Beverley Lee and Wendy Sturgess
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The Tech Savvy Family Research class meets after this month’s newsletter deadline, however we have been meeting with new members to develop an understanding of their goals, discover whether they have already started working on their family tree and assess their computer skills. Our aim is for all class members to have an ancestry.com tree to work on at their first 'fourth Thursday' session with our support and encouragement from class members.
Beverley Lee and Wendy Sturgess
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As convenor I often take episodes of 'Who do you think you are?' to class, but haven’t shown one yet as members come to class already 'in the zone', keen to use the time to find out more about their own origins and family stories. It has been a great privilege to support Tech Savvy Projects - Family History group members to develop skills in using internet based family history programs and resources this year and to watch as they make discoveries and deepen their understanding of family ties over time.
Bev Lee Bill Willett from the Benalla Family Research Group attended our September session. Bill described the wide range of resources they have at their research room at 9 Church Street (open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 to 4) and made lots of suggestions drawing on strategies they use in supporting people who come to them for help with their research. Bill shared stories drawing on his own family history journey, providing examples of techniques he used along the way. He also showed a folder compiled using documentation available via the Family Tree program and a beautifully framed family tree prepared by one of the group's volunteer researchers.
Jane reported on a workshop she had attended on writing family stories which recommended finding our own voice and looking for themes which seem to recur during our research as a way of organizing our writing. We looked at the thematic approach used by Penny Bristol Jones on her website www.digbystories.com and Bev's family history blog website https://leedevittfh.weebly.com. Time was also spent reporting back on progress during the month and working quietly on tasks which having a dedicated time in the month makes possible for busy members. Scotland's People once again proved useful in solving family mysteries during the session. If you have Scottish ancestry, their records are a wonderful resource. Bev Lee Family History projects appear to go through different phases. An early 'trial' phase is often followed by an intensive working phase with a high level of motivation and lots of reinforcing and addictive 'Ah Ha' moments. This can be followed by plateaus and lulls, then renewed waves of enthusiasm. 'Tech Savvy Projects--Family History' provides a supportive space in which to work on family history projects whatever phase you are in, with complete freedom to come and go when you have a 'lull' or other priorities intervene. Another plus of attending this group? Family historians often comment that family members and friends don't always show the levels of interest, enthusiasm and support for their successes they expected! 'Tech Savvy Projects--Family History' group provides a supportive space for class members to talk about and share what they are working on with others, as well as gaining support from each other!
Bev Lee The Tech Savvy Projects ‘Family History’ group met on Thursday afternoon 27 June. Four people spent the afternoon working on their individual projects on Ancestry.com. As is the usual case with this type of research, it is time consuming with many brick walls to overcome. Working in a group allows for idea/experience sharing and celebrations when a ‘find’, no matter how small or large, is made. Bev Lee was taking a well-earned break but will return next month to continue to lead the group.
Wendy Sturgess 'Tech Savvy Projects--Family History' sessions continue to result in people making discoveries which give them much pleasure, even though there are frustrations which can occur along the way. This is a small class, with members appreciating taking time out from other demands to learn more about, or spend focused time working on, their family history.
Bev Lee Tech Savvy Projects - Family History'’ aims to support participants to use internet based programs, particularly ancestry.com, to research their family history.
We have been approached by a number U3A members who have already done a lot of work on their family history who would like to deepen their understanding and skills in geneology. If you have skills in geneology and would be happy to either develop a 'Geneology' course or facilitate a guided self support group, please contact Bev Lee on 5762 8171. Bev Lee Five people gathered on Anzac Day afternoon to work on their Family History projects using ancestry.com - with members taking it in turn to connect their laptop through its HDMI port to the overhead projector, making sharing of progress to date and problem solving easy and enjoyable. The speed and internet connectivity we now have in the U3A meeting room is excellent. This is in stark contrast to the first Tech Savvy Projects class held in 2018 when class members could barely access the internet if at all and the connection through the laptop to the overhead projector froze. Thank you so much to the U3A Executive for being proactive in arranging for the installation of the NBN!
Bev Lee Family history project directions for the year were identified at our first session in late February, with a month between sessions providing time for members to work towards goals ready to report back to the next session. The project goals are diverse and interesting. It’s always a buzz when someone has a breakthrough, always frustrating when a ‘black hole’ (often a family secret) remains unresolved.
