RootsTech Conference

Sunday, November 16, 2014

RootsTech and a ice cream sundae

RootsTech can be compared to a Ice Cream Sundae:
The Ice cream and delicious syrups are the base. But no Sundae is complete without the cherry.  
          The cherry is not a necessity but adds just the right touch to an amazing desert. 


The Ice cream stands for the classes
The Syrups  and whipped cream stands for the expo hall
The Cherry stands for the events
The whole amazing desert stands for an amazing conference.

The cherry ends the day perfectly. Roots Tech has really awesome events:

Thursday: Alex Boye and his one voice children's choir, if you have not heard them look it up on YouTube. It is amazing.
Friday: Cultural event and extended hours at the expo hall
Saturday: Studio C and  other popular entertainers. I love studio c, one of my favorites is prop switch, look it up on YouTube. 

Friday, November 14, 2014

Comparisons

As I was sitting in science waiting for the bell to ring I thought that genealogy is not so different from the scientific method. For me religion is also involved, I am not saying genealogy is purely scientific.  But think about it. Here are the steps to it along with example of how you might use it.

Ask a question: Who is Mary Jane's spouse?

Do background research: Check different sources

Construct a Hypothesis: My Heritage says he is Robert James but Ancestry says it is James Jones

Test your hypothesis by doing at experiment: Genealogy is not about experimenting but finding
evidence to back it up so I changed this one to, Test you hypothesis by gathering evidence:James and Mary have the same kids and Family Search has James listed as Mary's spouse.

Analyze data and get a conclusion: James must be Mary's Spouse

Communicate your results: Add James to your family tree

The Scientific method is the method that most people use while researching, except they have a PURPOSE not a QUESTION.



Keep in mind RootsTech is in 3 months and is an event you won't want to miss! Remind all your friends and family about the FREE family discovery day.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Ancestor Cloud

For those of you who love genealogy and pintrest this new website will be heaven. Ancestor Cloud is the Pinterest of the genealogy world. I saw a demo at the BYU family history conference. I just got this link that you can sign up with and be notified when Ancestor Cloud is officially launched. Use this link, type in your email and get notified when it comes out.

Link:
http://prelaunch.ancestorcloud.com/?key=bcRD7MqXqpJd6WS

Have fun with this. I saw the beta and it will be great!!!!!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Tools

Google Books:
I made this awesome accidental discovery at school today. I was on Scholar.google.com so I could get accurate information and I found this website called books.google.com. It allows you to look up books. I found one I was about to buy for family history. It is awesome. It also gives you a link so you can buy it if you want to keep it.

Scholar.google.com:
 This website allows you to get more credited information of the internet. You don't get any ask.com or answers.com or Wikipedia.com junk. You get actual information that is very solid.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

The Temple trip

A couple days ago our youth group got the opportunity to go to the temple. When we got there we saw just how full the temple was. There was a line around the baptistry and they had to open a new room for waiting. It was one of the best temple trips in my life. Waiting so long helped you feel the spirit even more. I was thinking that even though we think the temple is full, we can't even see how full it is. All of those people waiting for their baptisms to be done. It was also special because there were devotionals by the matron of the temple. I could feel my great grandpa there. It was a very special experience.


*Reminder: RootsTech is Feb 11-14 2014 at the The salt palace center for more info go to: rootstech.org


Monday, September 29, 2014

Advice

RootsTech:
Come February 12-14 2014
Salt Palace
Enough Said!! 



Thursday, September 25, 2014

RootsTech is open for registration!!

RootsTech 2015 is open for registration. Come February 12-14 at the Salt Palace. The cost is as follows:

Full access: 159.00
Full access one day: 89.00
Getting started: 39.00
Getting started one day: 19.00
Innovators summit: 89.00
RootsTech pass and innovators summit: 178.00
Family discovery day: 0.00
Computer labs: 10.00
Sponsored lunches: 25.00
There are also 3 evening events that are free and you can bring a guest to.


The class schedules are on RootsTechs website: www.rootstech.org

RootsTech is amazing. It is an experience that you won't want to miss out on. I went for my first time last year and got inspired to start a blog. Genealogy is funner than you might guess. My friend made fun of me all the time, until she got addicted! Family history will change your life. Try RootsTech for one day at a getting started pass and you will see what it can do. Have a great genealogy experience!!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Descendency view, have you tried it?

