Prepare a Class with The Family History Guide

About

The Family History Guide is a world-class training system for family history. You can show sections of The Family History Guide website online for your training, instead of building your own presentations. Here are several important benefits:

• Your content stays up to date on the web, because it's from The Family History Guide, which is kept up-to-date on the web.
• You can select the parts of the content you want to cover or emphasize, including them in a Worksheet for the class (see below).
• Your learners can "take the course home with them" by accessing the content in the website after the class. You can use your filled-in Worksheet as a handout, and students can easily find and review the class content on the website.

1. Preparing an Online Topic Class

There are hundreds of possible family history topics that can be effectively taught using The Family History Guide. Follow these basic steps to prepare your online Topic class from The Family History Guide website:

1. Open the blank Class Worksheet (also available in the Trainers menu) and save it to your device. This document will help you plan what you want to cover in the class.
2. Browse the sections of The Family History Guide that have the content you're interested in. You can use the Course Catalog to find a topic more quickly. There are additional resources in the Vault that you can also use.
3. Fill out the worksheet, adding the content items you found, and following the instructions in the sheet. Keep in mind the amount of time scheduled for your class, so you don't end up with too much or too little material to cover.
4. Review your Worksheet ahead of class to become familiar with the items you want to present.
5. If you have an Online Tracker account, you can log in to it and select the stars for the articles and videos you will be using. This helps you easily find the items on screen when you are presenting.

You can use remote technology such as Zoom or GoToMeeting to present your class. For help with using a remote-learning technology, consult the company's website.

Sample Completed Worksheet

You can download a sample completed Worksheet here to see one possible approach. It's for a class on U.S. Newspaper Research, delivered online.

2. Preparing an In-Person Topic Class

If you are teaching a class in person, use the suggestions in the section above, but there are some additional items you may want to include in the worksheet. For tips and additional information, see The Trainers Corner.

• Discussion questions to ask the learners
• Class activities and exercises
• Visual aids for in-person classes

3. More Preparation Tips

• Summarize—In the articles you show, find the key points show you can read or paraphrase them briefly. Don't plan on reading entire paragraphs in the class. You can use a larger or colored mouse pointer to emphasize where the points are. For video segments, note the start timings in advance so you can quickly find them in the presentation. (Some videos in The Family History Guide have Info buttons with links to specific timings you can use.) Remember to keep the video segments short.
• Emphasize—For articles or videos, add your insights as to why a concept is important, what are some possible challenges or misunderstandings about it, how it can benefit the learner, etc. Learners want to know your thoughts and what your experiences are, not just what's on the screen. As always, keep the comments brief and focused, and pause videos when commentary is needed.
• Personalize—You can briefly describe your personal experiences with selected concepts. Your examples should illustrate general principles that learners can use and relate to.