addition, the cost of the Boot Camp will be Pay What You Want. This means that you decide how much this knowledge is worth to you. You can donate $5, $10, the regular $12.95 or even more. Some people will likely throw in a few dollars just to say thanks for making the Boot Camp concept available. It doesn't matter what you pay or if you pay. Lisa and Thomas just want you to come ready to learn and to have fun. (By the way, if you've never attended a webinar before, check out my easy-to-follow tutorial here.)

I've decided to pay full price for my Boot Camp experience this weekend. I've already registered here (seating is limited!) and I will be paying later this week, after payday. I wanted to highlight to my readers that normally when you register, you pay at that time, as a part of the registration process. With the Holiday Special Boot Camp, however, the way you Pay What You Want is by clicking the Donate button located about a third of the way down the Hack Genealogy post about the Boot Camp.

I encourage you to donate what you believe to be a fair amount for the Boot Camp. As added incentive, Thomas and Lisa have agreed to donate 25% of their proceeds to Preserve the Pensions, the project to digitize all the War of 1812 Veterans Pension records.

Finally, don't forget about the Holiday Special Boot Camp Contest! There are going to be some amazing prizes, totaling $2,500! These include prizes such as genealogy software and Ancestry.com's World Deluxe subscription, and range in value from $30 to $300! There are also going to be prizes given out during the Boot Camp.

So join in the fun, learn some great research tips, and help out a great cause! See you then!

Tuesday's Tip: Webinars

Did your New Year's genealogy resolutions include learning something new or getting better at a skill? Webinars are a wonderful, inexpensive, and fun way to do so!

“Webinar” is a term that evolved from “web-based seminar.” It is a virtual seminar, taking place live and online with a presenter and audience. The presenter and each member of the audience can be in a different location, connecting through the webinar program on the Internet. The audience can hear the presenter and submit questions and comments to him or her through either a chat (text-based) or voice feature. The benefits of webinars include cost, comfort, access, and archives. The cost of the webinar to members of the audience can range from free to approximately $100 per program. However, even with a fee-based webinar, it is cheaper than travel, lodging, and meals for a live conference. For the audience, there is definitely the advantage of comfort. One can attend while in one's pajamas, or head out to the deck (weather permitting) with a laptop! The access includes immediate answers to the participants' questions and comments from the presenter. Finally, some hosts allow access to archived webinars (in online video format) for further review, or for those who are unable to attend the live presentation time.

Genealogy webinars are sponsored by genealogical businesses such as Ancestry, Legacy Family Tree, and Family Tree Magazine; genealogical and historical societies and professional groups such as the Illinois State Genealogical Society and the Association of Professional Genealogists; as well as individual professional genealogists and genealogy lecturers, including Michael John Neill and Thomas MacEntee. Like any conference, the content ranges from "how-to" presentations for software and other technology to educational programs about methodology, ethnic research, record collections, or local history.

Pat-Richely Erickson (DearMYRT) created a blog, GeneaWebinars, to list all the genealogy webinars for one-stop each access and planning. Only the most recent post is listed on the main page. Click on the “older posts” link at the bottom of the article to view more listings of webinars, or click on the Calendar tab near the top of the page to see all the upcoming webinars in chronological order. Both free and fee-based webinars are included.

To attend a webinar, first find a site that has a webinar in which you are interested. Follow these steps:

1. Sign up for the webinar and pay your fee, if applicable. You will receive a confirmation email and may need to click on a link to verify. 
2. Note the date and time of the webinar. If you click on the Calendar tab at GeneaWebinars, then click on your course of choice, you'll notice a button in the lower right corner of the course description that says "+ Google Calendar." This feature will not only add it to your calendar, but you can then choose to have an email, pop-up, or text (SMS) reminder sent to you. 
3. Make sure your computer is not downloading or uploading data or updating software during a webinar. This may slow down or interrupt your course. 
4. Turn on the speakers or plug in your headphones/earphones. If you plan to use voice features, make sure your microphone is working.
5. Have an actual or electronic notebook ready to keep notes and have a list of questions ready for the speaker. 
6. Go to the website or click on the webinar link in your email ten minutes before it begins. Enjoy the webinar!
7. Download an archived copy if you are allowed to do so. Some webinars also have additional information (notes, maps, slides) that accompany them.
8. If your schedule doesn’t allow you to watch live, make arrangements to watch it later (this may involve a fee).

With major upcoming genealogical conferences like RootsTech, NGS, the Southern California Genealogical Society’s Jamboree, and FGS, be sure to check out their websites for live and archived webinars. Don’t forget non-genealogy webinars for courses that can enhance your research, such as the United State's National Archives website, the United Kingdom's National Archives website, history websites, and technology websites. Google the last two topics to find webinar sites for these.

Here are some links to popular genealogy webinar sites:

• Ancestry
• DearMYRTLE
• Family Tree University
• Federation of Genealogical Societies
• Hack Genealogy Boot Camp - NEW! added 21 Sep 2014
• Illinois State Genealogical Society
• Legacy Family Tree
• RootsMagic
• Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research - NEW! added 21 Sep 2014

Don't forget to check out Cyndi’s List for many more links!

Enjoy!

Labor Day Special from Genealogy Tip of the Day

Genealogist Michael John Neill, is offering two Labor Day specials today on his webinars and newsletter, Casefile Clues.

The first is $10 off any order of $20 or more, by using the coupon code labor.

The second special is a $4 Download Special of three of his most popular webinars: Seeing Patterns; Charts, Charts, and More Charts; and Creating Research Plans.This special is available here only.

I've had the pleasure of hearing Michael's presentations in person, when he came to the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society's October 2006 workshop. If you don't have an opportunity to hear him live, his webinars are the next best thing! Also, I have done a review of Casefile Clues here.

The list of other webinars for sale (not included with the $4 Download Specials) is available here. Scroll down to the bottom of that post to see the link for ordering the Casefile Clues newsletter.

This offer is good today only, September 2, 2013, and expires at 11:59 PM, PDT.

Free Webinar from MyCanvas

Don't forget! Tomorrow, April 8, you can attend a free MyCanvas webinar: Creative Gift Ideas for Moms, Dads & Grads. John Pereira and Stefanie Condie will present meaningful gifts that you can make in an hour or two, including family tree posters, collage posters and photo books. The presentation will begin at 8 pm Eastern Time (7 Central, 6 Mountain, 5 Pacific). To sign up, go here.