Amanda Moritz

Amanda is the social marketing manager at Brainscape. She writes for the blog, reaches out to existing and future Brainscape users online, and keeps coming up with reasons why Brainscape is the best learning tool ever. Born and raised in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, Amanda stayed in the area to receive her bachelor's from MIT in Brain and Cognitives Sciences with a humanities concentration in writing. Anytime of day you'll be able to find Amanda eating food and candy, walking around her new city, and hanging out at the Brainscape office, obviously! Follow her @aemoritz

Amanda Moritz's Posts

Infographic of the Week: Bilingualism in America

By Amanda Moritz, 5/16/2012 at 7:36 am

Did you know that in 1980 Italian was the second most spoken second language in US households after Spanish? Might be a little surprising to those of us who were born in the past two decades! While that is not the case now (Chinese holds the #2 spot now), it is interesting to observe how bilingual households have evolved over time in America. Bilingualism can tell us about the diverse makeup of America, but it is also a topic that interests us at Brainscape for what it reveals about language learning and memory. There are differences in the development of monolingual and bilingual infants, cognitive benefits from knowing multiple languages, as well as differences in creativity between mono- and bilinguals.

BestCollegesOnline.com put together an infographic on Bilingualism Across the U.S.. If there were one chart I wish they had included, it would be the proportion of bilingual households in America over time. That being said, enjoy! (more…)

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Boost Your Brain: 19 Reasons to Exercise

By Amanda Moritz, 5/15/2012 at 6:56 am

We’ve recently informed you of the importance of keeping your brain in shape with brain exercises, but what about the benefits that regular exercise can have on your brain? We were surprised to find that many of the 19 reasons to exercise posted in Psychology Today directly relate to your brain function. From better sleep to better memory, your brain loves it when your body is healthy. Read on for plenty of reasons to get your body in shape. (more…)

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Infographic of the Week: Flashcards! Practice Makes Perfect

By Amanda Moritz, 5/11/2012 at 7:23 am

Course Hero rounded up a bunch of research on the effectiveness of repetitive learning with flashcards, relying heavily on Brainscape Research! Check it out below and be amazed at the genius of flashcards!

As Course Hero puts it so well on their blog, “if you are really committed to doing your best, you may want to put down that Red Bull and pick up a stack of index cards. Yes, Flashcards–one of the oldest study methods around–is actually one of the most effective.” We’ve been researching this and writing about it for a long time now, and are happy to see the research presented in a nice infographic.

Happy Friday! (more…)

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How to Speak Like a Native: Annie Murphy Paul on Pronunciation

By Amanda Moritz, 5/9/2012 at 7:35 am

We are pleased to share a language learning post from one of our favorite learning/language/creativity/memory/science writers: Annie Murphy Paul for Time.com. Read on to learn How to Speak Like a Native.

Can an adult learn to speak a second language with the accent of a native? Not likely, but new research suggests that we would make better progress, and be understood more easily by our conversational partners, if we abandoned a perfect accent as our goal in the language learning process. (more…)

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One Day Left: Brainscape Video Contest Submission Period

By Amanda Moritz, 5/3/2012 at 7:50 am

Yoda and GRE You have ONE day left to submit your video to the Brainscape Video Contest. Every entry gets you a FREE Brainscape subject of your choice, and two contest winners will receive a $25 AmEx Giftcard!

If you want some inspiration, a funny video to watch, or came here for Brainscape’s weekly Video of the Week, check out one recent submission below: (more…)

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The Latest Research behind Spaced Repetition

By Amanda Moritz, 5/2/2012 at 11:33 am

Psychologists and scientists across the board all want to know: what are the best ways to study so as to keep the material in long-term memory (the storage process of which is called long-term potentiation). We want to retain the material for as long as possible, as well as make it accessible for recall. The importance of repetition has been stressed in these regards, but is all repetition created equal? (more…)

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How Your Brain Ages [Infographic]

By Amanda Moritz, 4/23/2012 at 7:03 am

How does your brain age? While it is true that everyone’s brain ages differently (that’s why one grandfather might be sharp as a whip while the other may have Parkinson’s disease), it is also true that brains age in certain patterns that take place at certain times in our lives. Brain growth is unbelievably fast when we are developing as fetuses and infants. Not too surprising, but when you hear a number like 250,000 neurons created/minute, you have to stop and appreciate what our bodies can make. And our brains keep developing, and creating new connections… until they start to shrink, and work slower.

But don’t get discouraged, because it is not true that your brain does not create any more neurons after a certain point. Case in point, look at the amazing recovery of someone like Gabby Giffords.

This is how your brain ages: (more…)

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Enter the Brainscape Video Contest

By Amanda Moritz, 4/19/2012 at 8:07 am

Have you entered the Brainscape video contest yet? Send us your videos and receive a free Brainscape subject of your choice and enter for a chance to win one of two AmEx Giftcards.

You have until next Friday, April 27th to submit your videos, so go start recording! (more…)

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Dream On: Why Sleep is So Important (Infographic)

By Amanda Moritz, 4/16/2012 at 8:21 am

We’ve given you tips to help you sleep. We’ve given you many reasons why sleep helps you learn. And we’ve given you drugless solutions to cure your insomnia. And today you’ll read more about sleep; I came across a great infographic on sleep recently that I want to share with you. Take a look below at the infographic that Frugal Dad put together for us. (more…)

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Brainscape Fan Video Contest

By Amanda Moritz, 4/10/2012 at 4:42 pm

Do you want to let the world know that you are learning really really fast with Brainscape and compete at a chance to win one of two AmEx Giftcards? Now is your chance! Enter the Brainscape Fan Video Contest today!

Submit to the Brainscape Fan Video Contest by Friday, April 27th, and receive any Brainscape subject of your choice for free, just for participating! Voting for the two grand prizes goes for 2 additional weeks (rules below).

You can view the current submissions here. (more…)

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