Don't Waste Your Money on this AI for Family History Course

In general, I've been a big fan of the Family History Daily courses. They're designed for the casual or amateur genealogist and usually offer lots of practical and useful information. I purchased the Complete Access package a few years ago when I was restarting my tree. This package grants me free access to any new courses as they're added. I was really excited to see they added an "AI for Family History" course recently, and a few nights ago I settled in to work thru it. 

I'll start on a positive note. If you have no familiarity with AI and using these new tools, the information is presented simply and in a way most people can probably understand. Several AI tools are compared, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each. By using the same set of prompts for each tool, they clearly illustrate (with plenty of images) where different tools do well, and where they run into challenges. The course covers a basic introduction to AI, privacy and security concerns, tasks AI can and cannot do, and a presentation on creating simplistic prompts. It also illustrates how refining prompts assists in better responses. After showing examples from the various AI tools, they round it out with a few genealogy tasks AI is currently reasonably well suited for such as transcribing, translating, visualizing data and a couple others.

Now for the huge negative - the price. The course is regularly priced at $129, but could be less if they're running a special. I would NOT pay for this course under any circumstances! Certainly not at $129...and not at any reduced price either. It only took me a little over an hour to work thru the whole course (admittedly, this did not include any time spent practicing, as I already have a basic familiarity with AI). If you happen to have a Complete Access package (allowing free access to new course materials), it may be worth an hour or so if you haven't spent any time at all trying out AI. But, most of the information provided can be easily gleaned from reading posts written by those currently using AI as a genealogy tool. The comparison of various AI sites really didn't add much substance, though I did learn the names of a few tools I'll probably never bother to access. This is truly a bare bones introduction If you have any hands on time at all with AI, you're unlikely to gain much in the way of new insights.

Are you interested in an introductions to this new technology but don't know where to begin? I can definitely point you toward some free options to get you started! I recently came across AI Genealogy Insights. This is a blog dedicated to exploring AI as it relates to use in genealogy. While written at a slightly higher level than absolute beginner, it's more in depth and gives better insights into using AI alongside your traditional research. Best of all, it's completely FREE! There's an entire section dedicated to Use Cases where clear information is presented on creating and using extremely well structured prompts to achieve usable results. The prompts illustrated in this blog are head and shoulders above what's presented in the Family History Daily course. I'd urge you to spend an hour reading this blog over spending even a dime for the course. ChatGPT also offers the OpenAI Help Center. Here you have access to considerable information about this popular tool and how to best use it.

As you probably know from my other posts, I'm not at all opposed to paying for subscriptions, courses, or anything else to help further my knowledge and research. Some materials and tools are absolutely worth the investment (both time and money). This course is not one of them. You'd be far better off spending $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus for 6 months than paying for this course. AI is simply a tool. I don't mean to burst the bubble, but it's not going to replace traditional research any time soon. It can definitely assist with many mundane tasks such as transcribing and translating (though you still need to double check what it provides as it does make errors and sometimes fabricates information.) At this point in time, my personal suggestion if you're interested in using this technology is to read some of the posts on AI Genealogy Insights and go hands on with ChatGPT. You'll be surprised how quickly you can learn to use this new tech to help you in your genealogy journey.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Palaeography: Deciphering Old Handwriting

palaeography: The study of ancient writing and inscriptions; the science or art of deciphering and determining the date of ancient writings or systems of writing.

Deciphering old handwriting can be really challenging! I'm getting better (albeit slowly), but some of the mid-18th century and earlier really stumps me at times. Practice is definitely key. I've dabbled with using ChatGPT to transcribe portions of old documents...with mixed success. Sometimes it gives me a relatively good transcription and I'm like "Oh! That's what it says". Other times, it simply informs me old handwriting can be hard to read and I might need to investigate further and use other documents to compare writing samples. 

Recently, I saw a post where someone shared a cheat sheet of sorts. I've been using it the last week or so, and it's been helpful. It's been posted on multiple sites (with no original source noted). If you haven't seen it and would like to save a copy, just click the image and save it to your computer.

I've also come across couple of free online courses/tutorials. I'm planning to work through these courses in the coming months as a part of my "continuing genealogy education". I'm starting to get back to the late 1700's and early 1800's on my paternal line, and it's becoming very apparent I need to improve my skills in this area. 

The National Archives (UK) offers Palaeography: reading old handriting 1500-1800 A practical online tutorial with 10 lessons and tips for further practice.

