Please Note: This is an extracurricular activity (see p.40 of Spring 2007 ALL catalog); therefore any ALL member may sign up without counting as one of the maximum of 5 classes registered. Sign up at registration (at side table) or in ALL office. The signup order will determine the priority for use of ALL computers in the Workshop. Please include your email address when you signup, as email will be used to communicate upcoming class lectures and workshop computer availability.

However, you are strongly encouraged to register for the Genealogical Research Methods class (p.20 of catalog) on Wednesdays at 2-3:15pm, immediately preceding the workshop. A part of each class lecture will be devoted to information useful for the workshop following class.

The Genealogical Computing Workshop is a computer-based study of genealogy. We will explore free on-line databases (e.g. at UD and your local library) to search the Web in order to research, organize and share your own family history. We will teach searching techniques to maximize the value and quality of information available from hundreds of different sites on the Web. Contact: tdoherty@udel.edu. Prerequisite: Experience searching Web. All Academy members are officially UD students, thus can take advantage of the broad variety of databases (including genealogical ones) subscribed to by UD for students.

Those students with a UDelNetID# and password, before the first class (available free to all UD students, including Academy members) will have a distinct advantage, for they will have immediate access to all UD databases (including genealogical ones) and the ability to develop a personal UD web page. Please contact me, tdoherty@udel.edu, and I'll forward the list to the ALL office who will try to get you an account by the first class on Feb 7th. UD gives first priority to regular UD students and generally requests ALL members to wait until Mar 1, unless there is a specific class requirement, which we think we have. Access UD databases on the Web and downloading useful programs, such as file transfer for building personal web site, Adobe Reader 7.0, and PAF (Personal Ancestry software from LDS).

We will try to accommodate everyone on the Waiting List:
While there are only 24 student computers total available in Rooms 202 and 214, there is space for another 12-13 participants who can bring a personal laptop having a wireless connection to the Web, thus raising the "computer capacity" to 37-38.  With an additional standing/leaning space of about 4 behind the back row in Room 214 for observers, there is a limit of 41-42 computer users/observers per session.  If the workshop is oversubscribed, as people learn to use on-line computer resources at home, room will become available in the lab. An advantage to bringing your own laptop is that you will get help to set it up to maximize your genealogical computing at home and you don't have to share it. 

UDelNet ID# and password; use of wireless laptops at Arsht:
1. There are 7-9 spots in Room 214 and 3-4 spots in Room 202 for wireless laptop access to the web from Arsht. There are electrical receptacles within reach of the wireless laptop spots. At least one day before your wireless laptops can access the web from Arsht, it must first be certified (see procedure in #3 below).

2. If you do not yet have your UDelNet ID# and password you can apply for both of them up at the ALL office (from the AV group - Bon Fong or John Martin). With the ID and password you can get into the ancestry.com database from home.

3. With the ID and password, you can also qualify your computer for access to the web from Arsht, For the procedure, click on "wireless access" which is 9 lines below the Blue Hen on the right side of our class page at http://copland.udel.edu/~tdoherty

What to bring to the Workshop; to more easily find what may be on the Web about your family:
1. Information about exactly where your ancestors lived: town-county-state and/or town-country and the government jurisdiction(s) in between. Also bring the names of those ancestors, about when they lived in that place and ways their name could have been misspelled.

2. Your UDelNet ID# and password (see previous section)

3. Your Delaware public library card # and PIN# so you can access the HeritageQuest databases from your Delaware public library's website (or bring a non-Delaware public library's card# and PIN as well as the website URL). Non-residents can get a Delaware public library card for $15/yr.

4. Your wireless laptop at Arsht accepted for access to web at Arsht (see procedure at http://copland.udel.edu/~tdoherty/WirelessUD.pdf)

5. A small flash drive to save your pdf or other images directly to it. Those with wireless laptop access at Arsht can save any images as pdf files directly to their laptop while in class.

Class# - Topic - Come prepared with family information (names, dates, places)
1. (Feb 7) Introduction: Access to UD databasesHow to get free on-line access. Interviewing Relatives (oral histories, family memoirs); Original vs. Secondary Sources; Forms: Pedigree charts, group sheets; Downloads from UD Site.

2. (Feb 14) The Census: Ancestry vs. ProQuest; On-line searching techniques; google.com.

3. (Feb 21) Web Sources: Has someone else already researched your family (e.g. PERSI database of journal articles, LDS, Ancestry.com, ProQuest). Rules of evidence (original record vs. other sources).

4. (Feb 28) US and World GenWeb, published genealogies (continued): finding rare books, abbreviations, occupations, diseases, Accessable Archives, Historical Newspapers, calendars

5. (Mar 7) Web surfing: social security, queries, newsgroups, Cyndi's List, LDS

6. (Mar 14) Genealogy on the Web (begin): Finding information about other places on the web. Historical Timelines.  Includes Web surfing: social security, queries, newsgroups, Cyndi's List, LDS, US and World GenWeb; finding rare books, abbreviations, occupations, diseases, calendars

7.(Mar 21) Genealogical Software: Family Tree Maker, Personal Ancestry File, The Master Genealogist (How good are they?)

Mar 28: No Class - Spring Break

8. (Apr 4) Genealogical Software: (cont)

9. (Apr 11) Historical Newspapers [Godfrey Library], Accessible Archives

10. (Apr 18) Building Your Own Web Site at copland.udel.edu/~yourUDelNetID

11. (Apr 25) TBD - may not be a class

12. (May 2) Reading Old Handwriting: practice makes perfect! lessons on the web

13. (May 9) TBD