RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: groom on Monday 11 April 16 12:00 BST (UK)
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Penultimate week. Things to be covered this session, it sounds intersting, let's hope it doesn't disappoint.
Putting your Research into Context
Week 5 sees the focus shift to sources that put the flesh on the bones of the family skeleton. It’s the historical and social context coming from using secondary and other sources that bring an ancestor to life. This week explores the sources that help genealogists provide this context; considers their quality and how to find them. Topics to be covered are:
Useful types of secondary sources: local histories, ‘regular’ books on history, historical magazines, film, etc.
Other sources of context: newspapers, maps, images
How to assess the quality of these types of sources
Finding these sources; useful online databases.
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Having a slow day so have gone quite a way through already. Have found it interesting though and there are some new (well for me anyway) links to online resources. The Rumsey map collection looks particularly interesting because it allows you to overlay old maps onto new ones or look at them side by side and they have maps for just about everywhere.
(Hmm wonder if he is related to my Rumsey's) ;) ;D
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This week looks more interesting and will hopefully put more flesh on the bones of our ancestors. One very useful thing I have found is to create a timeline for my families, setting my maternal against my paternal ancestors and against that noting what was happening historically both in the country and around the world. (I have a very useful history book which shows what was going on at a certain time around the world.) Knowing who was on the throne at a certain point and what wars were being fought and where. particularly if I know that an ancestor has been called up to join the military, is interesting, too.
Like the example given of the description of a ship's journey to Australia, I have an excerpt from the ship's log showing the journey of one ancestor and his family from the UK to New Zealand in the 1870s, which tells of an epidemic of measles on board, affecting mainly children, during which my ancestor's baby daughter died. I also have a photo of the ship on which my gt-grandfather's sister travelled to the US also in the 1870s, which lets me imagine how life would have been for her and her baby. I'm sure we all have this kind of stuff among our documents and doesn't it bring to life our ancestors? I'm finding this approach much more my kind of thing than DNA research.
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Week five?
I am so behind ::)
Milly
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A quote from one of today's comments ...
"Also at the show [Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2016] were lecturers from the University of Strathclyde who told me that an amazing 26,000 people had signed up for their free 'Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree' course at the FutureLearn site."
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That's interesting. Majority must be doing the course without adding any comments, as on some sections there are only about 300 posts and some of those are more than one from the same person.
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I wonder what the drop-out rate is?
I'm still sticking with it, but I'm not impressed so far.
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I wonder what the drop-out rate is?
I'm still sticking with it, but I'm not impressed so far.
I suppose they don't actually know, as most people who drop out probably just stop doing it rather than actually leaving the course.
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I haven't started Week 5 yet .... :-[
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I've not finished week 3 yet, got bored. ::)
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I've not finished week 3 yet, got bored. ::)
;D
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I wonder what the drop-out rate is?
I'm still sticking with it, but I'm not impressed so far.
Me too. Although this week there's a couple of websites I hadn't heard of before. So could be a bit more useful.
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I'm still trying but failing badly this week as the sun is shining and the weeds are growing. I am unimpressed with the huge emphasis on Scotland and USA neither of which are of any use to me as I have English ag labs and chimney sweeps. Don't start me on DNA!!
Linda
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Whew! Just finished week 4! I liked the logical way that the genealogical proof was set out, and I think that this will encourage me to be a bit more organised with documenting my research, and hopefully stop me going off on so many tangents ::)
Not very impressed with the DNA stuff, a bit over my head, and not sure at the moment how it would enhance my particular family tree. I must confess I skipped over this bit :P
Thought the quiz questions were a bit of a waste of time, and one or two were a bit of an insult to the intelligence ::) Didn't bother with any comments this week.
Looking forward to week 5, sounds more 'up my street' ;D
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Thought the quiz questions were a bit of a waste of time, and one or two were a bit of an insult to the intelligence
Certainly were.
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Think I have learned more from the books that were reccomended before the course began than the course itself. A few useful bits but on the whole have been disappointed.
