Sunday, January 21, 2018

SLIG - Tech Day

This year SLIG held its first Technology Day on Saturday, January 21st. From my perspective and from comments made by other attendees, it was a resounding success.

I attended two sessions. Here's something I learned in each session:

Spreadsheet Tips and Tricks, by Kimberly Powell
When we get a spreadsheet (such as search results we've exported from FamilySearch) the names often are in one cell. This makes it impossible to sort by surname. We need to have first, middle and last names in separate cells. Excel's "Text to columns" feature takes care of this issue. On a Mac its under the Data tab.

Using Google's "My Maps" as a Research and Analysis Tool, by Cari Taplin
I love this tool but wasn't using it effectively at all. This hands-on workshop resolved that! My favorite takeaway was literally something I could take home and share with family members. Did you know you can add photos to the places you pin on the maps you make? I sure didn't. We took a trip last summer to visit ancestral homes, cemeteries and other sites. I added the pictures I took, along with background and descriptive information. Now I have something to share with a couple of family members who are interested in where we went and what we found.


Classes start in the morning. I'm in A Practical Approach: Establishing Genealogical Proof with DNA. It's going to be intense. That equals exhausting. But I am excited. Stay tuned!

#SLIGExperience

URL for this post: https://turning-of-generations.blogspot.com/2018/01/slig-tech-day.html

 © 2018, copyright Michelle Goodrum

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