The #1 question I am asked when I tell people that I work for Sparks of Genius is, “What do you do there?” I usually respond that we reprogram students’ brains by having them play video games just by thinking about it.
That’s a pretty good answer, and it certainly got me excited when I read about Dr. Kessler’s work in the Sun Sentinel in July 2006, but it isn’t exactly enlightening. There are a lot of misconceptions, such as: this is only for kids, this is only for kids with ADD or ADHD, this is experimental, etc. (You can get more info here: www.SparksofGenius.com)
Sparks of Genius is a Peak Performance Training Program
In reality, Sparks of Genius is a Peak Performance training program. Peak Performance means that if you are performing in any arena at any level, you can kick that up to 9 or 10 out of 10 with cognitive training. Adults or kids, athletes, students, learning disabled, anyone. Well, your head does have to fit in the bicycle-helmet, brain-scanner setup so you can play the games, but you get the idea. The helmet has sensors in it that scan your brain and allow you to interface with the games.
It is only because of the strong demand that we wind up with a predominance of underachieving students. Really, Sparks of Genius is for everyone.
How do we create total transformation? Through the 9-5-4 Program.
There are 9 Intelligences: Verbal, Mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Spiritual and Naturalist. Schools only care about one or two; Sparks of Genius taps into all 9.
Increase three or more [Cognitive Skills] and you’ve got a Total Transformation.
There are 5 Cognitive Skills: Attention, Memory, Learning, Thinking and Processing Speed. Increase one of these, and you increase cognitive ability. Increase three or more and you’ve got a Total Transformation.
Finally, there are 4 Executive Functions: Organization, Planning, Prioritizing, and Decision-Making. These are higher-order functions and essential for long-term success.
Students come to us, go through fancy, high-tech evaluations, and Dr. Kessler puts together a customized work-out regimen that plays on the student’s strengths and pumps up the areas that are weakest. 2-3 hours per week on a home computer, plus an hour in our high-tech, high-touch playground is usually all it takes. The results last, and they generalize to school, athletics, home, and the social realm.
Sparks of Genius is exciting. We’re at the cutting edge of educational technology. Sparks of Genius moves so fast our students have to wear a bicycle helmet! =)
So there you go. That’s what we do. See you soon.
Allen Dobkin
March 19th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
[...] ld, education. trackback We’ve said it all along here at SparksofGenius.com: there are 9 intelligences, and if you want to get smarter you can work on any of [...]
April 17th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
[...] At Sparks of Genius we’re in the learning achievement business and fully committed to helping our students (ages 6-82) becoming fully human. The 9th intelligence is an important part of the 9-5-4 equation. Link is http://sparksofgenius.wordpress.com/2007/02/07/what-is-the-sparks-of-genius-9-5-4-program/ [...]