At the BYU family history I was introduced to the new descendency view on family search. It is amazing! You can learn so much that way! You click on expand, above your name and then it pulls up a box. You then select a parent or grandparent and you can see their tree. It show you the children, the, grandparents, the great-grandparents, ect. I love it it is also an effective way to find temple names. There is a drop down box where you can select what you want it to show to. Here are the steps with pictures:

1) Click on your name and click on a person in the pop up box:


2) Select settings, what it is going to show:


3) Look at it and use it!:


It is different then you usually see and it will take a little bit to get used to it, but in the long run it will great. If you have more questions about it and want more detail, email me at Ruby@cascadefamily.com. I will email you back a detailed packet.

Friday, July 25, 2014

DNA

I was just on Ancestrys website and I was looking at their DNA page and I found this:

How It Works

Applying DNA science to family history

What you inherited

There’s only one YOU — you’re unique. Yet you share common connections to the family in your past. Those connections are found in your DNA.
Think of DNA as the internal set of blueprints that your body follows to make you who you are. Much like a fingerprint, each person’s particular combination of DNA is unique.
But, unlike that fingerprint, your DNA was passed down to you by your ancestors. And that makes it an unparalleled tool for family history research.

Why DNA runs in families

Here’s how it works: you get half of your DNA from your father and half from your mother. They, in turn, got their DNA from their parents, who got it from theirs, and so on. While the particular combination inherited from a single set of parents makes each person unique, the shared genetic details of family members are what link you back to people born throughout history.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Worldwide indexing event

I am so sorry I didn't do a post about it earlier but I have had a really busy month and I haven't always had Internet. I will do so much better when school starts because we won't have a ton of vacations. But I just did a batch to contribute to the worldwide indexing event. It is an awesome feeling to know that I am helping to break a record. I hope you did it to. I was worried the site was going to crash with so many people contributing. There were also no beginner records by the time I got there so I did my first intermediate record! It actually was not that hard, I enjoyed it. I just got the free LDS memberships to the 3 different sites and I'm getting know them right now and will start doing posts about them. I have found My Heritage to be the most useful.

RootsTech presenters will be notified in 4, almost 3 days. So if you are trying to present keep an eye out for that email!

Friday, July 11, 2014

The learning center

Family Search has this great section on their website. It is called the learning center. The name of the learning center is really self explanatory, it is where you learn. This section has videos galore, I have watched quite a few. There are long ones and there are short ones, a family history consultant in our ward suggested a video titled: Beginning genealogy mistakes. It teaches you about the mistakes you need to avoid it is about half and hour long. To get to the learning center go to: family search.org the on the top right click the get help button. It will open a drop down and on the self help side there is a line called learning center. That will take you a different page with a bunch of videos to watch.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

BYU genealogy conference

BYU has a genealogy conference soon! I am almost signed for the whole thing! Being a student really has it advantages I'm paying 20 dollars for the whole conference. I will be blogging about the conference during it, I don't believe they have official bloggers like RootsTech. The conference will take place July, 29, 30, 31, and August 1.  A new awesome thing is a free youth day and free family history consultant training. It is a fairly priced conference. Anyway, Here is the important information:

Date: July 29,30,31 and August, 1st
         -The Youth day is July 29th (Tuesday)
         -The Consultant day is August 1st (Friday)

Priceing:
Non-credit: 180 (includes CD syllubus)
Credit: 484 (includes CD syllubus)
Student non-credit: 20
Student credit: 484
Plus many many more!


Classes:
http://ce.byu.edu/cw/cwgen/pdf/schedule2014.pdf
Use this link to get to the classes

The website has more information and I will blog some more on it as it gets closer, lodgeing, food, etc.
In the next couple of days I will try to give you all the information I can.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

The genealogy side of my birthday

Today is my birthday! I am officially 13. My awesome grandparents gave me 13 dollars for my birthday and by chance the book Genealogy standards happens to be about 13 dollars. I am going to buy the book tomorrow seeing as today is Sunday. I also got some money from my other grand-parents and I am thinking about saving up for Ancestry DNA, because I am starting to get more and more into the research part of genealogy. If you have any tips PLEASE share them. My birthday list was pretty straight-forward.:

-Chromebook (For genealogy research in a quite place, my house is loud :))
-DNA experiment kit (It was to learn about DNA)
-Genealogy standards book (Pretty self explanatory)
-3 drawer rolling cart (To organize my genealogy records)

It all would be very helpful. I have been using the DNA kit which my aunt gave to me. I will to a post about it and what I've learned in a couple of days. But it has been great so far and I have learned a lot, I really knew nothing about DNA until this kit. All the websites I have looked at were to confusing and the DNA kit cleared it up and I think I can understand most of the websites now!!

