VerseMem Beta Release
Overview
VerseMem is an application that
guides you through Bible verse study using a variety of exercises and games.
The exercises are intuitive and dynamic, adjusting to your skill level.
VerseMem is specifically designed to be extremely easy to use. No navigation of
screens upon screens with scores of buttons, and knobs and menus is required to
get started. Administration, content management, organization, progress
tracking and goal setting are handled largely in the background. On the other
hand, if you want the knobs and menus, VerseMem also allows a high degree of
customization. VerseMem works best when used on a daily basis for an average of
15 minutes a day.Why Memorize Scripture?
Good question. The Bible is pretty old now and the style
is not as gripping as more modern work. But believe it or not, as old and dusty
as scripture is, it is still a very powerful tool. However, like a hammer
or you phone or PC, scripture only works when it’s wielded. To really wield scripture
requires that you know it and that you know it well. There's a good example of wielding scripture when Satan tempts Jesus
after forty days fasting in the desert. Jesus doesn't have to rifle around in his robe for the scroll of
Deuteronomy. He already had the tools in his mind and on his lips and the devil
didn’t have a chance. Resistance to temptation
is handy but what else can the toolbox provide? There’s wisdom for one, comfort in times of despair, hope, peace of mind,
and communion with God to name a few others.
Those are all just as valuable in the present as they were back in the
day. The really great thing about scripture memorization is that it’s a
bargain. It costs about 10 – 20 minutes a day and the only prerequisite is some
persistence.
How VerseMem Works
First, you choose a study
group. A study group can include a themed assortment of passages[1]
from throughout the Bible (e.g. Prayer, Personal Guidelines), passages from a
chapter or section (e.g. 1 John Chapter 1, The Beatitudes, The Sermon on the
Mount) or the contents of an entire book of the Bible (e.g. 1 Peter). VerseMem
comes with many study groups already loaded. You also have to option to create
new study groups and share them.
Once a study group has been
selected you can began studying the passages. Study consists of completing exercises.
Examples of exercises include rearranging shuffled up sentences, filling in
missing words from multiple-choice selections, and matching a passage (e.g.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.”) with its
reference (e.g. John 3:16). As you progress through your study the exercises will
become more difficult with levels ranging from 1 (Beginner) to 5
(Advanced). For example, filling in the missing words from a passage at
level 1 evolves into completing missing phrases from that passage at
level 2.
If the selected study group is a
chapter, book or other sequential section the first study passage will always
be the first passage of the study group. Otherwise, VerseMem selects a random
passage from the study group to begin with. As the user progresses with study
more passages from the study group are gradually introduced. For example, if
Beatitudes is the selected study group, Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in
spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” will be the first passage. After
some exercises practicing Matthew 5:3 have been completed, Matthew 5:4 will be
added and exercises will now incorporate both passages.
Continuing with the Beatitudes
study group example above, after you’ve had several sessions over the course of
the week the exercises incorporating Matthew 5:3 will have probably increased
to level 5. At some point the VerseMem will announce that the passage has been mastered.
This decision is based on a combination of exercise difficulty level, average
performance on those exercises, and the number of exercises completed. The
mastered passage is removed from the passages actively being studied and will
now appear infrequently. In the example, if Matthew 5:3 is mastered on Monday,
the user might not see the passage again until Friday or Saturday. With time,
the frequency with which a passage appears will continue to decrease. However,
passages will never be removed completely.
In addition to the exercises,
there are additional activities that can be accessed via the main
screen. These activities include games matching Biblical characters with facts
about them, ordering books of the Bible, and matching passages and references.
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