RootsTech 2018 yesterday announced the schedule for its free online broadcast, making it possible for people to watch several presentations from the comfort of their home computer or tablet.
RootsTech, the world’s largest family history and technology conference, will take place February 28 to March 3, 2018.
The conference will broadcast 19 of its more than 300 sessions, including former US Olympic gold-medalist Scott Hamilton; Brandon Stanton, founder of the Humans of New York photo blog; Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., host of the popular PBS show, Finding Your Roots, and Latin pop singer Natalia Lafourcade; and Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International.
FamilySearch suggests other ways to attend from a distance in their blog post.
RootsTech streaming schedule
Watch at RootsTech.org. No registration is required to view the live streams. Just join in. Note: All times are in Mountain Standard Time (MST).
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
9:30 a.m.
Family History in 5 Minutes a Day — Deborah Gamble
Explore 20 ways to effectively do your family history in as little as 5 minutes a day.
11:00 a.m.
DNA: One Family, One World (Sponsored by Living DNA) — David Nicholson
A new project by Living DNA is mapping the world’s DNA, building one world family tree through genetics. Gain insight into how this will impact your family history.
1:30 p.m.
Organizing and Preserving Photograph Collections — Ari Wilkins
Step-by-step direction in organizing, preserving, and cataloging photo collections for future generations and identifying, digitizing, and sharing collections using family trees and social media.
3:00 p.m.
Finding the Answers: The Basics of WWII Research — Jennifer Holik
Fire destroyed many US military and civilian service records. Alternative record sources exist to reconstruct service history. Learn how to research World War I and II records.
4:30 p.m.
Wednesday General Session and Innovation Showcase — Steve Rockwood, CEO FamilySearch International
Steve Rockwood explores where industry giant, FamilySearch, has been and is going. Introduction of the all-new RootsTech Innovation Showcase.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
8:30 a.m.
Thursday General Session
Brandon Stanton started Humans of New York, a photography and storytelling blog. HONY has built a devoted following of over 20 million fans across several social media platforms.
11:00 a.m.
MyHeritage DNA 101: From Test to Results (Sponsored by MyHeritage)
Learn from Yaniv Erlich about the MyHeritage DNA service and how the process works, from taking the test to the lab analysis. Learn about MyHeritage DNA’s over 40 ethnicities and how to optimize your DNA matches.
1:30 p.m.
Google Photos: Collect, Organize, Preserve, and Share — Michelle Goodrum
Google Photos is a powerful, free app for storing, organizing, and sharing. Learn how to edit and create photo projects and automatically add your photos to the app from digital devices.
3:00 p.m.
Unlocking Roman Catholic Records — Brian Donovan
The Catholic Church is essential for uncovering the lives of millions of immigrants from many nationalities. See how findmypast and the Catholic Church are working to make these records easily accessible.
4:30 p.m.
A Gift of Life: Who’s Writing Your Story? — Deborah Abbott
Only you can tell the real stories of love, loss, forgiveness, and change. Don’t leave the task of finding the answers of your life’s history to someone else. Take the time to write your life story.
Friday, March 2, 2018
8:30 a.m.
Friday General Session
Scott Hamilton is the living example that good guys CAN finish first! He is an Olympic champion, cancer survivor, television broadcaster, speaker, author, husband/father, and eternal optimist!
11:00 a.m.
findmypast’s British and Irish Hidden Gems (Sponsored by findmypast) — Myko Clelland
Explore some of the wonderful findmypast.com collections that can help you break down your British ancestry brick walls, go back further in your family research, and add untold color and detail to your family story.
1:30 p.m.
Finding the Right DNA Test for You — Jim Brewster
DNA testing is becoming an integral tool, but what is it and what does it do? How can DNA actually help your genealogy? If you are brand new to genetic genealogy, this is the class for you.
3:00 p.m.
How Not to Leave Your Genealogy Behind — Amy Johnson Crow and Curt Witcher
Nobody wants their genealogy research to end up in a landfill. Hear a few horror stories of genealogy materials destroyed and how you can avoid those mistakes.
4:30 p.m.
Finding Elusive Records at FamilySearch — Robert Kehrer
Learn new skills and techniques used by the experts and lesser known record identification tools and features of the FamilySearch website.
Saturday, March 3, 2018
8:30 a.m.
Saturday General Session
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., host of popular PBS Finding Your Roots series, and Natalia Lafourcade, one of the most successful Latin American pop singers, will keynote this opening session.
11:00 a.m.
Civil Registration Indexes of England and Wales — Audrey Collins
England and Wales national indexes and recent innovations at the General Register Office have opened up new possibilities and completely new indexes.
1:30 p.m.
Advancing Your Genealogy Research with DNA (Sponsored by Ancestry) — Anna Swayne
Learn what new tools AncestryDNA has to advance your research and get more out of your DNA results.
3:00 p.m.
Pain in the Access: More Web for Your Genealogy — Curt Witcher
Library, archive, government, and specialized websites have much to offer. Discover these sites and strategies for getting more online data.
Just wanted to also remind you/others that the RootsTech App can be downloaded now for either iPhones or Android phones, allowing anyone to access all the handouts for the RootsTech conference. Very easy to use, and so helpful.