A World of Untapped Genealogy Resources: Webinars Workshops
If you're serious about your genealogy research, the web is full of untapped resources for learning more. Webinars are free interactive workshops led by genealogy experts on every facet of genealogy research, from tools to tips to lessons on expanding your research skills. They're some of the best, fastest, and most inexpensive ways to really expand your genealogy knowledge by giving you direct, usually free, access to experts in the field.
The Benefits of Genealogy Webinars
Genealogy webinars offer:
- Live walk-throughs of complex genealogy resources that you need guidance to learn, such as local and federal census databases, family tree websites, online historical collections and other online genealogy resources
- Q&A sessions that give you the chance to get answers from experts in the field to your specific genealogy research questions, as well as the opportunity to chat and make connections with other family historians
- Courses on family, local and social history research for worldwide regions, the most important records to track down, writing family history and more
- Copies of all the materials used and research done in the webinar, including the slides of the presentation, the handouts, and a recording of the webinar, to keep and refer back as well as share with your local genealogy community
You can watch a webinar live, which is usually free, or you can access webinar archives, which usually either require a fee for each video or a site subscription.
Where to Find Genealogy Webinars
GeneaWebinars is a free community resource listing all types of webinars presented by genealogy vendors, genealogy societies, and individual genealogy experts. You can also explore these resources for some of the most popular and useful webinars:
Some conferences and seminars also offer live broadcasts of their programs and lectures, with presentations recorded and available online after the conference. If a conference you're interested in attending seems too expensive or far away, always check to see if they'll be providing online access too!
Online Genealogy Courses & Workshops
Other resources include online independent study classes and workshops you can complete at your own pace.
- The Brigham Young University Independent Study Department has courses on family, local and social history research for a number of regions including England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland, Germanic countries, and the American south.
- BYU has free online courses , including Introduction to Family History Research, Vital Records, Writing Family History and more.
- Boston University offers a 15-week online genealogical certificate program taught by well-known and respected genealogy experts.
- When you join the National Genealogical Society (NGS) you get to take all their online courses for free-plus get the benefits of being an NGS member.
But don't stop there. The OneGreatFamily Resources page also has a ton of great resources you can use to expand your research skills, find even more in-depth information, and track down other webinars and conferences.
Webinars are some of the best ways to get a quality genealogy education-no wonder they're becoming more popular. They allow researchers with a budget and other limitations to become involved in the genealogy community and get the kind of knowledge and experience they could never have found any other way. With webinars, you can uncover tactics and methods for adding generations to your family tree you never imagined you could find.