Media Contact: Grant Madsen, [email protected], (801) 378-9206Raymond Wright, (801) 378-2424 office, (801) 915-1422 cell, (801) 374-1525 home
Free BYU-developed genealogy tutorial now available to public online
PROVO, Utah -- A free Brigham Young University-developed computer tutorial aimed at teaching people how to use computer resources to research genealogy is now accessible online at http://ce.byu.edu/is/genealogy.
"BYU created the tutorial to help people interested in family history overcome any fears about technology and make sense of the resources that are presently available to them," said university President Merrill J. Bateman. "Offering online tutorials is one of the ways the university is trying to extend its educational influence."
Raymond S. Wright, a professor of family history at BYU and project leader, says the hour-long tutorial is offered free of charge through BYU's continuing education program. The tutorial is an effective source of basic information about genealogy computer tools available via home computer, but shouldn't be confused as a database, Wright emphasizes.
"The tutorial doesn't provide the same kind of information that databases do," he said. "Instead, it tells you how to use databases and other Web sites to get the information you need."
Tutorial lessons answer questions about what kinds of information should be gathered about an ancestor, what types of genealogy computer programs are available and how to search for names on the Internet. Each lesson is followed by a simple review of the concepts being taught.
Two versions of the tutorial exist -- one for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and another for those who are not members. The team that created the tutorial is comprised of members of BYU's Center for Family History and Genealogy, the BYU Continuing Education Department and members of the Church of Jesus Christ's Family and Church History Department in Salt Lake City. The tutorial took more than a year and a half to develop.
BYU is one of a few universities nationwide to offer a bachelor's degree in family history, says Wright. In fact, an average of 800 students enroll in a beginning family history course each semester.
"BYU students are excited to learn about genealogy," he said. "As an outgrowth of that, we want people in the family history community to realize that BYU is a resource to them when they want help finding their ancestors."
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