KSL Studio 5 What to Expect at RootsTech 2016

KSL Studio 5 with Brooke Walker interviewed Wendy Smedley for a taste of what to expect at RootsTech 2016.

RootsTech 2015 Family Discovery Day Videos

To get into the spirit of RootsTech 2016 Family Discover Day I thought you might like to relive some Family Discovery Day 2015 videos.



Our Father's Plan Is About Familis
Elder Quentin L. Cook
Addition Resources


Sharing the Temple Challenge
Elder Neil L. Andersen
Additional Resources


Blessings to the Living through Family History
Elder L. Whitney Clayton, Elder Allan F. Packer, Elder Kent F. Richards, and Sister Neill F. Marriott
Additional Resources


Gathering, Healing and Sealing Families
Elder Bradley D. Foster, Linda K. Burton, Bonnie L. Oscarson, Brother Tad R. Callister
Additional Resources


The Promised Blessings of Family History
Additional Resources

RootsTech 2015 Video Archive

To get into the spirit of RootsTech 2016 I thought you might like to relive some RootsTech 2015 videos.


Thursday: Keynote Session
DennisBrimhall, Mike Mallin, Tan Le


Thursday: 30 Pieces of Tech I Can't Live Without
D. Joshua Taylor


Thursday: You've Mastered the Census and Basic Search, What Next?
Karen Auman


Thursday: What's New at FamilySearch
Devin Ashby


Thursday: Getting Started in Genetic Genealogy
Diahan Southard


Thursday: Finding the Living Among the Dead: Using the Internet to Find Your Living Cousins
Amy Archibald


Thursday: Discover New Research Opportunities with MyHeritage and FamilySearch Partnership
Mark Olsen


Thursday: Consultant Training: Using FamilySearch Partners
Craig Miller


Friday: General Session
Josh Taylor Keynote


Friday: Innovator Showdown Event


Friday: Building a Genealogy Research Toolbox
Thomas MacEntee


Friday: Bring Your Ancestor Back to the Future
Anne Leishman


Friday: The Write Stuff. Leaving a Recorded Legacy: Personal Histories, Journal, Diaries and Letter
Valerie Elkins


Friday: FamilySearch Family Tree 2014 and Beyond
Ron Tanner


Saturday: Keynote Session
A. J. Jacobs, Donny Osmond


Saturday: Family History on the Go Using Phones and Tablet Apps
Rhonna Farrer, Crystal Beutler


Saturday: Personal History Triage: How to Tell the Best Ten Stories of Your Life
Alison Taylor


Saturday: Finding Your Family On Newspapers.com
Peter Drinkwater


Saturday: Getting the Most Out of Ancestry.com
Crista Cowan, Juliana Szucs

Get ready to explore the 2016 RootsTech Expo Hall

Get ready to explore the 2016 RootsTech Expo Hall At this year’s conference, the RootsTech Expo Hall will be bigger than ever before. Come visit hundreds of family history and technology exhibitors sharing the latest products, services, and hands-on experiences available. Below is a small sample of activities and booths you’ll be able to explore at the RootsTech 2016 Expo Hall. Family Discovery Zone—Sponsored by FamilySearch The family discovery zone will be a fun, engaging, and interactive experience and will feature new and exciting technologies to help you discover and connect your family and stories. Stop by and experience the fun side of family history with these activities: Photo Scanning Area: Bring your family photos! Make digital copies for free that you can preserve, share, and even upload directly to your FamilySearch family tree. Recording Booth: Record Your Story! Your private recording session includes 10 minutes of recording time in a sound booth, and get a free copy of it on a flash drive. Record a Call with Someone Who Inspires You: Simply call a parent, grandparent, or someone who inspires you, and find out more about his or her life. Our app will record the conversation and give you a personal copy as well. FamilySearch Scanning Booth Get your family book scanned for free. We’ll make a digital copy, and you'll keep the original and a searchable PDF copy for you. You can also donate personal works, family journals, and books that are in the public domain. Demo Theater—Sponsored by Backblaze Curious about the newest in family history products and services? Take a seat, and listen to demonstrations by RootsTech sponsors and exhibitors. The 15-minute demos will be scheduled daily during Expo Hall hours. Cyber Café—Sponsored by Dell Refresh and recharge at the Cyber Café while at RootsTech. The café offers wireless Internet access, recharging stations for your electronic devices, and free sodas. The staff from the Family History Library will also be here to offer one-on-one help. NEW! Innovation Alley New to the RootsTech Expo Hall will be the Innovation Alley, where you’ll get a chance to view the latest technology and tools in the family history industry. Be sure to stop by. Expo Hall Hours Thursday, February 4, 2016: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday, February 5, 2016: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday, February 6, 2016: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For a complete map of the RootsTech expo hall and list of exhibitors, visit RootsTech.org. Download the RootsTech Mobile app Find your favorite classes, create your conference schedule, and plan for each day of the conference with the RootsTech 2016 mobile app. The mobile app also includes maps of the venue and expo hall, and a full listing of conference speakers and exhibitors. Plan your RootsTech experience today by downloading the conference app. Plan for RootsTech, and download the RootsTech 2016 conference app today at the App Store and Google Play.   Thanks to our Bronze Sponsors!