Friday, June 20, 2014

New partners

Many people already know that FamilySearch has partners, Ancestry, My Heritage, and, Find my Past. That in itself is exciting, you get more records! But what some people haven't heard is that slowly people are getting memberships to those places for free. FamilySearch randomly chooses some of its members and sends them emails saying the get free membership. They say they will be done in about 3 months. I have heard that Ancestry is keeping 1% of its records that you have to pay to see. If you don't have the free membership yet, your local family history center does. Family history consultants should have already gotten free membership, and if you are a family history consultant and have not received a free membership can email: Thom@familysearch.org
They also have said that youth consultants do not receive them yet, but they are working on it. 

Utah will not receive free membership last, that is just a rumor, they give it out on a random basis, but you have to have logged on in the last 6 months. (I think)

If you have free membership and have a problem with one of the sites FamilySearch asks you not to email the problems to them but to contact the partners:
Ancestry: 1-800-262-3787
Find my Past: Familysearch@findmypast.com
My Heritage: MyHeritage.com/help 

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

RootsTech

I just submitted my 5th presentation proposal, and I am now learning that it is a long wait until July 25th. I can't wait to see if I get in. I feel like I have good material. But I also have no experience at all. I've done a few classes for my ward (in fact there is one today) but that really is my only experience. My opinion is that you have to start somewhere. RootsTech is drawing closer everyday but it still is not close enough. I  get really inspired listening to the speakers (unlike listening to my sick sister moan) and over the whole conference I expand my experience and knowledge.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Recording the stories

I was on amazon one day, looking for a present for my grandma, and I found this cool book. It has a question they answer about themselves  for everyday of the year. It was to expensive for me, (7$ per book). So I decided to make my own. I went to Walmart and bought a cheap, but nice looking notebook. I have started writing my own questions in the book. When I'm done writing the questions I am going to give it to my great grandpa and grandma. They will each fill one out and give it back. These books are going to make priceless heirlooms. Imagine if you had one from your great grandparents.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

RootsTech, by the numbers

This is taken from RootsTech website, word for word, all credit to them.

RootsTech 2014 by the Numbers

  • Over 9,000 registered attendees from 49 U.S. states, 6 Canadian provinces, and 31 countries.
  • Estimated 15,0000+ views of live-streaming sessions on RootsTech.org.
  • 100+ bloggers from Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
  • Hosted by FamilySearch, official sponsors included: Ancestry.com, findmypast, MyHeritage, Peoplefinders, Family Storytelling, BYUTV, Backblaze, Dell, Mocavo, Pictureline, Lexmark, Rootspoint, FGS, NGS, APG, NEHGS.
  • Over 135 exhibitors and vendors with booths and displays in the Expo Hall.
  • Nearly 4,000 youth ages 12–18 attended classes and activities at Family Discovery Day for Youth at RootsTech 2014.
  • 93 percent of 2014 attendees said they would recommend attending RootsTech to a friend or colleague.
  • 91 percent of attendees were very satisfied or satisfied with the value of the information given at RootsTech.
  • 80 percent of 2014 attendees plan on attending RootsTech 2015.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

RootsTech is getting ready for 2015!

RootsTech is getting ready for RootsTech 2015. Their website has been updated! (www.rootstech.org or you can just search RootsTech) It is great! They are also going to accept presentations soon. In five days! Only five! The website says when it is, and soon we can sign up! (It's going to be more like August, kind of soon). And the candy bar was not quite as cool as I wanted it to be. I'm going to perfect it this summer and make many wrappers. Well, my little sibling want me to do "school" with them now, gotta go,  time for  our genealogy object lesson.:)

Monday, May 26, 2014

The candy bar

I decided my CTE teacher thinks I'm crazy. We made buttons and I put ancestors on them. We made candy bars and mine is family search related, Dennis Brimhall is on the front with info about him on the inside. I put a pedigree and I'm pretty excited for the finished product. I will post a picture when I'm done. I want to make some for Ancestry, My Heritage, find my past and all the rest off those. I might make one for roots tech, in fact.....

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Webinar

It has been a crazy week! I had to get stitches because I fell of my bike (okay, crashed it) and split open my chin. I still finished the triathlon though. I don't know if anyone saw the family history consultant broadcast 2 days ago, but it was pretty awesome. I loved the way they did their PowerPoint! The information was great to. I'll summarize the syllabus for you:

How do we spark interest and build enthusiasm for family history?
That is a really great question, I know many people who could do it but don't. They're just not excited.

