Bring Your Family Stories to Life

Essential Genealogy Academy
Where your passion for family history meets the power of AI-enhanced storytelling.

Got decades of research… but no story to show for it?

You’re not alone.
You’ve got names, dates, places—but they’re still locked in folders or family tree software.

What you really want is to tell stories that honour your ancestors…
Without the overwhelm. Without the tech fear.
And definitely without losing your voice.

That’s where we come in.

We Help Family Historians Become Storytellers

At Essential Genealogy Academy, you’ll learn how to:

  • Turn your research into meaningful, engaging narratives

  • Use AI as a creative companion—not a replacement

  • Bring historical context, dialogue, and emotion into your writing

  • Preserve your family’s legacy in a way future generations will cherish

Our Secret? Creativity + Technology

You don’t need to be a writer.
You don’t need to be “techy.”
You just need the desire to share your family’s stories—and the right tools to help.

We’ll guide you every step of the way.

Let’s Start Your Storytelling Journey


Next Steps!

Join Now: Start your storytelling journey with our full Membership
Take the Tour: See what’s inside the Essential Genealogy Academy
Try a Free Lesson: Get a sneak peek into our course modules and lessons
Access our free Digital Downloads: Get help with your AI-assisted genealogy research and storytelling projects.
Book a Coaching Call: Let’s chat about your storytelling goals!

Join the Academy Membership

Get all courses for just $47 per month - click the Enrol Now button

Enrol Now

Tour the Courses in the Essential Genealogy 2.0 Journey

plus the new Collection of Digital Downloads

View more courses

Introduction to your Essential Genealogy 2.0 Journey

Academy Courses Overview

Digital Downloads

Free Resources

View more products

Coaching Call Services

Help in real time?

Would you like to book a presentation from me?
Would you like some advice on which course to select?
Do you need help in getting started with your family tree research?
Do you want assistance in planning and writing your ancestral stories?
Do you want me to do some genealogy research for you?
Please book some time with me using the button below.
Book time with me

What do I get if I join the Essential Genealogy Academy?

On-demand and Guided courses on AI skill development; 35 + Courses, 20 + Masterclasses + eBooks + Tips + Free Digital Downloads
- access all for $47 per month forever

  • AI Skilled Genealogist Bundle

    $600 + value

    The AI Skilled Genealogist bundle of courses includes many hours of video lessons on: ChatGPT; Claude Sonnet; Perplexity; Abacus.ai, and NotebookLM.

  • AI Skilled Genealogist Masterclasses

    $1200

    Zoom sessions scheduled several times per year - opportunities to meet in real-time and connect with other students. Saturdays throughout 2025.

  • New Courses in 2025

    $500

    January: Mastering AI in Genealogy 2.0: Your 2025 Roadmap.
    May: Beyond the Pen: Exploring AI Tools for Ancestral Storytelling
    June: First Steps in AI. Build your AI skills gradually and effectively while focusing on your chosen field of fascination!
    July: ‘WeAre’ Taking Basic Steps to Family History Archiving.
    Discover the secrets to creating your family history archive in just five simple steps. Learn how to share the archive with others.

Ancestral Writing Courses

Each course focusses on a different aspect of preserving your family history

Courses in this academy will help transform your skills in writing family history stories.

  • From nervous novice to confident creator of family history stories!
  • Lessons in several courses now include advice and demonstrations of how AI tools can assist you in planning, preparing, and writing your stories.
  • Handouts include downloadable Templates for Planning, PDF Tips for Writing, and access to a plethora of Google docs.

Start your Essential Genealogy 2.0 Journey

Add your email to the mailing list to get the latest updates.

Thank You

Student Reviews

Course feedback

5 star rating

Unlock Ancestral Storytelling

Sally Ruffles

I have thoroughly enjoyed this course, the first I have done with Coach Carole; it wont be the last! The course is clear and concise and I now feel confident to continue both with my research and telling my stories on the WeAre platform. Thank you...

