Category: Review Page 1 of 3

Educational Opportunity – FutureLearn: Online and FREE!

On 11 May 2016

In Conferences and Education, Method, Research, Resources, Review

Future Learn is an online educational site that offers a selection of courses from several different universities. They offer language courses, historical courses, writing courses, and pretty much anything you can imagine. The best part? They have FREE courses! If you choose, you can buy a Certificate of Achievement at the end of the course but that’s optional.

I have taken historical courses from them and recently took a six week genealogy course that was done by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. If you are unfamiliar with that university, you should check out the link for some of their amazing courses they offer. Although pricey, they offer certificates and degrees in genealogical studies. Of course, their research is more UK based but you can take it online, which is a nice choice (although really, I wouldn’t mind if I had to go to Scotland!).

The course from FutureLearn is called Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree. It starts 18 July and runs for six weeks. FutureLearn estimates the time per week to be about 4 hours and I’d say that’s at the maximum. You’ll likely spend less time than that per week depending on how much interaction you do.

Here is a rundown of the course:

Ideal for beginners who are just getting into genealogy
Great refresher for those who aren’t beginners – it’s always great to go back to the basics and be sure you haven’t missed anything. Not to mention, new ideas come out all the time!
Ideal for those with UK ancestors as it discusses many of UK resources
Shows how DNA can work into your genealogy
Allows for discussion among classmates

The course is something that can easily fit into your schedule. You can take your time and do a bit each day, or spend a few hours on the weekend going through all the week’s lessons. Either way, it is easy to work in.

After taking the course just recently, here are my thoughts:

Pros

Nicely paced – very easy to follow along
All videos have a transcription – this is wonderful when they begin to discuss DNA. You can download the transcription for further study as it can be complex at times.
Solid methodology
Includes how to do citations (always a pro for me!)
Includes resources for UK research

Cons

Includes resources for UK research – this is both a pro and a con. If you don’t have UK ancestors, then a lot of the resources may not be useful to you. The instructor does mention US resources too, but as the course is done by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, it makes sense it would focus on records available there. Just something to be aware of.
Really, this isn’t a con, but more of something to keep in mind – this course is taught by University of Strathclyde, as already mentioned, which means that they use different terms than genealogists in the United States will. In the first week, you’ll discuss source types and this is where the US and the UK differ quite a bit:
- US: Original source = UK: Primary Source – this is the first form of something and normally created close to the event – historical fields in the US also call these primary sources
- US: Secondary = UK: Derived Primary Source – these are normally a step away from the original. So an index, a transcription, an abstract, etc. Someone used the original to create those and since it goes through another person, there’s more room for error.
- US: Authored = UK: Secondary Source – the US description is self-explanatory really. These are resources where someone else has looked through research and put together an analysis or interpretation. Historical fields in the US also call these secondary sources.

Why does the US differ on this? Because when genealogists in the US analyze the source, we identify the information in it as primary or secondary. For example, a death certificate is an original source. The death information is primary, meaning it comes from a person who was there at the time of the event, like the doctor who attended the death (normally – I’m sure there could be an exception to this). However, the birth information can be secondary, meaning it comes from a person who was not there at the time of birth, like the spouse or child of the deceased.

This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just something to keep in mind if you are in the US doing research as you’ll notice the change in these terms. For more information, and a good website to book mark, see Evidence Explained QuickLesson 17: The Evidence Analysis Process Map.

Overall Response

I do recommend this course for beginners to experienced genealogists. It’s a lot of fun, has great information, included new (to me) research resources, and I always enjoy interacting with other genealogists. The six weeks flew by for me and I had no problem fitting it into my schedule and found the website very easy to use.

So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up! 🙂

FutureLearn

Review: NGS Autosomal DNA Course

By Nichelle Barra

On 28 January 2016

In DNA, Resources, Review

Zephyris at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons

A few weeks ago, I gave a review on the National Genealogical Studies Continuing Genealogical Studies class called Genetic Genealogy, the Basics. I took this course in preparation for the Autosomal DNA course, which I had wanted to take since I saw it’s announcement. I have to say that the Basics course became invaluable when it came to the autosomal course! Having that basic understanding really did help me prepare for what I’d learn about autosomal DNA testing.

The Goals and Cost of the Course

The course’s author is Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL. It’s for beginner-intermediate level students and has no prerequisites BUT in the first module, it does state that the course is designed for someone who has a basic understanding of DNA. They recommend the CGS Genetic Genealogy, the Basics course or reading books and blogs for getting that basic information.