CERES COPIA (University of Cambridge, England) has a course comprised of 28 lessons: English Handwriting 1500-1700: An Online Course.

If you're researching other countries and languages the challenge can be even greater. Not only do you need to know styles of writing, but the language at the time. I'd encourage  you to search out some resources before you jump in. The FamilySearch Wiki currently has over 9600 entries on handwriting, covering lots of countries. It also includes word lists you may require in your endeavors. Simply use the search box to narrow the results for the country or language you need. Thus far, I've been lucky enough not to encounter other languages, but given a portion of my paternal line is German, I don't think I'm going to dodge it forever. My DNA shows some other European countries and if I'm lucky enough to find where the ancestors I carry with me came from, I definitely want to be prepared.

While brushing up on skills is important, it's unlikely to solve all the challenges of reading old handwriting. The writer may have been in a hurry, ink may be faded and let's face it...some people just have chicken scratch! Only with time and practice will deciphering old writing become easier. AI may one day be sophisticated enough to transcribe consistently, but it's still no substitute for learning how to read documents yourself. Even if you are successful with an AI transcription, you still need to compare the AI result with the original and verify it's correct. As you continue your journey back in time, take time to learn to read old script (no matter what language it may be).

 (Links to referenced resources have been added to my Genealogy Toolbox page for easy reference.) 

Image by Petra from Pixabay

Review: DNA Academy: Genetic Genealogy for Beginner's and Intermediate

Over the weekend, I completed the DNA Academy: Genetic Genealogy for Beginner's and Intermediate course at learn.trace.com, My goal was simple: learn more about DNA and how to better utilize it in my own research. This course did not disappoint!

I prefer to learn in an organized format. While there are certainly plenty of free online resources about DNA and working with it, I wanted something a little more structured. The self-paced course included 29 modules and covered everything I needed. From the basics necessary to understand DNA and how it's inherited, to ethnicity, endogamy and ethics, and how to best use DNA matches to further your research (including special situations) - all the major concepts were addressed. You also learn about phasing, clustering, and triangulation (both pedigree and segment). They highlight potential limitations and suggest where various additional types of DNA testing may (or may not) prove useful. There are also modules on using specific sites, tools and resources for working with DNA results and matches. Some modules also include case studies. Many handouts and forms are provided for download to assist with future research. For the most utilized research forms, video tutorials are presented on how to use them properly and efficiently. At completion, you'll retain access to review the course whenever you need to brush up on your skills, or to review any newly added content to the course.

While they estimated 5 weeks to complete the program, it took me about 8 (oh the convenience of self-paced!) According to the tracker on the site, I spent about 15 hours of dedicated time on the course (not including the time I scurried off to practice the skills as I learned, and fell down the occasional research rabbit hole along the way). Given the price tag of $250 for the course, it's a fairly cost efficient option. It's certainly far more economical than hiring a professional to assist. And if using your DNA results (or the results of those you're helping) more effectively can save you countless hours of spinning your wheels, it's a win in my book.

There are skills assessments in many of the modules to ensure you're understanding the material as you're working through the course. At completion, there's a final (slightly longer) skills assessment and if you get a passing score, you'll receive a certificate of completion. I finished with 90% and I'm eagerly awaiting an email with my certificate attached. Does the certificate actually get you anything? No, not really... just the satisfaction of knowing you passed the course. I suppose you could list it as a continuing education course, but I personally don't have a genealogy "resume", so for me it's strictly personal gratification.

Was there anything missing from the course? Not really. Though it's a genetic genealogy course, I'd still have liked to see a module addressing using DNA for forensic genealogy, including ethics and practices. I know I have family and friends who won't take a DNA test because they're worried about their DNA being used nefariously by law enforcement or forensic genealogy companies. I readily admit, forensic genealogy is a totally separate branch of the genealogy tree, but some basic knowledge as a part of this program might help course takers spread more accurate information as they converse with others. This is just my opinion - the course is very well rounded as far as genetic genealogy goes. Not having this topic in no way diminishes the value of the course.

If you're not ready to invest in a course to learn more about working with DNA, below are some great free resources**:

• AncestryDNA® Learning Hub
• MyHeritage Knowledge Base - DNA 
• GEDmatch Education 
• DNAeXplained 
• The DNA Geek
• segment-ology

So, did I break down any brick walls? No, not yet. For my biggest brick wall, I may need to wait for more DNA test takers to appear and/or investigate matches more thoroughly on some of the other sites where I've uploaded my DNA. Do I feel more confident about using my DNA matches? Yes, 100% I do! Do I recommend the course? If you have a desire to know more about DNA and working with results and matches (and you don't mind paying for a course)  then yes, I absolutely recommend it wholeheartedly! 