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I have thoroughly enjoyed this course, the first I have done with Coach Carole; it wont be the last! The course is clear and concise and I now feel confident to continue both with my research and telling my stories on the WeAre platform. Thank you so much for inspiring me, and encouraging me to embrace all the technology that is available.

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5 star rating

Feedback On Course So Far

Peter Reaburn

Very user-friendly and easy to follow

Very user-friendly and easy to follow

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5 star rating

Better Blogging - here we come!

Helen Shields

Lots in this free course to make me think - which family history blogs do I enjoy and why? Is that what I want to achieve in my own blog? Who is my target audience? What turns an interesting story into a good blog? Lots of links to useful reso...

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Lots in this free course to make me think - which family history blogs do I enjoy and why? Is that what I want to achieve in my own blog? Who is my target audience? What turns an interesting story into a good blog? Lots of links to useful resources too. Plus first steps for those who have not yet started a blog. Thank you.

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5 star rating

Good step by step program

Isabel Flynn

I enjoyed following along with the information and ideas. Thank you

I enjoyed following along with the information and ideas. Thank you

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5 star rating

Confidence

Jenny MacKay

You have given me the confidence to keep using AI. I keep trying different prompts and if I'm not entirely happy with the output, I'll start again. By following your lead, I'm getting better at my prompts. I'm ready to take my story writing t...

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You have given me the confidence to keep using AI. I keep trying different prompts and if I'm not entirely happy with the output, I'll start again. By following your lead, I'm getting better at my prompts. I'm ready to take my story writing to the next level. Thank you.

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5 star rating

Updates in 2024

Coach Carole

This course was begun in 2023 and references that year in many of the videos and downloadable files! Updates to these will be made in January 2024!

This course was begun in 2023 and references that year in many of the videos and downloadable files! Updates to these will be made in January 2024!

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5 star rating

Chat GPT my Genealogy Assistant

Carole McCulloch

I really enjoyed putting this course together and hope you will enjoy the learning curve as you delve into Ancestry in the Age of AI.

I really enjoyed putting this course together and hope you will enjoy the learning curve as you delve into Ancestry in the Age of AI.

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5 star rating

Good step by step program

Isabel Flynn

I enjoyed following along with the information and ideas. Thank you

I enjoyed following along with the information and ideas. Thank you

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5 star rating

I completed this course mainly for the Ai element although this is not mentioned in the title

Sandra Uphill

I really enjoyed finding out more about the use of Ai in genealogy and have started using it now. Very useful.

I really enjoyed finding out more about the use of Ai in genealogy and have started using it now. Very useful.

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5 star rating

Great course, steps through learnings and reinforces knowledge with practical exercises

Allison Peters

Carole clearly explains the AI tools, and encourages questions and feedback. The course met my goals in helping me to understand what AI tools can do and what their limitations are. The in-person webinar sessions kept me accountable for working th...

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Carole clearly explains the AI tools, and encourages questions and feedback. The course met my goals in helping me to understand what AI tools can do and what their limitations are. The in-person webinar sessions kept me accountable for working through the lessons. Although I started as an AI sceptic and finished as an AI sceptic (I love the time spent on researching and creating my own written work and trees etc), I am now an educated sceptic. I feel fully able to determine when and how I might want to incorporate AI into my future genealogy.