The objectives of the course are roughly:

learning the basics of autosomal DNA – how it recombines and is inherited
learning how to read atDNA results and how to use a few of the tools out there to analyze your results (knowledge of Excel is helpful here)
learning how to identify a likely genetic cousin and the common ancestor you share
learning about the other tools and websites out there that can help a genealogist with the atDNA test results

There are seven modules for this course and all end in a quiz that you must pass in order to move on to the next module. The quizzes range from three to eleven questions, and you can take the quiz up to three times. The course should be completed within six months but there is a one-time three month extension available if needed.

This course is done completely online through the NGS Canvas System. There are two prices, which is usual for NGS: $60 for members and $85 for non-members.

Pros

Because I have done atDNA testing through FamilyTreeDNA, I was able to do many of the analysis the course discusses while I was learning about the process.
Although there is a section dedicated to other websites you could use to analyze your data, the course also goes over a simple Excel sheet to use for analysis. It also discusses how to do specific analysis like triangulation to confirm how you are related to a match.
Learning how DNA recombines and is inherited makes the case for why you should get as many relatives tested as you can (and the further back in generations, the better).
I really like how it emphasized using DNA research WITH your own thorough research.
The course also discusses admixture results and how those can vary

Cons

Like with the last course, I have an issue with the quizzes. Whatever you get incorrect, the answer is supplied once you hit the completed button. You can then retake the quiz with that answer in mind. Of course, people are taking this course to learn. I wouldn’t understand why someone would pay for the course and then lie through the tests – but it makes the quizzes feel irrelevant.
This course does get technical. I haven’t had a biology class that discussed DNA since early college. It’s been a long time and although I know I’ve heard of some items before, I still needed to go outside the course for a better understanding. Having taken the Genetic Genealogy, the Basics course helped, but I still used the ISOGG Wiki quite often.

Overall Review

I’m sure you can tell by all the pros compared to the cons but I LOVED this course! I learned SO much from it and feel so much better prepared to go through my atDNA results and actually get somewhere with them. I am very excited to really get into the data now that I have a much better understanding of HOW to do it as well as WHAT to do with that data.

I will say that this course did take a lot more time for me to complete. Doing one module per day or every other day is a great way to get through the course if you can dedicate your time to that schedule. The cost did make me pause before taking the course, seeing how I felt about the last one, but I feel the cost this time is right for what you get from the course. I don’t think I can recommend it enough!

Continuing Genealogical Studies: Genetic Genealogy, the Basics – Review

By Nichelle Barra

On 28 December 2015

In DNA, Review

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) has a number of classes for genealogists to take. Their Home Study Course (now called American Genealogical Studies) I took about a year ago and highly recommend. It is a wonderful course for people just starting to get more serious about their genealogy and wishing to take it beyond the internet.

Because of how much I enjoyed that course, I wanted to dive into a few more. The NGS has Continuing Genealogical Studies classes that include researching for Revolutionary War ancestors, Civil War research, and genetic genealogy. They just recently added a course called Genetic Genealogy, Autosomal DNA, which caught my eye, but I decided to take their Genetic Genealogy, the Basics first, since I figured it may help in the autosomal course. Plus, the last time I took a course on genetics was in college in 2001. So, it’s been a while and a refresher sounded like a good idea!

By Jerome Walker,Dennis Myts (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Goals and Cost of the Course

The course is for beginner and intermediate level students and is designed to teach:

the DNA molecule
chromosome basics
DNA markers (SNP and STR)
Y DNA and surname projects (basic information)
mitochondrial DNA and mtDNA testing

The course contains 6 modules, each ending with a short quiz of about 5-10 questions. You have 6 months to complete the course on your own time with a one-time 3 month extension possible if need be. It is all online and done through the NGS Canvas system (it uses this for other online courses as well).

The course has been created by Thomas H. Shawker, MD. He is a physician who has served on the NGS Genetic Genealogy Committee as a chairman, is a prominent speaker, and is the author of the book Unlocking Your Genetic History.

There are two prices for this course as with all NGS courses – one for members and one for non-members. For non-members the cost is $70 and for members it is $45.

Pros

The course starts from the basics: the human cell and where DNA lives inside of it, and explains from there
The course gives a good foundation on where genetic genealogy looks when it comes to DNA testing for genealogy
It explains many of the terms found in genetic genealogy
It is chock full of information to get anyone going on a Y DNA surname project or mtDNA testing

