Blackboard Collaborate Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate is such a great option for online teachers. We use it to meet with students and present lessons live on the computer. I use it weekly. It is seamlessly integrated with PowerPoint.

The features are neat - you have lots of controls as a moderator. You can allow students to speak, use video cameras, type, draw, add pictures to the whiteboard, etc. You can set how many students can be speaking at once. You can mute them by taking away tools. You can create breakout rooms. You can play all sorts of media. You can remove students who are not behaving. You can lock the room or allow attendees in late. I've met with anywhere from 1 to 700 participants.

You can make permanent forcing slides and make sure that students can't do anything without a teacher being present, but there are downsides to those functionalities as well.

The app is really great. It is limited, and simple, but I've never had a problem with it.

Cons

The major thing I dislike is the "exception error" that I get CONSTANTLY. Basically, BBC can only handle so much data. Because it can't tell which participant needs what, it actually has to save and stream anything within a certain time period and send that out to everyone in the room. So, it really bogs the room down. It is just saving a TON of data at any given time. We've had to create separate rooms for back to back sessions instead of hosting them in the same room for this reason. It'll give an exception error if you try to do too much with too many people in too small a timeframe.

Don't try to host a session over a wireless hotspot unless you have unlimited data. One session cost me like 2 gigs of data.

Recording can only be done in the main room. If you need to record in a breakout session, you'll have to figure something else out. We use Snagit for breakout room recordings.

The administrator panel is very confusing. I'm really tech savvy and I have a hard time navigating. It is definitely not intuitive when it comes to setting up new rooms and adding moderators.

The permanent forcing slides are good. No issues there. However, what a pain to set up -- it just makes no sense. I wish it was easier to figure out how to do that.

Pros

I like the ease and setup of the course in blackboard. The layout is super-friendly in terms of finding your course materials, your email, instructor information, or accessing discussion boards. As a student in different schools, I found blackboard worked pretty much the same way, no issues in attending my live class sessions or taking my tests.

Cons

No cons regarding blackboard from a student's stance. It is really laid out where anyone can log in and find their way around after a brief tutorial.

Pros

Lots of useful features for professors and students that makes online learning feel more personal. Instant messaging works well and the interactive whiteboard is indispensable. It's a nice touch that it's browser-based, so there's no need for students to download a desktop version as it can be accessed anywhere. Students seems to benefit from the instant interaction with the teacher with the two-way webcam capabilities. Uploading files, slides, and videos is smooth and useful.

Cons

All features are hard to realise if you don't have a lot of IT resources or experience. Students should be able to record private sessions/breakout rooms. Sometimes students find that the more people in attendance, the more instance of freezing and errors. Some students have also mentioned issues interacting with the MacBooks. Tablet/mobile capability could also be tweaked as the interactive whiteboard seems to have issues on these platforms.

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate is accessible from most device types, which is helpful when dealing with larger classrooms, and and technically-challenged professors. The platform is also accessible for students with language and physical needs, which really extends the lecture opportunities in ways not really available in a real classroom. Also, unlike some other LMS programs, Blackboard Collaborate doesn't try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to features and user interaction. Much of the functionality feels similar to existing and common software that users will likely be familiar with, so the learning curve is not steep.

Cons

Blackboard Collaborate can be slow, awkward, and suffers from the same sort of limitations as other digital conferencing tools. Yes, there are features not dependent on real-time, two-way communication, and it can function without all users on board, but it can't replace many normal lecture/class use cases. That means that educators and administrators have to think of new curriculum and instruction plans just to use the software. This is not so much a technical fault as it is just a limitation of the concept.

Pros

Seeing grades posted throughout the semester, referencing resources that teachers posted, and taking quizzes and tests on it. I also appreciated that they worked with group projects to connect with other students in the class and to upload assignments.

Cons

It would crash every so often, not enough to make a huge deal about it.