Thornwood
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Is anyone else irritated by the lecturer's continual habit of starting every sentence with "So, . . . ."?!
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Is anyone else irritated by the lecturer's continual habit of starting every sentence with "So, . . . ."?!
Yes!!! I don't watch the video, but they irritate me so much in the transcripts. (I think that's a correct use of the word.)
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Sorry to be posting again so soon, but . . . . .
She "supposes" that trade directories still exist? Why doesn't she know?! How much effort does it take to find out? >:(
And the Ancient Order of Gardeners was a local club?!
It was a flipping Fraternal Society, spread across Scotland Ireland and England! ::)
And that took me all of 10 seconds to find out, with one simple Google search.
It really is getting quite pathetic! And I'm only on step 3!
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I lost patience with the transcripts when they even put [chuckle] in the middle of a sentence. ;D
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Sorry, I've got the giggles just read this "Enjoyed this week, I am ready to add my flesh to my ancestors"
Jen
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Can't say I learned much of anything from Week 5 and found it a bit of a struggle to get through.
Generally I've enjoyed each week, but so far think Week 4 the best as it helped me with understanding DNA.
sami
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Is anyone else irritated by the lecturer's continual habit of starting every sentence with "So, . . . ."?!
Yes, I am, and also by all those unfinished sentences! She probably isn't aware she's doing it, and I feel that someone should have given her a few tips on public speaking. It's normal to be nervous in front of an audience, but you can learn to control annoying mannerisms and speech habits etc. and make the presentation so much better.
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I lost patience with the transcripts when they even put [chuckle] in the middle of a sentence. ;D
;D ;D ;D
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I only read the transcripts, and yes, I noticed that she started sentences with "So". There is something else she regularly says which annoys me. It is .... "that kind of thing". ::)
I think there are too many American examples (such as the ration cards), but I don't mind her mentioning Scottish records. She is American after all so I suppose it is what she is most familiar with, and there are probably a lot of Americans doing the course so she has to cater for everyone.
I still haven't started Week 5. :P
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Refresher Course, anyone?
Saturday, 14 May 10:30-13:00 - Using Mind Mapping for Genealogical Problem Solving
A half-day course with Geoff Young Cost 20.00/16.00 SoG members
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Refresher Course, anyone?
Saturday, 14 May 10:30-13:00 - Using Mind Mapping for Genealogical Problem Solving
A half-day course with Geoff Young Cost 20.00/16.00 SoG members
Think I'll pass .... ;)
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Yes, this week has finally killed off any further hopes for the course. Although there were a few links that looked interesting (not quite as good when looked at though) it was very basic stuff, which even a beginner might have picked up themselves and extremely repetitive. I gave up on the videos after the first one, but the transcripts are embarrassingly toe-curling now
Steve
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Just finished week 5, which I found more interesting than some of the others. I like Graham's precise lectures - no ums and ahs there - but his voice does tend to lull me to sleep. Where precisely does his accent come from, anyone Scottish?
I'm learning the odd bit of useful information from time to time on the course, but can only work online, as I live in rural isolation and can't easily get to other sources. Still, it's amazing what you can find. Imagine looking in Hansard, for example. That's one I wouldn't have thought of and wouldn't expect to find any of my humble relatives in.
Just looked and no, we don't feature in Hansard.
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I'm still taking it as it comes, certainly understand the irritations mentioned though ;) ... and because I decided I was going to complete the exercise regardless I've made a bit of an effort here and there to follow, especially with the DNA testing last week following extra links, slightly more understanding than I had previously.
At the beginning of this week, I was at the computer as email notification came through, had a quick scoot through to check on number of comments on each step just as matter of interest, there was only a handful at that point, one or two for the first few stages but also one for step 12, someone had already commented on the video an hour prior! Pretty keen I thought ;D especially as had started with WOW, had been waiting for this video, or something to that effect ...