Cons

Some small items are left out or not explained well. For clarification, I sought out the International Society of Genetic Genealogy Wiki for clarification.
- For example, I did not realize (forgotten over the years really) that humans share 99.9% the same genome as other humans. There are small mutations (like SNPs which are discussed in the course) which causes each person to look different from another. I was lost because 1) I thought our genome was MUCH different than everyone else’s and was confused on how genetic scientists knew where to look and 2) I couldn’t understand how the human genome could have been mapped if we all looked so different (assuming again that our genomes were vastly different from each other). Knowing that small fact that all humans share 99.9% the same genome made it all make sense to me.
- Another example: the mtDNA test – for some reason I had thought this was the X chromosome we all get from our mother. But then I was confused because well, which x chromosome are we getting? And how do we know it’s always from the maternal line? I didn’t realize that mtDNA is NOT the X chromosome and had to look at the ISOGG wiki for that clarification. I feel silly stating all of that as I’m sure most people know that, but for those of you who didn’t, I was right there with you!
The quizzes. You have 5-10 questions and you can retake them up to 3 times. The problem is that after you take it once, the quiz shows you your score ALONG WITH THE ANSWERS (no matter if you got it right or wrong). So you can just retake it and get everything right as the questions don’t change when you retake the quiz. Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but I felt that made the quizzes irrelevant.
This is a short course. You can probably finish the course in a day if you felt so inclined. I did mine over a few days and spent maybe an hour or two on the course each day. For the cost, especially as a non-member, I felt this was a downfall. I expected more.

Overall

Overall, I learned a LOT coming out of this course. I feel much better about my understanding of the two DNA tests that it focused on – Y DNA and mtDNA. I know I still have more to learn but the basics did give me a good foundation to start on and I feel much more knowledgeable about the terms and have found reading about DNA easier to understand now. I do recommend the course, although I wish it was less expensive. And I recommend taking the course ALONG with reading the terms on the ISOGG Wiki. It helps for clarification and gives a better understanding. Not to mention the ISOGG Wiki is a website you’ll want to bookmark to return to in the future.

For the cost, as I said, I did expect more. However, I realize that I may be alone in this. There are hundreds of courses out there all at varying prices. This is probably one of the cheapest ways of learning more if you prefer the structure of a class, like I do. Of course, I encourage you to seek more information from books and online resources, but this can be a great way to get started in your genetic genealogy education.

Thrifty Thursday and Review: The 15 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists

By Nichelle Barra

On 3 September 2015

In Research, Resources, Review

Book Description from the author:

“Researching your family history can be fun, but like many hobbies, it can turn into an obsession, and an expensive one at that. There are many ways to save money while you pursue the “hunt” for your roots: some are just common sense while others are, frankly, ingenious. Also keep in mind that it doesn’t pay to be so focused on “frugal” that in the long run you either lose money or that genealogy is no longer “fun.”

The title of this book is misleading, and intentionally so. The fact is, you’ll find over 30 amazing ways to save money when purchasing genealogy-related products and services. You may already be using some of these tricks, but I guarantee that once you starting using some of the more unusual money-saving tips, you’ll say to yourself, “Now, why didn’t I think of that!”

Finally, the end of The 15 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists is filled with special offers exclusively for those who have purchased this book. These deals were specifically negotiated with certain vendors and most use links or promo codes that are valid through the end of 2015.

SPECIAL EXCLUSIVE SAVINGS!

As a reader of The 15 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists, you’ll have exclusive access to the following deals negotiated with specific vendors.

MyHeritage: Save 35% off a Premium Plus account and 1 year Data Subscription
Legacy Tree Genealogists: $45 off any genealogy research project
Hack Genealogy Boot Camp: 30% off any digital download
Legacy Family Tree: 15% off an annual membership at Legacy Family Tree webinars; 15% off Legacy Family Tree Deluxe Software
Shop Family Tree: 15% off any one item at ShopFamilyTree.com
Amazon: Various savings on genealogy products
Family Tree Tours: Save $50 on any tour booking
Flip-Pal® mobile scanner: Save $35 on a special Flip-Pal mobile scanner bundle
Larsen Digital: 10% off ALL conversion services including audio, video and more!
AncestryDNA: Free Shipping on all AncestryDNA kits
Evidentia: 20% off Evidentia software
Genealogical Publishing Company: 30% off all items at Genealogical.com”

Thomas MacEntee’s newest e-book The 15 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists does not disappoint! There are so many great pieces of advice in this short read and, as he said in the description, more than just 15. There were things even I had no clue about (and I consider myself pretty frugal). Here are a few of my favorites:

Holiday’s can mean FREE access for several websites! This is a great time to hear this one as Labor Day is this weekend and I’ve already shared some of the free access to come this weekend.
Cycling on/off your subscriptions and how to use Ancestry.com wisely and frugally
Ever cancelled your subscription and had them resubscribe you anyway? There’s a fix for that!
How to use Amazon.com to your advantage – there are some GREAT tips in the book about that (and not just genealogy related)!

Not only are the tips useful, but he also gives you a great list of discounts! The e-book is priced at $2.99 and the savings you’ll earn by following his advice and taking advantage of his discounts will make this book free and then some!

To top it all off, this e-book will be FREE to download starting tomorrow and through Sunday. Really, you have nothing to lose and so much to gain!

Full Disclaimer: I was given a copy of the book to review for my blog. All the opinions are my own!