Please see our updated Educator FAQs.
Everything you need to know about Picmonic as an educator!
Why do educators get free premium trial access?
We believe in paying it forward. Picmonic is a bit on the wacky side, and not everyone understands it right away. It’s important to us that educators have an opportunity to see how Picmonic works for themselves. There has been confusion about the importance of memorization as a foundation of Bloom’s taxonomy and where a product like Picmonic fits into the learning journey. Please experience how powerful this resource can be for your students by activating your 100% Free for Educators Picmonic Premium Trial account.
What research has been done on Picmonic to show it’s effectiveness?
Read our IRB-approved research study!
What are some notable schools that use Picmonic?
Picmonic is primarily a student subscription resource that has spread mostly via word of mouth referral, and we give free premium trial access to educators, so we only sell institutional licenses to schools that are very dedicated to their students’ long-term success. Some notable schools that have purchased Picmonic for their students include:
How do professors use this in their class?
• Learning Management System App (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle) for assignments and visibility into engagement – learn more about setting up Picmonic in Canvas here!
• Play videos in class (but remind students that Picmonic is a learning system way beyond just videos with adaptive review quizzing and more).
• Assign Picmonic quizzes through your LMS or take them together as a class.
• Download and intertwine Picmonic characters into your lecture slides to associate your lecture to your student’s pre-existing memory anchors (if they use Picmonic) or to support metal scaffolding creation during the lecture.
Can students use it for free or is it only paid?
Students can view 1 Picmonic, 20 Quiz questions and 1 Spaced Rep round per day for free!
Who reviews the content and how often?
Our team of academic scholars is continuously reviewing and improving our extensive content library. This occurs in a few different ways:
If content is flagged for an inaccuracy, it is prioritized for review by our academic scholars, fixed if inaccurate, and an updated Picmonic is published as quickly as possible. Our team of academic scholars reference evidence-based resources (including PubMed, JSTOR, UpToDate, First Aid, DynaMed, the National Center for Biotechnology and Science Direct, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to ensure we have the most accurate and up-to-date information, and all updates are subjected to an extensive peer review process.
Does your content work for the COMLEX?
Picmonic for Medicine is perfect for the COMLEX. On top of the crossover MD/DO content that works great for USMLE and COMLEX studying, there’s also DO specific Picmonics like the Chapman’s Points set.
What does the NCLEX pass guarantee mean?
See this page here for more information.
What does the PANCE pass guarantee mean?
Find more info on this page here.
Do you have board-style questions?
Luckily no, there’s already more than enough question banks and board exam-specific study resources available. Picmonic is the unique supplement to core learning for the whole student journey that when used properly, enables more efficient conceptual understanding and mastery through their classroom instruction. Then, come board study time, re-learning information is not necessary and students can focus on practice questions.
Note: Some board-style questions are available for nursing students with our Question of the Day, but beyond that, we highly recommend using one of the gold standard question banks.
Do you work with USMLE?
Picmonic is designed to help students ace board exams like Step! Find more information about our Step and COMLEX guarantee.
We cover most of First Aid, allowing you to follow along step by step
How does this compare to similar resources (Sketchy)?
Primary differences include:
Content Coverage: Sketchy Micro & Pharm; Picmonic everything
Picmonic: 3 min videos vs. Sketchy: 5-45 min videos
Picmonic: video + quiz + spaced rep; Sketchy: video library and some quiz questions
• Picmonic and Sketchy both aim to help students remember what they learn in school using the concept of picture-mnemonics and the Memory Palace. Students rave about the benefit of both resources.
• Picmonic is known for efficiently helping students remember the most important information across all subjects, while Sketchy is known for easier to comprehend longer in-depth videos, mainly for Micro & Pharm.
• Our content is customizable, and you can even create your own Picmonics!
• We strive to keep our content accurate and up to date with community moderation and our team of scholars
• Our mobile apps allow you to study on the go and offline
• Med Student Tips is a great site that highlights some of the differences between Picmonic and other resources
Do schools buy this for students or do they buy it directly?
Yes! Schools purchase or subsidize Picmonic for their students the time.
Picmonic is primarily a student subscription resource that has spread mostly via word of mouth referral, and we give free premium trial access to educators, so we only sell institutional licenses to schools that are very dedicated to their students’ long-term success.
Is Picmonic a for-profit company?
Yes, many investors put their faith and trust and money into the Picmonic team to create something truly meaningful and impactful, and we still need to pay them back.
How do I get access?
The process couldn’t be more simple. Visit our Educator Portal to request access. We will validate your status as an educator by asking you to use your .edu email and giving us a link to your institution’s website where you are referenced or your LinkedIn profile page showing your institutional affiliation. That’s it! Within 48 hours you will receive a welcome email with instructions to log into your account. Easy peasy! So what are you waiting for? Join the Picmonic revolution today and change your classroom forever
Have any questions? Email us at educators@picmonic.com!
Alana Yuen, Artist, Events Coordinator & Student Success Ninja
As one of Picmonic’s artists, Alana enjoys drawing the characters that represent the crazy facts you need to remember. She also helps set up Picmonic info sessions for schools across the world. She lives in Brooklyn, NY and considers herself the official “east coast branch” of Picmonic.
