AGS: Beyond the Basics is the third course in the four-part AGS series of genealogy courses. It is self-paced, online, and in the cloud. Beyond the Basics teaches you how to investigate your family history using a variety of genealogical materials. You advance your genealogical research in suggested steps. As you work through this course, you improve your genealogical skills through reading, deciphering, and citing numerous genealogical documents and expand your family history knowledge. You become proficient in collecting, interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating genealogical information. You learn to write a genealogical report.
AGS: The Beyond the Basics teaches how to determine the type of sources, information, or evidence contained in genealogical records and how to gain an understanding of evidence analysis. You will learn how to find different types of materials in genealogical collections. This course will help you to use and evaluate all the information in federal population schedules; to use all aspects of FamilySearch.org; and to use different types of civil registration records. Your skills will be challenged in a final written assignment and graded by a professional genealogist.
The course is divided into modules with multiple sections, which include reading and reference lists, videos, examples, web links, self-correcting quizzes, a glossary, and a required written assignment that will be graded. A full syllabus is provided to course registrants. The course modules are as follows.
Since the American Genealogical Studies: Beyond the Basics is a cloud-based course, you need either a computer or tablet with an internet connection to access the lessons, examples, exercises, and quizzes. No software or material is loaded onto your computer or tablet.
To optimize your online learning experience, see more about the Canvas system https://guides.instructure.com/m/67952/l/720329-which-browsers-does-canvas-support.
NGS grants a license to an individual to take the course shown above. This grants the individual a personal, nonexclusive, nontransferable right to the course materials for that student’s personal educational use only. All students work independently.
The American Genealogical Studies series courses have no set time or date for weekly attendance. These online courses are geared toward individuals who have varied schedules that may include their work, volunteer pursuits, and or family obligations. You prioritize your time management and your learning, so your course work can be scheduled at your own pace.
The Beyond the Basics course requires a time commitment to take the course, do the research, and complete the writing assignments. This time commitment varies, depending on the student.
NGS gives a student access to American Genealogical Studies: Beyond the Basics for twelve months from the date of registration. For those who need extra time, a one-time extension of six months is granted by contacting the NGS Course Administrator prior to the course expiration date.
The courses within the American Genealogical Studies series are cloud-based, interactive courses. The Basics provides a solid foundation in genealogy. Guide to Documentation and Source Citation helps genealogists understand the principles of citation for common sources. Beyond the Basics teaches a systematic method of investigation using a wide variety of genealogical materials.
If you are enrolled in American Genealogical Studies: Beyond the Basics, you will need to submit written reports. You need a word processing program and a PDF (Portable Document Format) converting program. You should have some type of scanning software for documents that you want to submit with your report.
You should know how to use a Microsoft Word document (file types .doc, .docx) with footnotes and how to attach documents.
Each student who successfully completes each course in the American Genealogical Studies series receives a letter of completion. Letters are mailed out once per month. If you complete the course by the 20th of the month, we mail your letter out at the end of that month. If you complete all four courses in the AGS series you will receive a NGS Certificate in American Genealogical Studies after your final, fourth letter of completion
Here is a link to the American Genealogical Studies: FAQs. If you have further questions, please contact the NGS Course Administrator.
1 Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, rev.ed. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2012) and QuickSheet: Citing Ancestry.com Databases and Images, rev.ed. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2012).
