As Educational Chairperson of our group. I am always listening to conversations and picking up tidbits of, I sure would like to know how to do, ????? What ever that statement may contain. I also ask at our meetings what are your needs?
We are now planning a Beginners Workshop and Intermediate Workshop for our members of almost 100.
We average at least one new member a month sometimes more and are learning many are still pencil & paper researchers. I suspect my age bracket is very hard on the learning of computers and terms and programs and activities to do on a computer.
I am mostly self taught for computerize since the first one I used was in 1977 and none of that is relevant today. I was taught to use it at the school and then we taught the students.
My thoughts are we still have to turn them on and off nothing else the same.
Truly nothing wrong with paper and pencil because I still do the bulk of mine that way and transfer it over to the computer at home and source it etc, then. I take the information when at the Library for sources and data but it goes in a note book.
Also find, since having many interlapping relatives it takes a bit to enter into the current program and not have it go nuts when the lines overlap and rewind.
Suspecting we need to start with our Family Group Sheets, Five Generation Charts, Source Files Reports and then move into putting the basics into a program on the computer.
Recommending we try MyHeritage.com for them to practice learning. We can then move out into other areas. Family Search is a good program but not for beginners to get lost in.
RootsMagic is great but there it has to be purchased even to try it and learn if you like it
FamilyTreeMaker was highly popular but not active on all systems. MyHeritage.com can be used on any system. Roots Magic is available also, for a fee. Though it is not a great amount of money.
When learning to use the computer and the names of the activities and the words used to operate the programs we want to start not overwhelming our members. :>)
Do you people have suggestions for Computer Beginners in Genealogy? I would love to hear those suggestions. Thanks
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