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Also finished week 5 and although haven't learnt anything really new, have gotten a few links that I hadn't known about and will probably be useful in the future (duly bookmarked them). The DNA was more interesting and have a bit more of an understanding about it now and how it would work. (still say they'll have a nightmare trying to sort out some or our early settler families :-\;D ;D)
Will do the last week, just because I don't like to leave things unfinished ;D
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Just finished week 5. :-\
So what did we learn?
Check newspapers, maps and other sources in case your lot gets a mention somewhere, and it might give your tree a bit of oomph if you can put 'em in context and find out what their lives were like .... :-\
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Just finished week 5. :-\
So what did we learn?
Check newspapers, maps and other sources in case your lot gets a mention somewhere, and it might give your tree a bit of oomph if you can put 'em in context and find out what their lives were like .... :-\
Aagghh! Not you as well?! ::)
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Yes I'm afraid it must be rubbing off. ;D
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Imagine looking in Hansard, for example. That's one I wouldn't have thought of and wouldn't expect to find any of my humble relatives in.
Just looked and no, we don't feature in Hansard.
I found one of mine in Hansard, but not a good one. He was involved in an insurance fraud and left the country before it all came to court. I think the MP for the constituency where the plaintiff (he had lost a lot of money) lived was asking why there hadn't been any attempt to prevent him getting out of the country.
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Just finished week 5. :-\
So what did we learn?
Check newspapers, maps and other sources in case your lot gets a mention somewhere, and it might give your tree a bit of oomph if you can put 'em in context and find out what their lives were like .... :-\
Does anyone know the best way to cook the egg before you suck it? ;D
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Sorry, I've got the giggles just read this "Enjoyed this week, I am ready to add my flesh to my ancestors"
Jen
Clearly someone losing the will to live!
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;D ;D ;D ;D
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I wonder what the drop-out rate is?
I'm still sticking with it, but I'm not impressed so far.
I'm afraid i only did week 1; had been looking forward to it but wasn't inspired to continue ;D
Been enjoying using my new FH software instead, but may go back to the course later.
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I think we just have to accept that there are plenty of people looking at this course who know very little about genealogy and who will have benefited to a certain degree from it. Indeed there are lots of complimentary remarks among the comments there, so some of them are happy with it. It's just that nearly all of us RootsChatters seem to be much further along the path and are disappointed that we're not finding much new information to help us progress. The course doesn't seem to have focussed on who its target participants are and should perhaps have clearly stated that it was suitable for beginners or other groups.
Two 4 weeks courses at different levels would maybe have been a better idea. So far I have learned that I should be much better organised in my approach, but then I knew that anyway. ::)
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Hopefully there will be a chance for feedback at the end of the course when some of these issues can be addressed.
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I agree Gillg, many, that the majority who make comments, seem very happy with the course. I have read several of them stating they have been researching their family history for years, so I don't quite understand how anyone with experience could have known so little, to have been taught so much through the course. I suspect those who are not happy with the course have either dropped out or don't bother to make comments, constructive or negative. :-\
It was a big ask to provide a course which would suit all levels of experience. You almost need several levels, from beginner to pro, and I also think that country based lessons might also be worthwhile. Say the basics for everyone, then more country focussed extended learning. I think they were trying to do too much, which, I believe, is why it hasn't worked.
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Two 4 weeks courses at different levels would maybe have been a better idea. So far I have learned that I should be much better organised in my approach, but then I knew that anyway. ::)
;) sounds you could have organised course better anyway, would have been a much better idea. ... definitely agree with you, both counts.
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Also finished week 5 and although haven't learnt anything really new, have gotten a few links that I hadn't known about and will probably be useful in the future (duly bookmarked them).
Will do the last week, just because I don't like to leave things unfinished ;D
Agree with these sentiments!
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I agree with you all, I haven't really learnt anything new from this course, I've learnt much more from rootschat, not just where to look for records, but how to approach a problem from many different aspects to achieve a solution.
