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Continuing Education

SAA Continuing Education offers free and fee-based online professional development opportunities designed for students and archaeologists seeking to enhance their skill sets or knowledge base. These take the form of virtual lectures, workshops, panel discussions, and other trainings.

Please be aware when registering, all times are in the Eastern Time Zone. For any questions related to SAA Continuing Education, please contact onlineseminars@saa.org. For any questions related to Third Thursdays, please contact meetings@saa.org.

Types of Events

These one-hour seminars are focused on introductory topics and building foundational professional skills. The seminars are free to SAA members and available to non-members for a fee. Most Foundational Skills seminars are RPA-certified, which means attendees receive one Continuing Professional Education credit for participating. Attendees also receive a certificate of completion. The lectures are recorded and available to watch after by SAA members in the Online Learning Archive.

There are usually seven Foundational Skills seminars in a year.

These two-hour seminars are focused on furthering more advanced or specific essential knowledge and technological skills. The seminars are available to both members and non-members for a fee, with an SAA member discount. Most Deeper Digs seminars are RPA-certified, which means attendees receive two Continuing Professional Education credits for participating. Attendees also receive a certificate of completion. The lectures are recorded and available to watch by those who registered for two months after.

There are usually eight Deeper Digs seminars in a year.

The Knowledge Series seminars are opportunities to learn from prominent archaeologists as they share their experiences and expertise. These one-hour lectures are free and exclusive to SAA members. Attendees receive a certificate of completion.  The lectures are recorded and available to watch after by SAA members in the Online Learning Archive.

There is one Knowledge Series seminar per year.

The SALSA series is organized by the Student Affairs Committee (SAC). It consists of lectures presented by student members on their current research and provides a space to discuss and connect with other students. The lectures are free and exclusive to SAA members.

Career Pathways events are a broad category of member-led virtual professional development. They take the form of discussion panels, one-off trainings, or other learning opportunities proposed by members throughout the year. The event should be sponsored by an SAA committee, task force, or interest group, who take the lead on organizing the discussants, presenters, etc. to develop the program for fellow members. Most events are recorded and available to watch after by SAA members in the Online Learning Archive. You can submit your idea for an event using the form in the left sidebar on this page.

Third Thursdays are a pilot program launched by the SAA to encourage networking between members. On the third Thursday of each month, we will host a Zoom meeting centered on a specific topic within archaeology. During the meeting, you will be a part of three different small groups to discuss the topic, to discuss your research, or simply to connect with your colleagues. Registration is $5 for professional and joint members and $2 for all other member categories and closes two days before the meeting.

Unlike other Continuing Education events, Third Thursdays are not recorded. If you need to request a refund or have any questions about Third Thursdays, please email meetings@saa.org. 


Upcoming Event Highlights


An Introduction to Archaeological Predictive Modeling

Registration Closed!

An Introduction to Archaeological Predictive Modeling

When: November 04, 2021 1:00-3:00 PM

Duration: 2 hours

Certification: RPA-certified


Pricing

Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members

Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members


Instructor
Thomas G. Whitley received his BA from the University of Washington in 1987. This was followed by an MA (1990) and PhD (2000) from the University of Pittsburgh. He created his first archaeological predictive model in 1988. Since that time, as part of a 30+ year career in CRM and Academia, Dr. Whitley has created more than 50 archaeological predictive models (within both CRM and research contexts). He has also authored or co-authored more than 15 journal articles and book chapters on aspects of predictive modeling and geospatial analysis in the last 20 years. He has presented numerous papers on the topic at professional conferences worldwide, and often peer review submitted journal manuscripts and agency reports on predictive modeling.
Description
Predictive modeling has a long and controversial history in archaeology. Informal predictive models have been in use since archaeological fieldwork began, and formal models since at least the 1970s. In action, they are seen both as useful planning tools and as environmentally deterministic confirmation bias, depending on your perspective. There are many different methods of predictive modeling, and just as many potential pitfalls. In this seminar, the instructor will introduce the theoretical structure of predictive modeling and the many approaches to it. The seminar will also cover the CRM and research purposes for which predictive modeling may, or may not, be appropriate. The types of predictive models, their construction, application, testing, and recent developments will also be addressed. This seminar will give a firm foundation for understanding archaeological predictive modeling, and lay the groundwork for developing your own predictive models.
Objectives
  1. Learn about the theoretical and methodological approaches to predictive modeling; their advantages and problem areas.
  2. Learn about the purposes and objectives of predictive modeling; for both planning and research purposes.
  3. Learn how to structure your own approach to predictive modeling; avoiding pitfalls and developing successful strategies.
  4. Learn how to evaluate the applicability and success of any published archaeological predictive model.


