Test Your Memorization Accuracy

Posted on September 14, 2013 Andy 18 comments

We have made some changes to the accuracy test. It now has a look and feel along the lines of the reference test.

Many of us avoided every doing the accuracy test because, to be honest, it was incredibly difficult. It also took a long time to complete which made it difficult to work into one's regular sessions. The new test allows for any number of questions and your score will update continuously as you take the quiz.

It also uses a slightly better algorithm for flagging mistakes you made. The maximum score for any question is 10 points. The test will still point out differences in punctuation and capitalization but won't deduct points.

We really encourage everyone to use the accuracy test frequently. If you find that your scores on the test are very low, then you are probably grading yourself too leniently when you're doing your daily review sessions. We are, though, leaving it up to each user to decide how thoroughly and accurately they would like to know each verse. We recommend setting yourself a target accuracy and adjusting your verse rating over time.

As always, feedback is welcome in the comments or on the Feedback Forum (black tab on the right).

Reviewing Your References

Posted on September 05, 2013 Andy 22 comments

We have made some changes to the reference review page. Years ago, it was added as an afterthought but we've since learned that memorizing verse references is key to being able to memorize verses.

Many of you will discover that you have a LOT of references to review. We recommend just doing a few each day until the number becomes manageable. Each memory verse now has an associated interval which will increase/decrease as you review your references. As you review your references each day, you'll find that the number will decrease fairly quickly. If you're feeling overwhelmed, there is a setting on your profile page called "Test All References"; uncheck that box and Memverse will only review the reference of the first verse of each passage.

For those of you working towards a consistency badge, you don't need to complete all your references each day. Incidentally, you can now check your consistency on your progress page. (There is a new graph below the regular progress chart.)

We also recently upgraded Memverse's entire framework and moved to a new server. The new server is faster and, with all the components of the website upgraded, we can focus on improving the rest of Memverse again.

Memory Passages Have Finally Arrived

Posted on January 27, 2013 Andy 58 comments

Well, sometimes things just take a little longer than one expects. In this case, about two years longer!

A feature that has been sorely lacking in Memverse is the ability to memorize verses in the context of their containing passage. After many months of experimentation, we have released an early version of this new feature: Passage Review

Since this involved a significant number of changes to the software, it is likely that there are still kinks to be ironed out. We recommend waiting a week or so before you jump in and start using it.

Walk through the Old Testament

Posted on December 31, 2012 Phil Walker 37 comments

Several years ago, I had picked a key verse for every chapter of the New Testament.  This year, I am picking a key verse for every chapter of the Old Testament.  GENESIS is done as you can see below.  I would love ideas for what you think should be key verses for any of the chapters in the other books.

For those who want to memorize these key verses, we are starting an accountability chart.  Every 10 verses equals 1 letter.  Since there are more than 260 chapters in the OT, we will have a creative variation on the accountability chart for those who make it through Z the first time.  To declare, give your first name, the first initial of your last name, the state or country you are from, and either the 10 references of the verses you memorized or a description.

I will be writing out a devotional for each of these key verses.  These will be listed on the Memverse Forum.  Anyone who would like to receive the daily verse with the devotional can request it by email to philjohn1558@yahoo.com

Which of the Genesis verses below have you found to be worth memorizing?  Which do you already know?

We would love to list all participants as an encouragement and inspiration to others.  We would also love to list all groups memorizing together.

2013 HAKOTS participants:  = Angela M; Anita; Connie McLean; Daniel; Idaman; Jacky Walker; Karen F; Lee C;  Lewi; Matthew Glick; Phil Walker; PrayerWarrior13; SavedByGrace = 13 people

Groups memorizing together:  Walkers (Phil, Jacky, Junior), Idaman, Daniel, and Lewi memorizing in the 1984 NIV at the STT Setia campus in West Jakarta, Indonesia

Accountability Chart: Those who wish can join our chart where we will list the first name, first initial of the last name, state (or country), and progress.  The first 260 verses convenently breaks down into 26 groups of 10 verses each to be declared.  Verses don't have to declared in order.  A sample declaration would be Zach J  NY  Genesis 1-10. On the chart, we will not go faster than a one verse per day pace.  However, you can declare whenever you want.

