Likelihood to Recommend 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).
Read full review Google Meet was a perfect video conferencing solution for us during our training sessions. The only problems encountered were due to weak signals, which sometimes required us to turn off our video. All features worked very well in tying together a team across four different time zones. I was very impressed with the tool's performance
Read full review Pros 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. Read full review First off, the quality of the call is pretty good, especially when all of us are working remotely. We can easily schedule our meeting in Google Calendar. Sending an invitation link is easy. What makes Google Meet stand out from other video conferencing tools is that we can use it for an unlimited time, even if we use the free account. Read full review Cons 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. Read full review Meet as it comes doesn't have a great way to handle large meetings. I don't like the way they hide the mute button. It's a disruptive view to mute/unmute. Chat box is the only way to document collaborations within the meeting. Read full review Likelihood to Renew 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.
Read full review This app is still having a lot of redundant features as compared to other industry apps such as Zoom and Webex which offers much more on the functionality side along with the option to have greater user access control to the admin/host of the meetings. A sense of interaction is always found to be missing in Google meet which can be easily adopted in the Zoom
Read full review Usability 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.
Read full review Google Meet is very easy and simple to use. I can schedule a meeting right on my calendar - it literally takes a few seconds. There is no additional app I have to open to schedule anything. Guests can click on the link easily to join any meetings. 10/10!
Read full review Reliability and Availability 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.
Read full review Performance 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
Read full review Support Rating 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.
Read full review Google does a great job of providing tech support for this product, as it does many others. Similarly, Google has FAQs that cover a large amount of issues faced by users. Problems have not persisted in our use of this product. Problems are resolved quickly and easily, with or without personal Google support.
Read full review Alternatives Considered 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
Read full review The main positive feature in Google Meet over Zoom to me is the fact that Google meet can be seamlessly deployed in the browser with its full functionality. Unlike Zoom for which you need to download an extra application to use. This consequently makes workflow smooth when transitioning between something like emails and taking part in a meeting.
Read full review Contract Terms and Pricing Model I wasn't involved in the unit pricing factor. So far I used Google meet in the office where I got access to all these Google applications including the Google Meet feature. So I wasn't involved much in this pricing factor of Google Meet and also regarding the contact terms of the product.
Read full review Scalability 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.
Read full review Professional Services This is very good in the professional services as I started using this first for the professional service only. While using this Google Meet itself gives a professional feel as the UI works in a professional way. The video background modification, multi-screen feature, and some other features help in professional service.
Read full review Return on Investment 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. Read full review Negative: on each webinar someone from our team had to write manually the people that were participating and after that matching it with the registered people list. We wasted time. It could be easily resolved by adding the export list feature Positive: Collaboration and internal meetings. Calendar integration helps us save time. Read full review ScreenShots