We meet on the fourth Thursday from 1 to 2.45pm as a full group, with access to the room & support available until 4pm for those not proceeding to the Tech Savvy Talks catch-up at the Northo. We will meet on Anzac Day in April. Bev Lee DNA detectives and the end of family secrets https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/dna-detectives-and-the-end-of-family-secrets-20190306-p5124t.html 'Every One Loves Trove' Podcast Late Night Live Live://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/everyone-loves-trove/10921848
Our first meeting falls after the newsletter deadline this month. I'm looking forward to encouraging group members to develop a title and focus for their project. Maggie already has a wonderful title in mind ‘In Search of Betsy Trim’!
Ancestry.com buff Wendy Sturgess will be helping to support the group this year. Thank you Wendy! We meet from 1 to 2.45pm as a full group, with access to the room and support available until 4pm for those not proceeding on to the Tech Savvy Talks catchup at the Northo. Bev Lee "Tech Savvy Projects (Family History) provides the opportunity for members to develop skills in using internet based family history resources including Ancestry.com; My Heritage; Trove; Scotland’s People; online Births/Deaths/Marriages to research their family history. Group members who travel overseas are encouraged to develop photobooks drawing upon travel blog programs such as Find Penguins. Small group sessions."
Tech Savvy Projects offerings may be extended in Semester 2 to allow members to work on other projects. Any changes in Semester 2 will be notified via this page and the Newsletter. Bev Lee Each year we try to come up with ‘the answer’ in terms of delivering ‘hands on’ Tech Savvy courses such as Tech Savvy Projects to meet the needs of U3A members with confident computer skills who are keen to develop or update them. We are still searching - and are keen to hear from members interested in offering courses to intermediate level members.
Next year only one intermediate level session will be offered in Semester 1. ‘Tech Savvy Projects – Family History Projects’ will continue, meeting monthly on the 4th Thursday from 1 to 2.45 before Tech Savvy Talks meets at the Northo. It will be interesting to follow the growth in participant’s family trees using Ancestry.com and other online programs and to read their travel blogs and photo books when they visit family history sites. Bev Lee The members of Tech Savvy Projects working on family history projects are continuing to make discoveries.
This month Jan Brown returned from her travels, bringing to class the beautiful photobook she has developed using text and photos from her Find Penguins travel blog. A number of Tech Savvy Projects members have now created a Photobook using Find Penguin's easy to use template. The books are wonderful to look at and soon become highly treasured reminders of travel experiences. Bev Lee Family History projects are featuring at all of our sessions at the moment. It is so good to watch as people develop familiarity with ancestry.com and begin to move around it with greater ease. It’s not too long before people some people feel confident in working on their project at home while others like to come to our sessions to spend focused time on their project. Over recent months we have been following our travellers through the ‘Find Penguins’ travel blogs they have developed on the internet. ‘Find Penguins’ is a versatile app which can be used on laptops, tablets and smartphones when travelling. It is quite intuitive to learn for people with good internet skills. ‘Tech Savvy Projects’ provides an opportunity to get support in setting up a ‘Find Penguins’ travel blog before you head off if you aren’t particularly confident. On returning home, there is the option of creating a beautiful photobook based on the Find Penguins travel blog to keep as a permanent record. While many photobook apps and programs are available, members with intermediate to advanced computer skills are finding Find Penguins a worthwhile option. Photos downloaded from train buff Wende's 'Travels with Ted' travel blog on Find Penguins... A reminder to ‘Be Connected’ short course members, you are welcome to come along to work on your modules at the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays 3 to 4.30pm sessions of Tech Savvy Projects.
Bev Lee ‘Be Connected@Tech Savvy Projects’ is being offered as part of Tech Savvy Projects from 28th August. ‘Be Connected’ members can now join the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays 3 to 4.30pm sessions of Tech Savvy Projects, providing extra time to work through modules with support available from Bev (and other mentors if the numbers warrant). ‘Be Connected’ group members have been given a printed timetable of all dates involved. Sessions are also listed in the ‘What’s On’ page of the newsletter and on the calendars and timetables on the website.
Bev Lee The four Family History group members present at our late July Tuesday afternoon session of Tech Savvy Projects had a very productive time.The internet was working well, everyone seemed to make new discoveries and new things were tried.
