Adobe Connect vs. Blackboard Collaborate

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Connect
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Connect is a web conferencing platform that enables users to create presentations, online training materials, and learning modules. The product is entirely Adobe Flash-based and has several add-ons for customizing its software to suit each users’ unique needs.
$50
per host/per month
Blackboard Collaborate
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
Blackboard Collaborate is an online, collaborative learning platform well-suited for the education industry and corporate learning needs. It includes features such as screen and application sharing, web conferencing, and integration with Blackboard Learn.
$300
per year
Pricing
Adobe ConnectBlackboard Collaborate
Editions & Modules
Meetings
$50
per host/per month
Webinars & Learning
$130
per host/per month
Small Meetings
Free
Forever free for up to 3 participants
Classroom
$300.00
per year
Department
$9000.00
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe ConnectBlackboard Collaborate
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe ConnectBlackboard Collaborate
Considered Both Products
Adobe Connect
Chose Adobe Connect
The best part of Adobe Connect is sharing the information with others who use this software. If you attend school and love taking notes through your iPad or Computer, you can share what notes you are writing with everyone in your classes. Also, it is a great virtual meeting …
Chose Adobe Connect
Adobe Connect offers best visual appearance and user accessibility other than the fact that is uses Adobe Flash which some web browsers have threatened to ban. I really miss the persistent meeting rooms of Adobe Connect Meeting and as a meeting host this is the very best system …
Chose Adobe Connect
BB Collaborate used to have a horrific UI, now that has improved but the functions aren't there yet.
In demoing the tool and Blackboard World 2015 it seemed very unstable.
Blackboard Collaborate
Chose Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate meets the needs of a conferencing tool. It is especially great used in sync with other Blackboard products.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Adobe ConnectBlackboard Collaborate
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
8.0
65 Ratings
0% below category average
Blackboard Collaborate
-
Ratings
High quality audio8.764 Ratings00 Ratings
High quality video7.264 Ratings00 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements6.955 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile support9.142 Ratings00 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
7.7
64 Ratings
4% below category average
Blackboard Collaborate
-
Ratings
Desktop sharing8.064 Ratings00 Ratings
Whiteboards7.454 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
7.9
65 Ratings
4% below category average
Blackboard Collaborate
-
Ratings
Calendar integration9.241 Ratings00 Ratings
Meeting initiation8.656 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with social media7.328 Ratings00 Ratings
Record meetings / events7.360 Ratings00 Ratings
Slideshows7.251 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
8.6
64 Ratings
2% above category average
Blackboard Collaborate
-
Ratings
Live chat9.462 Ratings00 Ratings
Audience polling8.255 Ratings00 Ratings
Q&A8.352 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
Adobe Connect
8.9
60 Ratings
6% above category average
Blackboard Collaborate
-
Ratings
User authentication7.953 Ratings00 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions9.360 Ratings00 Ratings
Confidential attendee list9.448 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Adobe ConnectBlackboard Collaborate
Small Businesses
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.3 out of 10
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.3 out of 10
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
TeamViewer
TeamViewer
Score 8.3 out of 10
Panopto
Panopto
Score 7.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe ConnectBlackboard Collaborate
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(92 ratings)
8.6
(31 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(27 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(36 ratings)
8.5
(8 ratings)
Availability
5.5
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
7.6
(31 ratings)
8.9
(6 ratings)
Online Training
7.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe ConnectBlackboard Collaborate
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
It is a great resource for evaluating, refining, and combining abilities and essential experiences in the growth of the sales team training; It is productive and lucrative in terms of distance knowledge transfer, and it reduces employee training financing and expenditures. I really like the ability to collaborate as a group on a huge research project even when we are not in the same country.
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Class Technologies, Inc
I would say it is very useful for group collaborations online, as well as virtual classrooms where you wish your students/guests to collaborate in an adaptable environment; however I would advise against using the shared screen to display audio or video, nor would I encourage the use of the shared board with a group of people with disciplinary issues (as there is no accountability for who wrote/drew what).
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Pros
Adobe
  • Adobe Connect has presentation features like transitions and animations, which are important in communications.
  • Furthermore, Adobe Connect supports virtual events in the classroom, where training is done and knowledge acquired.
  • Lastly, Adobe Connect makes virtual meetings through conferencing effective and manageable at a minimal cost.
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Class Technologies, Inc
  • The Whiteboard feature is perfect for tutoring. We use it to write out formulas, draw diagrams, etc while in video chat to enhance explanations.
  • The file attachment feature is also very handy. This means we don't have to do a follow-up with a student using their email to send files of handouts, etc.
  • It's great that we only have to share a classroom access link for a student to enter a session. With other products, they had to set up a username and log-in with an account. Link access means 1 less hassle.
  • We are currently beginning to use the "record session" feature video sessions to use as training for new employees.
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Cons
Adobe
  • The overall connection and lag sometimes are disruptive. This may not be due to the platform as a whole, connectivity, and strength of the signal is probably a factor but it can get glitchy sometimes.
  • More features for remote desktop options, whiteboarding, or screen sharing to actively resolve issues would be great while collaborating.
  • Online support or forums to help assist with issues aren't as prevalent as you think they'd be. More individual resources to assist with issues would be helpful.
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Class Technologies, Inc
  • Some of the newest computer high resolution screens are not as compatible with the interface. The font and windows are much smaller and the user is not able to increase the size of the windows to make it easier to read/navigate.
  • The audio can sometimes be inconsistent and tune in and out when someone is speaking. This is not every time though and many times the audio is clear.