Welcome to RootsTech!

Welcome to RootsTech 2016! Thank you for registering for RootsTech 2016. We’re excited to have you join us! Watch for email updates with information about the conference and details to help you prepare for RootsTech, the largest family history conference in the world. Download the RootsTech Mobile App Find your favorite classes, create your conference schedule, and plan for each day of the conference with the RootsTech 2016 mobile app. The mobile app also includes maps of the venue and expo hall and a full listing of conference speakers and exhibitors. Plan your RootsTech experience today by downloading the conference app. Plan for RootsTech, and download the RootsTech 2016 conference app today at the App Store and Google Play.   REMEMBER! RootsTech Classes Start Wednesday, February 3, 2016! Don’t forget, RootsTech will officially begin with two class sessions on Wednesday, February 3, starting at 3:00 p.m. and will end two class sessions earlier on Saturday, February 6. The last RootsTech class session ends at 2:30. As usual, the expo hall will remain open Thursday (10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.), Friday (10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and Saturday (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Be sure to make your travel arrangements accordingly. Onsite Check-In  Conference check-in will take place at the registration area in the south lobby of the Salt Palace Convention Center. Upon check-in, you will receive your badge, any add-on tickets previously purchased, a conference guide, and other essential conference materials. A photo ID is required. To avoid the long lines, come at your earliest convenience. Conference registration will be open during the following times: Wednesday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Thursday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more details about RootsTech 2016, visit RootsTech.org. Thanks to our Platinum and Gold Sponsors! Platinum Sponsors Ancestry.com is the company that helped pioneer the market for online family research. Over the last 17 years, they have digitized, indexed, and put online 15 billion records to go along with 60 million user-generated family trees. Ancestry.com also operates a suite of online family history brands, including AncestryDNA, Family Tree Maker, and Fold3. findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is a British-owned world leader in online genealogy. It has an unrivalled record of online innovation in the field of family history and 18 million registered users across its family of online brands, which includes Mocavo, Genes Reunited, The British Newspaper Archive, amongst others. MyHeritage is the most popular family network on the web. Millions of families around the world enjoy having a private and secure place to explore their family history, share photos and special family moments, and keep in touch. With 40 languages, 75 million users, 1.5 billion profiles, and 27 million family trees, MyHeritage is uniting families worldwide. Gold Sponsor Forever, Inc. owns and manages forever.com, the world’s first permanent online archive for people, families, and organizations. At Forever, information is triple-backed up and encrypted, and members own all of their information. There is no advertising and no data mining. Both storage and availability is guaranteed for generations. Forever was founded in 2012 by Glen Meakem.

MyHeritage App - Introducing New Audio Recordings

The following is from MyHeritage.

We’ve just released a new feature in the MyHeritage mobile app: Audio Recordings. You can now interview your relatives directly from their profile in the family tree, and store your family's stories for future generations in your MyHeritage family site.

The MyHeritage mobile app is free. It's available for iPhone, iPad and Android, and it lets you access and enhance your family tree on the go. The Audio Recordings feature is now available in both the iOS and Android versions of the mobile app.

Download the MyHeritage App

Oral interviews are vital in family history research. Our relatives are a treasure trove of precious family information. Unfortunately, our family members don't stay with us forever, and when they are gone, their memories and stories may be lost. This is where Audio Recordings come in. With this feature, it is now easier than ever to record your family’s unique stories and preserve them for future generations. They are very simple to create and edit, and convenient for both interviewer and interviewee.Using Audio Recordings is simple. Family tree profiles now have an audio icon that looks like earphones that you can tap to create a new recording, and to access recordings previously saved for any person. (more)