Start with stories:
"Share an inspiring story about one of your ancestors. Ask others to share stories about their ancestors."
A great activity I just thought of, would be to have every one find a story about an ancestor and share it around a campfire.

Use the booklet:
Help others, particularly new members, complete the booklet My family: stories that bring us together.
Another idea I thought of, would be to give the primary children the booklet. My little brother loves it. He'll draw pictures of them and color it.

Transfer to tree:
Help others transfer information from the booklet to family tree and prepare family ordinance request forms.
Getting 11 year old involved in family names, would be a great way. I think for a personal progress I will see if I can teach the 11 year old activity girls how to find names.

Go to FamilySearch.org/MyFamily to:
  • Order a booklet
  • Transfer information form your booklet to Family Tree
  • Learn how to use the Help others feature
  • Use the help others feature to transfer information from someone else's booklet to Family Tree

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

My sorry attempt at a poem




My feelings

Sometimes I feel sad or blue, but soon I remember, those great
ancestors who carried on much better than you, they were better
than me, they went through more,
and then, I think that I can handle it more.

But soon after that I start to break down and 
have to take another look at their hardships.
It carries me on if I feel them near, I know that they 
were a teenager to. 

Take Ruby Nielson for instance, she did much more
her struggles abounded compared to mine. She had to pay for
a room close to her high school. There was no bus for her.
her whole family got sick, including her. Someone
had to take care of all them. 

She couldn't go to college as she and her folks were
to poor. She got a job and Fonnsbeck's Kniting Factory
She finally could go, yet she still had to work while doing her homework
mine must not be that bad. The Great Depression ran its
course picking up Ruby on the way. They were poor and had bad
hours for working on that railroad.

On October 1931 they had to care for a youngin' to! 
she had no peaceful nights. In 1932 they had to say goodbye
to their mother to. Their father, well he was gone in 10 months.
They were left with little Blaine born in 1931. In 1935 they had to care for Milo to.

He brought every hardship and trouble to. He was sick 
and often disrupted everything, and soon he was fine.

The worst year by far was 1943, her husband got shot 
down by asthma that won't go a way. Multiple times everyday,
he would almost die. He would choke and choke until
the fit passed him by. 

With faithful friends who prayed for him
his heath began to improve. In November he 
got a job, but 2 weeks later got bad with a 
cold. That nasty cold turned into pleurisy pneumonia
and his pain was so much, and went on for 2 years.

Then this faithful lady, said "Lord, if you don't
want him to live, please let him die for all this 
suffering is to much" She loved this man
with all her heart, so much that she wanted
him to die if it would help.

He died in 1970, congestive heart failure is what it was
and as for dear, Ruby who I've learned so much from,
she died in 1983.

I found out just now that she was a genealogist to,
I wonder if she also turned to her ancestors,
just to survive.

After learning all about her life,
I know that I can survive. For
she did much more and was
fine.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Trying to get into presentations at Roots Tech

I was talking to my mom in the car the other day and Roots Tech came up. She said "I know there calling for presentations already!" I can't remember the details of the whole conversation but I told her I had considered trying to get a class, but had decided against the whole thing because I was 12. She said that they might let me! So last night I sent an email seeing if there was and age limit. I'm not sure yet, but I started on a power point. And who knows? I would either do a class on how to get the younger generation started, or a lab class on indexing.(I'm not sure how those lab classes work) So if you see, my class please come and join it. Well, if I do get in I'll probably write another post to get it out of my system. I also need to talk it over with my parents, see what they think if there okay with it, etc.

And if I'm not posting a whole lot, it might be because I'm working on the power point, and a ton of end of year testing. This summer will be a ton better with posting.    

The RootsTech motto

Sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com


The RootsTech motto has more meaning then you would think. Their motto is Connect your family - Past, Present, and Future!

So lets break it down:

Connect your family:
What is connecting your family?
Some would say family time, others would say making a bond.

Dictionary definition:
Connect: "to unite or bind"
Family: "all those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor

Past:
What is the past:
The past (in my opinion) is anything not in the present moment or time, so for example, exactly .01 seconded a go would be the past.

Dictionary definition:
Past: "gone by or elapsed in time"

Present:
The present is what is currently happening.

Dictionary definition:
Present: "immediate or current"

Future:
The future is what will happen for example RootsTech will happen in 2015

Dictionary definition:
"time that is to be or come hereafter"


So if you put it together you get:

To unite or bind all those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor - gone by or elapsed in time, immediate or current, time that is to be or come hereafter.

