by | Sep 28, 2015 | 01 What's New, Conferences, RootsTech
Are you ready for RootsTech 2016? It’s ready for you! Registration is now open. The Genealogy Gems team will be there, and here’s what we’re teaching.
Registration for RootsTech 2016 is now open! RootsTech has staked its territory as the most-attended annual genealogy conference in the world. It caters not just to seasoned researchers but beginners and even entire families. So mark your calendars and make your reservations: RootsTech 2016 will be held February 3–6 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
According to FamilySearch, “Attendees can expect a full lineup of inspirational keynote speakers, over 200 educational classes, exciting hands-on activities in the expo hall, and entertaining evening events, all designed to help celebrate families across generations!”
What’s new for RootsTech 2016?
Here are some highlights for what to expect this time around:
- Classes will now start earlier in the week, on Wednesday February 3, with the first class beginning at 1:30 p.m.
- Attendees can now use a new scheduling tool to build, edit, and print their class schedule at RootsTech.org after they register (shown here). You can keep editing your schedule as you please. The online tool will sync with a mobile app that will be available later this year.
- The Innovator Showdown will be back and even bigger than before. Innovators of all kinds in any industry are invited to compete with their latest hardware and software apps and services. The top six finalists will be invited to demo live onstage for over 23,000 people. The audience and a panel of renowned judges will decide the winners!
Genealogy Gems at RootsTech 2016
Genealogy Gems listeners and readers will see some familiar names on the speaker’s list, including Genealogy Gems owner, producer and podcast host Lisa Louise Cooke, Contributing Editor Sunny Morton and our resident DNA expert, Diahan Southard. Watch for more announcements of the sessions we’ll be teaching, both formal sessions in classrooms and “Outside the Box” sessions at our booth in the Exhibitor hall.
What else to know
Early-bird pricing is available now for full passes starting at just $149 and $169 for the RootsTech plus Innovator Summit pass. Passes for the Getting Started track start at $19 for a limited single day and $39 for a limited 3-day.
Registration for Family Discovery Day is also now open. “The event takes place on Saturday, February 6, 2016, and is designed for families and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the LDS Church are invited to register as families and groups up to 10 at a time. This free one-day event includes devotionals, classes, interactive activities, and entertainment to help families and members discover, preserve, and share their family connections. Event details, including speakers and classes, will be made available soon at RootsTech.org.”
Resources for Your Family History Trip to Salt Lake City
Use Your iPad for Genealogy Research at the Family History Library
New Interactive Family History Exhibit in Downtown SLC
Genealogy Conferences: Live or Virtual? Which is Better for You?
Must-Have Tips for Visiting the Family History Library in SLC
by Lisa Cooke | May 5, 2015 | 01 What's New, Conferences
Major genealogy conferences like NGS and Jamboree can be both invigorating and overwhelming! It’s tough to catch all the classes I want by my favorite lecturers on the topics I need most. But at some point each day, I’m also done sitting in a boxy classroom for a little while.
We at Genealogy Gems suggest a proven “fix” for these problems: Outside the Box Sessions! We partner with favorite fellow exhibitors to schedule short live presentations on our hottest topics at our extra-large shared exhibit space. Those who attend any Outside the Box session can sign up to receive a free e-book of handouts from all the sessions.
From what you’re telling us, Outside the Box works for you! Bonnie wrote to us: “I attended several of your [Outside the Box] sessions, at least one from each of you and often more. They were terrific, at least as good and often better than conference sessions. And the e-book of session notes, with the myriad of internet links, is frosting on the cake. Thank you.”
A packed and lively schedule of Outside the Box sessions will run at the following upcoming events in the free exhibit hall:
National Genealogical Society conference (13-16 May)
Southern California’s Jamboree (5-7 June).
Click on the conference names above to see the full scoop on each, including classes on:
- Google searching,
- family reunion ideas,
- DNA,
- German research,
- Google Earth for genealogy,
- identifying and caring for old photos,
- Evernote for genealogy,
- using your iPad for family history
- and more!
