10 reasons why Picmonic + Sketchy helps students learn more in less time
Over the past 7 years since Picmonic entered the market as the very first visual picture-mnemonic learning tool for medical students, students have told us in our quarterly feedback surveys what helps them the most about the study resources they use. Some students use Picmonic instead of SketchyMedical since Picmonic is more affordable (“I prefer Picmonic. I don’t use sketchy…it is too long and more expensive.”) and for other reasons, but there are some students who are using both resources, together. We’ll share what students have told us over the years.
Reason #1
Picmonic has 1,000 more topics than Sketchy, such as Biochemistry, Physiology, Genetics, Embryology, Behavioral and Psychiatry. If students are using SketchyMedical, they’ll find eventually they’ll hit a topic that Sketchy doesn’t cover.
Bottom line: The Picmonic medical library contains over 1,600 video-quiz lessons covering over 15,000 facts, and offers the most comprehensive coverage of First Aid of any visual learning tool.
Reason #2
Picmonic is more efficient for review before an exam. If students use Sketchy to learn a topic, they’ll use Picmonic for review because Picmonics are shorter than Sketchy videos.
Bottom line: Don’t have time to rewatch 20-minute videos? Struggling to remember important facts about a topic? Picmonic’s concise approach will give you an effective way to review the information and provide low-stakes recall quizzes and spaced rep quizzes to help you remember long term.
Reason #3
Students will use Picmonic if they are struggling to learn the topic with Sketchy.
Bottom line: Picmonic’s research-proven approach — with wacky memorable characters and other techniques based on known memory science phenomena — helps students effectively learn and retain information for the long term.
Reason #4
Some students only use Sketchy for Microbiology, but use Picmonic for Pharm and everything else to avoid learning multiple images for the same thing, and to save time as they review topics they’ve already learned.
Bottom line: If there is a topic you are struggling to remember, Picmonic’s concise approach will give you an effective way to review the information and provide low-stakes recall quizzes and spaced rep quizzes to help you remember long term.
Reason #5
Picmonics are simpler and less overwhelming than Sketches. If students know a topic, they’ll often skip the topic in Sketchy, and go straight to Picmonic for review.
Bottom line: On average a Picmonic will cover 8-10 high yield facts that are hard to remember and frequently tested, but doesn’t overload a single Picmonic to abide by theories of working memory.
Reason #6
Picmonic uses a Play-Quiz-Review methodology that offers more low-stakes recall practice, with over 15,000 quiz questions (Sketchy < 1000). Picmonic’s approach provides a more comprehensive way to review whether you’ve learned the material with Sketchy or Picmonic.
Bottom line: Picmonic has a more robust library covering over 15,000 multiple choice quiz questions.
Reason #7
Sketchy does not offer Spaced Repetition based quizzes, so after students have learned a topic with Picmonic and reviewed it with Picmonic, they can use Picmonic’s Daily Quiz with spaced repetition to remember what they have studied longer.
Bottom line: Picmonic’s intelligent spaced repetition Daily Quiz will help track everything you learn, and prompt you to review the right information at the right time so that you retain what you’ve learned long term.
Reason #8
Sometimes taking notes or adding facts can help increase learning retention. With Picmonic, students can customize their content and add their own information and characters, notes, images, videos and more to satisfy their personal learning needs.
Bottom line: Edit, modify or add facts/characters to a sketch using Picmonic’s robust customization features, if additional details you’d like to memorize are missing from the sketch. You can even see the relevant additional facts & characters your peers are adding to each topic, and adopt for yourself only the ones you struggle to remember.
Reason #9
Creative students love the ability to create their own Picmonics. If there’s a topic you can’t find create it yourself using Picmonic and practice active learning.
Bottom line: You can create your own Picmonics using the simple drag and drop authoring tools, then share your creations with friends or the world! And on that note, anything shared publicly is also available to you too! Meaning thousands of additional topics covered in the Picmonic for Medicine library.
Reason #10
Here are a few unique features that Picmonic offers:
- Anki Add-On You can access every Picmonic thumbnail, summary, high-yield fact list, Video and Quiz straight from your Anki app, with the Picmonic Anki Add-On.
- Related Facts View real-life imagery. Textbook quality images and content integrated alongside characters, to better prepare you for what you’ll see on a test.
- Mobile apps Study on the go and review Playlists even when you don’t have internet access.
- Community submissions – since Picmonic takes community submissions and allows students to make their own Picmonics (that can be viewed by all!), the information is sure to stay on the cutting edge
- Picmonic has playlists that follow first aid and pathoma 1:1- allowing seamless integration of multiple education resources.
To sum it up, one student said it best — “I used both. They ain’t da same thing bro.”
For additional information, visit:
Ron Robertson, Co-founder & CEO, Picmonic Inc.
Ron Robertson founded Picmonic as a 3rd-year medical student at the University of Arizona. He’s at the helm of Picmonic’s mission to lead and inspire a new era of learning through innovative and effective educational solutions. Ron holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of San Diego with a focus on memory science, is the product visionary behind Picmonic, and is involved in every aspect of the company.
