Articulate Storyline vs. Google Classroom

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Articulate Storyline
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Articulate Storyline is a learning content creation platform. It provides prebuilt and customizable content, along with gamification capabilities. Articulate emphasizes user-friendliness, including mobile accessibility. It is offered on a perpetual license.
$1,398
Google Classroom
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
N/A
$0
per month
Pricing
Articulate StorylineGoogle Classroom
Editions & Modules
Storyline3
$1,398
Education Fundamentals
$0
per license/per month
Google Workspace for Education Standard
$3
per student/per year
Teaching and Learning Upgrade
$4
per license/per month
Google Workspace for Education Plus
$5
per student/per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Articulate StorylineGoogle Classroom
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsEducation Fundamentals Version - 30-day free trial for qualifying institutions.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Articulate StorylineGoogle Classroom
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Articulate StorylineGoogle Classroom
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Articulate Storyline
-
Ratings
Google Classroom
7.7
53 Ratings
7% below category average
Course authoring00 Ratings7.545 Ratings
Course catalog or library00 Ratings7.536 Ratings
Player/Portal00 Ratings8.234 Ratings
Learning content00 Ratings8.038 Ratings
Mobile friendly00 Ratings7.851 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications00 Ratings7.440 Ratings
Assignments00 Ratings8.352 Ratings
Compliance management00 Ratings7.329 Ratings
Learning administration00 Ratings7.640 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics00 Ratings7.637 Ratings
Social learning00 Ratings7.846 Ratings
Gamification00 Ratings6.95 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning00 Ratings8.57 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Articulate StorylineGoogle Classroom
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Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
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Score 9.5 out of 10
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Score 9.4 out of 10
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Score 9.2 out of 10
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User Ratings
Articulate StorylineGoogle Classroom
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(118 ratings)
8.6
(73 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.0
(21 ratings)
1.0
(3 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(15 ratings)
3.0
(4 ratings)
Availability
8.6
(4 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
8.8
(5 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(15 ratings)
1.9
(14 ratings)
Online Training
5.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(9 ratings)
2.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(4 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Articulate StorylineGoogle Classroom
Likelihood to Recommend
Articulate Global, Inc.
In an office where you're planning to do a large amount of module-based training, Articulate Storyline will prove useful. A consideration to make, however, is whether your team members focused on training design will have the capacity to learn the software enough to create interesting and effective training modules. The basic functions can be simple, but the more advanced capabilities of the software take considerable effort to master and employ to create the more visually appealing presentations/modules you see in much of the promotional materials. If you have a small training team (or even without anyone dedicated specifically to training and development), Storyline is not a wise choice as the cost and effort required to fully make use of the software would be far too much of a commitment to make it worthwhile.
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Google
- During the pandemic, the college needs a fast and easy solution to conduct Google Classroom. The integration with Google Accounts and Google Meet allows the university to run and access the Classroom on a large scale. - The teacher wants to conduct some exams in third-party software like Moodle. But we have not found any plugin for this famous open-source learning platform. The exam system in Google Classroom is so poor that it doesn't even fully screen the test when students are writing their exams.
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Pros
Articulate Global, Inc.
  • Storyline integrates with the Canvas LMS fairly seamlessly. There have been a few glitches, but for the most part, the interactions we have created will play directly in the Canvas LMS.
  • Storyline is great for creating short drag and drop interactions for self-reviews or even graded assignments. Its many options for quizzes such as "answer reveal" or using tabs help the student get a different perspective on the content rather than just an "A, B, or C" answer.
  • Storyline is great for tutorials or training sessions. There are many options to help guide the learner (or employee) through a process. it is not just linear, but you can branch the slides based on the answers. A great way to engage the learner or employee.
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Google
  • Student-teacher communication - I love using Classroom for this because my students can always go back and check what was on Classroom by looking through the stream. This way they don't have to go dig through emails to find what they're looking for.
  • Posting to multiple classes - I can post the same announcement or assignment to multiple classes at once without having to repeat the process or send separate emails.
  • Streamlining grading - when students turn work in on Classroom, it all goes to one place and then when I'm grading I can open their documents directly from Classroom or my Drive folder. This way, I'm not looking through emails and Google Doc shared files for their assignment.
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Cons
Articulate Global, Inc.
  • I wish that you could customize the UI ribbons to bring features you use frequently to the front and to hide options you rarely use.
  • It would be great if there was a way for non-technical collaborators (SMEs, management, etc) to be able to open a *.story file directly and provide comments. You currently have to publish the course, load it to the LMS, update the LMS, and then hope that users can find it in the LMS. A Storyline Viewer/Previewer standalone application would be awesome.
  • The price is too high for freelancers to purchase and use. I no longer contract and work exclusively for the firm, but even with our resources, the high price limits the number of licenses available to use.