It is kind of weird, but the first one works, and actually sounds nice, The Past, Present, and Future parts are somewhat messed up with the dictionary definitions.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

RootsTech ravings 1

This post may happen many times within the coming months :). Sorry, I just love RootsTech, it is so inspiring! On another genealogy blog the person who was writing the post was highly disipointed with his second year at RootsTech. I have absoultly no clue about how that could happen! RootsTech is simply to awesome. I literally dreamed about it in the days and weeks leading up to RootsTech, and when I was there it literally was better than my wildest dreams! The expo hall was way better than I thought it would be. The classes, were the best and the overall feeling was great! When I signed up (early bird) I knew the exact amount of months, weeks, and days until RootsTech. I got my grandma to do it, my mom, and my dad. We all signed up. I was so excited! I knew my exact sleeping arrangements months before it was time for RootsTech! I had been packed about two weeks before RootsTech and had all the classes picked out on the same day I downloaded the app. My friends made fun of me, knowing the exact days. They said I would know the hours to! And lo and behold I did. RootsTech also totally exahsted me! That last class was hard but well worth it, my mom took notes, seeing as I could hardly stay awake. (The excitement had left me sleep deprived)  I can hardly wait for next year! 

Friday, May 16, 2014

The class

I decided I wanted to do a family history class for personal progress, I spent 5 hours on a PowerPoint for it! 5 hours, then of course our computer went down and it is missing. But it was still a spark. Our ward then decided to do a family history class. The class was awesome! Our agenda was obviously confusing, since we asked an adult family history consultant to conduct. He thought  he was just supposed to welcome everybody. My dad was busy setting up computers for the class at the moment and was really stressed. So I, having no idea what to do started trying to conduct. It was rough at the beginning, but in the end was great, and everybody who had a question got it answered. A bunch of inspired people left our house that day. I had helped someone get started, get more sources and firm up on what she was supposed to be doing. Overall it was an inspiring event, and we will most likely be doing it again. Next time I will try to remember to put the packet we gave them up on the blog.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Beta!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited!  I just got the email from Family Search saying that I can Beta test their new app! I signed up at Roots Tech 2014 and they just released it. I have already sent to emails of feedback to them, mostly the tree app one, the memories one is great! I can't wait till they release it to the general public. So keep an eye out. I also signed up to Beta test the Indexing app that they are working on. Family Search has really done a great job on this app. I asked in one of my feedback emails when they will release the app to the public and they haven't answered yet, but I will keep you posted! Sorry, I haven't been posting, I have been really busy with end of year testing. Next week should be better for posting.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

RootsTech 2015 timeline

JUNE:

2- Presentation submissions open
27- Presentation submissions close

JULY:

25- Speakers notified

AUGUST:

1- Speaker due to RootsTech
15- Final speaker picture and bio are due

SEPTEMBER:

1- Speakers notified of selection to be recorded

NOVEMBER:

1- Speakers must be registered to attend RootsTech
4- Syllabi seminar
18- Presentation seminar for recorded speakers
18- Computer lab facilitation seminar

DECEMBER:

1- Class Syllabi due
15- Syllabi posted to www.rootstech.org

JANUARY:

6- Presentation seminar for non-recorded speakers

FEBUARY:

3- RootsTech logistics Seminar
11 through 14- RootsTech held in Salt Lake City Utah

Presentation 2015 requirments

RootsTech call for presentations

RootsTech is looking for dynamic speakers to present at RootsTech 2015. The purpose is to inform and educate all skill levels. Submissions open June 2-27, 2014.

What is RootsTech: RootsTech is a global family history event, it is three days and offers over 200 classes. It is always held at Salt Lake city Utah at the Salt Palace center. The last RootsTech, 2014 had 49 states and 32 countries participating. South Dakota please come!

What categories can I present in:
RootsTech needs, Beginning, intermediate, and advance classes for each subject.

Finding and Organizing: Search Tactics,
Resources, Specialized Tools, Methodologies,
Solutions, Metadata, Apps and Software
Preserving Your Work and Legacy: Family Trees,
Digital Migration, Audio and Video Solutions
Sharing: Social Media, Tools for Collaboration,
Wikis, Crowd Sourcing, Community Building, Blogs
Stories and Photos: Storytelling and Interviewing, Capturing Stories, Preserving Stories,
Enhancing Stories with Photos, Photo Restoration, Movies and Presentations, Photo Editing, Oral
Histories
Tools: Technology Introductions, Gadgets, Genetic Research, DNA, Breaking Down Barriers
General: Family History topics in general, including Geographic Research, Time-Period
Research, Inspirations, Market Trends, Research Trends, Adjacent Industries, Record Types.
(Please note that there is still an expectation in this category that technology is a part of the presented topic.)
Family Traditions and Lifestyle: Cultural Arts, Handicrafts, Food, Influential Historical Events,
Everyday Living Standards, Social Customs, Pastimes, Artifacts. (Please note that there is still an
expectation in this category that this knowledge assists the learner in family history and that technology is part of the presented topic.)