Angela M      OH    A   B

Lee C            NH    A

Karen F        WI    A   B   C   D

Matthew G  OH  A   B

I recommend memorizing this list of verses for Bible Bee enthusiasts, SavedbyGrace's "entire Bible" group, and any others who want a good overall grasp of the Old Testament.  Others may simply want a collection of 929 powerful treasures.  Please let us know if you are joining, if you have family or friends memorizing with you, and if you have any tips or ideas to encourage or support others in the group.  I will be using the Memverse Forum to post my daily email devotionals I send out based on these verses. I look forward to any feedback, insights, or thoughts you have as we interact with the daily Scripture and each other’s thoughts.

GENESIS 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 

Some Reorganization

Posted on October 29, 2012 Andy 33 comments

We have made some adjustments to the main menu to reflect the new emphasis on a staged approach to memorizing.

The old 'Memorize' tab has been renamed 'Review'. It contains the links to the usual daily review of the memory verses you already 'know'.

The 'Learn' section contains tools relating to getting a memory verse stuck in your head initially.

We've also made a few improvements to the new 'Learn' tool (cunningly arranged under the 'Learn' menu). If you get stuck on a word you can now press the down arrow and the word will be temporarily revealed. Some of the other problems that people encountered should also be cleaned up.

Finally, a reminder: if you find a verse with an error, the best way to let us know is to navigate to your memory verse on the 'Home --> My Verses' page, find the offending verse, and click on the 'Verified' label in the final column. This will report the error and usually results in the verse being corrected within a day or two.

Starting New Memory Verses

Posted on October 16, 2012 Andy 57 comments

First, welcome to all the new members who were referred from Challies.com. We had 20x the usual number of signups yesterday. Great to see so many new people and looking forward to getting to know you all.

Today we want to foreshadow some upcoming changes on Memverse. We started Memverse with two motivating ideas: 1) making it simple to keep track of and review one's memory verses online and 2) using the Supermemo algorithm to efficiently retain a large number of memory verses.

Over the past three years it has become clear that there was a gap in the functionality. It is difficult to learn a new verse without an intensive period of repetition at the start. To solve this we have been working on a new feature which will allow you to get a verse 'stuck' in your head before you start the period of review. It is still a work in progress but you can try it out. It will likely evolve over the next few weeks so feedback in the comments is welcome.

Our plan is to build this page into the 'flow' of the website. More details on that in a future post.

2012 Bible Bee Study Helps

Posted on June 26, 2012 Alex Watt 32 comments

Thanks to Mr. Walker, there is a slew of resources to help you with your Bible Bee memory verses this year. In addition to Bible Bee verses he put up on Study Stack here and on Impress Kids, Mr. Walker has some PDFs of prompterized passages, complete passages, and the first five words of each passage, in all five Bible Bee versions:

Also, Matthew Minica is working on a practice test and calling once more for volunteers. After July 4th, volunteer recruitment ends and the work commences. All willing and able-minded persons should refer to this forum thread.

Update 07/26: Jonathan Peterson, a Memverse user, also created a tool accessible here: www.memverse.com/bible_bee_tool. Thanks Jonathan!

And finally, don't forget about the quizzes as an iron-sharpening-iron experience.

We hope the tools will help you make the most of this summer's studying!

Scripture Memorization for Adults

Posted on February 21, 2012 Andy 38 comments

Andy Johnson has written a great blog post on nine benefits of Scripture memorization. We couldn't agree more! What we like most about his post, though, is his point that memorizing the Bible is a discipline that should be carried on into adulthood. Little warms our hearts as much as seeing entire families memorizing together.

As Andy says:

From pre-schooler to senior citizen, these benefits transcend age or level of spiritual maturity ... the benefits of hiding God’s Word in one’s heart clobbers the initial difficulties.