Like Gillg said, I knew I needed to be organised ... remains to be seen whether I'm inspired to do something about it. ;D
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I and another course member are having a discussion (at section 5.15) about the lack of teaching aims, missed opportunities, absence of problem solving etc. etc. So far no pushback which is a bit surprising given all the positive comments but I'm sure it will come!
Jen
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Sorry but I am not prepared to criticise a free course and will certainly not pass comment on fellow students of whose genealogical, educational and computing background I have no real knowledge. I would rather celebrate the fact that many people are getting a great deal out of the course and that there is indeed life beyond Ancestry.com. I signed up knowing full well that there was a distinct possibility that I would not learn anything new and that there would be no "eureka" moment. Am I bothered? No. I have, nevertheless, appreciated the wide range of sources used and have simply enjoyed being in an environment where lots of "new" people share a common interest. I totally empathise with the lady who remarked that whenever she mentions family history to family and friends she can see the eyes glazing over and was enjoying the freedom to communicate with others who shared her interest.
My only disappointment has been reading some of the language used in the more strident comments on this and previous threads.
William
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Sorry but I am not prepared to criticise a free course .......
William
Just because a course is free doesn't mean it doesn't warrant criticism. Especially when it's linked to a university.
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I agree, silvery!
I was hoping that this course would encourage me to take further courses with FutureLearn.
Unfortunately, the course and lecturer are so poor that I will not be looking at any others :(
I can find better ways of filling my time.
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Sorry but I am not prepared to criticise a free course .......
William
Just because a course is free doesn't mean it doesn't warrant criticism. Especially when it's linked to a university.
I think it is more a disappointment and a lost opportunity than a criticism.
Yes, it is free, so we should perhaps not expect too much, but if all their courses do not meet expectations, then no one will enrol and the whole system will fail and some, at least, may lose jobs ...
I agree with KGarrad. I would willingly have paid to undertake further studies on the subject if I had been happy with this course.
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I and another course member are having a discussion (at section 5.15) about the lack of teaching aims, missed opportunities, absence of problem solving etc. etc. So far no pushback which is a bit surprising given all the positive comments but I'm sure it will come!
Jen
I don't know how you worked out the section (5.15), but I think I might be the person you are discussing this with Jen. ;D
And, still the positive comments about the course continue .... :-\ I don't understand. ???
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I think it very much depends on the university and who is running the course. I have done some very good ones with FutureLearn, with extremely good tutors and lecturers. The best ones seem to be the courses where the lecturers and moderators interact with the students, joining in the discussions, answering questions as they arise and correcting any misinformation given. An example of such a course was the Hadrian's Wall: Life on the Roman Frontier, all of the lecturers participated in discussions and it did feel as if your comments and contributions were valued. I've seen very few contributions from people connected with the university on this course.
In my opinion, they under estimated the interest in this course and the World wide attention it drew from people of such differing ranges of experience. It might have been better if several courses had been run, not only to cater for the difference in expertise, but also the different countries of research.
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Please don't take this course as typical of the Future Learn courses. I have done several and some have been exceptionally good, as well as asking a lot from the students in the way of further study and sensible quizzes plus attachment to Quizlet tests.
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The quizzes for this one have been pretty silly I think! And not always easy to see what they are aiming at either - sometimes four ticks required, sometimes an 'all of these' type answer! :-\
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The quizzes for this one have been pretty silly I think! And not always easy to see what they are aiming at either - sometimes four ticks required, sometimes an 'all of these' type answer! :-\
Agreed. They are pointless.
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I don't know how you worked out the section (5.15), but I think I might be the person you are discussing this with Jen. ;D
And, still the positive comments about the course continue .... :-\ I don't understand. ???
Maybe lots of people have been working away on their own and this course is the first opportunity to interact with like minded people - hence the positive responses. We all benefit from being on Rootschat so we already have that kind of interaction.