Since the exhibit hall is free, this is a wonderful opportunity to stop by and see what genealogy conference are all about, and pick up some excellent free training sessions while you’re there!
by Lisa Cooke | Apr 17, 2015 | 01 What's New, Australian, British, Canadian, Conferences, images, RootsTech, Technology, United States
Were you among the record-breaking audience of 23,918 attendees at RootsTech 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah? Even if you were, chances are you didn’t catch all the top talks.
RootsTech staffers have announced that over 1000 FREE regional RootsTech events, called RootsTech Discovery Days, will be hosted around the world throughout 2015. “Select sessions and planning resources from RootsTech 2015 have been recorded, translated in 10 languages, and made available online to support…local volunteer organizers,” says a media statement.
“By the first week following the conference, 65 local family discovery day events had already been held, including 27 in Latin America, one in Korea, and another in the Philippines. Over 1,000 more events are expected to be held throughout 2015, significantly extending the reach and impact of this popular conference.”
Click here to search for a RootsTech Family Discovery Day event near you. We notice that there plenty of options across the U.S. and in England, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Where do YOU want to look for an event?
Lisa speaks to a packed audience at RootsTech 2015.
by Lisa Cooke | Jul 31, 2014 | 01 What's New, Conferences, Research Skills
Two back-to-back opportunities for professional-level genealogy education will take place in Salt Lake City in January 2015 (not too long before the 
RootsTech – FGS joint conference).
The APG 2015 Professional Management Conference takes place January 8-9. The Association of Professional Genealogists hosts, but includes all who want to learn from and alongside the pros. Here’s the skinny:
- It’s January 8-9, 2015 at the downtown Hilton Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- 16 sessions include DNA, genealogical standards, adoption research, how to cite your sources and more.
- The theme is “Professional-Grade Genealogy,” and you’ll definitely be learning from top experts in the field.
- Early-bird registration is open at www.apgen.org/conferences. Registration for virtual access to select sessions (Virtual PMC) will open later this year.
The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy kicks off the following week, with week-long, in-depth instruction on more than 10 genealogical subjects. More details available at www.SLIG.ugagenealogy.org.
by | Apr 26, 2014 | 01 What's New, Conferences
You know how it is – you head to a big conference, and you end up running for one 1 hour session to the next. Wouldn’t it be nice to sit for just a 1/2 hour, take in some really usable tips, and still have time to stretch and walk the exhibit hall and really see the displays?
It’s easy to get stuck in the “genealogy” box (both in our research strategies and our conferences), so this year we’re going to shake things up.
At the National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference 2014 you will have a chance to get outside of that box, and enjoy 30 minute sessions on the topics you’ve told me you want most at my booth in the exhibit hall.
I’m excited to announce that I’ve teamed up with The Photo Detective Maureen Taylor, and the Chart Chick Janet Hovorka to offer “Outside the Box Sessions!”
As presenters we don’t get to have the final say on which of our presentations is selected for the main conference, so it’s really exciting to have this unique way of offering the topics you ask us for. It’s a smaller intimate setting, and the sessions will be packed with tips you can start using right away. Participants can sign up to receive a free ebook of all the sessions handouts, we’ll have great prizes, and we will even have some treats to nibble on. I am really excited about this, and I think you’ll find it refreshing, fun and informative.
I’ll be holding four sessions – one each day of the conference:
- Ancestral Time Travel with Google Earth
- Evernote Quick Tips for Genealogists
- Tablet Tips and Tricks for Genealogists
- Google Search Strategies
And, my dear friends Maureen and Janet will join me and present some of their most popular topics too! All in all, you’ll have eleven ½ hour sessions to choose from to reinvigorate your genealogy research.
If you want to get outside the box, come hang out with us, get the ebook, nibble on some treats and break away from the crowd!
Outside the Box Session Schedule:
Here are some highlights for what to expect this time around:
Genealogy Gems listeners and readers will see some familiar names on the speaker’s list, including Genealogy Gems owner, producer and podcast host Lisa Louise Cooke, Contributing Editor Sunny Morton and our resident DNA expert, Diahan Southard. Watch for more announcements of the sessions we’ll be teaching, both formal sessions in classrooms and “Outside the Box” sessions at our booth in the Exhibitor hall.
