Judy Bogran Teaches Online Seminary

   Did you even know there was such a calling as "Internet Seminary Teacher?" This was certainly new to Sister Judy Bogren when she was called in January, then was trained, and started teaching in March. "There are only two qualifications," she said.  "You have to be approved by the Stake President, and you have to have high speed Internet. It sounded like a real stretch for me, but I was willing to try it."
   The program has been operating in the Church for four years. There are 8 to 10 students in each class and they have various reasons for taking an Internet class: live too far away to get to a church building each day, are ill and chances of getting up early are pretty slim, have obligations at school in the early morning, etc. Students don't have to live in Lodi, but are mostly from central California, with one being from Santa Cruz.
   The students have a church-produced PowerPoint lesson each day that they can complete any time.  They meet on Tuesday night with Sister Bogren.  She can see them on the screen and they see her. They have a devotional and prayer to begin, just like any seminary class. Then she goes through a PowerPoint with them together.  There is information, scriptures, and questions. They communicate back and forth.  "Basically, I've learned A TON," she said. Unfortunately there can be no music or video in the lesson due to the cost of high powered Internet transmission. Judy has learned to add pictures, which has been "major" for her, as she says.
  During the week, she communicates with her students, checking on their reading, and giving them messages of encouragement. She can also communicate with parents. Judy tries to think of things to keep them involved. She has an outgoing, friendly personality, which is a big plus in this calling.
    Judy also works at the temple on Tuesday afternoon,  then gets home in time to teach Internet seminary. "What a wonderful thing to do after the temple," she says.  "to come home and teach seminary. What an experience!"

Ann Kerr helps Judy add pictures to her PowerPoint to make it more interesting for the students.