Advanced Googling for Your Grandma

Clicking links means you can start off on a web site for one specific topic and end up dozens of web sites away on many different topics. It’s easy to get lost and lose focus on what you were trying to find in the first place. And with so many…

Files here, programs there, lost bits and bytes everywhere. Are you tired of searching your computer fruitlessly? Frustrated when you can't find the notes you created in your word processor? Learn how to set up a foolproof filing system and an electronic workbook to correspond with your offline research.

Are you ready to attend a genealogy institute? Do you want to expand your genealogical knowledge? Are you committed to a rewarding deep dive in a specific research topic? How do you choose the right course for you? We will talk about all of this and the benefits of a truly helpful interactive venue for learning. Continuing education is a must for everyone researching their family tree. Directed in-depth education on unique subject matter at an institute can help you do more than just locate records. Learn what you need to get the most out of the repositories and sources we use to trace our ancestors.

What are you looking at? Where did it come from? Why was it created? How did it get online? Records from the past didn't just show up digitally one day as if by magic. From record creation to storage to archiving and (hopefully) preservation, records made their way through various formats and institutions before showing up online. Understanding the history of a source, its life before the Internet, and the context in which it exists online today can help you discover more about the genealogical information it contains and the quality of that information, propelling your research forward.

There is a treasure trove of untapped research sources online: the electronic book or ebook. Repositories are digitizing publications and putting them online for us to use without having to leave the comfort of our homes. We will explore all the options that are out there to move your research forward.

Everywhere we turn we hear from someone recommending the latest and greatest apps and tools to use in our research. But should we try to use all of them? Some of them? None of them? How do you choose what is best for you? We will go over the research process and help you decide which of your own activities need special tools and which work well with the standard tools we all should use.

Every genealogist feels that digital filing is out of their control. It can be an overwhelming process to keep track of all of the documents, images, and files that end up on our computers and devices. How do we even start to tackle this virtual pile of filing? What tools and processes will work best for you? We will discuss all of this and how to maintain digital filing as we research.

Are you still using only the basic search options available on your favorite genealogical research sites? Do you get a lot of less-than-helpful search results? We will explore features and strategies you can use to tighten up the searches and make your online research more productive.

FamilySearch is so much more than just a family tree hosting platform. FamilySearch is a massive web site that is made up of dozens and dozens of different research tools. The site includes tools for learning and for reference. It is home to the world's largest digitized collection of records…