During some recent live focus group testing with new users, we noticed that many blatantly ignored some of the big buttons we've designed for navigation in the Brainscape app study experience. 

We watched them, over and over, try to just tap the card instead of hitting the "Reveal Answer" button. Or we watched them try to swipe forward or backward like one would do in photos.

As big and obvious as those buttons were, people were operating on the instinct honed from years’ of smartphone use. And so we made some tweaks! 

The buttons are still there but now those gestures either function as users expect them to or they’ll get a pop-up explaining how to do what we think they want to do

This is a great new tweak for all users, who may appreciate the improved simplicity and the addition of intuitive gestures like tapping a card to reveal the answer or swiping to go back a card.Have you noticed the new gestures? Tell us what you think here

In other news (coming soon…)

  • Continued web study algorithm updates to make your study experience in Brainscape as easy, efficient, and painless as possible!
  • Improvements to card imports for more formats and file types.
  • Easier, faster flashcard creation using AI (directly built into Brainscape, heck yeah!)
  • Collectible achievements and awards to mark your study milestones and keep you motivated.
  • Full dark mode in the web and mobile app.

Got a feature you’d like to see? We’re constantly looking for inspiration, so get your butt into the Brainscape community and let us know your top feature request!

Here’s a guaranteed chuckle…

Choosing Brainscape over doom scrolling

Friendly reminder to swap out some of your social media time for studying 🤓

Say hi to Brainscape’s Director of Content Marketing, Thea Beckman

Thea Beckman hanging out with a Barn Owl
Thea Beckman hanging out with a Barn Owl

If you’re a long-time user of Brainscape, Thea’s name should be very familiar to you. If not, check your inbox: she should appear there every couple of days or so with the latest study tips on optimizing your learning in Brainscape and in life! Thea is our Director of Content Marketing and the creative brain behind most of our articles, posts, YouTube videos, and newsletters… like this one!

Okay, let’s drop the “third person” thing. What can I tell you about myself? Once upon a time, I wrote a comedy book about science. My favorite productivity habit is exercising first thing in the morning. The exercise is NOT my favorite thing but mentally, it’s the hardest thing I do all day so get it done first. (This applies to any difficult thing you have to do. Do it first.)

My favorite Brainscape accomplishment? So many. But I’m proudest of our email drips, which I wrote from the heart to my human readers. I mean what I say in them. I care about your success and well-being, which is why I believe we get such warm responses from them.

Finally, a random fun fact: My hobby (borderline obsession) is bird-watching. I even used Brainscape to make my very own flashcards for the shorebirds of North America

Also, karaoke is life.

Our favorite place to hang out: the Brainscape Community

You know Courtney? She’s a real person! Also: Rory, Justin, and Chuckee? Real people. You’ve seen their names in your inbox countless times and now we want you to hop into the Brainscape Community on Discord and talk to us in person!

Here, you can also chat with other self-motivated learners who are studying exactly the same subjects as you; boss us around by telling us how we can improve; and receive free training on learning as efficiently as humanly possible. What’s not to love? Join the Brainscape Community today!