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Welcome to the Academy

Essential Genealogy 2.0

Discover and Preserve Your Family History with Coach Carole Online Are you ready to discover your family's history? With Coach Carole Online, you can learn the skills and tools you need to research your ancestors, tell their stories, and preserve their legacy. Our courses and workshops are designed for beginners and experienced genealogists alike. We offer a variety of topics, including: How to start your family tree How to research genealogy records How to organise your genealogy records How to write family history stories How to plan, plot and outline your ancestral stories We also offer a variety of resources to help you on your journey, including: A library of genealogy videos and articles A community of genealogists who can offer support and advice A blog with tips and tricks for family history research Whether you're just starting out or you're a seasoned genealogist, Coach Carole Online can help you discover and preserve your family history. Sign up for a course today and start your journey!
Learn More

Your learning design edupreneur

a little about me

Hello I am a family historian, genealogist and educator. I have always been addicted to genealogy and being a family history detective. In 2019 I graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Diploma of Family History and in 2020 began my new venture into becoming a Family History Educator. (Edupreneur). Each time I write a story about an ancestor, I learn more about myself.
About Me

My Essential Genealogy Journey

more about me

I am the last of my tribe from the Allery Tapestries, the youngest daughter of Cecil and Winifred Allery, who came to Australia in 1948/49 to start a new life, far away from the ravages of WW 1.

My purpose is to be the Ancestral Guardian for my family and to share the stories of all of my tribes, both paternal and maternal, alongside those of my husband's Scottish clans.
I began as a curious researcher decades ago and fell into many rabbit holes in the pursuit of knowledge of my ancestors in England, Wales, and Scotland. I learned to improve my detective skills gradually over time with some help from online courses.
But I wish I had been more organised and methodical in recording my discoveries in those early days, to save myself some time by not revisiting records I had seen over and over again.
During the uneasy days of the COVID-19 lockdowns I began to dream of building my own academy, a place where I could share my knowledge and processes with others who were delving into genealogy.
I was unsure of how to begin, so I enlisted the help of my mentor in all things to do with Course Creation, the fabulous Sarah Cordiner, and took her free course on creating courses. More than three years later,  I look back on that decision as one of the best things I had ever done to help me build a business online.
As I looked back at my own journey into becoming a skilled Researcher, Analyst, Archivist, Storyteller, Published Author, Essential Genealogist and Ancestral Guardian I saw the missing elements. The stepping stones for the pathway from beginner to expert began to emerge as a framework that others could follow.
The course I started with was 'Blogging in the Past Lane', a series of lessons on how to post stories of ancestors on blog sites. This is still an evergreen FREE course available at the academy.
Since then, I have created over 30 courses, and these are now housed here in the Essential Genealogy Academy.

Building the Academy

for Essential Genealogy

By 2020, my plan was to become an Edupreneur and share what I know about writing and genealogy with others. This plan became a reality during the first COVID epidemic. I wanted to expand my online teaching skills and build a Preserving Family History Academy. During the years 2020 to 2023, I took a deep dive into learning how to create, manage and promote my online academy - it all began with my enrolment in Sarah Cordiner's 'Concept to Course' 30-day Coaching Program. As of March 2024 I have 30 courses in my academy - that range from free 5-day challenges to full coaching courses to a membership subscription! The Academy is designed as a Pathway to Success for the Essential Genealogist. The courses take you on a journey from a novice family tree researcher to a skilled ancestral storyteller. There are heroes and heroines in our ancestry, with stories to tell; we just need to find them. Take your ancestral story writing to new heights as you learn the basics of genealogy research and how to create, polish, and present your ancestral stories online. The courses will help you learn how to share your stories as an ancestral profile, an article, a blog post, or an ebook. Ancestry in the Age of AI I have now embraced the world of artificial intelligence to provide me with assistance on my own journey of discovery about my ancestral past. Chat GPT became my genealogy assistant earlier this year, and I now make frequent use of it as a Generative Pre-Trained Transformer of natural human language to generate a response. The use of Chat GPT and other AI tools is now built into my courseware to enable family historians to overcome barriers to writing. Enrolled participants can learn how to transform their genealogy research into captivating narratives to engage their family and friends. I have created a new course called Unlock Ancestral Storytelling, which features the use of this platform, WeAre [...] to bring success to your journey from researching as a genealogist to writing and sharing ancestral archives. In this course, you will learn how to transform family history preservation into an archived legacy.
Learn more about the journey here
Carole McCulloch