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Google
  • Although usually in the discussion with other LMS apps such as Schoology and Canvas, Google Classroom doesn't possess as in-depth of a platform. There is no ability to set individual learning paths, pace student work with completion settings, or embed other apps directly into teacher-created assignments.
  • The assignment creation options are limited. Teachers can only choose from creating an assignment (usually a link with directions), a material (usually a doc/slide/website, etc), a question, and a quiz.
  • With gamification taking on a new lens in education, there really isn't any way to use gamification elements with Google Classroom. There isn't any way to create Individual learning paths, or use badges and micro-credentials within Classroom. Outside programs would have to be used.
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Likelihood to Renew
Articulate Global, Inc.
We are moving away from the standalone eCourse model, so depending upon when that shift happens, we might choose not to renew since we won't be supporting eCourses built in Articulate Storyline anymore. As long as we are still selling and supporting those eCourses, we will continue to renew the licenses we have.
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Google
Testing is particularly important in online learning, and Google Classroom falls far short of other learning management systems in this regard. Security is also a concern: while account control is reasonable for the account used with Google Classroom, the person controlling a particular account is often able to, for example, forward or download proprietary materials.
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Usability
Articulate Global, Inc.
The basics are easy to learn but you won't get really robust activities from using just the basics. However, if you can invest the time in learning how to use all of Storyline's features, you'll have tremendous learning development power at your fingertips. I do have to say, though, that there is a beautiful logic to how everything in Storyline works. Once you learn a few of the advanced features, you can learn them all because there's a similar underlying logic. The interface is also very appealing and friendly.
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Google
This is only a product I would recommend to a humanities teacher. Math and science teachers cannot use this product the same way that I can as an English teacher. It is great for word process and for reading, but unable to handle the demands of math and science. Therefore, I would highly recommend this product to English or Social Studies teachers, but NOT math or science teachers
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Reliability and Availability
Articulate Global, Inc.
Installed software so alway available
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Google
We have had very little trouble in accessing Google Classroom. Our issues, if any, have risen from our server and not the Google servers.
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Support Rating
Articulate Global, Inc.
They are support-superstars and the software they use for support is excellent too (I don't know what it is). The model they use for support should be followed by all companies. It is a conversation/discussion forum model that shows everyone's questions in a knowledge base capacity so you can get the help you need in a speedy way.
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Google
Since this platform is provided by Google, the technical support is better than any others, and we are not required to bother about the space constraints for adding the contents. If we have a good uninterrupted internet facility we can access Google Classroom without any delay or lag. They have app support in both Android and iPhone.
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Online Training
Articulate Global, Inc.
I love the fact that both a demonstration AND text version of the tutorials are available. Our firewall was blocking the demos until I requested my company allow them! Having the text version available still enabled me to learn from the tutorials. They are very well done and informative, and there is a tutorial for just about anything you need to learn to do with Storyline. I have always been more than satisfied with the support and training available to us for all Articulate products and I love the community!
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Google
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Articulate Global, Inc.
Outside of having to dedicate a powerful enough PC for the installation and having to update Flash in our browsers there really isn't much pain involved in using Articulate. For the most part this is an easy to implement and roll-out product. The installation occurs quickly and smoothly with no additional steps needed.
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Google
It was relatively easy to implement due to the simplicity of the platform. Even our more technology challenged teachers found it easy to get started with Google Classroom.
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Alternatives Considered
Articulate Global, Inc.
Articulate Storyline is the only authoring tool we have used with our LMS to date. We are seeing different platforms now, as opposed to LMS platforms. And, many of those have their own content. However, we will always need to create/author our own because of the nature of what we do and how we do it. I'm a big fan!
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Google
I haven't tested or evaluated another digital classroom website or application. I feel like Google Classroom is convenient for many reasons such as compatibility to Google docs, slides, etc. I also love the ability to link to YouTube and other sites. I don't know if there would be a site that is easier to maneuver.
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Scalability
Articulate Global, Inc.
It is easy to train new users and manage content. Being able to import older projects and PPT files makes it very easy to use for a lot of "moonlighters" in our department.
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Google
It is very easy to push out this program across our buildings. Teachers are able to use it without much trouble.
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Return on Investment
Articulate Global, Inc.
  • Allows for on-demand training that is accessible to anyone in the organization instantaneously.
  • Heavily reduces travel expenses by eliminating the need for in-person training classes.
  • Gives my department creative liberties in designing content that can be customized to each and every subject/business group in the organization. No two courses are ever the same.
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Google
  • Students are able to continue learning in a remote environment
  • Parents have a single, consistent organization structure to make it easy to track assignments and progress for multiple children
  • Much better solution than the quickly assembled Zoom-and-gloom of the previous spring when school abruptly went remote with no planning
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ScreenShots