Tech Day Spotlight: Using Google's My Maps as a Research and Analysis Tool with Cari A. Taplin, CG

Join us for SLIG's first ever Tech Day which will feature a special workshop by Cari A. Taplin, CG entitled "Using Google's My Maps as a Research and Analysis Tool". This 3 1/2 hour workshop will show you the many ways you can use Google Maps for genealogy. This will be held on 20 January 2018 at the Hilton Hotel from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM.

Did you know you can create your own maps using Google's My Maps? Many of us use Google Maps for travel or locating a place. My Maps allows users to create custom maps which makes it a fantastic and easy-to-use research and analysis tool. Maps can be shared with others making it a great way to present your research to family and friends. This class will give an overview of My Maps, examples for why and how it can be useful for genealogy, and will contain exercises on creating custom maps, including inserting lines, shapes, images, text, and more.

Cari explains further… “In my workshop, I will demonstrate many of the tools you can use to create your maps and demonstrate how to use this to plan research trips, analyze your research, and brainstorm ideas for other applications. You will get to see some of the more in-depth maps I’ve created and get started on some of your own. (Bring a laptop and sign up for a free Google account, if you don’t already have one.)”

Check out Cari's blog post about it here: http://bit.ly/2zA3wI9

Sign up today for this class at www.slig.ugagenealogy.org

Tech Day Spotlight: Mind Maps with Ron Arons

The first ever SLIG Tech Day will feature a special Mini-Lab on Mid Maps by Ron Arons. Why is this so important for your genealogy toolbox? Let me have Ron tell you:

Why mind maps and other data visualization tools?

There is an old saying that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This statement is so true. The brain actually processes pictures much faster than it does reading words. It is also much easier for you to recall items if you recall them from a setting (read: picture) than from a list of words. More than 60% of the general population are considered to be ‘visual learners’. That is to say, that they learn better and more efficiently by using pictures than by words or other means. About another third of the population learns aurally, i.e. through words. A very small percentage of the general population learns kinesthetically, i.e. through touch or movement. Suffice it to say, it behooves the vast majority of us to consider tools that help us learn and think visually. The tools that help with visual thinking are not necessarily replacements for spreadsheets and narratives but, rather, should be seriously considered as complementary tools for providing new insights and perspectives for organizing information, correlating data, and presenting research results to others.

Mind maps are radial outlining tools. They start with a central theme or concept and they radiate outwards, like a sun and its rays or a hub and spoke of an old chariot wheel. They can continue expanding with sub-branches, sub-sub-branches, etc., with increasing levels of details. Mind maps have been around for centuries and have been used for decades in Corporate America for brainstorming new ideas, for writers to lay out their stories, and by teachers with their students. Mind maps were certainly not designed with genealogy in mind, but they offer a compelling way to work with family history research data. Here’s why…Different types of genealogical documents have different types of data. For example, a census record might have a person’s name, their spouse and children’s names, age or year of birth, state or country of birth, occupation, residential address, etc. A vital record will usually have person’s parents’ names listed, whereas a census record would not (unless of course the parents are still living in the same household). A newspaper article would probably not list a person’s parents names, but might list a person’s residential address. In short, various types of genealogical documents together provide ‘unstructured’ data. To put all of the information from three such documents into a spreadsheet, a tool for working with ‘structured’ data, would be wasteful of space; there would be many cells completely empty. The beauty of mind maps is that they excel (no pun intended) with unstructured data. Furthermore, many mind map tools allow you to draw connector line from data in one location of a mind map to data in another location. This is particularly helpful in data correlation (step 3 of the Genealogical Proof Standard), arguably the most important aspect of genealogical research. Not being able to find such connections, similarly, can help with explaining away discrepancies (step 4 of the GPS).

The Mind Map / Data Visualization mini-lab at SLIG Tech Day will review the above theory in more detail as well as provide a hands-on introduction to two data visualization software packages – a mind mapping tool and another tool which is similar to, yet different from a mind map, but also useful in laying out genealogical data. Come to the mini-lab and expand your brain capabilities!

Mind Maps will be held Saturday, 20 January 2018 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at the Hilton Hotel. Price $30.00. Please visit www.slig.ugagenealogy.org to register. I hope to see you there! 

Dining at SLIG, Part 1

Where do I eat while attending SLIG?

There are plenty of options, both at the Hilton and within a short walk. This is the first of a series of posts covering dining options available during SLIG 2018.

SLIG works with the Hilton each year to make sure they have plenty of economical dining options available for both breakfast and lunch - from grab and go kiosks to restaurant specials.  

Here are some of the highlights for 2018:

Trofi Bistro: Trofi offers a continental breakfast, a full breakfast buffet with omelets made to order, and a menu. SLIG participants may purchase the full buffet at an all-inclusive discount.


New this year: no need to pre-purchase breakfast discounts or commit to multiple days.

Starbucks: Small, but efficient, this Starbucks offers beverages, pastries, soups, and sandwiches from 6 am to 2 pm daily.

Grab and Go Kiosk:  Set up just for SLIG, the kiosk will offer soup, salad, sandwiches, and snacks during lunch Monday through Friday. Students may eat in nearby SLIG Central. 

Grab and Go items will also be available from Starbucks on SLIG Tech Day.

Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops will offer a daily lunch special during SLIG.

More information about these options may be found on the SLIG Dining page just posted:  SLIG.ugagenealogy.org > Dining Options.