Nothing will convince children more of the value of memorization as a discipline than seeing it practised by their parents. We know that this is true of so many character traits, but I would suggest that it is doubly true in the case of scripture memorization. Not only will children learn by copying what they see you do, but the mind-transforming discipline of memorization on your own life will make children even more inclined to follow in your footsteps.

Kids, if your parents aren't memorizing the Bible alongside you, ask them why not! Challenge them to join you. It's never too late to start.

When is a Verse Memorized?

Posted on October 10, 2011 Andy 38 comments

I want to encourage you to not focus too much on Memverse's designation of whether or not a verse is memorized. We picked 30 days as an arbitrary milestone which wouldn't prove to be too elusive but was also something to strive for. Truly committing a verse to memory, though, takes a lot longer and will likely require you to frequently select option 1 or 2 and start again.

Let me illustrate my point. All of us at some point had the equation for the roots of a quadratic drummed into our heads in high school. I remember being able to wake up in the middle of the night and recite it without hesitation. Like so much we learn, after leaving school I never had occasion to use the equation for about a decade. A year ago, I had to solve a quadratic and was astonished to find that I couldn't recall the formula. Something that I had once memorized perfectly was no longer accessible.

Fortunately, I asked Google and it gave me the answer. What I found interesting is that a single refreshing of that memory (after more than a decade) was sufficient to completely lay down the track again. I'm fairly sure I will remember it for the next twenty years.

This is why it is best to rate yourself as honestly as possible when reviewing your verses. I've been using Memverse now for over two years and I am starting to experience some of my early verses that I haven't had to review for a long time come up again. Some of them I remember and as I type them out again I can feel the memory track getting deeper. Others I have to reset and over the next few months, as the interval grows again, I get to really know them well.

That's how Memverse is designed to work. Next time you experience your mouse swaying between option 2 and 3, remember that the race is long and not necessarily to the swift. It's often better to reset a verse earlier, rather than later.

Incidentally: the roots of a quadratic are given by: -b +- sqrt(b^2-4ac)/2a

Scripture Songs for Bible Memory Verses

Posted on August 25, 2011 Phil Walker 39 comments

A great way to learn Bible memory verses is through Scripture songs.  This blog is to share with others Scripture songs you write and Scripture songs you find.

My favorite site for free NIV 1984 songs is www.pilgrimsongs.us from Rob and Wendy Jacobson.  My favorite songs from the site are "Do you not Know?" (ISAIAH 40:27-31) and "Do not Throw Away your Confidence" (HEBREWS 10:35-39).  I also very strongly endorse www.nivkids.com for 2-9 year olds and others who don't mind high quality, catchy kids tunes for memorizing God's awesome Word.  You can listen to samples for free and download an album for $1.99

In the KJV, a great site for free downloads is www.heritagemusic.org 

We would love to hear from you.  What great Scripture songs have you found or written that you can share with us?  

Memory Verses in 1 Peter

Posted on August 02, 2011 Phil Walker 232 comments

Rachel, a committed Memverse member, has started a group of people committing to memorizing 1 PETER.  Very cool.  I will let her update this page to include information on how the program works.  When the Bible Bee local competition is over, it would be neat to set up an accountability chart here for memorizing 1 PETER.  It would also be very cool to run a 1 PETER Live quiz or 2 either while we are memorizing or after we are done.  There are now 20+ people in the group.  If you would like to join us in memorizing 1 PETER with the group, please let us know.

The current group of 38 members =

1 Peter Memorizers

-- Rachel Crosswhite (me); SavedByGrace; Bethany (Bible Bee); Phil Walker; Matthew Minica; Josiah DeGraaf; Marie Morris; 

-- Eunice Sophia; BibleBeeJunior11; Ranch4Christ; Rachel; Simeon; Carissa (BB); Alex Watt; Kaitlyn Vredevoogd; RyanV; 

-- AmyV; NathanV; vburk; BrookeNicole; Sarah (Bible Bee); Zachary Baas; Sara Kenyon; Hannah Teeters; Emily; Lydia;

-- Sarah Stelzl; Jonathan Staddon; China Dennington; God's Little Child; Clay Dennington; Daniel Dalton; Jo B; Elessar;

-- Alethea Leonard; Kerestel Leonard; Monica Duitsman, Christian A

Please let us know if you no longer want to be listed or if you were listed twice by mistake.

