Attention Genealogists: You Might be Missing Out

Image from FreeImages.com; Photo by Emin Ozkan

If you haven't heard of genealogy webinars, you are missing out! Getting to go to genealogy workshops, conferences, and lectures are fun and certainly educational, but they can also be expensive and require you to travel long distances. However, online webinars are the next best thing and many are free.

What is a webinar, you ask? It is an online meeting. Imagine listening to a live genealogy lecture without ever having to leave the house. Participants can view PowerPoint slides, download handouts, and even ask questions. A typical webinar lasts about 45 minutes to an hour with some time left over for questions. With a variety of topics, you will soon turn into a webinar junkie.

You don't need special computer software to participate. Webinars are browser based. All you need is a good internet connection and an internet browser such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Google Chrome.

Most webinars require pre-registration. You will register using your email address. Then, you will receive an email with instructions for logging into the webinar on the day of the event. It is really easy and the instructions are clear and straight forward.

When participating in a webinar, it's a good idea to log on early as some of the webinars are first come, first serve. If you log in late, you may not be able to "attend." However, if you do miss the webinar, many societies offer a recorded version to their members. If you are not a member of their society, you will sometimes pay a small fee to download the past webinar or have limited access.

I started attending webinars regularly over the past year. I love the freedom of going to genealogy lectures without having to actually "go" anywhere!

Some of my favorite places to go for webinars are:

• New England Historic Genealogical Society
• Legacy Family Tree Webinars
• Georgia Genealogical Society
• Board for Certification of Genealogists
• Wisconsin Genealogical Society
• Illinois Genealogical Society
• FamilySearch

This is just a small list of what's available. Genealogy webinars are becoming more and more popular, so don't miss out! Check your local state genealogical society for webinar opportunities and take advantage of this new tool for your genealogy and family history education.

If you have some go-to webinar sites for genealogy that you enjoy, I would love to hear about them!

Find out if you have these top three genealogy books in your library. Click here.