Robyn had taken up her previous session’s challenge to add photographs to her family tree on ancestry.com, inspiring others to do this. We were all particularly impressed that Robyn had achieved this on her oldish iPhone. Val found a naturalisation certificate index for Frank’s Polish grandfather! Jan, following up the possibility that the best man at her grandfather’s wedding may have been his brother, found a shipping record in migration documents that verified that this was indeed the case. Wendy caught up on lost time on her family tree project as she has been away, and we checked out and discussed her Find Penguins travel blog of three recent trips, soon to become photobooks. The Tech Savvy Projects Family History group meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays from 1.30 to 3 pm, but often continue working on their projects through the general Tech Savvy Projects session from 3 to 4.30 pm, when people working on other projects join in. There is also a monthly Tech Savvy Projects session from 1 to 2.30 pm before the Tech Savvy Talks catch up session at ‘The Northo’. Bev Lee If you are reasonably confident in using your computer or device & have a goal you would like to achieve on it, think about joining Tech Savvy’s ‘Other Projects’ class in Semester II.
While some people are working on web sites, travel blogs and slide shows; and others will begin working on photo books in Semester 2, you could, for example, set up a Facebook account; learn to use the U3A website and FB pages; organise your photos into folders, and so on. Just come along with a learning task which is of interest to you. Tech Savvy’s ‘Other Projects’ sessions are timetabled from 3 to 4.30 pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays and 1 to 2.30 pm on the 4th Thursday. There is also a Family History focused Tech Savvy Projects group from 1.30 to 3pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. If you think you might like to join ‘Tech Savvy Projects’ in Semester II, please give Bev a call on 5762 8171. Sometimes the demands on our members – health and wellbeing; family connectedness and grandparenting responsibilities; travelling north or overseas; farewelling old friends for the final time—mean that U3A class numbers can vary, particularly at this time of the year. This is certainly affecting Tech Savvy Projects.
We are still happily proceeding with Family History Projects from 1.30 to 3 pm and ‘Other Projects’ from 3 to 4.30 pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. There’s also an ‘Other Projects’ slot from 1 to 2.30 pm on the 4th Thursday. If you are thinking about taking up a new project and are considering joining 'Tech Savvy Projects' in Semester II, we do have spaces as some people are now running their projects independently while others are travelling overseas. Bev Lee The aim of Tech Savvy Projects is for members to complete a project of interest using information technology. This proved challenging in our first month when the WiFi modem in our room didn’t cope with the demand, however we’ve made a transition to smaller groups and some one to one sessions so WiFi difficulties have become less of an issue. Members come in with their devices and work quietly away at their chosen project, with support from others in the group. We use the front screen to project and discuss progress on family trees on ancestry.com or examples of other work completed. Some members come to one of the two Tuesday afternoon - Family History and Other Projects - some stay all afternoon, taking time out from other demands to purse their project, whether it is family history, a blog, or a slide show. We have moved to a more relaxed learning environment - we even had Mozart playing quietly in the background through the sound bar at last Thursday’s session!
Bev Lee 'Trove is the National Library's largest online service, housing the collection information of hundreds of libraries, museums and local organisations in Australia, as well as the National Library's own Digital Library. Trove has a community of committed users which the team engages through social media. Armchair editors can sign up to Trove and join a community of text correctors to improve the Library’s digitised newspaper collection, but be warned, text correcting can be pretty addictive.' The following videos will review what we discussed last week - some of the group have already spent valuable time and developed skills in using Trove already! Family Historians often find Trove provides stories about family members... here's an example. An example... Here is a learning resource about using the newspapers section of Trove, And if you want to find out more about editing digital text... Today we are also going to check out My Heritage, equipment willing, however I must say that there have been many changes in how people are using My Heritage in a device based, digital environment using mobiles and tablets.... my reading on this at the moment is https://lisalouisecooke.com/2014/07/23/genealogy-apps-myheritage-ancestry-just-keep-getting-better/
Tech Savvy Projects is now operating in its new format, with ‘Family History’ preceding ‘Other Projects’ on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, and an ‘E-Shed’ group on the 4th Thursday for members who also go to the ‘Tech Savvy Talks’ café discussion group.
