Author Topic: A genealogy MOOC (Read 3435 times)

Fleecewife · « **on:** December 16, 2015, 04:22:08 pm »

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/genealogy?utm_source=FL_DB&utm_medium=crm&utm_campaign=15_12_2015_FL_newsletter&utm_content=text

This sounds an interesting MOOC if you're into genealogy. It starts in March I think, but does clash with lambing. I'm swithering whether to do it or not.......

Buffy the eggs layer · « **Reply #1 on:** December 16, 2015, 05:10:03 pm »

Well the commitment is only 4 hours a week Fleecy and it could be a welcome distraction from staring at the sheep equivalent of "watched pots"?

I say go for it!

I dont fancy genealogy my self but would love to do something similar on a different topic. You have inspired me to do a search.

If everything goes to plan in my smallholding day, then I'm showered and snuggled up by 5pm which is great but by 7pm I'm bored to tears and yearning for my bed by 9.

I really like the idea of something stimulating to do from the comfort of home especially around lambing time.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #2 on:** December 16, 2015, 06:38:53 pm »

Hi Buffy. There are all sorts of MOOCS around. Most of the ones I've done have been on FutureLearn - I suppose I've become familiar with the format and I know they are free (some of the US ones appear to be free but turn out not to be). There are always some about the environment and climate change, history, astronomy, forensics, all of which I like. There's also loads of things which to me are weird or far too specialised, like computing, English as a foreign language, preparing for university, psychology, business studies, Higgs boson, etc. Do have a look. They give an estimated number of hours to study per week, but there are usually lots of references to follow up, discussions with other students and so on, so you can spend a lot longer than their suggestion. There have been only two courses I've withdrawn from.

ellied · « **Reply #3 on:** December 16, 2015, 06:41:11 pm »

I got the email and signed up. There is one ancestor I need to trace, only have him as father on a birth cert(illegitimate son) in wigtonshire 1850 saying he was from orkney and one census entry 1851 in orkney saying he was born in Farr in Sutherland but can't track birth any marriage or death!

Fleecewife · « **Reply #4 on:** December 16, 2015, 10:00:44 pm »

Funnily enough I just had my elder brother on the phone telling me that he has at last finished writing up one half of our family tree. Looks like I'll have to do the genealogy course to find out about the other side. My brother's seems to include all the human interest bits, little tales handed down through the generations. Some may well be apocryphal but it brings it more to life.

Mr F's family tree seems to be full of children not belonging to their supposed father, babies born out of wedlock - and him from a very staid Wee Free family

oor wullie · « **Reply #5 on:** December 17, 2015, 06:25:40 am »

That does look interesting.

I find it fascinating trying to find out "who are my people".

devonlady · « **Reply #6 on:** December 17, 2015, 06:41:44 am »

"Swithering" what a lovely word!!

Buffy the eggs layer · « **Reply #7 on:** December 17, 2015, 09:36:04 am »

I had a look for some last night and noticed a few that said the course was free but the diploma certificate had to be paid for. Didn't say how much it was though.

I did some genealogy a few years ago then lost all my data and documents in a house move. I had hit a stumbling block with an illegitimate father so perhaps the past should stay burried.

I fancy doing something though so will keep looking. Why did you withdraw from some Fleecewife?

Fleecewife · « **Reply #8 on:** December 17, 2015, 12:15:46 pm »

I never bother with the certificates Buffy. I have no use for them as evidence of my education. With some it's just a certificate saying that you took part, with others there seems to be an exam. I think it only matters if you are planning a Uni degree, or need to show what you have achieved to your work.

Both the ones I withdrew from were about climate change, but went into the minutiae of how the research is done, whereas I'm interested more in what they find. Of course I want to know something about how the research is pursued, but I don't need to study that for 6 weeks or so. Both courses were more aimed at people wanting to go on to study climatology at Uni and as a career. Also both those courses hurt my brain

Fleecewife · « **Reply #9 on:** December 17, 2015, 04:52:37 pm »

The courses I've done with futureLearn so far are:

Introduction to forensic science - Uni of Strathclyde
Exploring our oceans - Uni of Southampton
Global food security - Uni of Lancaster
Intro to ecosystems - OU
England in the time of Richard 111 (twice) - Uni of Leicester
Hadrian's wall - life on the Roman frontier - Newcastle Uni
WW1 - trauma and memory OU
Our changing climate, past present and future - Reading Uni
The night sky - Orion - OU
Elements of renewable energy - OU
Moons - OU
Our hungry planet - Reading Uni
Shipwrecks and submerged worlds - Southampton Uni
Soils - Lancaster Uni
Nutrition and wellbeing - Aberdeen Uni
Identifying the dead - Dundee Uni
Causes of climate change - Uni of Bergen (one of the two I withdrew from)
ECG assessment - St Georges, London Uni

Then I also did a couple from Oz and a couple from the States, including the chicken course, which was run by Edinburgh Uni

As you can see, I'm an addict