We are proud to announce the arrival of the Class Outlines, a series of new training tools for family history presenters and learners. As of this writing there are 28 class outlines, with both English and Spanish versions. You can access them in the Trainers menu in The Family History Guide, using the new Class Outlines link.

About the Class Outlines

In a nutshell, a Class Outline is like having a Cliff Notes version of a Goal in The Family History Guide. Each outline consists of a single Google slide, which contains a link to the Goal on the website that the presenter can show. The magic is in the Speaker Notes for the slide. These notes appear only to the presenter, to highlight prime content on the website and add important summaries.

This approach enables a trainer or presenter to do an online or in-person class using content from The Family History Guide, without having to prepare slide decks or handouts. The Google slides with their Speaker Notes can be downloaded and modified to fit local family history training needs.

By next year, we expect to have about 200 Class Outlines on a wide variety of topics in The Family History Guide, including research in a number of countries around the world. The current categories include Memories, Learning to Do Research, and United States Research.

Below is a partial view of what you’ll see on the Class Outlines page. On the actual website page you can click a picture or text link to open the corresponding outline.

Samples

Here is an example of a presenter screen with the Speaker Notes on the right (visible only to the presenter), and the website on the left:

And here’s a version with the main parts enlarged. Arrows have been added that show the articles to click for each entry in the Speaker Notes:

Basically, you simply open an article, video, or database using a link in The Family History Guide, and then you use the Speaker Notes as a framework for talking about the key points in those resources. For videos, the Speaker Notes show the appropriate timings to go to, in order to synchronize the notes and the video content. Of course, you will want to spend some time getting familiar with the resources and even customizing the Speaker Notes where appropriate.

Guidelines

The beginning of the Class Outlines page has several paragraphs to guide you in using the Class Outlines. The headings are Welcome to the Class Outlines, Preparation, and Tips. The Tips section is a hide/show link that includes Terms of Use, Content, and Presenting.

For Learners, Too!

What if you are not involved in training? Can the Class Outlines be useful in any way? The answer is a definite “yes”! Open a Class Outline and launch the corresponding web page. With the Speaker Notes, you’ll have access to expert guidance for finding the essential topics covered in the articles, videos, and databases in The Family History Guide. When the Speaker Notes say “discuss” you can substitute the words “think about” and you’ll be in good shape for an individual learning experience.

We hope you enjoy the new Class Outlines in The Family History Guide. Stay tuned for more outlines coming soon!