The course on 'Empire' is very well presented - they make use of online tools that allow students to add useful websites/books/journal articles - hardly earth shattering but the use of such tools would have proved beneficial on the family history course. If you had 26,000 eager beavers would you not be thinking of ways to get them all engaged so they could contribute to the knowledge base - it happens daily on here! There are tools for Futurelearn where you can add text to a map - now that might have been just a tiny bit useful...I just see so many missed opportunities.
Jen
PS nice speaking with you Ruskie ;D
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Good points Jen .... :)
(Nice talking to you too. :) )
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Ruskie, the reason why there are so many positive comments about the course is because anything that is not liked is moderated out.
I posted a comment regarding week 4, within half-an-hour it had disappeared.
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Just wanted to say... that though I am somewhat disappointed with this Course, I too have taken previous FL Courses that have been both enjoyable and informative.
Perhaps I was expecting too much from this one?
Romilly :-\
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I think maybe if you were a complete novice it might set you off on your genealogy journey with a sense of where and what to look for, how to use resources etc.
Or you can hang out on Rootschat ;D ;D
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Yes, - I totally agree 3SD!
And I prefer it on here.
Romilly :)
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I think maybe if you were a complete novice it might set you off on your genealogy journey with a sense of where and what to look for, how to use resources etc.
Or you can hang out on Rootschat ;D ;D
I'm wondering whether it would, or if it might confuse you a bit, especially if you weren't looking for records in Scotland or the USA? As others said, far better to ask on RootsChat!
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Ruskie, the reason why there are so many positive comments about the course is because anything that is not liked is moderated out.
I posted a comment regarding week 4, within half-an-hour it had disappeared.
I did wonder if that might be the case. I'd better check mine ..... ;)
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Just finished Week 5. I had to smile at the end of the video about the Reipenhausens, where it says that in the next part Chris shares her findings at a family reunion. Her family must be different to a lot of ours, I expect we've all experienced the disinterest when we've started talking about FH. ;D
I've also been looking at comments, and a lot, rather than discussing what was said in the course section, just recount things about their own family. Perhaps this is where it differs from other courses I've done, where quite lengthy and lively discussions have arisen.
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'Fraud I've been guilty of that. :-[ :-[
I've also been looking at comments, and a lot, rather than discussing what was said in the course section, just recount things about their own family. Perhaps this is where it differs from other courses I've done, where quite lengthy and lively discussions have arisen.
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It is the discussions with others which are the most interesting part of the course.
It would be even better if the lecturers contributed - I know it is not feasible for them to comment on very many given the huge numbers, but some are more interesting than others, some must warrant a response and would be worth further discussion.
Weren't we encouraged to "follow" the lecturers? A lot of good that did. :-\
Something else .... I have noticed that some very mundane comments have been "liked" several times. I think I accidentally "liked" one of my own once, which makes me wonder people are fudging the numbers. ;D ;)
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Weren't we encouraged to "follow" the lecturers? A lot of good that did. :-\
Something else .... I have noticed that some very mundane comments have been "liked" several times. I think I accidentally "liked" one of my own once, which makes me wonder people are fudging the numbers. ;D ;)
Yes, that's how I know that they aren't contributing much. Perhaps they've realised that a lot of people on the course know more than they do. ;D
Re liking your own posts, I did that when I first started FL courses. I thought it was like Facebook, and that by clicking on there you could see who liked your posts.
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Be interesting to see what week 6 comes up with!
You could be right groom. There are many very knowledgeable researchers on RC, as I know from all the help I've received!
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One of my posts...
"Unfortunately Kevin this course has been littered with wrong 'facts', misconceptions and unsubstantiated tales. The irony is someone will get more 'likes' for supplying erroneous information than the person who takes the trouble to provide the correction ;)"
The thread is amusing me as the guy (not Kevin) keep digging a bigger and bigger hole for himself.
Although I've not learned anything new this week I am enjoying the interaction and of course waiting in great anticipation for week six - the main reason I joined the course in the first place!
