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jnomura shared this idea on September 05, 2009 23:29.
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Arielle Community Manager
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Make 'brain fitness' more customizable and more fun
I think that the brain fitness program would be more fun if they gave the user more control. I think Posit Science should explore how to make their software more fun. They would sel more copies. Examples of giving the user more control: Suppose I want to concentrate on one particular exercise - it is not easy to do that in the current system. Or suppose that I want each session to be 10 minutes instead of 15 minutes. I've shown this program to many friends and their feedback is that it might improve their brain function but it would be too hard to motivate themselves to do it every day. It needs to be more fun. Making more customizable is just one factor in making it more fun. Another factor that would make it more fun is if you see yourself improving. I think I could improve more if the software made it easy for me to focus on my weak spots. A lot of times, it decides rather mechanically that I've had enough of one excercises and switches me to another. But I'd like to continue - it doesn't give me that option.
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I agree. I find the themes distracting and only use the colors.
also, don't use the animations because the1 hour program is long enough as it is.
I’m Hank
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Inappropriate?Hi jnomura - We're really excited about this post. We'd definitely like to make the BFP more motivating and fun, and less mechanical. We look forward to hearing more from the user community on how we can make our software more motivating.
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please give us more encouragement by letting us win more and don't let us go on losing until we end up quitting for the day. The visual program is much better in that regard -
I find the themes distracting as Hank does, I too only use the colors. I also agree with jnormura in making the program more interesting by being able to feel they know exactly how they did..more praise and encouragment. Give us a feeling if were "nearing" expectations. I often am distracted by telephone calls etc. and have to go back at a later time, then I lose what time I have already put in, they should be able to fix that? I wish we had some kind of norm to go by?
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Inappropriate?I also think you should revamp the themes and animations. When I began the programme I read the introductory booklet and the themes and animations were clearly an important part of the process. But I never use the animations because the few that I have played were so childish and so irritating. I found the same when I tried the music theme and got silly little cartoon segments. I stick to colour, travel and animals theme because they are the only ones I find non-irritating.
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Thanks for telling us which ones you do use. It's very helpful to know for future development.
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I agree
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I agree with Sean Monahan, need new themes Ruth
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I agree with Sean. But I would also add that as I am not from the USA, I also feel that all the material is far too American in its focus. Most travel images are American (those that aren't just get a country name e.g. Ayres Rock and Byron Bay are just "Australia" whereas everything in the US is given a place name. This might seem petty but as a product sold all over the world, it should be more universal. The language and themes in the Listen and Do exercise are totally American e.g. Lincoln Library, City Hall (this is not a term used outside USA) and the American accent is intensely irritating. It would not take a of work to make this program a bit more generic and user friendly in a worldwide market.
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Great point. While I think adding a little local flavor to our products is par for the course, making the product on a whole more universal would be a rewarding experience for all of us.
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i also find the animations annoying: the sound effects interfere with my concentration, especially when i'm listening for fine distinctions in sound. it's only colour theme for me.
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Inappropriate?Hi everyone - FYI on a discussion about customization you might be interested in...
What started out as an interesting discussion about volume control and auditory rewards in this similar thread (http://support.positscience.com/posit...) is evolving into a general discussion with our developers about how to make the program more customizable in the future. Feel free to drop in and follow this topic, and/or post additional comments.
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I have finished the basic program; am starting on Insite and may I add another development suggestion?
I understand you are sensitive to self esteem issues, etc., etc. but I would really like to know where my skills are situated, age-wise. It would be nice to know how I stack up compared to others in my age group-- perhaps even delineated by sex. If my basic functioning in some areas is high for my age I can bask and feel self-satisfied; but if it's below average, I'm convinced that being aware of it would motivate me to focus there and get my brain up to snuff.
Maybe that's information that some of you're users could do without so maybe you would want to include it as optional? But for me it would give working the program an additional competitive spark. -
Inappropriate?I agree. I find the themes distracting and only use the colors.
also, don't use the animations because the1 hour program is long enough as it is.
I’m Hank
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I agree I find the illustration extremely annoying. I skip them anytime I can. They seem to be made for retarded or five years old kids. I don't understand what the point is.
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Agreed. I don't like spending time watching rewards. TIme should be focused on exercises.
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Inappropriate?One easy customization Posit Science could make is to email instructions for Windows users on how to modify the task1_duration xml file.
The results of the first High or Low test are used to set 5 durations in this file. Once I realized this, a quick internet search revealed that Microsoft has a free downloadable XML Notepad program. This makes changing the durations easy.
By having the durations spaced right at my threshold and one apart rather than five, I I was able to make progress that I could not have made otherwise.
As opposed to the other XML files, I think this change is relatively safe and should not result in unnecessary calls to customer service.1 Comment Add a comment
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Hey Alan - Interesting solution. Have you tried modifying any of the other exercises?
Note to all: Our support staff will be unable to help troubleshoot any issues that occur due to modification of BFP program files. -
Inappropriate?Along this line I'm having trouble with Jewel Diver. I can do two hidden objects but I have trouble with three. When I miss three objects it goes back to two objects for about 5-10 times that I have no trouble with. It would be nice if I could just practice with three objects until I get it right. Then move on.
I’m thankful
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Hi Cedric - This is a good point. I have the same problem. I wish I could have more chances when I start having problems instead of just getting pushed back to an easier level. One strategy I've been using to try to make it harder when I'm at an easy level is to focus on the colors of the jewels. Usually, it's too hard for me to try to click on the colors in the right order in order to create a chain of colors of the same color in the oxygen tank. However, when I have fewer jewels, I can take the time to focus on the colors. That said, it still doesn't solve the problem of wanting more chances when things get difficult. Our dev team is watching this thread, and they will take these comments into consideration for future development.
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I have started doing two things with very good results:
1. If I am at all unsure of the answer I hit pause and immediately hit resume. This gives me a new trial with the same number of jewels. Because there is so much variation in the difficulty depending on the layout, eventually a trial appears for which I am sure of the answer.
2. When an error causes a reduction in jewels and I don't think I will quickly get back to the number I want, I exit the exercise. This resets the zest factor which changes much more at the beginning. This means that within 2 or 3 I will be back to the level I want. -
Thanks, Alan. That worked really well for me today. I especially like the first tip because it helps me recover quickly when my attention span wanders away momentarily.
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Alan has a good temporary solution, but it would be much simpler if you could set the number of jewels.
Thanks Arielle and Alan for taking the time to reply. -
Inappropriate?I was interested in another brain improvement program by an Israeli firm called Cognifit, having read a review of a British user who owned both the Posit software and the Cognifit. He thought the results were about the same but liked the Cognifit product more because had more variety in its training sessions. However, the Cognifit product would not run on a Mac. I am a complete novice at all this because I have not even received my copy of the Posit but I was interested in this discussion group. Thanks for the opportunity.
Paul Rosen -
Inappropriate?I like this idea
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Inappropriate?I think this is a great idea. For those of us who are competitive, it would provide additional motivation to work harder
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Inappropriate?I'd also like to be able to change reward themes during a session. Sometimes when I try a new one I don't like it and would prefer not to be stuck with it for the rest of that day.
I’m happy
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Inappropriate?I could not agree more. I think the brain fitness program needs to borrow more of the ideas from the insight program. I think I spent about 15 minutes yesterday on an exercise I found easy and made not one mistake in that time. That does not keep me motivated. At other times i have spent 10 minutes clicking and getting it wrong every time. Usually i shut down the program after 5 minutes of wrong answers.
Karyl Pope
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Inappropriate?I agree. I'm "at threshhold" for following directions. After getting several sets correct, after one mistake, the program puts me back at a level that's too easy, wasting 5 minutes or so. I'd rather get more practice at the level that's difficult. Also, I'd like more than two attempts before the program gives me the correct answer.
I’m frustrated
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Inappropriate?I would be more motivated in Insight if I could save and access performance data on my computer. The reports provided seem to lag behind the times and dates of assessments. I called about this and was told the delay was part of the process and related to sometthing about the server. It would be useful to be able to print and save information from the program wtthout going through the cumbersome print screen process. I also agree completely providing opportunities for users to modify times, exercises, and levels of difficulty.2 Comments Add a comment
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I agree with lokrebs in being more motivated if I could access performance data and also be tested with people of my age. When you first sign up and state your age etc, is a scanning done to the program, or is it "one program fits all"?
I am competitive and I feel a pleasurable enticement would be helpful? -
Hi Grace - You can access InSight performance data in My Account. InSight adapts to each individual, starting with your first assessment, and continuing trial by trial to ensure that you train at your threshold. The goals are based on average percent improvements, which are not grouped by age.
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Inappropriate?I'm responding to Grace Howard's response. I also am competitive and I'd love to know how I stack up against others my age. As it is, I understand as I work the program that I'm probably improving but I'm in the dark about my present position and where I should be getting to. If after I'd finished, I knew I was still responding below my age-level in certain areas, I'm pretty sure I'd go back and get to work.
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Inappropriate?Responding to Patricia Coyne, it is so good to read these comments and know you are not alone in your frustration.
As difficult as it may be and certainly discouraging to "feel stupid" at times, I know I am doing better than I had been in the past, but I would like to know "where", beside the diagrams of what is happening in my brain.
I’m thankful
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This is in reference to the staff answer to Grace's query:
Arielle, we know that In Sight offers individual assessments. That wasn't what Grace and I were talking about. We were wondering if it would be possible for the program to offer it's users an
age-related or age-adjusted assessment. When the program informs us that we are showing improvement, its good to know. But just as valuable would be the information that in certain areas and spite of the improvement we are still operating below the average of our peers. (Or the other way around.) If other program subscribers out there agree, then lets hear about it. -
Hi Patricia - Thanks for clarifying. I have been relaying this feedback regarding age-related norms back to our developers as it comes in. To be fair, Grace did use the present tense when she asked if age-norms are used, so I read it as a question as well as a suggestion. I appreciate your suggestion to other users to voice their input on this feature. Thanks for your help. Someone else just suggested this in our ideas category, so we're also tracking interest at the following link:
http://support.positscience.com/posit...
Quoting Grace:
is a scanning done to the program, or is it "one program fits all"?
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This reply was removed on 03/07/10.
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