Continuing Education FAQ

There are many benefits to registering for an SAA continuing education event:
  • Keep up to date on developments in the field and emerging topics with the help of leading experts.
  • Advance in your job or career. Many SAA online seminars are RPA-certified. Registered Professional Archaeologists (RPA) or Registered Archaeologists (RA) can receive Continuing Professional Education credit for attending certified seminars.
  • Receive a certificate of completion from SAA for attending a Foundational Skills, Deeper Digs, or Knowledge Series seminar.
Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis and will remain open until available "seats" are filled or until the day before the event.

Click on the "Register" button on the Upcoming Events page. Choose the event you'd like to attend from the list. You'll sign in with your SAA username and password, or create an account if you don't already have one. Click on the "Register Myself" button and answer the prompts. Save your responses, and proceed to checkout. Even for free events, you will need to click the "Proceed to Checkout" button and "Submit Order" to complete your registration.

Primary registrants will receive a confirmation email immediately after successful registration, an invitation email to the event about a week before the course date, and a reminder email the day before. (If you register within a week of the event, you should expect to receive the immediate confirmation and the reminder email the day before.) If you do not receive these, please contact onlineseminars@saa.org.

Some events have a group option. Two or more individuals sharing a single computer connection in the same physical location qualify for the group rate. There is no maximum limit to how many people can be in a group. Only the primary registrant is required to be an SAA member to receive the SAA group-member pricing.

When registering groups, the primary registrant should submit the group registration form by close of business the day of the event. We regret that we cannot add group participants after that day.

The primary registrant will receive the log in information to join the event. This should not be shared with the group participants to log in separately. Everyone registered in the group will receive the same materials, credits, and certificates (where applicable).

If your group is unable to watch the seminar together, only the primary registrant will be able to view the lecture live. However, for Deeper Digs seminars, everyone in the group will have access to the lecture recording for two months. For other recorded events, recordings will be available only to SAA members in the Online Learning Archive.

Cancellations and refunds for fee-based events are allowed prior to one week before the course date. If you paid a registration fee, your cancellation is subject to a $25 processing fee.

If you find you are unable to attend an event after registering, please let us know at onlineseminars@saa.org.

SAA Continuing Education uses the videoconferencing app Zoom. You will not need a Zoom account in order to join the event, and instructions for logging in on the day will be emailed to each primary registrant. To ensure that you have everything you need, you can try a Zoom test meeting.

Participants should have a stable Internet connection and speakers (either computer or phone) in order to watch and listen. Participants can ask questions of the presenters using a chat text box. Please plan to log in 5-10 minutes before the start time in case you have technical problems.
Most often, yes! All seminars and many other events are recorded. Deeper Digs seminar recordings are made available to those who registered (including everyone in a group) for two months after. Some of these recordings are also available for purchase later as a Seminar On-Demand.

Foundational Skills, Knowledge Series, and other past seminars are available for at least two years in the SAA Member Center's Online Learning Archive. This archive of 30+ hours of free professional development recordings is available only to SAA members.
Many continuing education events are free to SAA members. However, when you do pay a registration fee for an event, you receive a professional development opportunity from an expert in the field to guide you in continuing education and new skills. You also receive (if applicable to that event) a certificate of completion from SAA and Continuing Professional Education credits from the Register of Professional Archaeologists. In addition, those funds are put to use to maintain and improve the program by:
  • Paying for the annual licenses for the online videoconferencing and video hosting platforms
  • Compensating most presenters with an honorarium for their time and expertise
  • Keeping a majority of the events free for SAA members
  • Maintaining an archive of past recordings, which SAA members can view in the Online Learning Archive
  • Supporting a full-time SAA Education and Outreach staff position to run the Continuing Education program