Special Virtual Lecture (Chat)

with
Thomas H. Roderick, PhD
Center for Human Genetics

Sponsored by
Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania

Tuesday, May 22, 2001
8:00 pm - 10:00pm  Eastern Time (1:00AM GMT)

Genealogy & Genetics

This is the third virtual lecture (chat) sponsored by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. It will be held right here on Tuesday, May 22, 2001, from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT. The featured speaker is Thomas H. Roderick,  Ph.D., research geneticist and genealogical researcher. One of Dr. Roderick's major projects has been using mitochondrial DNA analysis to confirm umbilical family lines and to uncover new relationships. He is a member of the National Genealogical Society's Family Health History Committee, a former NGS regional councilor, and a recipient of that organization's President's Citation. He will be presenting a brief lecture on the new role of genetics and DNA research in the field of genealogy and will then be taking questions from attendees. Pre-registration for the "event chat" is encouraged; send an e-mail to gsppa@aol.com.

“Virtual Lecture” is being funded in part by grants from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the federal-state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and HonoringOurAncestors.

The experiment with Internet programming is GSP’s way of dealing with one of the most the important issues facing all genealogical societies: How to service "distance members."  The "Virtual Lecture" proposal is designed to bridge the programming gap just as digitization of records is being used for the access gap. In addition, GSP would like to encourage lectures and discussion that involves the use of "genealogy as the context for human identity."

Virtual Lecture Instructions

1. Pre-registration is suggested. Please send an email togsppa@aol.com.
   
   
2. In order to attend the lecture, you must have enabled Java in your browser. Upgrade your browser to the latest versions of Netscape (3.0 or higher) or Microsoft Internet Explorer (3.01 or higher) to get the best results. (Netscape 2.0 and MSIE 3.0 are not adequate for Java chat.)
   
   
3. The Virtual Lecture will take place in the About Genealogy Chat Room #1 at http://genealogy.about.com/mpchat.htm. The chat will be held from 8pm-10pm Eastern so be sure to check your time zone so that you don't miss it!!!!
   
   
4. To start chatting, enter your user name (any nickname) and click "Connect." Your user name must be a unique chat user name and is valid for your current chat session. If it tells you someone else is already logged in with that name, just choose another one. There is no need to enter your real name, email address or a password.
   
   Visit here for an introduction to our chat room with tips on customizing font and window size.
   
   
5. Please arrive and log in a few minutes early so as to avoid interrupting the lecture unnecessarily. If you do need to come in late, it is OK. Just don't further interrupt by announcing your late arrival with an apology ;-)
   
   
6. Dr. Roderick will begin with a brief introduction, but it will be expected that you will have read the text of his lecture prior to coming in to the lecture.  The primary purpose for this virtual lecture is to allow you to pick the brains of an expert and to learn from the questions and answers of others. It is not often that many of us are given the opportunity to interact with an expert genealogist, and this virtual lecture format helps to make this possible for all of you!
   
   Questions should stick to the lecture topic and should, for the most part, deal with the methodology rather than one specific ancestor that you're stuck on.
   
   
7. The lecture and all questions/answers are displayed in the chat message area. 
   
   
8. To avoid overwhelming Dr. Roderick with 100s of questions at once ;-) this chat will be moderated. You will not be allowed to speak unless you have a question. To learn how moderated chat works, please see our instructions for moderated chats. 
   
   
9. Once the questions have mostly been answered - the moderation will be lifted so that you can all comment and ask questions more informally :-)
   
   
10. To help keep this lecture moving along and to allow everyone the time to ask their questions, please help out by having your question typed into the message box ahead of time. That way, when Kimberly tells you it is your turn, you can simply hit enter and voila!
    
    
11. The Genealogy Chat Room at About is open 24 hours a day/7 days a week if you would like to stop in and familiarize yourself with it before the lecture. We have chats going on every night/day of the week on a wide variety of topics if you would like to stop by and join in!
    
    
12. Questions?  Please email Kimberly Powell, the About Genealogy Guide or Jim Beidler, Executive Director of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.