The focus in the ‘Family History’ session is on using information technology and programs such as ancestry.com for family history projects. At our last session, U3A member and experienced family historian, Heather Sloan, spoke about her family history journey. Heather shared many ideas for using the computer for family history, and stressed the importance of always double checking evidence before adding to family trees. The projects in the ‘Other Projects’ group are quite diverse, including developing an animation; producing a ‘perpetual’ calendar with birthdays listed on it; producing travel blogs, examples of which are already being published to the web and checked out in class, and more. The ‘E-Shed’ group before Tech Savvy Talks each month is also likely to result in a diversity of projects. At the first session Bill began to develop a slide show presentation which required organising a huge collection of photos while Neville began work on fine tuning his blog, which is now three year old. Les bought along his Arduino board and idea for a project, but he will need to tell us about this next time as he was kept quite busy as a mentor in the group. Beverley Lee PS - A FB post by group member Margaret Walshe.... Looking forward to 'show and tell' today, and to hearing about different projects. I'm also going to show and tell the new things I'm trialling on my own project https://leedevittfh.weebly.com website.
If you are new to website development and would like to start a blog based site, start with a simple, one column blog. This page is a blog page, but it has a side column. You don't need to have a side column to start with, but as you will see from the information on the side, they can be useful. There's a link to a simple You Tube video on creating a blog on a page for U3A Benalla bloggers - you might like to check it out. Here's the link... u3abenalla.weebly.com/bloggers In Projects today we are going check out the resources on this page... internet willing...then get on to problem solving with our projects. Bev Wednesday 27 March Today's session will start with Show and Tell, then Internet willing, we will check out the search features of Ancestry.com; then have a look at MyHeritage.com. Other link if this doesn't open - Top Ancestry Search Tips and Tricks https://youtu.be/uZnshl_fxmIyoutu.be/uZnshl_fxmI Another one... Five Reasons You are Not Finding your Ancestors Then we will have a look at another online program which has complementary features to Ancestry.com - MyHeritage.com -
Some links which, internet permitting, we will check out...
Check up - Scam news; U3A Benalla website: U3A Benalla Tech Savvy Projects Page. U3A Benalla Facebook Page: Member websites; Member Twitter accounts, other possibilities. Google Slides - an app which is always available if you don't have Microsoft Powerpoint. Check out: https://youtu.be/kYA6GLAzz9youtu.be/kYA6GLAzz9AA This is good to watch after you have had a first session - the narrator moves quite quickly. Similar principles apply to powerpoint.
Using Movie Maker - this time as an animation tool (Frank's project involves animation)
ML
Still thinking about a blog? Working a single 'blog page' effectively to learn basic principles. Example: my 'armchaireconomics.weebly.com' Starter Page.
Learning Skill - 'Categories' |
Family ResearchFamily Research is a guided self-help group for members who are already working on their family tree who enjoy, learn and gain confidence from group interaction. The course includes two sessions a month -
1. A group session which commences with reports on ‘pains and gains’ over the previous month accompanied by shared problem solving and lots of encourage-ment and ideas for next steps. Presentations by group members, guest speakers and excursions will increase your awareness of different approaches and resources and will also expand your understanding of local and other family research initiatives. You will be encouraged to set project goals such as working on a particular family line; preparing stories for a collection; publishing and giving family history related gifts to families, and more. 2. A drop in session with a hands-on component which will support you to build further confidence in using online geneology programs; to resolve problems you are in danger of putting in the too hard basket, and to complete your project goals. Experienced members of the group will be available as mentors at the drop-in session and for one to one consultations or appointments if required. . Convenor/s Contact DetailsBarry O'Connor
0407 266 688 Meeting TimesMain Session - 4th Thursday 1:30 to 4 pm
Drop In 'Hands On' session - 3rd Thursday 1:30 to 4 pm Research LinksDigby Family Stories - Penny Bristol Jones
Hands on help...Program to convert PDF files to Word –https://www.pdf2go.com/pdf-to-word
Photo restoration - simple projects - https://hotpot.ai/restore-picture On-line geneology platformsancestry.com.au
myheritage.com Scotland's People findpenguins.com (if you travel to family history sites) HEREDIS (recom.by John Barry) Categories
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Photographs - U3A members; Benalla Art Gallery website; Weebly 'Free' images;Travel Victoria and State Library of Victoria
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