RootsTech 2014 Syllabus is Available

The RootsTech 2014 Syllabus materials are online at  https://rootstech.org/about/syllabus-materials/ for download or reading.  They are available for a limited time.

I downloaded the entire syllabus and saved it in my RootsTech 2014 file folder.  I also copied it to Dropbox so that I can access it with my laptop.

I went through the sessions that I was somewhat interested in and saved them as PDFs (after converting some of the MSWord documents to a PDF) and renamed them with the author's name and the presentation title.  

I saved these to the RootsTech folder, and also to Dropbox.  I will add some of them to Evernote as PDF files so that I can access them on my tablet while i'm at RootsTech.  

I will probably print off some of them just in case the tablet doesn't work in the meeting room due to poor wi-fi service.  

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

RootsTech 2014 Live-Streaming Sessions

Here is the list of FREE live-streamed broadcasts from RootsTech 2014 to your computer from Thursday, 6 February to Saturday, 8 February.  You can watch these live at www.rootstech.org.

The times are in Mountain Standard Time (GMT minus 7 hours), so take your time zone into account.  From https://familysearch.org/node/2519:

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SALT LAKE CITY—RootsTech, the world’s largest family history and technology conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 6-8, 2014, announced today that 15 of its popular sessions will be broadcast live and complimentary over the Internet. The live broadcasts will give those unable to attend in-person worldwide a sample of this year’s conference content. Interested viewers can watch the live presentations at RootsTech.org. The fourth-year conference has attracted over 10,000 registered attendees in-person, and leaders expect over 20,000 additional viewers online.

The streamed sessions include a sampling of technology and family history presentations. Following are the broadcasted sessions and speakers. All times are in mountain standard time (MST):

Thursday, February 6

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Top 10 Things I Learned About My Family from My Couch by Tammy Hepps

1 p.m. to 2 p.m., FamilySearch Family Tree: What's New and What's Next by Ron Tanner

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Intro to DNA for Genealogists by James Rader

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Genealogy in the Cloud by Randy Hoffman

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Sharing Your Family with Multimedia by Michael LeClerc

Friday, February 7

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Storytelling Super Powers: How to Come Off as Your Family's Genealogy Hero by David Adelman

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Tweets, Links, Pins, and Posts: Break Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Social Media by Lisa Alzo

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Getting the Most Out of Ancestry.com by Crista Cowen

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Finding Family and Ancestors Outside the USA with New Technologies by Daniel Horowitz

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Do It Yourself Photo Restoration by Ancestry Insider

Saturday, February 8

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Become an iPad Power User by Lisa Louise Cooke

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Information Overload: Managing Online Searches and Their Results by Josh Taylor

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., A Beginner’s Guide to Going Paperless by Randy Whited

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., How to Interview Yourself for a Personal History by Tom Taylor

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Five Ways to Do Genealogy in Your Sleep by Deborah Gamble

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If you're not going to RootsTech 2014, I hope that you will take the opportunity to watch these world-class presentations either live or after the event. 

I'll be at RootsTech and will try to attend other presentations than these, and watch them later when I get home. 

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

RootsTech 2014 is only 9 Days Away

There are only 9 days left until the RootsTech 2014 conference begins in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, 5 February 2014. 

The first day is the "Innovator Summit" which was called "Devoloper Day" in earlier years.  The other three days, 6 to 8 February (Thursday to Saturday), are the standard "presentations" and "exhibits" days. 

A)  Here are several things to be aware of and enjoy if you are staying home and not attending the conference in person:

1.  You can view the RootsTech 2013 video-streamed sessions at  https://rootstech.org/about/videos/.  These videos may not be available after the RootsTech 2014 conference.

2.  There will be a number of video-streamed keynote talks and presentations on Thursday through Saturday from RootsTech 2014.  I haven't seen a schedule for these sessions yet, but will post it and the link to watch them live when the list is available.

3.  LDS church members will be able to see video-streamed presentations at over 600 Family History Fairs around the world.  Check with your local ward form ore details.

B)  For those attending RootsTech 2014, here is some useful information:

1.  The deadline for a discount on the all-day pass ($239) for the conference is TODAY, 27 January 2014.  Sign up now or pay more if you decide to attend.  Register online at https://registration.rootstech.org/2014/portal/newreg.ww.

2.  The "Innovator Summit" is described at https://rootstech.org/schedule-info/innovator-summit/.

3.  The Exhibit Hall will be open on Thursday through Saturday, and will have 133 exhibitors - information is at https://rootstech.org/expo-hall/. 

4.  There are "Official Bloggers" for the conference - see the list at  https://rootstech.org/about/bloggers/.  Yes, I'm on it, and honored to be on it, and plan to write several posts a day during the conference.

5.  See a description of all 120 presentations and workshops on the schedule at  https://rootstech.org/schedule-info/session-viewer/#id=RT

6.  Download the RootsTech 2014 app (for iOS and Android mobile devices) to keep track of your selected presentations and special events at https://rootstech.org/schedule-info/schedulebuilder/

7.  There are still some computer labs with available seats (the labs cost extra).  See the list at  https://rootstech.org/schedule-info/computer-labs/

8.  I haven't received information about the syllabus materials - these usually are provided via email with a web link to registrants.

9.  Drop by the Media Center to say hello to me and some of the other "Official Bloggers."  Did you know that some of them don't come to the Media Center at all?  And some don't write about their experiences at RootsTech.  Strange!  I thought that's what we were supposed to do.

