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
GoTo Meeting
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
From GoTo (formerly LogMeIn), GoToMeeting is an online meeting, desktop sharing, and video conferencing software that enables users to connect via the internet. It hosts a suite of online meeting tools, including real-time screen sharing and integrated audio.
$12
per month
Pricing
Blackboard Collaborate
GoTo Meeting
Editions & Modules
Classroom
$300.00
per year
Department
$9000.00
per year
Professional
$12.00
Per Organizer / Per Month for 150 Participants [billed annually]
Business
$16.00
Per Organizer / Per Month for 250 Participants [billed annually]
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
3,000 Participants
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Blackboard Collaborate
GoTo Meeting
Free Trial
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
Yes
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
—
Pricing available by monthly or annual subscription, with discounts for annual commitments.
Ring Central is very similar to GoToMeeting. I would say they are interchangeable when talking about the ease of using the program. They also seem to have identical features and work well. I have also used Blackboard Collaborate, and GoToMeeting is far superior to Blackboard. …
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).
I provide regular training as a big portion of my job. There is weekly training with an infinite number of users in attendance on any given date—GoTo Meeting is not the best option for this because I would have to mute users as they join the meeting. However, I also provide frequent training sessions to a small number of users that feature more individualized content, and having them able to mute/unmute at will is a better fit for a smaller group with in-depth materials.
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.
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.
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.
We used other software like goto meetings but found it best because of its user friendly interface and easy interfacing. It helped us in COVID and now we can say we are depending on it and love it. We recommend it to our friends company and they are also using it. It is very affordable and easy to integrate with system
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.
The simplicity of GoToMeetings desktop, mobile, and web-based applications make it a very robust and user-friendly meeting solution. At times, it may be more complex than needed, but it is nice to have so many features that can be used if needed. Once installed, it is very easy to use and navigate.
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.
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
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.
When we have issues, they seem to respond quickly and do everything they can to help us. They have even tried to find other ways we could get more use out of their product, or improve the way we are currently using it. Overall, their support has been fairly good for us.
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
Many times, it seems like GoTo Meeting requires less bandwidth to run. We noticed with a few test machines that if you have over twenty video streams, this product could handle the load better than if we used Microsoft Teams and had many video streams.
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.
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.
Any collaboration app these days are now a great addition for those organizations which have more than one office and they need to collaborate with each other.
GoTo Meeting can contribute to cost savings by reducing the need for extensive travel, accommodation, and related expenses associated with in-person meetings especially in case like us as we have multiple branches.
