Follow Friday -- Online Learning and DNA Education

Today I want to recommend two of my favorite blogs, and recent posts that pertain to genealogy education.

You may already be familiar with The Legal Genealogist blog written by Judy Russell, JD, CG, CGL, but if you missed her post on Online Learning you may want to go back and read it. She details some of the many options for online webinars and live streaming of genealogy conferences.

The other blog I would like to highlight today is Deb's Delvings in Genealogy written by Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL. She recently wrote a post on  Prep for Genetic Genealogy Training at Institutes but her suggested readings are good for anyone interested in studying DNA genetic genealogy. She suggests books, blogs and courses on DNA and its use in genealogy. 

Insider's View of the ProGen Study Program

Have you considered participating in the ProGen Study Program studying the manual Professional Genealogy? For this week's Follow Friday post I would like to share some posts written by recent alumni of the program. They share their experiences and their advice for others who may want to join one of these study groups.

Some Comments about ProGen by Jill Morelli on the blog Genealogy Certification: My Personal Journal 

I'm a ProGen Alumnus! by Miriam J. Robbins on the blog AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors

The ProGen Study Groups were also featured on the Genealogy Professional Podcast with Marian Pierre-Louis. You can listen to the episode here.

 

Follow Friday - Genealogy Certification Blog

For the "Follow Friday" blog theme I would like to recommend Jill Morelli's blog "Genealogy Certification: My Personal Journal." Jill writes about her educational process as she prepares for certification through the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

I met Jill through the  ProGen Study Groups and enjoyed getting to know her a little better at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy last January. On her blog she sometimes posts her thoughts about the ProGen Study Group assignments, but generally focuses on what she has learned as she studies and prepares to submit her BCG portfolio. As a genealogy education blogger, I appreciate her posts on the conferences and institutes she has attended. It is interesting to hear her perspective.

Jill has a series of posts on the elements of the Genealogical Proof Standard:
GPS Element #1: Thorough Search 
GPS Element #2: Informative citations
GPS Element #5: Writing your conclusions

Another one of my favorite posts is: 
What is “Context” Anyway?

I hope you enjoy reading her blog as much as I do.
Angela

Follow Friday -- FGS 2013 Conference Blog Compendium

For today's Follow Friday post I would like to express appreciation to Randy Seaver and recommend his FGS 2013 Conference Blog Compendium post on his Genea-Musings blog. Randy has time to read more blogs than I do and he has created a useful compendium of blog posts about the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) conference that has been going on in Fort Wayne, Indiana this week. I was unable to attend the conference and so I enjoy reading the blog posts of others who are attending. 

I was excited to hear about the news out of the FamilySearch bloggers dinner, as well as the announcement that the FGS conference will be in conjunction with the RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City in February of 2015, as I hope to be able to attend. I look forward to reading more posts about the FGS conference as it winds down, and Randy adds more posts to his list.

BCG Blog Features Skillbuilding Lectures from NGS Conference

It is not Friday, but I have a blog I would love to feature and recommend that others follow. This is the BCG SpringBoard: News and Notes blog. It is sponsored by the Board for Certification of Genealogists and I have found the content useful. Barbara Mathews, CG is the primary blogger, but she has had a series of board-certified genealogists featured as guest bloggers over the past week. They have written summaries of the lectures in the BCG Skillbuilding track at the National Genealogical Society Conference that was held in Las Vegas from May 8 - 11, 2013

I was able to attend a few of the lectures in this track, but missed many of them as I was only at the conference for 2 1/2 days, and spent some of my time networking and presenting my own lecture. I enjoyed the summaries of each presentation on this blog.

JAMB, Inc. recorded many of the lectures and will have them available for purchase on CD soon. See the NGS Conference page on their website for more information. I purchased several of the lectures on CD before I left the conference, and have done the same in past years even when I have been unable to attend the conference. This is an excellent way to further your genealogy education and learn from some of the best instructors in genealogy.

You can access some of the posts under "recent posts" on the blog, but not all of them so I decided to share links to the individual posts on the BCG Skillbuilding lecture track at the NGS 2013 conference:

• BCG Ed Fund Leary Distinguished Lecture: Elizabeth Mills on “Can Trousers, Beds, and Other ‘Trivial Details’ Solve Genealogical Problems?”
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Richard Sayre on “Genealogical Applications of Historical Geographical Information Systems”
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Pamela Boyer Sayre on “Enough is Enough! Or Is It?”
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Barbara Mathews on “Not Quite Right: Recognizing Errors”
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Julie Miller on “Using Emigrant Guides for Genealogical Research”  
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Elissa Scalise Powell on “Baker’s Dozen Steps to Writing Research Reports” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Warren Bittner on “Proof Arguments: How and Why?” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Harold Henderson on “Are We There Yet? Proof and the Genealogy Police” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: David Rencher on “Treasures in the Records of the U.S. Congress” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Dawne Slater-Putt’s “Fail! When the Record is Wrong” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Pat Stamm on “Step Outside Your Genealogical Box: Trying Assorted Records to Reach Research Goals” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: David Ouimette on “Overcoming Spelling Problems and Unlocking the Power of Names” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Elizabeth Mills on “Information Overload? Effective Project Planning, Research, Data Management, and Analysis” 
• BCG Luncheon at NGS 2013: Judy Russell on “Blackguards and Black Sheep: The Lighter Side of the Law” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Pam Eagleson on “Grandma’s Treasure Chest: Investigating and Evaluating Family Artifacts” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Barbara Vines Little on “Understanding What They Wrote: Tricks and Tips for Deciphering the Unintelligible in Documents” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Ronald Hill on “Interpreting the Symbols and Abbreviations in Seventeenth Century English and American Documents” 
• BCG Skillbuilding at NGS 2013: Thomas Jones on “Debunking Misleading Records” 
• BCG Education Fund Workshop: Putting Historical Context and Migration into Your Family History

Follow Friday: Forensic Genealogy Institute Re-Cap

For the "Follow Friday" blog theme I would like to share posts by Amy Coffin on The We Tree  Genealogy Blog about the Forensic Genealogy Institute. I know Amy from the ProGen Study Group and was excited when I heard she was attending the Forensic Genealogy Institute as I knew she would blog about her experiences. Those thinking about attending the Forensic Genealogy Institute in the future will benefit from her insights. Here are links to her three posts on the subject:

Forensic Genealogy Institute Re-Cap, part 1

Forensic Genealogy Institute Re-Cap, part 2

Forensic Genealogy Institute Re-Cap, part 3

I have written previously about the Forensic Genealogy Institute, as well as other genealogy institutes, here. 

UPDATE:
Valerie Elkins has also posted on her Family Cherished blog about the Forensic Genealogy Institute. You may find her insights valuable as well.

CAFG Forensic Genealogy Institute - Day 1

CAFG Forensic Genealogy Institute - Day 2

CAFG Forensic Institute - Day 3

Follow Friday - Forensic Genealogy Institute

I have had fun following the blog of my friend Cinamon Collins as she attends the new Forensic Genealogy Institute this week. Her blog

(Mis)Adventures Of A Genealogist features the many genealogy conferences and institutes she has attended this year as well as her research and thoughts on genealogy. 

Forensic Genealogy Institute - Arrival 
Forensic Genealogy Institute - Day One

Forensic Genealogy Institute - Day 2

Forensic Genealogy Institute - Day 3

If you know of other blog posts by attendees at this institute please comment as I would like to read them.

Photo of Cinamon Collins, used with permission.