Free and Fun Family History Event for LDS Families and Members

Free and Fun Family History Event for LDS Families and Members We’re excited to have you join us for Family Discovery Day at RootsTech, happening Saturday, February 6, 2016, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Family Discovery Day at RootsTech is FREE for all LDS families and members and will provide opportunities to learn how to find family names, prepare and take those names to the temple, and share their experience with family and friends.  At Family Discovery Day, you will experience: Inspiring messages from General Authorities, Church leaders, and popular LDS speakers, including Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth Lybbert Renlund, Primary general president Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, Young Men general president Brother Stephen W. Owen, Sister Wendy Watson Nelson, Sheri Dew, and from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, football players Britain Covey and Taysom Hill. Interactive activities in the expo hall where families and friends can create a visual family tree, call grandma and record an interview, and scan photos to share with family. Classes designed to teach you how to find family names, prepare them for temple blessings, and teach others how to get started. Thrilling evening of music and entertainment at the RootsTech 2016 Closing Event with the band Lower Lights. Family Discovery Day at RootsTech is the perfect place to discover and share family connections through technology. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced family historian, Family Discovery Day at RootsTech has something for everyone.  Experience More at RootsTech 2016  RootsTech, the largest family history conference in the world, is happening February 3–6, 2016, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. With inspiring keynote speakers, expo hall of hundreds of exhibitors, entertaining evening events with special guest performers, and more, RootsTech has something for everyone to enjoy. Registration is required for both Family Discovery Day and RootsTech. Passes start at just $29. For more information about RootsTech 2016, visit RootsTech.org.

Global RootsTech Conference Announces Free Online Broadcast Schedule

Global RootsTech Conference Announces Free Online Broadcast Schedule

SALT LAKE CITY, 29 January 2016—RootsTech, the world’s largest family history and technology conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 4-6, 2016, announced today that 15 of its popular sessions will be broadcast live and complimentary over the Internet. The live broadcasts will give those unable to attend in-person worldwide a sample of this year’s conference content. Interested viewers can watch the live presentations at RootsTech.org. Saturday's Family Discovery Day sessions will be broadcast live on LDS.org. 

The streamed RootsTech sessions include the general sessions and a sampling of technology and family history presentations.  Following are the broadcasted sessions and speakers. All times are in Mountain Standard Time (MST):

RootsTech Streaming Schedule (RootsTech.org Thursday, February 4; Friday, February 5; Saturday February 6, 2016)

Time	Length	Day
		Thursday	Friday	Saturday
8:30 a.m.	90 Minutes	RootsTech General Session: Stephen T. Rockwood, Paula Madison and Bruce Feiler	RootsTech General Session: Josh and Naomi Davis and David Isay	RootsTech General Session: Michael Leavitt
11:00 a.m.	60 Minutes	RT5352 7 Unique Technologies for Genealogy Discoveries Mike Mansfield	GS3643 Innovator Showdown (Starts at 10:30)	RT2449 Photos-Emerging Technologies in Photography Jens Nielsen
1:30 p.m.	60 Minutes	RT2390 Best Websites and Apps for Local Amy Crow	GS2345 Proven Methodology for Using Google for Genealogy Lisa Louise Cook	RT2560 Become a Master Searcher on AncestryAnne Mitchell
3:00 p.m.	60 Minutes	GS4310 What's New in Family Tree for 2016 Ron Tanner	RT7450 Finding Elusive Records on FamilySearch.orgRobert Kehrer	RT1792 Homespun and Calico: Researching our Foremothers Peggy Lauritzen
4:30 p.m.	60 Minutes	GS2623 Virtual Family Reunions  Joseph Richardson	RT1431 My Ancestors are from Britain-- What do I do next? Myko Clelland	GS1532 5 Steps to Identify a Family Photo Maureen Taylor

Family Discovery Day Streaming Schedule (LDS.org Saturday, February 6, 2016)

Time	Length	Session Information- English	Session Information- Languages
1:00 p.m.	45 Minutes	RootsTech Family Discovery Day Opening Session: Elder Dale G. Renlund, Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Sister Ashley Renlund	RootsTech Family Discovery Day Opening Session: Elder Dale G. Renlund, Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Sister Ashley Renlund
2:00 p.m.	45 Minutes	Family History Discussion: Sheri L. Dew and Sister Wendy W. Nelson	No Stream
3:15 p.m.	30 Minutes	RootsTech Family Discovery Day Family Session: Sister Rosemary M. Wixom and Brother Stephen W. Owen	RootsTech Family Discovery Day Family Session: Sister Rosemary M. Wixom and Brother Stephen W. Owen
4:15 p.m.	30 Minutes	RootsTech Family Discovery Day Youth and Family Session: Taysom Hill and Britain Covey	No Stream

About RootsTech

RootsTech, hosted by FamilySearch, is a global conference celebrating families across generations, where people of all ages are inspired to discover and share their memories and connections. This annual event has become the largest of its kind in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants worldwide.