Please be active in praying for members in the group as we take in this exciting book.

We don't want to accountability chart people to death.  However, we also want to give an outlet for people who are memorizing 1 PETER.  Group leader "Jesus Paid it All" has set Jan 31st, 2012 as a target date to finish, giving time to Bible Bee Finalists to finish after Nashville.  However, people are welcome to keep memorizing and declaring after that date.  There are 105 verses in this awesome book, so we will make each declaration = 5 verses.  We will welcome and post single, double and triple declarations as we understand that some have already been memorizing 1 PETER.  We ask you to refrain from declaring more than 15 verses at once, but rather return back for future declarations.  Declarations can be made from any parts of 1 PETER since we know some are not starting with 1:1.  We would love for you to join us!! Can we, Lord willing, get all 37 on, or better yet to eventually complete this chart?

Sample declarations = John D   IL   Set A = 1 PETER 4:1-5 = 5 verses; or  Frank J   NM   Set A, B, C = 1 PETER 2:3-17 = 15 verses or my first declaration of Phil W   IND   Set A,B = 1 PETER 1:13-20; 2:9-10 = 10 verses

1 PETER Accountability/Encouragement chart: Each declaration = 5 verses

Rachel C    NC                A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U have finished the 1 PETER chart.  CONGRATULATIONS!  I pray that God will use 1 PETER powerfully in your life for yours to come.  Thanks for encouraging all of us with this group!

Nicolas A   OH                A   B   C

Kaitlyn V     MI                 A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P

Bethany P   MO              A   B   C   D   E

Emily I       NC                A   B   C   D   E   F   G

Monica D    TX               A   B   C

Amy V      MI                   A   B   C   D   E

Simeon B   AK              A

Carissa P   MO             A   B   C   D   E   F   G

Eunice S   IND              A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U have finished the 1 PETER chart. CONGRATULATIONS! I pray that God will use 1 PETER powerfully in your life for yours to come. Great to see India involved with memorizing this wonderful book.  I can't wait for God to open the door for me to, Lord willing, one day visit India.

Christian A  OH             A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L

Jo B   UK                       A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U have finished the 1 PETER chart. CONGRATULATIONS! I pray that God will use 1 PETER powerfully in your life for yours to come. Great to see England involved with memorizing this wonderful book.  I pray that more and more people in England will treasure and memorize Scripture and praise God for the historical legacy England has in our Christian faith.  

Phil W     IDN               A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H

New Memorization Page

Posted on December 02, 2010 Andy 46 comments

Hi everyone,

We are excited to finally announce the beta release of the new memorization page. You'll find it under Memorization -> QuickMem. There are probably still a few kinks to be worked out so don't start using it unless you're the kind of person that likes to live on the edge.

It is intended to eventually replace the old 'Memorize' page. So why did we need a new one?

First, this one should be a lot faster to load each verse, especially for those of you who are on slow internet connections. It downloads the next verse while you're working on the current one.

There is also another feature which we think will help people stay on top of their memorization schedule: when a verse is not strictly due for review, you will have the opportunity to skip it. A little 'fast forward' button will appear and you can click on that to skip to the next verse in a passage that is due. This obviously only applies to verses that are being presented as part of a passage. (I realize that the fast forward button color scheme doesn't match the rest of the website ... if anyone is good with Photoshop and wants to make one that does, that would be great).

For those of you who use the 'Chapter Review' page, verses that are due as you work through the chapter will now be updated. So feel free to use the chapter review page as the main way to review your complete chapters. We're working on a better way to alert you when chapters are due for review.

Finally, there is a new Memverse counter on the home page which will update as verses are memorized. We can look forward to the day when that hits 1 million!