  • The login process takes a bit longer to get into the program. You have to go through a few step process and loading time to get into the application.
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Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
The longer you use Adobe Connect, the longer you are likely to use it. Because you can build more and more resources over time, creating rooms that you re-use, recorded content you can repurpose, and tools that form the basis of ever increasing productivity, the more you use Connect, the more productive you become. Unlike competing products where, with every meeting you essentially start over -- setting up your resources for each meeting -- in my Connect rooms, I have highly tuned tools to accomplish my knowledge transfer goals. When I want to conduct another session - I send a link out to the appropriate room and instantly we are all focusing on getting a job done together. This ability of Adobe Connect to make you productive at an ever quickening rate is a competitive advantage
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Class Technologies, Inc
It is a tool that faculty likes to use. It has so much flexibility to allow students to see a class even if they happen to not be available in the classroom.
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Usability
Adobe
As sophisticated a product as Adobe Connect, the ease of use is outstanding. In my experience, even a user with very little knowledge of Adobe Connect can begin using and even leading sessions with very little training to get started with the basic features. Additional training is needed to become comfortable with the number of available features, but learning curve even for those is no steeper than would normally be expected from similar software.
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Class Technologies, Inc
Blackboard Collaborate is reliable and feature-rich. It's a great web conferencing tool for teaching & learning, offering polls, chat, video and audio, whiteboard, content sharing, and breakout rooms. Blackboard Collaborate can be used for virtual office hours, lectures, guest speakers, training, professional development, conferences, technical support, academic advising, and so much more. Blackboard Collaborate can be used separately from the learning management system or it can be integrated for a single sign-on experience. It supports recordings, playbacks, private sharing, and MP4 downloads. Overall, it's a solid tool and very reliable.
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Reliability and Availability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Class Technologies, Inc
The availability of the software is quite impressive. You can access it at any time that you want and from anywhere that you want, but that depends on how the software is set up by the University. There might be sudden outages due to not having enough space on your database, which we had that very issue happen recently here at our University. During that time, you could not access their blackboard at all until it was brought up online again.
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Performance
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Class Technologies, Inc
The performance of the software is remarkable. The loading speed of the pages is more than satisfying, it all depends on the users internet package. So far, there wasn't any issue of Blackboard slowing down other software or systems when integrated with them
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Support Rating
Adobe
The customer support of Adobe connect is professional and well-skilled for resolving our minor and major issues. Moreover, it has almost all the features that will provide you a secure connection, with people across the world. Education institutes can also implement this software. On the basis of its quality and technology, I will surely advise you to try it once.
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Class Technologies, Inc
Sometimes they do planned maintenance. Depending on the time zone you’re in, this may be in the middle of the night. That’s great. Sometimes this maintenance isn’t completed overnight however, and you need to use the platform and it is down. I’ve never been able to successfully contact them to report an outage or get assistance when it is down. I just have to wait until it comes back up to go to class, review sessions, etc.
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Online Training
Adobe
The ability to have most of the functionality of a full LMS at a fraction of the cost is huge. I can create manage and deploy both synchronous and asynchronous training based on the situation and all of my training is tracked through a series of easily created reports
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Class Technologies, Inc
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Adobe
Prices do not seem to vary much among resellers of the Adobe Connect hosted license; the only price variation you're likely to find are among the audio providers. When implementing, you may also wish to look into expanding the amount of storage you are allowed on the server to avoid any problems later on as your library of files starts to build up
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Class Technologies, Inc
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
Actually, it was the other way around....we were using Adobe Connect, company-wide, then switched over to Zoom, mostly, I think, as a cost-cutting measure. But some Learning & Development folks campaigned to be allowed to retain some Adobe Connect licenses (for example, one L&D area had literally over 250 room layouts that their course facilitators could just jump into and use to deliver a course on short notice), which also allows some of us to continue to publish Presenter and Captivate modules to the Adobe server. (But, even those of us who still have Adobe Connect licenses use Zoom for most regular business meetings.)
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Class Technologies, Inc
Nearpod does not allow for the same type of synchronous environment that Blackboard collaborate does. Further, Nearpod, as the name suggests is best suited for a face-to-face classroom that is, preferably, one-to-one. While it has some of the same functions as Nearpod, Blackboard collaborate is best suited for remote transmission rather than face-to-face
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Scalability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Class Technologies, Inc
The reason for this rating is that the software is a pretty good tool that can be utilized for use in all of the Universities around the world. It has the capability to fulfill the needs of various different education systems. Although, there are slight improvements that are needed, therefore the rating is at 8.
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Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Save on time - our instructors and people that use the platform can teach more classes and more often than in-person training and time traveling.
  • We cut down on spending. When we offer training using Connect - we do not have to spend on meals, hard copy materials, and reserving a venue to deliver training.
  • We increase our training sales significantly but offering Connect as an alternative - any unforeseen cancellations to a public class can result in transferring to a remote online Connected class.
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Class Technologies, Inc
  • Because faculty can schedule sessions on-the-fly without IT involvement, they are able to accomplish goals that they plan for weeks in advance as well as impromptu goals that come up at a moments notice.
  • Integration with the campus Learning Management Systems provides quick and easy scheduling of sessions that can be joined easily by students in those courses.
  • Scheduling of meetings can also be done through the web interface directly which enables administrative departments not associated with courses in the learning management system to also schedule meetings not affiliated with courses.
  • On-campus users can schedule meetings without outside participants by sending an open "guest link" URL that allows users to participate despite not having an account within the system iteself.
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ScreenShots