Jen
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I keep trying to educate the poor chap! ;D
Not that I think I'm perfect, but I try not to say anything unless I am sure of the facts.
What I find amusing is that the posts come under:
4.3 The Principles of Genealogical Proof?! ::)
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Sounds like an interesting discussion Jen and KGarrad.
I think that many people must be "liking" themselves, including the chap in question.
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Thank goodness it is a "work at your own pace course" I am still to finish week 1
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Thank goodness it is a "work at your own pace course" I am still to finish week 1
:o
;D
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Just added to that discussion!
Surprising how many people quote a year of birth as being correct as "It was on the census." No it wasn't, it was on the transcription, the census just gives the age the person completing the form thought that his wife and children were.
You can only like yourself once, I just tried it ;D. If you click like again it removes the first one.
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Thanks for the 'link' KG, I have just read the discussion and added likes ;D
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I've been away since early Monday, so only just done Week 5. Think I'm rather out of patience with the whole thing, so just really skimmed through it. Regret that I'll probably do the same with Week 6 :-[
STG
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I've just added to Carol's post re the absence of the Educators, so that misinformation given by posters isn't corrected as it has been on other courses. Let's see if it is removed.
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re the absence of the Educators ...
Maybe they've been busy sticking initials on little coloured flags ;)
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Just seen the following in the Lost Cousins newsletter:-
'Following the article on my last newsletter I've received a lot of comments, overwhelmingly positive, from members who signed up for the first presentation of this course, which is now in week 5 out of 6.
It is still possible to sign up for the current course, but perhaps more interesting is the link that asks for people interested in the next presentation of the course to register their interest. Find out more here, on the FutureLearn site.'
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Obviously they have different expectations to people on here! I unsubscribed from Lost Cousins as I didn't like the attitude of the person who runs it.
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I also unsubscribed from Lost Cousins for similar reasons.
Perhaps the folk on here are just more advanced genealogists... ;)
I must say I was hoping to get more out of the course, the DNA was interesting, but still don't think I'll go for it unless sometime far in the future....
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I signed on as a free member when Lost Cousins started and dutifully entered all my family from the 1881, but have never found any new "cousins" over the years. Don't pay a sub, but still receive the newsletter. (I think there's been a topic on here before criticising the owner's attitude.)
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Yes, here. http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=739760.0
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Well I got "told off" on the Lost Cousins Forum by the owner the other day for making a post about the Dorset OPC site having a lot more free information than another site which the thread was about. The LC Forum owner had made a comment that the site on the original post had limited information. Apparently I shouldn't have made the post because the Dorset OPC site was already included in his Resources Section and had been for three years. :-X Now there are often comments in other sections of RC about site links in RC Resources sections and I've never been told I couldn't comment elsewhere on RC about them. No wonder the LC Forum has few posts on it if the rules are that stringent that you can't comment on anything other than in a specific place. ::)
I don't tend to hang out on the LC Forum but have a look every so often to see if patronage has improved, to be honest in light of the even fewer posts on it recently, I don't see the benefit of it. Far better to inhabit Rootschat. ;D
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This one has tears running down my face...."I have looked up specific gravy ad headstones for many relations I am looking for."
Jen
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This one has tears running down my face...."I have looked up specific gravy ad headstones for many relations I am looking for."
Jen
So, when they find one, they shout "Ah, Bisto*!" ;D
STG
*other gravy products are available
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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That's brilliant. I presume they were using predictive text. ;D
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You can only like yourself once, I just tried it ;D. If you click like again it removes the first one.
Yes, accidentally discovered that, pressed 'like' on a post when I had already liked it and of course it changed back from blue and had to re-like it :)
Email for week 6 hasn't appeared here yet ... Midday NZ time 18th
re the absence of the Educators ...
Maybe they've been busy sticking initials on little coloured flags ;)
... certainly must have taken them a while!
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Notification for week 6 arrived a few minutes ago ... looks like a few are already underway with it :)
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Thread for WEEK 6 here
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=746652.0