Check It Out is the theme for the #52Ancestors52Weeks challenge for the month of April 2022. Having slipped behind in writing my weekly posts I am now inclined to write them monthly on themes as suggested by Amy Johnson Crow in her challenge. Amy says “We often use this phrase when we want someone to pay attention to something neat. (“Hey! Check it out!”)”
Week 14 (Apr. 5-11): Check It Out
Week 15 (Apr. 12-18): How Do You Spell That?
Week 16 (Apr. 19-25): Negatives
Week 17 (Apr. 26-May 2): Document
Today in this blog post I am focussing on the expression 'check it out' in a few ways.
1. Landing Pages
2. Podcasts
Check out my latest Podcast – an interview with Andrew Redfern. In this podcast, Andrew introduces us to the history of the Redfern family and their prominence and influence in the town of Redfern, Sydney, Australia.
I use Podcast.co for my Podcasts, check it out too, and of course subscribe to keep up to date with my podcast interviews with Storyteller, Genealogists, and Podcasters.
3. Visual Storytelling
Check out this new software for creating and sharing digital stories, at Rakonto – a wonderful tool that I found out about at the recent RootsTech2022 Online Conference. I have been exploring and building some new digital stories using the free version of this tool and found it to be intuitive and easy to use.
I think Rakonto could be the answer for those who are looking for more visual ways to share their ancestral stories. Here is what it looks like inside your own Collections Library.
I am including a sneak preview of Rakonto as a bonus lesson in my Coaching Ancestral Storytelling course scheduled for April 30 to May 31. Plus it will be featured in one of the Zoom Masterclasses in the course. Seel below for details.
4. Communities in Thinkific
This month I am also exploring and implementing Thinkific Communities – a new course-specific social community.
If you are currently enrolled in the free course, Blogging in the Past Lane, I have set up a new Bloggers in the Past Lane Community for you; BPL Community for short. You will find it displayed in your Dashboard when logged in.
Looking for a quick way to get back to your course from this website? You will find a link beneath the Preserving Family History Academy heading on the main menu.
Please check it out and leave a comment here to let me know what you think.
5. YouTube Channel
Next month I will be in learning mode again with Sarah Cordiner in this May 30 challenge:
YouTube Growth Challenge
During that month I will be adding even more Tips for Essential Genealogists as I delve deeper into interviews with Genealogists for their advice and guidance. For these short interviews I will use StreamYard and stream the Live Casts directly to my Family History Preserved Facebook page and YouTube Channel.
6. Coaching Ancestral Storytelling
Just two weeks to go!
The next Coaching course for Ancestral Storytelling is planned for May 2022. You will be able to login on April 30 and get started on your preparation.
This course features four Zoom Masterclass Events scheduled once a week in May. A new landing page for this course will be available soon in this site. However, you can preview the course here. Pre-enrolments are available and you can pay in instalments. Your enrolment is not time limited, you have access to the modules as long as you need.
I have added two whole new chapters to that course to focus on how to use Canva to create visuals to illustrate your blog posts, and how to use Rakonto to raise your Ancestral Storytelling to a new level.
Module 9: From Canva to WordPress
Module 10: From WordPress to Rakonto
