Registration open for Donna Moughty’s “Strategies for Finding Your Irish Ancestors”

Registration has now opened for the next Virtual Institute course, “Strategies for Finding Your Irish Ancestors,” featuring Donna Moughty.

Donna Moughty, a professional genealogist and former Regional Manager for Apple Computer, has been conducting family research for over 25 years. She teaches and lectures on a variety of subjects including methodology, Internet, Irish research and computer topics for genealogical societies, libraries and at national conferences and institutes. She also provides consultations, research assistance and training.

In addition to national and regional conferences, Donna attended the National Institute for Genealogical Research at the National Archives, the Third and Fourth Irish Genealogical Congress in Ireland, the Salt Lake Institute – Irish Research, and the Institute for Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University where she was an instructor for the Irish course in 2011. She is a member of Association of Professional Genealogists and served as chair of the Professional Management Conference from 2005–2008, and a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild. Donna conducts research trips to Ireland each year and has lectured at the Back to Our Past Conference in Dublin. Her weekly genealogy blog can be found at www.moughty.com.

For more information and to register, visit https://vigrgenealogy.com/schedule/moughty-irish-strategies/.

Registration open for F. Warren Bittner’s “Reading German I: The ABCs of Gothic”

Registration has now opened for the next Virtual Institute course, “Reading German I: The ABCs of Gothic,” featuring F. Warren Bittner, CG.

F. Warren Bittner, CG, is a genealogical researcher and lecturer. He is a trustee for the Board for Certification of Genealogists. He holds a Master of Science degree in history from Utah State University. His master’s thesis looked at the social factors affecting illegitimacy in nineteenth-century Bavaria.

He has coordinated German research tracks at the Samford University’s Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. For six years he was the German Collection Manager for the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. He has done research in more than fifty German archives and in more than forty U.S. archives and record repositories.

For more information and to register, visit https://vigrgenealogy.com/schedule/bittner-reading-german-i/.

Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research Offers New Interactive Option for Courses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research Offers New Interactive Option for Courses

RALEIGH, North Carolina, 17 December 2014:

The Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research is evolving!

Student responses to our first course have reinforced our plans concerning the need for additional instructor interaction and feedback. Beginning in 2015 we will offer instructors and students this option.

Previously our courses came in a single format: four 90-minute lecture sessions with Q&A, extensive syllabus material, and at least one practical exercise.

Plus courses will consist of:

  • the same four 90-minute lecture sessions and syllabus material offered to standard students; plus
  • an additional one-hour Q&A/discussion session held on an evening either midweek or at the conclusion of the course;
  • individualized instructor feedback on practical exercises by email;
  • a Certificate of Completion for the course.

The Plus option for any course will cost $99.99, as compared to the $69.99 cost of standard courses.

J. Mark Lowe’s “Preparing the Field: Understanding the Agricultural Records of Our Ancestors” will be the first course to offer this new option. Beginning on Wednesday, 17 December 2014, buttons will appear on the website to purchase either the Standard or the Plus option for this course. Many of the Institute’s future courses will also offer this option.

For more information visit www.vigrgenealogy.com or email [email protected].

About the Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research

The Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research offers virtual, year-round courses on a wide variety of genealogical subjects from top experts in the field. For more information visit www.vigrgenealogy.com or email [email protected].

 

Registration open for Maureen Taylor’s “Family Photographs”

Registration has now opened for the next Virtual Institute course, “Family Photographs: Identifying, Preserving, and Sharing Your Visual Heritage,” featuring Maureen Taylor.

Maureen Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on historic photograph identification, photo preservation and family history research. Her focus is on helping people rediscover their family history one picture at a time, and is passionate about getting folks to dig deep into their family history to tell the story of their ancestors.

The author of several books, scholarly articles and online columns, she appeared on The View and The Today Show for completing Meredith Viera’s family tree. She has been featured in numerous publications including The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Better Homes and Gardens, and was dubbed “the nation’s foremost historical photo detective” by The Wall Street Journal.

For more information and to register, visit https://vigrgenealogy.com/schedule/taylor-family-photographs/.

Recordings now available for purchase

Recordings for our first course “Writing Logical Proof Arguments,” with Michael Hait, CG, are now available for purchase in the Virtual Institute Store!

Each recordings package contains all four video recordings (including the Q&A portions of the sessions), all syllabus material, and the practical exercise. For those of you who missed the course on its first offering, these packages provide the opportunity to learn on your own time.

The course also received a glowing review from one of the students, professional genealogist Patricia McIntyre, posted to Angela McGhie’s Adventures in Genealogy Education blog. Patricia wrote,

I felt that my participation in the institute course had been time and money well spent. Michael Hait had taught me a new way to look at proof arguments and proof summaries using logical thinking. As I read my next NGSQ article, I was able to see the premises and conclusions built one on another. A new sense of literary construction was understood – a light bulb moment, if you will.

To read the full review, visit “Review of ‘Writing Logical Proof Arguments’ Course by Michael Hait.”

Registration now open for J. Mark Lowe’s “Preparing the Field”

Registration has now opened for the next Virtual Institute course, “Preparing the Field: Understanding the Agricultural Records of our Ancestors,” featuring popular genealogical teacher, J. Mark Lowe.

J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA, is a full-time professional genealogist, author, and teacher who researches primarily in original records and manuscripts throughout the South. Mark has published in APGQ, NGSQ, North Carolina Genealogical Society Quarterly, SPEAK!, The Longhunter, and other society publications.

Lowe also serves as the Course Coordinator for “Research in the South” at  IGHR (Samford University), teaches for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG)  and the Regional In-depth Genealogical Studies Alliance (RIGS Alliance). He has worked on several genealogical television series including African American Lives, Who Do You Think You Are? and UnXplained Events.

For more information and to register, visit https://vigrgenealogy.com/schedule/lowe-preparing-the-field/.

Getting ready for the first Virtual Institute course!

We at the Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research are very excited about our first course taking place tomorrow morning!

If you have registered for “Writing Logical Proof Arguments” with Michael Hait, you should have received an email providing links for live attendance and the syllabus material for all four sessions. The email was sent to the address used for the registration purchase. If you did not receive this email, please contact us at [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you all there!