We performed a comparison between Blackboard Learning Management and Google Classroom based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Our users prefer Google Classroom over Blackboard Learning Management because of its flexibility, convenience, and affordability. Users appreciate Google Classroom's ease of use and native integration with other Google apps. They value the ability to reuse materials and access them on the cloud. Blackboard has been faulted for its inability to handle large file sizes and shortcomings in student management. While users say that Google Classroom is cost-effective for educational institutions, reviewers found Blackboard to be expensive, and it requires frequent updates.
"Blackboard enables instructors to collectively gather all the grading data into one place. If students upload content or post it to a Google Doc, I can do my grading and calculate the grades. It is an excellent holding place for all of that data"
"It encompasses various components, including course delivery modules, content management, community engagement features, digital classrooms, and mobile integration."
"One of the most important features is the possibility of creating unlimited subdomains."
"The modules and courses are flexible."
"It is scalable."
"Company-wise, the most important feature is that it is a product of Google. It is a part of Google Suite. With Google Classroom, you can easily embed a Google Sheet, Google Doc, or Google Form. You can easily create a quiz in Google Form. It is integrated with Google Drive. So, everything is on Google Drive, and you can easily use it. With single sign-on, you can use it with Google Apps as well."
"The product's UI is good and user-friendly."
"What I like about Google Classroom are the video lessons. I enjoy using it because it makes my life easier, for example, I can easily change my class and my lecture notes."
"The most valuable features of Google Classroom are the meetings, mark book, and assignments."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its performance."
"The product is easy to use."
"I can see all the submissions in a central place."
"This solution integrates with all the other Google apps including Google Calendar and Google Docs. This makes it very easy to manage."
"The solution is not flexible."
"It would be ideal to create a more responsive or more intuitive template for access from telephones or tablets."
"Blackboard has limitations in terms of delivering content and assessing student assignments because it can't handle large file sizes. It's also limited in its ability to track student activity. Instructors can see the student's most recent login, but they can't follow the activity."
"The system falls short in terms of managing assessments and exams effectively."
"The solution must provide better integration with third-party software."
"I would like to see a master list of documents with folder names so that it is more convenient for students to know whether they have submitted a particular document. At present, you need to go to each classroom to check what you have submitted."
"The initial setup of Google Classroom is straightforward. The deployment took us two to three months because we had to train the faculty."
"It would be helpful to add voice or audio capabilities to the classrooms instead of text only."
"The stability could be improved."
"There are some websites where you can create activities and guide students to do them in a sequence. You can guide them to do an activity first and then go to the next one. You can automatically link activities, and there is a flow, but in Google Classroom, you don't have that feature. All you can do is put the material and tell students what to do. For example, I have an assignment, but I want my students to read a particular text before that. They need to tick it, or they need to click next before they start doing the activity. After that, I want them to do comprehension questions or something else. In Moodle, there are activities such as assignments, quizzes, etc. There is a lesson module in which you can put all of the activities in a flow. So, you can decide what they need to do first. If students answer a question incorrectly, you can decide and design to which page do they need to go next, and which part do they need to review. This is currently missing in Google Classroom."
"There can often be language barriers when you're not dealing with local technical support, which can be challenging."
"Students used to have points that were accumulated and the letter grades, such as A's, B's, C's, et cetera. Google Classroom should add a feature by which you can toggle in between both of them. It's more than only accumulated points, which are not going to mean that much for students unless there's a prize at the end or some type of reward for the effort. However, if there's a way to toggle in between allocating points versus allocating a grade, it would be nice."
"We found that Google Classroom is it is missing a lot in current engagement. We know it has got guardian access, where it sends the reports to the guardian at the end of either the week or the month, depending on how you set it. However, it lacks collaboration between the teacher, student, and parents. The engagement is mostly between the student and the teacher. If you have a school similar to ours, where you're dealing with little children where the parent is supposed to be engaged, you need a system that can engage them as well. It's good for senior students, but not for our students."
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Blackboard Learning Management is ranked 7th in Learning Management Systems (LMS) with 6 reviews while Google Classroom is ranked 3rd in Learning Management Systems (LMS) with 23 reviews. Blackboard Learning Management is rated 7.8, while Google Classroom is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Blackboard Learning Management writes "Expandable with good real-time live interactions but is very expensive". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Google Classroom writes "An easy-to-use and intuitive solution that can be used to facilitate excellent teaching and learning". Blackboard Learning Management is most compared with CYPHER Learning and ELITE LMS, whereas Google Classroom is most compared with Moodle, Canvas LMS and CYPHER Learning. See our Blackboard Learning Management vs. Google Classroom report.
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