Innovators summit:
There are two categories to present in for innovators summit.

Developer (Innovator Summit): Standards and APIs, Mobile App development, Social
Applications, Record Imaging and Visualizations, Apps for Youth, Software and Tools that Enable
the Work of Family History.
Business (Innovator Summit): Funding and Investment, Startup success stories and tips,
Opportunities and Market Trends, Networking and Partnerships, Insights and Entertainment

Session Types:
All Sessions will be about an hour long including a Q&A period.

Traditional:
A class where the participants sit down and listen, it may include a poll to add interactive experience.

Lab:
A computer lab is a hands-on workshop, where subject matter or training can be accomplished on a computer and done simultaneously by each attendee. These sessions should provide an interactive experience from which attendees go home with a finished product or next
steps.

Panel:
Presenters may come together for a collaborative presentation on a particular topic or
answer questions from attendees. Presenters can be on-site, or presentations can include subject-matter experts in remote locations.

Submission process:
To submit your presentation for consideration for RootsTech 2015, please visit RootsTech.org/proposals, and
click the submission link.
You will need to do the following:
Complete a short submission profile.
Submit your presentation title.
Submit a 40–50 word abstract for your proposed presentation. Please include learning objectives
for attendees, for example: “You will learn to add a name to your family tree.”
Submit a 100–200 word description of your session (Please list any programs, software, or
specific tools that you will in your session here.)
Submit a photograph of yourself (300 dpi .jpg, .eps, or .png file).
Submit a video of yourself presenting (optional).
Summarize any previous speaking experience and topics.
After you have successfully completed the process, you will receive an email from the RootsTech Team
confirming your submission.

Evaluation:
Relevance:
Does the proposed session help attendees to discover their family stories?
Does technology play a role in the implementation of the topic discussed?
Does the topic speak to a broad audience of family history enthusiasts?
Innovation:
Are the ideas, methods, or subjects timely and relevant to attendees?
Is the subject matter fresh ?
Clarity:
Is the intent of the session clear and concise in the abstract and title?
Are the learning objectives well-defined?
Presenter:
Is the presenter knowledgeable and experienced on the topic submitted?
Is the presenter careful in the submission process to meet all requirements and willing to meet the
expectations if selected
What you can expect:
Speakers selected to present at RootsTech 2015 will receive:
One free full-conference pass.
A lunch voucher for each day of the conference.
Access to the speaker lounge.
Hotel accommodations (for out-of-state speakers presenting two or more sessions).
Because RootsTech is a nonprofit event, we do not pay speakers. We hope you will consider this conference
an investment since it is the largest live forum in the world to reach people with the insights and knowledge
you have to share.
In each classroom, RootsTech will supply:
A laptop computer.
A wired Internet connection.
A projector .
A screen.
A lavaliere microphone.
A handheld microphone.
In addition, computer labs will be equipped with a
computer station and a wired Internet connection for
each attendee in the class.
All other equipment required for your presentation
must be supplied by you or the attendees in your session. Please indicate in your course abstract whether
attendees will need to bring something with them to the session. Attendees will have access to wireless
Internet in the classrooms at the Salt Palace; however, connections are not always reliable or fast
because of the number of people on site at one time.
RootsTech reserves the right to edit session titles and abstracts. You will be notified and consulted if there is
a need to make changes to your title or abstract.
In 2015, we will require all speakers to provide a syllabus for their class sessions in both a Microsoft
Word format and a PDF format. Syllabi will be posted on RootsTech.org for attendees to preview and
download. Having syllabi available allows attendees to make informed decisions about which classes to
attend during the conference. Presenters who do not submit syllabi by December 1, 2014, may not be
allowed to present at RootsTech.
We will record many class sessions for use on RootsTech.org and at remote RootsTech events around the
world, in the year following RootsTech 2015. These recorded sessions will not be used for any purpose other
than on the RootsTech website and for remote RootsTech events. We will notify speakers by September 1, if
your class is selected for recording. You will be required to submit your presentation slides, syllabus, and
class handouts in an editable format such as PowerPoint or Microsoft Word, for translation by December 1,
2014. Your session will be translated into as many as 10 languages for use at RootsTech family history fairs.
You will be able to download the recording of your presentation for your own use as well.
If you have questions regarding the submission process or speaking at RootsTech 2015, please
contact us at info@rootstech.org.






