As family historians we know that we will always be learning, learning of new resources, new record types, new repositories, sometimes even new languages if it helps us in our search for our ancestors.

We live in modern exciting times as there is so much available to us in our homes via our computers. Much is at no cost, for other learning opportunities there may be a cost. 

One example of a free course is that from the University of Strathcylde (Glasgow) via FutureLearn. A six week course that starts 3rd July and you can enrol here.  

It is good for someone who is just starting the family history journey as well as those who have been doing it for a while. It never hurts to have a refresher. Quite a number of people I know who have been researching for many years also have done this course over the last year or so, including myself. Even if you feel you can’t do it this time around you can express your interest as it is run a few times a year.

Another great resource that you may not have considered is YouTube. Yes, there are thousands of family history related presentations available on YouTube! Go to YouTube and search for presentations from BYU (Brigham Young University), Who Do You Think You Are? Live!, Genealogy Gems (Lisa Louise Cook), Genetic Ireland (who have made available the presentations from their conferences over the last four years from the top DNA presenters). If you sign into Google you are able to set up a subscription to a YouTube channel so that when a new video is released it will be shown in your library as being ready to see.

Another wonderful learning experience is the 15th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry which is held every three years. It is being held 9-12 March 2018 in Sydney. So yes you will need to leave home for this one and there will be a cost involved but the opportunity for hearing presentations by a number of well known international presenters and also the pick of the Australasian presenters and network with so many Australian genealogists, see new products in the exhibition hall and so much more! You can save some money by taking advantage of the Early Bird registration For more information click here. 

Your society also has a number of active Special Interest Groups (check out the GSQ Calendar to see the range of groups available). All of these groups offer learning opportunities, including the group close to my heart, the DNA SIG which meets the third Sunday morning 9.30am each second month at the Society rooms. Next meeting is 16th July where we will be talking about some results and how to choose who to test and which test when you have a brick wall you are trying to solve. Come along all are welcome.

DNA is the newest tool in the genealogist’s toolbox. Used in conjunction with our traditional research it can be very valuable but it is a new language for many but this is nothing to scare you as when you started with every new record type or new country you had to learn new terminology. There have been many successes with DNA so if you are thinking about DNA come along to a DNA SIG meeting.

For those of you who have been working with DNA for a while, watch out as soon the Advanced Course will be announced which will be run over around a eight-ten week time frame with one night a week where we will be working through examples. This course will have a cost of $40 and will be held on a Tuesday night at the rooms so watch the GSQ calendar. The class will be restricted to 15.

Also watch out for exciting news from the GSQ Committee about some new learning opportunities they are considering for your benefit.

What interesting learning opportunities have you found? Have you come across a great blog, website, great YouTube lecture?

Please share them with us!