FDREL 261 Syllabus
Description
This course introduces the student to the doctrine behind family history and temple work. Students will develop skills associated with gathering, preserving, researching, and sharing family records, as well as doing temple work for ancestors.
Course Overview
TEXTBOOK/REQUIRED MATERIALS
- All readings are provided free electronically.
- Webcam with microphone.
- Note: During the course you will sign up for free LDS accounts at FamilySearch, findmypast, MyHeritage, and Ancestry. If you do not yet have an LDS account, please contact your ward clerk (or look on your temple recommend) to obtain your membership number, as you will need this number to create your accounts correctly.
OBJECTIVES
Students will:
- Describe and teach doctrines related to family history and temple work.
- Gather, organize, add to, and share information about themselves and their extended families.
- Demonstrate how to use their local Family History Center and other resources.
- Demonstrate how to use family history websites for research and service.
- Demonstrate and explain various forms of family history service.
- Explain and demonstrate the family history research process.
- Demonstrate leadership skills to help increase family history participation in wards and other community settings.
- Demonstrate a commitment to life-long family history and temple service.
- Identify and demonstrate knowledge of ancestors and their historical settings.
COURSE OUTLINE
| Lesson | Doctrine | Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson 01: Introduction | Understanding the Course | Understanding the Doctrine |
| Lesson 02 | Personal Revelation and Family History | Family History Centers |
| Lesson 03 | Interviewing and Finding Help | Gathering and Organizing |
| Lesson 04 | The Plan of Salvation | Indexing |
| Lesson 05 | The Abrahamic Covenant | FamilySearch Introduction |
| Lesson 06 | Pitching Tents Toward the Temple | Personal Histories |
| Lesson 07 | Intro to Research | Research and Sourcing |
| Lesson 08 | The Spirit of Elijah | FamilySearch |
| Lesson 09 | Leadership in the Church | findmypast |
| Lesson 10 | Immigrant Ancestors | MyHeritage |
| Lesson 11 | Sacred Ordinances and Temple Worship | Ancestry |
| Lesson 12 | Being Part of a Miracle | Descendancy Research |
| Lesson 13 | Lifetime Commitment to the Work | Temple Submission |
| Lesson 14:Course Conclusion |
For more details, refer to the individual lesson Overview pages.
Course Structure
TIME COMMITMENT
We hope you will approach this class with a different perspective than is required in most other classes. We require a set amount of your time rather than a specific amount of work.
You may be accustomed to trying to get through a set amount of material as quickly as possible and will be frustrated if you maintain that perspective with this class. Does it seem unfair for a slow reader to spend twice as long as a fast reader processing the same material, and do you agree that just requiring the reading to be done leads to speed reading?
Our philosophy is that everyone will progress from where they are to where they can go in the time that we can reasonably expect of them. Since there is enough work for EVERYONE to keep busy, we want the same sacrifice of time from all students with the expectation that they will use that time as effectively as possible. Each student will invest 6 hours each week to grow and produce as much as they are personally able to within that time. Some may make more progress than others. Those who read slowly or struggle to master skills will not be penalized or required to sacrifice more time than others to succeed. Once you make this paradigm shift, you will come to appreciate some of the principles that support it. In this course, the 6 hour sacrifice of time is the same for all and progress differs based on personal circumstances.
The online class policy is that for every credit hour, you should expect to spend 3 hours of work per week. Therefore, in this 2-credit course, you should plan on spending 6 hours per week.
ASSIGNMENTS
Each week's lessons (with the exception of Lessons 01 and 14) have been divided into two sections: Doctrine and Lab. Your time each week will be sectioned into two 3-hour pieces; one 3-hour piece will be spent on the Doctrine section of the lesson and the other 3-hour piece will be spent on the Lab section of the lesson. Many times you will finish a section of the lesson before you have spent 3 hours of time. At the end of each section of the lesson, you will complete a quiz to report the amount of time you spent on that lesson section. Thank you for abiding by the Honor Code as you complete each quiz.
The assignments in each section contain readings, videos, discussion boards, activities, etc. For the Doctrine section, all of the assignments are due by Wednesday at 11:00 PM Mountain Time (MT). If a Doctrine section includes a discussion board, the initial post will be due on Wednesday, as usual. The reply post will be due by Saturday at 11:00 PM MT. For the Lab section, all of the assignments are due by Saturday at 11:00 PM MT.
Where discussion boards are used, they will deepen your understanding by allowing you to teach concepts you have learned to other students and to reflect upon their thoughts and perspective. You must come to the discussion board prepared. Each discussion post should demonstrate depth of analysis of the subject material. You will need to read at least 4-6 of your peer's posts and make at least 1 meaningful reply. Each post should give meaningful insight to the discussion.
Policies
Your grade will be determined by the number of points you earn throughout the semester. You will see your assignments grouped by lesson in the User Progress / Grades area of I-Learn. Smaller assignments will be worth about 4-6 points each, the section quizzes in which you report the time you spent are worth 8 points each, and discussions are worth about 10 points each. There are a few larger assignments that are worth 15 points each (in Lessons 03, 04, and 06). The total points possible in the course is about 755 points.
Practice good study habits and be honest as you complete your assignments. Take full advantage of the learning available to you in this course.
LATE WORK
Late assignments will not be accepted. Discussions or quizzes, for example, are not reopened once missed.
GRADING SCALE
| A | 100-93 A | 92.2-90 A- | |
| B | 89.9-87 B+ | 86.9-83 B | 82.9-80 B- |
| C | 79.9-77 C+ | 76.9-73 C | 72.9-70 C- |
| D | 69.9-67 D+ | 66.9-63 D | 62.9-60 D- |
| F | < 60% F |
HELP
There are several resources you can use to obtain needed help. You can contact a classmate, your instructor, a TA from the BYU-Idaho Family History Center, or the Online Support Center. The Teacher Assistants (TA's) for this course have been specially trained to understand the technology resources and lab assignments for FDREL 261. After reading the instructions and helps provided in a lesson or assignment, if you still have questions regarding technology issues, you are invited to contact a TA.
Instructions for how to contact a TA or the Online Support Center are located in the Help document in the Welcome or Resources folder and are available during the entire semester. (Note: If your question relates to a personal matter or to your grade, please contact your instructor for assistance.)
COPYRIGHT
Materials on BYU-I I-Learn and related sites may be protected by US Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code). These materials are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course and may not be retained or further disseminated.