Friday, May 2, 2014

Rootstech takeaways Day one, Thursday

I finally edited my Roots tech notes, some of them are absolute gibberish, as I did not look when taking notes, (I think I'll look next year.)

The first day:

Keynote Session:



sources to use:
Puzzila
Family maps
Family maps is a app

Obituaries have lots of leads, date of birth, date of death, relatives, etc.


Start with the heart:

Helping people feel the spirit is more important then giving them an overload of information
Start with the heart, not charts

Family History Consultant jobs:

1. Help members feel the spirit

2. Minister with other ward leaders

3. Get the help you need

4. Teach patrons to fish

Detail about Family History Consultant jobs:

Help members feel spirit:

Stories are a great way to help them feel the spirit

If they are raised in the church and say their family tree is done you need to keep adding onto the cousins and childrens lines. if that is all done have them look at the stories, and find all the stories add more!  Find sources to back it up.

Click on memories then photos, you will then see the photos of your ancestors. It's like instagram, there is a new photo every day, go to memories, then people and then you can click on the picture and you will see all their pictures, above that there is a "view my relationship" button,  if you click on it then it will show you your relationship with that person.



New convert, no tree/ no records?  Use the "My family book"! It is good way to get started for the youth, children, etc.



After they fill out the booklet you can enter it in to the website and you are started!!!


Helper function

You find it then help them find it don't just tell them. They will feel the spirit more if they find it on their own.


If you use the search button then you can find new indexed records.

 To turn the hearts, leaders guide book


Ask not what they can do to help family history. Ask what family history can do to help them!

New converts are less likely to become inactive if you get them to the temple within the next 3 months.


"Today, hundreds of her descendants..... are the beneficiaries"

1 in every 5 new consultants is a youth.

Every new missionary must report to the M T C with a 4 generation family chart

Help 11 year olds find names for the temple

Family history enables true conversion


Get their Email and get back to them

Search on lds.org for Family history consultant then, click on it and you are on the family history consultant page

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.


For youth:
Indexing

Ask, what do you want to do?

Empty tree, fill it

Work is all done, COUSINS

Register for Family history consultant newsletter


FamilySeach whats new and whats next:


New.familysearch.org is read only


New features 2013

Search feature, if you want you can click view document so you can makes sure it is real information,

Image source, you can add pictures or documents.   You can click upload, then attach and it is a source

Some people have multiple wifes or multiple husbands, you can choose a different wife or husband, if you choose a different wife you see different children and different ancestors, same with the husband.

Whats Next:

Mobile applications

Get the Living into family tree, out of new family tree
        life sketch
        edit vitals
        sources
        change log


Record hinting, find matching records automatically

Descendancy View:

see descendants of an ancestors

Mobile app: (on beta)

Memories
Family tree viewer

Beta is going to be released in April or May
Beta for memories will be released in March

To tag people on family memories, you do it like you do on instagram

Ask The Experts:
Learn about DNA

Help number:
866-430-1830

          
          

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Getting excited

We had a family history consultant meeting at our house on Sunday. It was to train the other 3 youth that were called. They all had varied levels of boredom on their face. But one of the youth there thought she was going to die. She said: "Does anything about this face read excitement?" Nothing about the face did AT ALL! But she had to stay so she listened. After we had finished the instruction part it was time to actually try it. My dad was starting up a new office so we had 20 computers at our house. Everyone choose a computer and logged into FamilySearch. She still was not excited. I was worried about this, so I said a quick prayer in my mind. Minutes later we had found 6 family names for her to take to the temple. Right then her demeanor changed from please let me go home to, this is awesome! She said she was going to go around bragging at school and find names at school. My mom said: " Once you taste the spirit of Elijah, you want more." It is true. Try it for yourself.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Roots Tech 2015, call for presentations

Roots Tech is calling for presentations for 2015. Imagine being a presenter for Roots Tech and FGS!!! It would be awesome. I personally am thinking about doing a presentation  (If they'll let me). I have to talk to my parent first of course. Roots Tech is looking for many things in presentations this is the list of requirements for 2014.


