3/23: Navigation

BHQ site: (www.brainhq.com)

This week we will be learning about Navigation skills and the Navigation category of the BHQ exercises. If you haven’t tried this category yet, you may find it a little challenging. Many students tell us it is their most difficult (but that also makes it the most rewarding). Give it a try to see how you feel about it, after reading the handout about navigation and your brain. You’ll be surprised at what you learn, and you will get motivated to keep trying. Do you think you’re pretty good at finding your way around? Ever wonder why you are, or aren’t so good at navigating? This lesson will help you to understand your navigational abilities and even how you can improve them (at any age). Yes, even the Navigation exercises will get easier with practice – lots and lots of practice. Don’t give up.

Navigation is an area in which some people excel, while others struggle. This week we learn what systems in the brain are involved in navigation, and how these systems work together to help us find our way. Besides learning the difference between allocentric and egocentric visualization, you will learn about the area in your brain which is important for navigation, and how the cells work together to help you find your way. Although this initial part of the handout may seem a little scientific, we eventually get to the technology part, and the impact of GPS on our own navigational methods, and ultimately on our brain health. After reading this handout, you will have a renewed respect for the navigational exercises of BrainHQ in possibly restoring some of the functions lost by relying too much on GPS. Click to read and view the online Interactive Lesson here. Or download and Read the printed handout here. If you find the handout to be a little scientific, you may enjoy this presentation. Here is our presentation.

Quiz: Take the quiz

On the BrainHQ Site – we will learn more about the skills we need to hone in order to maintain and improve our navigational abilities. “To feel comfortable with new experiences, we have to be able to navigate the world confidently.” Finding new places, figuring out mass transit, following maps and/or even planning out our week or a vacation, all take good navigation skills. In addition to the visual spatial skills you read about in your lesson, focus and memory (targeted in many BHQ exercises) help us to notice, remember and utilize landmarks in navigating unfamiliar places.

Processing speed (as targeted in Optic Flow) helps us to see and recognize that landmark in time to respond to it. Mental manipulation (Mental Map) keeps us from getting lost when we enter or observe a place from a different direction. And Right Turn can improve our ability to find our way back home from an unfamiliar location by being able to mentally reverse the directions in our head. True North helps us practice holding all of this information in our heads as we follow complex instructions while simultaneously keeping track of ever-changing directions. Can you now tell which of these exercises might improve your allocentric, egocentric, spatial and/or object navigational skills? We’ll talk about it at our Zoom session on Wednesday.

Read more about each of the Navigation exercises and how they help improve your navigation skills by clicking on any of the links above. These links also take you to the video tutorials to see how the exercises should be played. You can also get to information about the Navigation exercises by clicking on the “Exercises” oval on the orange BHQ Home Page, and then scrolling down to the Intelligence Category of exercises (the yellow icons).

Zoom Session: This week's Zoom Session will be on Wednesday, March 25th. This week, our lessons are related, so you may like to join us for both sessions since to get another perspective of the importance of our navigational skills. Feel free to drop in to whatever sessions work best for you. Here’s our schedule of events:

6:30-7:00: For ALL! Q&A time about any of the BHQ exercises or navigating the BHQ or class websites.

7:00-7:30: We will focus on the Weekly Basics Lesson about Navigation and the Brain

7:30–8:00: We will focus on the Weekly Topics Lesson – Tackling Spatial Awareness

Just click here to follow the instructions on the Home Page by scrolling down to Weekly Zoom Sessions. Or you can go directly to the Zoom site by clicking here.

Note: If it’s your first time participating in a Zoom session, you can try getting on the site early to see how easy it is to get it set up. We begin our BHQ Zoom at 6:45, so try getting on at about 6:30 and call if you have any trouble. You can participate by video and audio, or just listen in by phone. Please let us know if you need help! Call Pat’s cell at 619-818-3953. If you’ve been on Zoom before, you will appreciate this new Zoom Video that Mary created to help you learn about some of the features available to you while on the site. See you on Wednesday.

Enjoy the lessons, and have a brain-healthy week.

Need help? Contact us at:

Pat Mosteller (pmostell@sdccd.edu) Cell 619-818-3953 - Online classes

Mary Burns (mburns@sdccd.edu) - Online classes

Debbie Flores (dsflores@sdccd.edu) - Cell 619-608-9001 --Online classes & Wednesday AM and PM classes at the Kroc Center

Janet Blair ( blusdbits@gmail.com ) - St Pauls Plaza. Contact for Support and Lesson Review

Yael Lorberfeld (ylorberfeld@sdccd.edu) . Mondays at the Kroc Center, Wednesdays at the College Ave Senior Center (Temple Emanu-El), and Friday mornings at the La Jolla JCC.

Marilyn Kessler (marilynk@ifssd.org) - Mondays at the College Ave Senior Center (Temple Emanu-El)