**Links to useful resources and sites mentioned in my posts can always be found on my Toolbox and Blogs To Follow pages.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

Back to School: DNA Academy

This past week was a bit challenging for me. It's been harder than usual to focus, but I'm trying hard to stay on track. I started the course DNA Academy: Genetic Genealogy for Beginner's and Intermediate at learn.trace.com last weekend. I want to learn more about using DNA for my research. Being OCD, I prefer structure. There are tons of free resources out there on the web for learning about DNA, but for me, a reasonably priced ($250) organized course works much better. I spent some time reviewing options, and based on the course outline, decided this was the program for me.

The self-paced online course is estimated to take 5 weeks. I'm about 25% of the way through. Thus far, it's been predominantly learning/reviewing terminology and concepts. I have a feeling the hard work is yet to come. I've been trying to spend a little time every evening, or at least every other evening, working thru the modules. I'll post a more detailed review when I'm done with the course, but so far, I'm pleased with my choice and I believe it will be a help in learning how to more effectively review and use my DNA matches to enhance my research (and hopefully assist in breaking down my brick walls!)

DNA isn't going away. It will solidly be a part of genealogy in the future. Learning to work with it effectively will be key for all genealogists (casual and professional). Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all the rage right now too. While many companies have been using it in some capacity for quite some time (from simply "reading" records to creating photo enhancing apps) it's likely to take off by leaps and bounds now. The combination of AI and DNA will likely make DNA much easier for amateur genealogists to work with in the future. But, I'm a big proponent of knowing how to do my own research and analysis. AI isn't foolproof. It's machine based learning...key word learning. It is not infallible. If I don't learn how to analyze for myself, I won't be able to spot potential pitfalls in the data I'll likely be presented with in the future.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

Family History Daily Course Center

I'm not a professional genealogist (far from it) - I'd call myself an intermediate amateur (and when it comes to analyzing DNA, a definite beginner). When I first started building my family tree, I made a LOT of mistakes. Even after restarting my tree several times over the years, I continued to fall into the same bad habits and patterns. I can't count number of blogs and articles I've read cautioning not to blindly trust other people's trees. Do the research yourself! Don't just accept hints, make sure they make sense for the person you're working on. Nonetheless, I barreled through dozens of hints a night, hundreds in a weekend, measuring my progress by the drop in hint count and increase in number of people in my tree. And I realized - my tree was a MESS! How could I ever fix it? The thought of trying to "clean it up" was beyond daunting. I finally accepted, I needed to start over, from scratch.

Before I jumped into my do-over, I spent time researching affordable genealogy courses. I knew I needed to reframe my thinking and improve my skills. I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars or years in classes. I didn't have time for scheduled online classes. I wasn't after a certificate or degree. I didn't want to be a professional genealogist. I wanted a decent, easy to understand, useful course, at a reasonable price and to study at my own pace. Enter Family History Daily Course Center.

Family History Daily has tons of articles, tips/tricks and guides anyone can access for free. There's quite a lot of valuable information to be had in the free resources. But for those who crave more, they also offer the Family History Daily Course Center with several courses to choose from to fit almost any budget and goal. Courses are online, easy to understand, self paced, created by experts. Prices range from $89 (for the Ancestry.com Crash Course) to $339 (for the Complete Access Package, including access to any new courses offered in the future). I decided the Complete Access Package was the right choice for me. After registration and payment, access to the courses is immediate. 

Courses include lessons, hands-on activities, quizzes, forms, charts, worksheets and links to valuable research resources. I completed all the courses in my package, and felt much more confident as I set out to restart my tree (for what I've pledged is the final time). While the number of little green leaf hints still makes me anxious sometimes, I now take my time adding people to my tree. I've learned to verify and cross-check information before adding facts and saving records. My organization and search skills have improved dramatically. I scrounge every little scrap of information (no matter how small) from each record because you never know how important one little detail might be or what door it might open when researching in the future. I no longer wonder how/why I added someone to my tree. In short, I'm proud and confident in my tree.

If you're considering taking a course to improve your research skills and genealogy knowledge, I highly recommend the Family History Daily Course Center. Genealogy is a big investment in time and effort (and for some, money). Continually improving your skills and bolstering your knowledge will help you make the most of your genealogy journey. 

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay