A Second Chance at Rootstech 2022
by Suzan Younger
Rootstech 2022 occurred live March 3-5, 2022. For the second year, it was 100% virtual, offering presentations from all around the globe in multiple languages. Rootstech 2022 continued the theme of connecting family, friends, and strangers through culture, music, food, stories, and so much more. There are over 1,500+ sessions, some from 2021 and new offerings for 2022. Like 2021, Rootstech was free and continues to be available at no cost for the next year through archived and recorded videos. We need a year to explore and learn from all of the presentations.
An excellent overview of Rootstech 2022 is the FamilySearch Blog’s entry of February 24, 2022, a Guide to Navigating the RootsTech 2022 Website. It explains and demonstrates the RootsTech home page, giving you a tour of the website and valuable information on using the website effectively. Be aware that some of the features, such as chat and one-on-one help, were active only during the March 3-5 conference dates.
Your next step is to access the 1,500+ sessions on 185 topics in over 30 different languages. The Rootstech website offers a variety of filters to help navigate to topics of interest; you do not have to scroll through the hundreds of presentations. In addition, you have the option to create your personal, custom playlist from the entire catalog of sessions. This requires a free FamilySearch account. Sign in to your FamilySearch account from the Rootstech home page in the upper right corner. If you don’t have an account, click here to create your free account.
From the home page, click on the “Sessions” tab at the top of the web page. Use the filters on this search page to narrow down the options. You can use multiple filters to create more defined lists of sessions. I recommend you start with the language filter and then add a filter for a topic. A third filter might be a location filter. Be sure to click on the “See All” button as you open each category of filters to access all filter options. Try adding and clearing filters to expand or remove sessions. The first filter is” Getting Started,” which creates session lists in broad categories. It is not necessarily about beginning genealogy but about beginning a new type of record or research in a new location.
“Tiles” or “cards” lists the session’s title, speaker, a brief description, and the length of the session. In the upper right corner of each tile is a plus sign; click on this to add it to your playlist for access later. Clicking anywhere in the tile opens the webpage with the video, additional description, and the handout (if provided.) You can also add the session to your playlist from this web page or watch it immediately.
There are five video series of classes designed to help you or your family get started with your family history. You can access the series from the home page.
- Where Do I Start?
- The sessions in these sessions will take you on a tour of some great places to start or continue your family history on FamilySearch
- Connecting with Living Family
- You will find a set of activities, tools, and reasons to help you connect with your immediate family and friends and with unknown living relatives you have yet to meet.
- Discover, Tell, and Share Your Story
- Learn how to use storytelling, photography, and other tools to bring ancestors to life in personal and meaningful ways.
- Finding Ancestors and Homelands
- Learn the basics of discovering your ancestors and piece together the events, places, and relationships that shaped their stories.
- Beginning Research in Your Homelands
- After completing the Finding Ancestors and Homelands, watch this series to get started in your specific ancestral homelands. These are more advanced sessions.
There is something for everyone at Rootstech 2022. I invite you to click on the links in this article or go directly to Rootstech 2022 to explore on your own. I close with a shout-out and ‘thank you’ to the RootsTech 2022 staff, volunteers, and speakers.