All credit goes to Roots Tech:

RootsTech is a family history and technology conference “where families connect.” The fourth annual conference will be held February 6 – 8, 2014, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, and will bring together the best in family history tools and technology to inspire attendees to discover and share their family’s connections and stories. RootsTech 2014 will reach thousands of attendees both on-site in Salt Lake City and at remote locations around the world.
Presentation proposals for RootsTech 2014 will be accepted until July 8, 2013.
Presentations should:
  • Be between 50 to 60 minutes in length, which includes a question-and-answer period.
  • Offer an interactive experience where attendees leave with a finished product, completed task, or next steps (what to do when I get home).
  • Avoid being text-based slides and lecture only.
  • Incorporate step-by-step, live demonstrations or best practices but not be infomercials.
  • Provide new and innovative ideas or solutions that are technology focused. (Please do not resubmit proposals from previous years.)
We welcome presentation proposals that provide new insight, innovation, skills, and best practices in the following categories and that are geared towards attendees at a specific skill level. The bullet points below are given as possible examples. Other topics related to family history and technology will also be considered.
CATEGORYBEGINNER EXAMPLESINTERMEDIATE EXAMPLESADVANCED EXAMPLES
Find
  • Simple searches and records
  • Basic online resources
  • Collaboration techniques
  • Living histories
  • Search tools and techniques
  • Specialized online tools
  • Optimizing websites and resources
  • Research techniques methodology (e.g., maps)
  • Obscure resources and references
  • Evidence and source evaluation
Organize
  • Simple solutions for paper and digital files
  • Sources documentation
  • Digital file management
  • Metadata
  • Research logs and tools
  • Syncing across devices
  • Apps, software, and tools
Preserve
  • Family trees
  • Timelines
  • Recording devices and tools
  • Backing up data
  • Audio and video solutions
  • Digital migration
Share
  • Social media tools
  • Cloud computing
  • Simple collaboration (1-1)
  • Electronic publications
  • Print publications
  • Tools for collaboration
  • Public sharing options
  • Creating wikis
  • Community, crowd
  • sourcing
Stories
  • Simple storytelling techniques
  • Story prompts and interview techniques
  • Recording or writing stories
  • Apps and tools for story capture
  • Book creation
  • Traditional and e-publishing
Photos
  • Digital photos, tagging
  • Enhancing stories with photos
  • Photo restoration
  • Editing tools
  • Movies and presentations
  • Photo enhancement
Technology
  • Introduction to family history technology for someone with limited computer experience
  • Gadgets and technology tools
  • Genetic research, DNA
  • Advanced product features
  • Technology to help break down research walls
GeneralGeneral family history topics can span all skill levels, topics, and interests as they relate to family history and the industry, including market trends and analytics.
DevelopersDeveloper topics can include the following:
  • GPS and geo-mapping ancestral locations
  • Applications for mobile devices
  • Social applications
  • Standards and APIs
  • Records imaging and tree visualization
  • Gamification experiences
  • Cloud-based solutions for saving, accessing, and sharing data

Types of Sessions

  • Presentations: A classroom setting that engages participants.
  • Panels or Discussions: Formal panel of experts discussing specific topics, led by a facilitator.
  • Hands-on Workshops: Computer labs where attendees have hands-on experiences in a specific task or objective.
  • Online Webinars: A new approach being considered for 2014 where the speaker presents from a remote location, not in Salt Lake City, or the presenter streams the presentation from Salt Lake City to a wider audience through a webinar or online hangout site.

Submission Information

To be considered, proposals must include the following:
  • Speaker name, address, telephone, and email address
  • Presentation title (not to exceed 15 words)
  • Short presentation summary (not to exceed 40 words)
  • Long presentation description or outline (not to exceed 100 words)
  • Category and skill level (from chart above)
  • Session type (see types in section above)
  • Speaker bio (not to exceed 25 words)
  • Speaker photo (high resolution, approximately 300 dpi, in one of the following formats: .jpg, .eps or .png file)
  • Resume of recent presentation topics and event locations
  • Whether you approve the content of the presentation to be recorded and shared online
Presentation proposals will be accepted online at rootstech.org/proposals from June 17 — July 8, 2013. Due to the volume of presentation proposals we receive, please submit no more than five proposals per speaker. Limited, late-breaking technology submissions will be accepted, upon approval, until October 1, 2013.
Speakers selected to present at RootsTech 2014 will be notified by August 2, 2013. Syllabus materials (PDF file) for selected presentations will be due by November 1, 2013. Speakers who don’t submit syllabus materials on time may be removed from the schedule.
Presenters participating in RootsTech 2014 will receive a complimentary conference registration and access to all syllabus materials. Out-of-state speakers selected to present three or more presentations will also receive hotel accommodations. There is no monetary compensation for presenting at this conference.
Questions can be emailed to the attention of the RootsTech Speaker Selection Committee at info@rootstech.org.