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

My RootsTech 2014 Class Schedule - Saturday, 8 February

I've started looking at the class schedules for each day at https://rootstech.org/schedule-info/session-viewer/ and these are the classes that I most want to attend on Saturday, 8 February:

8:30 a.m. - Saturday General Session, Keynote Address --  Stephanie Nielson (NieNie Dialogues) and Todd Hansen (The Story Trek) (Hall E)

10:30 a.m. - Michael Melendez:  "How to Get Youth Involved in Family History" (Ballroom F)

10:30 a.m. - Lisa Cooke: "Become an iPad Power User" (Ballroom J)

1:00 p.m. - Ron Arons:  "Mapping Madness" (Room 250CF)

1:00 p.m. - Michelle Ercanbrack:  "Behind the Scenes of the Ancestry Research Team" (Room 254ABC)

2:30 p.m. - Charles Knutson: "Genealogy Meets Angry Birds: Making Interfaces More Addictive"  (Room 250AB)

2:30 p.m. - Alison Herzog: "How to Capture Your Living History and Honor Your Ancestors Through Instagram"  (Ballroom A)

4:00 p.m. - Ron Arons: "Finding Living People on the Internet" (Ballroom J)

4:00 p.m. - Jimmy Zimmerman: "Finding Stories on Google Books" (Ballroom C)

I have these classes already starred in my RootsTech 2014 App on my iPhone.

Of course, there is no guarantee that I will attend any of these presentations (other than the keynote session).  But I have good intentions!  I usually hang out in the Media Center and write a blog post or two every day at RootsTech, and also walk through the Exhibit Hall several times a day asking questions and learning about new resources.  I do plan to watch the Live Streaming sessions when I get home. 

Are you attending RootsTech 2014?  If so, which classes do you want to attend?

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

My RootsTech 2014 Class Schedule - Friday, 7 February

I've started looking at the class schedules for each day at https://rootstech.org/schedule-info/session-viewer/ and these are the classes that I most want to attend on Friday, 7 February:

8:30 a.m. - Friday General Session, Keynote Address -- Dr. spencer Wells (the Genographic Project) and Judy G. Russell (The Legal Genealogist blog) (Hall E)

10:30 a.m. - Luther Tychonievich:  "When Researchers Disagree: Facilitating Helpful, Respectful Collaboration" (Ballroom H)

10:30 a.m. - Kory Meyerink: "Effective Database Search Tactics" (Hall D)

1:00 p.m. - Laura Prescott: "How the Internet Makes Us Sloppy Genealogists and How To Thwart the Trend" (Room 251D)

1:00 p.m. - Pamela Weisberger: "Cartography for Genealogists: Digitally Mapping Time and Generations" (Ballroom G)

2:30 p.m. - Ron Arons: "Putting Flesh on the Bones" (Ballroom E)

2:30 p.m. - Curt Witcher: "Remembering Those Who Have Passed: Why Obituaries Are So Key" (Room 251D)

4:00 p.m. - Jason Butterfield: "Take Your Research Anywhere With Ancestry's Mobile App" (Ballroom A)

4:00 p.m. - Tammy Hepps: "Story by Story: Preserve Your Family History" (Ballroom I)

I have these classes already starred in my RootsTech 2014 App on my iPhone.

Of course, there is no guarantee that I will attend any of these presentations (other than the keynote session).  I usually hang out in the Media Center and write a blog post or two every day at RootsTech, and also walk through the Exhibit Hall several times a day asking questions and learning about new resources.  I do plan to watch the Live Streaming sessions when I get home.  But I have good intentions!

Are you attending RootsTech 2014?  If so, which classes do you want to attend?

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver

My Sessions at RootsTech 2014 - Thursday, 6 February

I've started looking at the class schedules for each day at https://rootstech.org/schedule-info/session-viewer/ and these are the classes that I most want to attend on Thursday, 6 February:

8:30 a.m. - Thursday General Session, Keynote Address -- Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman; and Annalies van den Belt of D.C. Thomson Family History. (Hall E)

10:30 a.m. - Tom Jones: "Can a Complex Research Problem Be Solved Online?" (Ballroom B)

10:30 a.m. - Ryan Heaton:  "GEDCOM X" (Unconferencing Room 1)

1:00 p.m. - Alice Kane: "A Mobile Genealogist: Using Evernote for Genealogy Research" (Ballroom G)

1:00 p.m. - Ron Tanner: "FamilySearch Family Tree: What's New and What's Next" (Hall E)

1:00 p.m. - Tony Hanson:  "Personal Digital Archiving for the Genealogist" (Ballroom B)

2:30 p.m. - Juliana Smith:  "Common Surnames: Finding Your Smiths" (Ballroom C)

2:30 p.m. - Elaine Collins: "Old world, New World: FindMyPast.com as the Key Resource for Tracing British Ancestry" (Ballroom H)

2:30 p.m. - Jen Baldwin:  "Online Trees: The Root of All Evil?" (Ballroom A)

4:00 p.m. - Randy Hoffman:  "Genealogy In the Cloud" (Hall E)

4:00 p.m. - Pamela Weisberger: "Mergers and Acquisitions: The Business of Expanding Your Family Tree" (Ballroom C)

4:00 p.m. - D. Joshua Taylor:  "Run, Jump and Collecting Coins: Gaming and Family History" (Ballroom D)

I have these classes already starred in my RootsTech 2014 App on my iPhone. 

Of course, there is no guarantee that I will attend any of these presentations (other than the keynote session).  I usually hang out in the Media Center and write a blog post or two every day at RootsTech, and also walk through the Exhibit Hall several times a day asking questions and learning about new resources.  Several of them will be on the Live Streaming, and I may catch those later at home.  But I have good intentions!

Are you attending RootsTech 2014?  If so, which classes do you want to attend?

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver