Memory Booster Teacher’s Manual · Memory Booster is an innovative and exciting approach to...

Memory Booster Teacher’s Manual

Version 1.0

www.lucid-research.com

Copyright © Lucid Innovations Ltd

Memory Booster

Teacher’s Manual

Version 1.0

Copyright Lucid Innovations Limited 2008

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews or criticism, or the copying of short extracts for bona fide training or demonstrations, or where expressly

provided for in this guide, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Lucid Innovations Limited.

Memory Booster is the exclusive World Copyright of Lucid Innovations Limited. Any attempts to copy, modify, adapt, translate or create derivative works based on this

Software or otherwise to infringe copyright of Lucid Innovations Limited will be pursued to the utmost in the Courts of Law.

Licensed for sale and reproduction to

Lucid Research Limited, 3 Spencer Street, BEVERLEY,

East Yorkshire, HU17 9EG, UK


Contents MEMORY BOOSTER TEACHER’S MANUAL ....................................................................1

CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................3

1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................5

1.1 WHAT IS MEMORY BOOSTER? ......................................................................................5

2 GETTING STARTED ..........................................................................................................6

2.1 STARTING MEMORY BOOSTER......................................................................................6

2.2 TITLE PAGE ...................................................................................................................6

2.3 ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD ........................................................................................6

2.4 REGISTERING YOUR SOFTWARE ....................................................................................7

3 ADMINISTRATOR LOGIN ...............................................................................................8

3.1 ADMINISTRATOR OPTION MENU...................................................................................8

3.2 STUDENT REGISTER.......................................................................................................8

3.3 ADDING STUDENTS .......................................................................................................9

3.4 MISSION SETTINGS ........................................................................................................9

3.5 SELECTING STUDENTS.................................................................................................10

3.6 EDITING STUDENTS .....................................................................................................11

3.7 DELETING STUDENTS ..................................................................................................11

3.8 START A MEMORY BOOSTER MISSION........................................................................11

3.9 IMPORTING STUDENTS ................................................................................................12

3.10 EXPORTING STUDENTS................................................................................................13

3.11 MANAGE STUDENT CLASSES ......................................................................................13

3.12 STUDENTS’ PROGRESS ................................................................................................14

3.13 MISSIONS.....................................................................................................................15

3.14 CREATING A MISSION..................................................................................................16

3.15 CHANGE A MISSION.....................................................................................................17

3.16 DELETE A MISSION......................................................................................................17

3.17 STARTING A MISSION ..................................................................................................17

3.18 REPORTS......................................................................................................................18

Using the Report Screen..............................................................................................18

3.19 SYSTEM HOUSEKEEPING .............................................................................................19

3.20 SAVE DATABASE ARCHIVE .........................................................................................19

3.21 LOAD DATABASE ARCHIVE.........................................................................................20

3.22 RESET THE DATABASE ................................................................................................20

3.23 CHANGE ADMINISTRATION PASSWORD ......................................................................21

3.24 USER GUIDE ................................................................................................................21

Contents 4


3.25 EXIT ADMINISTRATOR ................................................................................................21

4 STUDENT LOGIN .............................................................................................................22

4.1 LOGGING IN.................................................................................................................22

4.2 PLAYING MEMORY BOOSTER......................................................................................23

Level 1 of Memory Booster .........................................................................................24

Other rooms in Pooter’s Castle ..................................................................................26

5 TEACHER’S GUIDE TO MEMORY BOOSTER ..........................................................27

5.1 WHAT IS MEMORY? .....................................................................................................27

5.2 WHY DO WE FORGET SOME THINGS?...........................................................................27

5.3 HOW CAN MEMORY BE IMPROVED?.............................................................................28

5.4 USING MEMORY BOOSTER AT SCHOOL.......................................................................29

How does Memory Booster work? ..............................................................................29

Why is Memory Booster especially useful in the primary school?..............................29

About the strategies in Memory Booster .....................................................................30

Some suggestions for classroom organisation when using Memory Booster .............30

Adapting Memory Booster to individual learning needs.............................................31

Checking the child’s progress .....................................................................................32

Using Memory Booster with children who have special educational needs ...............32

Children with dyslexia.................................................................................................33

Additional hints on using Memory Booster.................................................................34

Further advice and information ..................................................................................34

6 MEMORY BOOSTER IN DETAIL .................................................................................35

6.1 SCORING ......................................................................................................................35

6.2 LEVELS ........................................................................................................................35

6.3 CARTOONS...................................................................................................................36

7 APPENDECES....................................................................................................................37

7.1 APPENDIX 1 – MEMORY STRATEGIES .........................................................................37

7.2 APPENDIX 2 – BUILT-IN MISSIONS SUPPLIED WITH MEMORY BOOSTER .....................37

8 GLOSSARY.........................................................................................................................39

9 DEVELOPMENT TEAM ..................................................................................................40


1 Introduction

1.1 What is Memory Booster?

In today’s increasingly complex world there are so many situations and occasions when children need to remember things – information, instructions, learning things for tests and exams, lists of things to do during the day.

Memory Booster is an innovative and exciting approach to helping children improve their memory skills, requiring very little teacher or professional guidance.

Memory Booster is presented as an adventure game set in Pooter’s castle. Pooter the Master Computer has lost his memory and needs help from the child to recover it. By playing memory games children not only help Pooter to get back to his old self again but score points and earn golden coins that can be spent on watching Pooter’s favourite cartoons! During the ‘mission’ the player is guided on the use of different memory strategies by Pooter’s friendly helper, Fiona.

The program presents children with enjoyable tasks, which require them to use their memory to the full. Children are taught different memory strategies throughout the game and when practised regularly they can help children gain valuable skills and techniques to help them remember things better throughout their lives.

The teacher or administrator can allocate each student to one of 21 built-in missions. New missions can be added by modifying the built-in examples to alter the level of challenge presented to the student. Students can enter or exit their missions whenever they wish. When students’ missions are completed attractive individualised certificates of achievement can be printed out by the teacher.

Getting Started 6


2 Getting Started

2.1 Starting Memory Booster

Click on the Start button and choose Programs Lucid Research Memory Booster Network

Alternatively, Double click the frog shortcut on your Desktop.

Figure 1

2.2 Title Page

All users will see the title page which shows various option buttons (Figure 2).

Before students can start playing Memory Booster, the teacher or administrator needs to register them and assign them to a Test Plan. To go to the Administrator’s part of the software click on the green ‘Admin’ button. The blue ‘Next’ button takes the user to the games part of the software.

Figure 2

2.3 Administrator Password

To enter the Administrator panel, you need to enter the Login password (see Figure 3). A default password ‘lucid’ is provided but can be changed any time after its first use. Enter the password into the Password box and click the Login button.

Figure 3

Once you have logged in for the first time it is recommended that you change the Administrator Password, (see Change Administration Password later in this guide).

7 Memory Booster Teacher’s Manual


2.4 Registering your software

Memory Booster has to be activated upon first use by entering user information, including the serial number provided at purchase. After entering these fields (Administrator’s name, which may be your name or the purchaser’s, Institution or school name and the serial number), click on ‘Register’ to activate your software (see Figure 4).

Figure 4

Administrator Login 8


3 Administrator Login

3.1 Administrator Option Menu

The Administrator panel displays an Options Menu on the left hand side. Clicking on each option will display the appropriate detail page.

There is a ‘Help and Tips’ window beneath the menu which will display context sensitive help for each item the mouse pointer passes over.

These screens can be run in a window or as full screen within Memory Booster.

The screen in Figure 5 shows software licence

details shown by selecting Information .

Figure 5

3.2 Student Register

Click on Student Register to display the Student Register Detail screen, see (Figure 6).

The newly installed Memory Booster will not have any students defined.

Figure 6



3.3 Adding Students

Click on the icon on the Student Register Detail Screen to add a new student.

Complete all the relevant fields. When you enter the student’s date of birth Memory Booster will automatically display the student’s age.

The ‘Class or Group’ field allows you to allocate the student to an appropriate group, (see Manage Student Classes).

The password box will automatically be set to the student’s Date of Birth. If you wish to set a specific password for the student, uncheck the ‘Use date of birth as password’ check box and type in your chosen password. When this panel has been completed, click on ‘Next’ Figure 7

Every new student is initially given a ‘Short Classic’ type mission, which includes the first three game levels and Pooter. You can change this using the dropdown list labeled ‘Selected Mission’. For students starting out with Memory Booster it is best to keep the values shown below ‘Default settings for this mission’. If you wish to alter any of these starter settings, tick the box labeled ‘Customise settings for this student’. The default mission settings can now be changed. The settings will be discussed in detail below.

Figure 8

3.4 Mission Settings

We can begin by defining a few terms used. A Task is clicking on one or more pictures during a mission. A Sub Level represents one of the 12 light bulbs * on the bottom part of the game screen which needs to turn green before a Level is completed. Tasks per Sub level is normally set to 1, a setting of two or three enforces more practice at the memory games during a mission. A Level is a part of a mission, where tasks are of roughly the same difficulty, though gradually getting harder. A Mission can have up to 6 levels, with Level 1 being the easiest and Level 6 the hardest. * Level 6 has only 10 Sub Levels or light bulbs.

Delay Time represents the time period elapsing between the child hearing the names of all the



pictures that must be remembered, and the pictures coming into full view so they can be selected. This delay forces children to hold words in memory and so encourages them to use the valuable memory strategies taught by Memory Booster throughout the mission. The default delay time is 5 seconds, but this can be altered to any value between 1 and 15 seconds.

Timeout Period is the time allowed for a player to attempt each task. It is the number of seconds elapsing between the pictures being shown on the task screen and then disappearing (and the task being recorded as a incorrect response because the child didn’t click on the pictures in the allocated time). It has three possible settings (Long, Medium and Short), with the default being ‘Long’. Values are all around half a minute at level 1, however, as the levels increase the timeout period shortens, so at level 3 the timeout periods are 16, 13 and 11.5 seconds respectively. Increase Delay Time with progress, if ticked, will cause the Delay Time to be gradually increased as the student gets tasks correct and then decreased again when incorrect. This allows students to be challenged more by their Memory Booster missions by having to hold information in their memory for longer.

Allow progression with incorrect selections is a setting which can be used with less able students who may become easily discouraged by not getting tasks correct and therefore not making much progress through the levels of their mission. If this setting is ticked, the student will progress through the levels (i.e. see their green lights lit up) even when they get tasks wrong.

Bare missions only (no Pooter or Rewards), if ticked, will remove Pooter animations and cartoon rewards from the mission, if present. This allows missions to be undertaken more quickly, with memory strategies still presented, but without the fun motivational elements that younger children may like to see.

When you are happy with the new student’s mission settings, click the OK button to complete the ‘Add Student’ process.

3.5 Selecting Students

When students have been added to Memory Booster they will be displayed in the Student Register Detail Screen. Clicking on one of the students will select that student and make active the Edit and Delete toolbar buttons. Selecting a student will also display, in the lower window, details of all mission sessions so far completed (see Students’ Progress).

You can also select more than one student from the list by holding the SHIFT or CTRL keys down. This is useful when you want to delete a group of students or create a student export file. Figure 9

Useful tip: Pressing the Ctrl and C keys within any of the ‘list’ displays in the program will copy the information to the clipboard, from where it can be pasted into other applications, such as Microsoft ® Excel.



The list of columns can be sorted according to each of the column headings. Click on the appropriate heading to sort the list by that column in ascending order. Click the same column heading again to sort in descending order.

3.6 Editing Students

Clicking on the icon will allow you to edit the currently selected student.

Most of the personal details on the first panel (which looks exactly like the one in Adding Students) can be changed. In the second panel (Figure 10) you do have the option to ABORT CURRENT MISSION by clicking on the red text with this label. If you don’t choose this you cannot make any changes to other settings on this panel, in which case simply click on ‘OK’ to leave these settings as they are.

Figure 10

3.7 Deleting Students

Clicking on the red cross will delete the currently selected student or students. Click on the Yes button to confirm the deletion.

Figure 11

3.8 Start a Memory Booster Mission

Clicking on the Play icon will start or continue a mission for the currently selected student.

Please read Student Login to learn about what the student will see when they start their mission.



3.9 Importing Students

You can add cohorts of new students in one go by using the student import function. You first need to create a text file containing new students in the same format as the example file shown in Figure 12.

To import the students click on the Import icon.

Figure 12

Having clicked upon the Import icon you will see a File browser from which you can locate the folder where your import file resides. The browser will initially show all files with the extension .txt but you can display .csv files too if your file was created in Microsoft ®

Excel by, using the dropdown list adjacent to the File name box.

Select the file you wish to import and click the Open button.

Figure 13

Memory Booster will display a message box saying how many records have been imported, (see Figure 14). You will see a warning message if any errors were encountered during importing along with the name and location of an error log file, detailing the problems.

Figure 14



All new students imported will be displayed in the student register (Figure 15).

Other fields or settings will be automatically assigned with default values – for example, the mission type for allocated to all new students is always the Classic Short mission.

Figure 15

3.10 Exporting Students

You can also export students to a text file for use within other applications. The export function will export a copy of the student details in exactly the same format as when imported (refer to Figure 12). The student records themselves remain untouched within Memory Booster after export. You first need to highlight all students to be

exported (Figure 16). Click on the Export icon to export students.

Select the folder and enter the filename that you wish to export to and click the Save button. Figure 16

3.11 Manage Student Classes

With ‘Student Register’ selected on the Option Menu you can move students into different classes. You yourself define the classes, so they could match school classes or forms. Or you could group students into performance-based groups.

Click on the icon.

Select the Source Class from the drop down list.

Check the boxes of the students you wish to allocate to a new class and then click the Allocate button.

Figure 17



This will copy the students into the right hand side.

Select a Destination Class from the drop down list or type a new one into the field.

Click on the Close button.

To remove a student from a class you can either allocate then to their new class or allocate them to class ‘none’.

Figure 18

The Student Register Screen should show the students allocated to their new class.

Note: you can sort the list by clicking on the appropriate column heading.

Figure 19

3.12 Students’ Progress

With ‘Student Register’ selected on the Option Menu you can find out which missions a student has completed and what scores were achieved during them. To look at a student’s mission history Click on

the the icon. In the example shown (Figure 20) Abigail Apple has completed two Short Classic missions (shown in green) and is currently doing a third one (shown in black).

Figure 20



To find out how Abigail is progressing in her current mission we select that mission to highlight it and then click on the Play Sessions

icon. In the lower panel in Figure 21 we can see that she has completed Level 1 with an accuracy of 100% and she’s had three further sessions on Level 2 scoring a further 900 points. Scores will be covered in more detail in the section entitled Scoring.

Figure 21

3.13 Missions

Missions form the core activity of Memory Booster – they are ways of combining memory tasks, memory strategy videos, encounters with the cartoon character Pooter and cartoon rewards into enjoyable and motivational play exercises for students. Missions can last from a few minutes to an hour or longer and can be carried out in one or more ‘sessions’. There are over 20 built-in missions supplied with Memory Booster to suit all abilities. A full list is shown in Appendix 2 – built-in missions supplied with Memory Booster. Some of these include Pooter and his reward cartoons and these missions are popular with the younger children. Other ready-made missions have only memory strategy videos and memory tasks, while others simply have memory tasks. It is possible for the Teacher to modify the ready-made missions to alter their default settings or to remove the Pooter character. See Change a Mission for more details.

The standard mission type is called Short Classic. It consists of the first three levels of Memory Booster, each preceded by a memory strategy. The Pooter story and his reward cartoons are incorporated into the mission.

Clicking Missions on the Option Menu will display the list of built-in missions plus any new missions created by the teacher.

When you select and highlight a mission, all students assigned to that mission type are listed in the lower display pane.

Figure 22



3.14 Creating a Mission

You create you own mission types by editing a built-in mission. The circumstances when you may wish to do this are if you wish to change some of the settings, such as Delay Time or Tasks per Sub level or if you wish to use a built-in mission that includes Pooter, but you don’t want Pooter in your mission.

To proceed, click to Add a new Mission.

Choose the built-in mission which will form the template for your own mission using the dropdown list (Figure 23).

You will see the components that make up the mission in the left hand panel with a graphical representation of the component to the right. If you select a mission involving Pooter, but wish to remove him, you do this by ticking the box marked ‘Bare Mission (No Pooter or Rewards)’. This action removes all Pooter related components from your mission.

Click the Next button to continue.

Figure 23

You now need to assign students to the new mission; to do this, choose the source class of students from the drop down list box.

Tick each student that you wish to allocate to the new mission.

Use the buttons to add or remove students. Click on Next to continue.

Note: Students can only be assigned to one mission at a time. If you add a student to your new mission, they will be removed from any previously assigned mission as long as they have not started it. If the student’s current mission has been started then you will have to Abort that mission before you can assign the student to a new mission, (see Editing Students).

Figure 24



Enter a name for the new mission into the Mission Name field.

The various settings associated with this mission are shown as their default values to the left of the screen. A full description of these (‘Tasks per Sub Level’, ‘Delay Time’ and so on) can be found in Selecting Students earlier in this guide. When you are happy with the settings on this screen click on Finish.

Figure 25

3.15 Change a Mission

Click on the Edit icon to edit the currently selected mission. The process is essentially the same as that used with Creating a Mission.

Remember, if a student has started a mission they cannot be assigned to a new mission until either their current mission is completed or aborted, (see Editing Students).

3.16 Delete a Mission

Clicking on the Delete icon will delete the currently selected mission as long as it is not one of the built-in missions. Click on the Yes button to confirm the deletion.

This action will abort the mission for all students previously assigned to it and re-assign them to the Short Classic mission.

Figure 26

3.17 Starting a Mission

Clicking the Play icon will start the currently selected mission.

Memory Booster will present a list of students registered on that mission. The teacher or the student should then click on the right name on the whiteboard panel (Figure 27). For details about playing Memory booster please refer to the Chapter entitled Student Login.

Figure 27



3.18 Reports

Using the Report Screen

Select Reports on the Option Menu to view the progress reports for each student.

There are essentially four different kinds of reports: Student Reports (Figure 28) Mission Reports (Figure 29) Class Reports (Figure 30) Certificates (for individuals) The student and the mission are chosen using the two drop down lists labelled Select a student and Select a mission at the bottom of the screen.

Click on the to print the report.

Click on to zoom in or out of the report.

Figure 28

The Mission Report (Figure 29) needs to know which mission type you wish to view a report for, so choose this from the list called Select a mission at the bottom of the screen. Use the other list called Sort by to order the report by various criteria based upon their scores.

Figure 29

The Class Report (Figure 30) is similar to the Mission Report but compares results for all students who have been allocated to a particular class, which is selected from the Select a class list at the foot of the screen.

Figure 30



The Certificates (Figure 31) can be printed out for individual students after they have completed their missions!

There are three generic designs, showing scores, an encouraging message and a signature from either Pooter, Fiona or Phibby the Frog.

Figure 31

3.19 System Housekeeping

Clicking on System Housekeeping from the Option Menu presents options for managing databases and changing the administration password, (Figure 32).

Technical note: Archives are stored as text files containing SQL statements which, when imported back into Memory Booster will restore the entire working database exactly as it was.

Figure 32

3.20 Save Database Archive

You should regularly backup your Memory Booster database and store the backup file on a different computer or backup media in order to prevent any potential loss of data.

Select Save database archive

Browse to the folder you wish to save the archive in or accept the default folder.

Type a preferred file name or accept the default provided which incorporates the date and time when the archive was created.

Figure 33

Click on the Save button.

If successful you will see a confirmatory Database Archive saved message, (see Figure 34).

Figure 34



3.21 Load Database Archive

You may need to restore a database archive after an unexpected computer failure or if the database has become unusable.

Select Load database archive .

Warning! Restoring a database will overwrite or replace all the data stored within the current database.

Figure 35

Confirm you want replace all the data in the current database with an archive by clicking the Yes button (Figure 35).

Browse to the folder that stores the database archive.

Select the correct archive file and click the Open button.

The database archive will be loaded and immediately become the active database, replacing any previously held information. Memory Booster will then display a success message or, in the event it has encountered problems, an error message.

Figure 36

3.22 Reset the Database

Warning! This function will completely erase all of the information in your Memory Booster database. If you wish to retain what’s already in the database in case you need it again at any time in the future, ensure you save an archive copy (see Save Database Archive) before carrying out a database reset.

Select the Reset Database option.

Confirm you want to clear the database by clicking on the Yes button.

Figure 37



3.23 Change Administration Password

The default administrator’s password is lucid . If you wish to change this, please write down your new password first. Then select Change Administration Password

from the Option Menu.

Enter the current password.

Enter the New Password and confirm it by entering it again in the Confirm New Password box. Finally, click OK

Figure 38

3.24 User Guide

Clicking on the User Guide option from the menu will display a copy of this manual. The manual will be opened in either Adobe Acrobat Reader, if this is installed on your local computer or within your default web browser.

3.25 Exit Administrator

Click on the Exit Administrator menu option to return to the normal student login prompt.


4 Student Login

4.1 Logging In

When Memory Booster starts, everyone sees the same title screen (Figure 39). Students should click on ‘Next’ to go to the ‘whiteboard’ where they can select their name, which will have been pre-registered by the teacher.

Figure 39

The student clicks on her name on the whiteboard (Figure 40).

Figure 40

She is prompted to enter her date of birth, which is used as a security measure. She can do this or ask her teacher to. The software intelligently works out the date from various styles. For example: (17/08/2000 or 17 08 2000 or 17 Aug 2000). Note that the teacher can opt to allocate a password for each student at registration instead of using the date of birth. Next, the student clicks on Start.

Figure 41



4.2 Playing Memory Booster

The student is then taken to Pooter’s castle where most missions begin.

Figure 42

Afterwards we meet Pooter for the first time in his dungeon. Pooter isn’t feeling very well and asks the player for help! There are three goals to helping Pooter and thereby completing a mission. 1) help to improve his memory by obtaining some memory chips for him; 2) help to improve his appearance by obtaining a graphics card; and 3) cure him of a virus by obtaining some anti-virus software. The player achieves each of these goals by completing the memory tasks that Memory Booster delivers.

Figure 43

Next, we meet Pooter’s helper, Fiona who delivers the first of her four memory strategies in an animated video. This strategy can then be tried by the player in the memory games that follow.

Figure 44

Student Login 24


Level 1 of Memory Booster

A typical mission (for example the ‘Short Classic’ mission) starts at level 1 where the player is required to remember one target object. The player is shown the memory task screen (a bank of computer monitors as illustrated in Figure 45) and a voice says the name of the object that the player must remember, for example “a black cat”. After a pre-determined delay at least two pictures are shown on any of the randomly selected monitors (Figure 46). The player is then asked to click on the target object, in this example, the ‘black cat’.

Figure 45

Figure 46

If the player chooses correctly, a bulb lights up as green, a score is added and the next memory task is presented. To complete level 1 all twelve green bulbs must be lit.

(NB - Each lit bulb represents a Sub Level completed. It is possible for the teacher to pre-set the number of goes required to light the bulb (one, two or three). This setting is called Tasks Per Sub Level. The higher the value the more tasks the player must do to complete each level, therefore the more challenge and exercise for the memory!

As the player progresses the number of distractor objects shown increases (a ‘distractor object’ is a non-target object i.e. the object that the player shouldn’t choose). Distractor objects can be quite different from, or indeed, very similar to the target object. The more similar the distractor object is to the target object the harder the memory task is. These factors make the memory tasks progressively harder as the player moves up through each level.

After completing a level the player receives a bonus score, and is taken to the Secret Room (Figure 47) where a box of memory chips will be found to help Pooter improve his memory. The player is asked to click on this box to return to the dungeon.

Figure 47



In the dungeon a delighted Pooter gives the player two golden coins which can be exchanged for watching two of the funny cartoons from the nine on offer (Figure 48).

Pooter then invites the player to start the second part of the mission, to obtain for him a new graphics booster card that will allow him to look more handsome!

Figure 48

Fiona reappears and presents the second memory strategy which the player can try, which involves making pictures of objects in one’s mind.

Figure 49

The player continues now at level 2 where they are required to remember two objects. Again, as more green bulbs get lit following successful tasks, the number of picture variations and distractors increases, making each task a little harder than the previous one.

Figure 50

At the end of level two Pooter gets his much-needed graphics upgrade, and gives the player another 3 golden coins which can be used to watch 3 more cartoons. The player does not have to use up the coins immediately but can save them to spend on viewing cartoons later.

The third and last part of the mission will now commence. Pooter has caught a nasty virus and needs help in finding a remedy. Fiona shows the player the third memory strategy, which involves creating silly stories involving all of the target objects. The next game level is then presented, and this may be the final level, completion of which ends with a final meeting with a very happy Pooter!

Student Login 26


Harder levels than 3 There are several built-in mission types which have levels higher than Level 3. The hardest and most challenging level is Level 6, an example screen of which is shown in Figure 51. The mission type called ‘Long Classic’ includes all six levels – it is the hardest mission of them all! How to exit?

The student can click on the Exit button at any point in the game where this is shown. This takes you back to the Memory Booster Title Page.

Figure 51

Other rooms in Pooter’s Castle

There are several icons visible at the bottom of the game screen. Their purpose is described below:

This is the Repeat Task icon. The student can click on this if there has been a distraction in the classroom while the narrator was listing the objects to find. After clicking on this icon a random new task will be narrated to the student.

This is the Training Room icon, which takes you to the room where you can view the memory strategy videos again. It can be used at any time during a mission.

This is the Waiting Room icon. By clicking this you are taken to this room (which is reputed to be haunted) where the player can use up any golden coins they may have left to view Pooter’s cartoons or simply take a pause from the mission. You can also get to the Training Room from here to view strategy videos.

This is the Exit icon. At any point in the game where this is visible, the player can exit the mission and return to the appropriate Menu.

Following the completion of a mission, the player is returned to the whiteboard (Figure 40). The current player’s name will be removed from the board temporarily, allowing another player to start their mission. The completed mission is recorded in the Memory Booster database and the player is automatically allocated a new mission for the future; this will be a ‘Short Classic’ mission type, but this can be changed by the teacher (see Section called Editing Students). At some point afterwards, the teacher may decide to print out a certificate of achievement for the student who has just completed a mission (see Section called Reports). Finally, we hope all your students enjoy their missions!


5 Teacher’s Guide to Memory Booster

5.1 What is memory?

Memory is a complex activity of the brain that allows us to store information and retrieve it again when we need it. Humans have two distinct memory systems:

1) A system that keeps a record of our personal life experiences: this is usually called autobiographical memory.

2) A system that holds knowledge about the world: this is usually called semantic memory; unlike autobiographical memory we often have to make a conscious effort to store information in semantic memory.

Because these two memory systems work in slightly different ways, it is possible for one system to work better than the other. For example, a child might have a good autobiographical memory and remember in detail everything about a holiday, but a poor semantic memory so they easily forget things that need to be learned in school. Both memory systems can store information from all our senses – vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch – but in semantic memory visual and auditory-verbal modes of information usually predominate, unless another mode is particularly important for some reason (e.g. a perfume maker would probably have a very well-developed semantic memory for odours).

5.2 Why do we forget some things?

Very few people appreciate that human memory is a system which is designed to forget information as well as to remember information. Generally, we only retain the information we need for as long as we need it, then it is forgotten. Why is this? The answer is quite simple. The human brain is constantly bombarded with huge amounts of information, and even though the information storage capacity of the human brain is very large, if we stored every single item of information that ever reached our senses from the moment we were born, our memory would probably be totally overloaded before we started school. The fact is: we simply do not need to retain most of the information we receive each day. We only need to retain some of that information and can safely forget the rest. The trick is to make sure that the information we do need is stored properly in memory ready for the time when we require it again.

We can hold a certain amount of information in memory for a short time provided we work hard to keep it there (e.g. by thinking about it or rehearsing it to ourselves). This process is called short-term memory (or sometimes ‘working memory’ because we use this when working on any task, such as listening to a conversation, reading or doing mental arithmetic). But unless we also make an active effort to store that information in long-term memory in a semantic (i.e. meaningful) form, it will normally be forgotten very rapidly. Once in long-term memory information is reasonably permanent. However, if we don’t use that information we are likely to find it difficult to access when we need it, and if the information is not stored very efficiently in long-term memory, it will also be difficult to access. So when we say we have ‘forgotten’ some item of information what we really mean is either:

Teacher’s Guide to Memory Booster 28


(a) the information was never properly stored in long-term memory in the first place, or:

(b) the information has been stored in long-term memory but we can not find it because it has not been stored in an efficient way and/or because we haven’t used that information for ages.

This is why most adults find they have forgotten many of the things they learned in school (e.g. French verbs). The evidence that this information has not totally been forgotten is that if they try to relearn the information after a while it begins to come back to them. In the end they find the task of relearning that information easier than if they had never learned it in the first place. So the moral is: the more we use certain information, the easier and quicker we can retrieve it from memory when we need it.

It is instructive to compare memory with storing things in our home. We all have encountered the situation of not being able to find something that we know full well has been put away in the home somewhere. The problem is that it is not where you expect to find it and there are so many places that things might be hidden in the average home. After wasting time fruitlessly searching you may conclude that it is easier to go out and buy another rather than to continue searching! The longer ago you put that thing away, the more likely it is that you won’t find it unless it has been stored in a sensible place.

Why do some people have better memory than other people?

People vary in the efficiency of their long-term memory. Some people have a good long-term memory and some a poor long-term memory. Like other cognitive skills, this is probably determined partly by heredity. But research has shown that most of the difference between people with good and poor memory can be attributed to the methods or strategies they use to learn that information in the first place. By developing appropriate memory strategies we automatically store information in a more organised and efficient way that makes it easier for us to locate when we need it.

Despite individual differences in memory, research indicates that for most people memory can be improved significantly by appropriate training. This does not mean that we can enlarge the storage capacity of our memory; what it means is that we can make our memory more efficient, so that it is more likely to absorb new information and hold that information in a way that makes it easy for us to find it again immediately we need it.

5.3 How can memory be improved?

In order to make an individual’s memory more effective we need to ensure four key things:

Practice – the more often we do something, the more likely we are to remember it.

Memory strategies – these are ways of processing information more efficiently that will help you remember it better.

Organisation – this ensures that information is stored in a more meaningful and well-organised way and which is easier for the brain to recall when needed.

Understanding – if we understand information it is easier for us to remember that information; also if we understand how memory works, it is easier to make it work efficiently for us personally.



5.4 Using Memory Booster at school

How does Memory Booster work?

Memory Booster is an enjoyable adventure game that has been specifically designed by psychologists and educationalists to improve children’s memory. It works by teaching tried-and-tested memory strategies and by giving enjoyable practice so that these strategies are assimilated and can be applied in everyday learning. Memory Booster has six levels of increasing complexity, and incorporates many features (such as cartoon rewards) that help to motivate children and ensure that they derive the maximum benefit from the activities. The program can be used with all children aged 4 to 11 years or older. Although it has been used successfully with 3 year-olds its success at this age is likely to depend quite a lot on the child’s maturity and familiarity with using a computer, so it may be more suitable for some 3 year-olds than others. Over age 11, Memory Booster is particularly useful to help children with severe memory problems (as is the case with many dyslexic children) or other children with learning difficulties. The difficulty level of Memory Booster can be tailored to suit the child’s individual needs so if necessary the program can be made easier for very young children or children with special educational needs, and harder for older children or very bright children. The program can also automatically adjust its difficulty according to the progress of the child, which helps to maintain just the right degree of challenge and maximises learning. The items in the program vary each time it is used, so children can play the adventure many times and not become bored. The program remembers where each child has reached in the game and next time they enter the program it automatically carries on from where they left off.

Why is Memory Booster especially useful in the primary school?

During the secondary school period most pupils spontaneously begin to develop strategies to help them learn and remember. Some children are a lot better at doing this than others. Very few primary school children discover these memory strategies of their own accord. However, research has shown that memory strategies can be successfully taught during the primary phase. These strategies must then be practised so that they become automatic. If given this opportunity all children are much better equipped to cope with the learning tasks that confront them in school, which improves their all-round educational achievement.

In other words, Memory Booster is beneficial for all children in primary education because at this stage very few are likely to develop the necessary memory strategies of their own accord. Of course, these strategies can be taught in other ways, but teaching memory strategies in the classroom can be a time-consuming task, especially if done on a one-to-one basis. It can be done with a whole class or in small groups, but the teacher will still need to check that each child in the group has assimilated the strategies and can apply them successfully. This will still generally demand a lot of teacher time and in a busy primary classroom it can be difficult to make additional time available.

The advantage of Memory Booster is that it does not require teacher input in order to be effective, because the program teaches the memory strategies, provides structured practice in applying those strategies and gives a print-out of the child’s progress that the teacher can review at leisure. The program can automatically adapt to the individual child’s needs and provide prompts where necessary, so that learning is maximised.

Memory Booster also helps to develop the child’s concentration and attention. This is particularly the case when the child gets to the higher levels (level 3 and beyond).



About the strategies in Memory Booster

The strategies that Memory Booster teaches (in order) are:

Rehearsal – simple repetition of verbal information.

Visual imagery – creating pictures in the mind to represent the information that has to be remembered.

Creating stories – generating a narrative that links together the information in the form of a story; if the story is amusing then it is more likely to be remembered.

Grouping – using higher-order conceptual categories (e.g. ‘living things’, ‘things we use in the home’) to group items together.

Although these are not the only memory strategies that are useful in education, they all have the benefit of being easy to acquire and are applicable to most types of material that the child is required to learn in school. In contrast with some other mnemonic schemes, these strategies do not require tedious or complicated pre-learning (e.g. of number links). These strategies are also extremely well-tried and tested in the classroom and so are widely advocated by experts in this field. Substantial research in psychology and education has established that when children use these strategies their learning and recall is significantly better. These strategies are introduced in this particular order because rehearsal is the simplest and easiest to acquire, visual imagery is the next most difficult, and so on. This order also fits with the sequence which seems to develop spontaneously in children who have not been trained to use memory strategies, but of course for these children it usually develops much later in schooling.

Towards the latter part of the primary stage some children begin spontaneously to use simple memory strategies (such as rehearsal), but it is not normally until secondary school that children spontaneously develop more complex memory strategies that require active organisation of the material to be remembered (this includes strategies such as grouping and creating stories). However, younger children can be trained to use all these strategies, and can benefit from them in their learning on an everyday basis. By enabling primary school children to acquire effective memory strategies the teacher or parent is helping to equip them with skills that will enhance their attainment in school in the primary stage and beyond. With practice, these strategies should become automatic, so that in time learning and remembering requires less effort and more can be accomplished in the time available.

Some suggestions for classroom organisation when using Memory Booster

Memory Booster can be used with a whole class of pupils or just with individual pupils that the teacher feels need the benefit of memory training. Each child in the class can be registered on the program and can use it whenever the teacher permits. This could be organised using a class rota so that children know when it is their turn to use the program, or simply on a first-come, first-served basis, so that children who complete their work early can spend time using the program. However, since children who are slow to complete their work are probably the ones most in need of the training given by the program, the danger of the latter approach is that these children do not receive the help they so desperately need. A solution to this is to suggest that parents purchase Memory Booster for the child to use at home.

If desired, teachers can provide additional input on the memory strategies that Memory Booster teaches, e.g. by devoting some class time to explaining them and perhaps engaging in some simple games that will demonstrate how they work.

The children can then be left to practice the strategies on Memory Booster. Children may enjoy having competitions to see how far in the adventure they can get, and how many points they can



score. It is a good idea for the teacher to remind the children to use these strategies in their everyday learning, so that their new skills are applied as widely as possible. Or when asking children about particular learning tasks the teacher can ask questions like: How did you learn that information? Which strategy did you find worked best to learn that?

Memory Booster is designed to be used in a normal classroom and does not require a special environment. A moderate amount of distraction should not be a problem, and since the tasks demand close attention and concentration it is usually found that working on Memory Booster improves children’s attention and concentration over time. However, it is not recommended that children should play on Memory Booster in very noisy environments unless headphones can be provided, because they need to hear the names of items spoken clearly. Of course, children differ in their ability to ignore distractions – young children and some older children are notoriously poor at this. If children have identified difficulties with attention and concentration it is recommended that they use Memory Booster in an environment with as little distraction as possible, otherwise they are likely to make poorer progress than expected.

Adapting Memory Booster to individual learning needs

Memory Booster forces every child to start at the beginning of the adventure so that they are introduced to the four strategies, but older children will find they can swiftly progress through the first two levels before being confronted with more challenging tasks. Younger children (or children with special educational needs) are likely to take longer to work through the first two levels and may not progress to the higher levels for some time. The teacher can configure the program to suit particular children, as required. For example, the teacher may decide that children with special educational needs should do fewer items or tasks per sublevel before progressing (see Tasks Per Sub Level for information on how to do this). This should help to avoid them being discouraged by failure and they should get more frequent rewards. Alternatively, the teacher may decide that the child should not be required to hold information in memory for such a long period of time (see Delay Time for information on how to do this). For the child who processes information more slowly and who needs more time to think through a difficult task and respond appropriately, the Timeout period on Memory Booster may need to be increased (see Timeout Period).

In addition to the variable controls explained above, Memory Booster has nineteen built-in ‘Missions’, any of which can be selected by the teacher to suit the needs of particular children.

Short Classic is the default setting, which should suit the average child. It is recommended that most children start Memory Booster on this Mission, which will take them up to a maximum of Level 3. The child plays 1 game per sublevel and delay time is set to the default value of 5 seconds (see Tasks Per Sub Level for explanation). Timeout is at the ‘longer’ setting so the child is given plenty of time to respond (see Timeout Period for explanation). However, if Mission Type A is being used with older children (age 8+) or children who are known to be bright, it is recommended that the number of games per sublevel is increased to 2 or even 3, to give them additional challenge appropriate to their age and ability (see Tasks Per Sub Level for information on how to do this).

Long Classic is more suitable for very bright children, those that respond well to a more difficult challenge, or as a subsequent mission for children who have already successfully completed a Short Classic. The Long Classic mission allows the child to proceed through levels 1 – 3 and on to the much harder levels 4, 5 and 6. In levels 5 and 6 the child is encouraged to experiment with the four different strategies they have learned and see which works best for them. In this mission the delay time is also automatically varied by the computer so that a constant level of challenge is presented to the child. If the child is doing well, the delay time is automatically increased, making the task a little harder. If the child is not doing well, the delay time is automatically decreased, making the



task a little easier. If it is found that this creates too much difficulty for the child, the delay time can be readjusted, as required (see Delay Time), but rarely, if ever, should this be necessary.

SEN Classic has been designed with less able children in mind, or children who have special educational needs (see the Section Using Memory Booster with children who have special educational needs). It is the same as Short Classic except that the child will progress even when getting responses wrong.

Since the items in Memory Booster are different each time, a child can embark on several missions of the same difficulty. So it is not necessary to alter the mission type for the child to enjoy and benefit from undertaking as many missions as they want. However, if the child feels that the task is becoming too easy, it is a simple matter for the teacher to raise task difficulty by using the Edit a Student feature to allocate the child to a more challenging mission.

Checking the child’s progress

Teachers will want to check the child’s progress on Memory Booster from time-to-time, and children will want to know how well they have done. Feedback on the child’s performance can be obtained at any time by choosing Reports on the Option Menu and selecting the name of the child from the dropdown list. The Student reports gives accuracies and scores on each level attempted or completed. Other reports show a progress on a particular mission type (Mission Reports) or by Class Class Reports). The Student Report provides an objective measure of how the child’s memory skills are improving. The Score gives a record of the number of points a child has achieved in each session, and for most children this will give a reasonable indication of the amount of effort they have put in. These records can be printed out on a personalised certificate if desired (see Reports for information on how to do this).

[Note that because progression in SEN Classic mission type is based on different principles, this will not necessarily provide an objective measure of how the child’s memory is improving, but it will give some idea of the effort they have put in.]

Because Memory Booster has not been designed as a standardised test there are no norms against which to compare children’s progress. However, as a rule of thumb the following table shows levels that children might be expected to achieve after several sessions with the program:

Memory Booster target level

Age range After 1 – 5

sessions After 5 – 10 sessions After 10 – 20 sessions

4 – 7 1 2 3

8 – 11 2 3 4 – 5

11 + 3 4 5 – 6

Note that the targets given in the above table apply only to children in mainstream education who do not have special educational needs. SEN children may achieve these targets but it could take them longer.

Using Memory Booster with children who have special educational needs

Although Memory Booster is beneficial for all children, some teachers may prefer to reserve the program for use with children who have difficulties with learning and memory. In such cases the teacher should ideally consider whether or not to configure the program to suit the individual child. To make things more straightforward for teachers and parents, SEN Classic mission type has be



designed specifically for less able children and children who have special educational needs. These children usually need more frequent rewards to stay on task and more easily become frustrated or discouraged by failure. In SEN Classic, the program will progress regardless of the child’s performance, so that they will get the reward of seeing the cartoons regardless of their performance. On the other hand, if the teacher or parent feels that the child needs or is ready for a bit more challenge than is offered by this mission, then Short Classic mission type can be selected as a template when adding a new mission type. Further modifications to Delay Time and Timeout can be made in this new mission type to make it easier (see Section Adapting Memory Booster to individual learning needs). In SEN Classic mission type it is difficult to get a clear idea of the extent to which a child’s memory skills are actually improving. An ideal objective is to enable SEN children using Memory Booster to advance from SEN Classic to Short Classic, in which case real progress in memory skills will have been made. If they have already done Memory Booster SEN Classic they should have gained the confidence to tackle the harder challenge of Short Classic.

If the special needs teacher or SENCo is not sure whether the child has memory difficulties or wants an objective measure of how poor the child’s memory is, there are tests available that can be used to check for this, e.g.

Lucid CoPS Cognitive Profiling System [age 4 – 8 years] (for further information see www.lucid-research.com).

LASS Junior [age 8 – 11 years] and LASS Secondary [age 11 – 15 years] (for further information see www.lucid-research.com).

Working Memory Test Battery for Children [age 5 – 15 years] (for further information see www.tpc-international.com).

The last of these tests is a suite of conventional tests, whereas the rest are computer-based tests.

Children with dyslexia

Children who have dyslexia typically have memory difficulties. Usually these difficulties are in auditory working memory, so they tend to forget instructions, have problems learning multiplication tables, and easily lose track of what they are doing (e.g. when reading, writing, or doing arithmetic). Working memory also affects children’s acquisition of phonics (i.e. learning the relationships between letters and sounds).

Some children with dyslexia have problems with visual memory, so they find it hard to recognise words by sight (e.g. using ‘flash cards’), and also cannot find their way around using visual cues (e.g. in an unfamiliar place). Visual memory is also very important in spelling, because a great many English words are irregular and their spelling does not follow phonic rules. The only way to learn to spell irregular words is by using visual memory.

Whether they experience problems in auditory working memory or visual memory, or both, children with dyslexia should find Memory Booster especially helpful, because it teaches them strategies to learn more effectively and remember more easily. Memory Booster contains both visual and auditory/verbal features and has a beneficial effect on all types of memory problems.

For more information about dyslexia visit the British Dyslexia Association’s website:

www.bda-dyslexia.org.uk



Additional hints on using Memory Booster

It may be helpful to keep a few simple rules in mind in order to optimise the effects of Memory Booster on your child’s learning:

Start easy and gradually get more difficult.

If children start with the Memory Booster program being set too difficult for them, they are liable to become frustrated and discouraged. If this happens they may take a dislike to the program altogether and subsequently avoid playing on it. It is safer to start at a relatively easy setting (e.g. by beginning with Short Classic mission type) and then after completing that Mission, encouraging the child to play again with more challenging missions.

Use Memory Booster as often as possible for periods that are not too long.

Although no harm is likely to be done if children play on Memory Booster for long periods, it will usually be found more effective if the program is used in relatively short bursts at regular intervals. For younger children (4 – 7 years) it is recommended that this should be in the region of 10 – 20 minutes, two to three times each week. If the child is trying hard at the tasks, it demands close concentration and effort so a lot of mental energy is expended, which can be very tiring for young children. Older children (8 +) should be able to cope with longer periods (20 – 30 minutes), three or more times a week. As the child assimilates the strategies and accumulates practice, they should find the tasks less effortful.

Work in a quiet environment if possible.

Children have to cope with distractions encountered in the normal classroom and Memory Booster is designed for this. However, a reasonably quiet environment in which to work with the program at home is usually helpful for your child. The tasks presented by the program are very challenging, particularly at the higher levels (Level 3 and beyond) and a high degree of concentration and attention is required for successful performance. Your child has to hear the items clearly and this can be difficult if there is competition from the TV or from other children playing noisily. In a noisy environment it is recommended that children use headphones while working on Memory Booster.

Reward effort and achievement.

Although Memory Booster incorporates its own rewards, which help to motivate your child, most children will respond positively to additional reward, praise and encouragement. These rewards and encouragements will also signal to your child that you value the activity and see it as beneficial to their development and education.

Further advice and information

For further information on memory and advice on how to improve children’s memory skills in the classroom and at home, please visit the Memory Booster website:

www.memory-booster.com



6 Memory Booster in detail

6.1 Scoring

Points are awarded in the following ways:

1. Upon successful completion of a task (remember there are usually between 12 and 36 correct task responses per level) 100 points are awarded.

2. Following three correct responses in a row, a mini bonus system will be activated. This awards between 50 and 300 points for each consecutive correct response including the original three that triggered the mini bonus. This mini bonus will only be added to the score at the point of a task being answered wrongly.

3. A mega bonus is added to the main score at the end of each level. On the default setting the mega bonus would be 600 points at level 1, 1200 at level 2, 1800 at level 3, 2400 at level 4, 3000 at level 5 and 3600 at level 6. Mega bonuses are based on 50 points per correct task. So the possible number of mega bonus points will be greater where the number of ‘tasks per sublevel’ is set higher – meaning that you have to get more items correct before you can progress through the level.

A player completing a Short Classic mission can expect to achieve a final score of close to 15,000. An advanced player doing the Long Classic mission and reaching the end of level 6 (no mean feat!) can expect a score closer to 150,000.

6.2 Levels

Memory Booster has a maximum of 6 levels, each with 12 Sub levels apart from level 6, which has only 10. The number of pictures that the player is required to identify relates directly to the level that they are playing. So, if the player is at level 1 then Memory Booster will be asking them to identify one picture from a bank of distractor items. If the player is at level 2 they will be required to identify 2 pictures, and so on. This may sound easy at first but the task difficulty is not just a function of how many pictures the player is required to identify. Various other aspects within the program mean that the load on memory can actually be very demanding. As the sublevels within each level increase, more and more distractors are placed around the target item(s). For example, the target may be a small green frog; however there may also be a large green frog, a small brown frog and a small green frog sitting on a stone! There may also be other non-related distractors such as fruit, cars, flags and other things, some of which may also be green like the frog. The highest sublevel of Level 6, for example has 6 target items and 14 variation items, related or unrelated, and is at this point is placing a very high demand on memory. One way to succeed at this level is to develop and utilise an effective memory strategy – and that is the whole point of Memory Booster! In order to progress a player has to practice and develop his/her own memory techniques, mnemonics or other memory aids. Whatever strategies the player utilises will benefit them in many other aspects of their life, including their education.

Memory Booster in detail 36


6.3 Cartoons

Although the memory tasks in Memory Booster are much more interesting and pleasing than conventional memory exercises, one of the most enjoyable parts for most players is watching Pooter’s cartoons! Players have earned the privilege of being able to play a cartoon and there are nine to choose from. Each cartoon is designed to be humorous and different cartoons will appeal to different players.

During missions of three levels, such as Short Classic, the player meets Pooter at the end of each level and Pooter gives the player some gold coins, which can either be hoarded up or used immediately to watch the cartoons. At the completion of level 1 Pooter offers 2 coins, after level 2 he offers 3 coins and the final 4 coins are provided after level 3 (which means ‘mission accomplished’). There are therefore up to nine coins up for grabs and nine different cartoons, but if the player has a personal favourite he or she can watch it more than once.

In mission type Long Classic the player needs to complete 2 levels instead of one before seeing Pooter and earning the gold coins – therefore the player needs to work harder to earn the gold coins on offer.

A player can hoard up gold coins and use them at any time during a mission by going to the waiting room and choosing the big button on the white board there.



7 Appendeces

7.1 Appendix 1 – Memory Strategies

Strategy Type Activity

1 Repetition Repeating names in one’s mind or by voicing (animation).

2 Visualisation Imagining objects in one’s mind (animation).

3 Story telling Creating stories linking all the objects, preferably silly or surreal examples (animation).

4 Grouping Dividing lists of objects into generic groups (animation).

5 & 6 Reminder Verbal reminders suggesting use of all strategies learned (sound only).

7.2 Appendix 2 – built-in missions supplied with Memory Booster

Number Type Components

1 Short Classic Pooter story with rewards, levels 1,2,3 and first three memory strategies

2 Medium Classic

Pooter story with rewards, levels 1,2,3,4 and first three memory strategies

3 Long Classic Pooter story with rewards, levels 1,2,3,4 and all four memory strategies

4 SEN Classic Pooter story with rewards, levels 1,2,3 and first three memory strategies. Progression through levels even if incorrect responses.

5 Single 1 Level 1 only






11 Double 1 Levels 1,2 with memory strategies 1 & 2




Appendeces 38



16 Triple 1 Levels 2,3,4 with memory strategies 2,3 & 4



19 Quadruple 1 Levels 2,3,4,5 with memory strategies 1,2,3 & 4

20 Quadruple 2 Levels 3,4,5,6 with memory strategies 2,3 & 4

21 Quintuple 1 Levels 2,3,4,5,6 with memory strategies 2,3 & 4 and strategy reminder


8 Glossary o Class A Memory Booster class is a number of students grouped together.

This could reflect actual school classes/forms.

o Expansion Pack The Memory Booster Expansion Pack provides 70 Non-Fiction extra comprehension Items.

o Fiona Fiona is the helper who appears in the memory strategy videos.

o Level A level is a part of a mission where the number of objects students need to remember and then select stays the same.

o Mission A series of memory exercises undertaken by students which usually includes meetings with the cartoon character Pooter and viewings of memory strategy movies. There are 21 built-in missions in Memory Booster. Variations of these can be created by the teacher if the built-in examples are not quite right for a particular student.

o Pooter The central character in Memory Booster who is initially a bit unwell but is helped to get better by the student undertaking a mission.

o Sub level A subdivision of a level. A Sub level is completed when a light bulb on the game screen turns green. Game screens have either 10 or 12 sub levels.

o Task A task is the transaction of remembering the names of one or more objects spoken by the voiceover and then clicking on these on the game screen after a delay. This activity forms the core of Memory Booster.

o Tasks per Sub level

This is a mission setting which can increase the difficulty of a mission. It can be set to 1,2 or 3 and is the required number of tasks to complete a Sub level.


9 Development Team Credits

Team Leader Rik Leedale

Design Team Dr Chris Singleton, Rik Leedale, Kevin Thomas

Game design Lee Smith and Rik Leedale

Programming Lee Smith (network version) and Rik Leedale (original version)

Animations Iain Webber

Graphics Tod Leedale

Sound editing Rik Leedale

Voice artists Joan Walker and Brian Blessed

Manual Dr Chris Singleton, Ian Wass and Rik Leedale

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