What users are saying about
97 Ratings
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Based on 97 reviews and ratings
Zoom
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Top Rated
1875 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.8 out of 100
Based on 1875 reviews and ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Blackboard Collaborate
It's useful for a classroom video session with a professor, as multiple students can access it at once (it will stream better if only the instructor uses video and others just use chat) and both lecture or answer questions, employing the Whiteboard feature as necessary. There is a hand raising option students can use to signal that they have a question, or they can just put a question in on the chat section.It is not as interactive as some video tutoring platforms I have seen, but it is something that our support services at school have access to with a site license, so it's ideal for us.
Learning Specialist
University of Houston-Clear LakeHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees
Zoom
I [suppose] every organization has different needs and based on that they can choose the app that suits them. There are several apps now like Google Meet, Zoho Meetings, Cisco, Teams, etc. Zoom is useful for instant meets and where you don't have a large number of participants. We felt Zoom was more than enough for our work and it could be easily accessed anywhere from any device.
COO (Chief Operating Officer)
WEBers TechnologyEducation Management, 11-50 employees
Feature Rating Comparison
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Blackboard Collaborate
2.9
Zoom
8.5
High quality audio
Blackboard Collaborate
4.1
Zoom
8.9
High quality video
Blackboard Collaborate
4.1
Zoom
8.9
Low bandwidth requirements
Blackboard Collaborate
2.1
Zoom
7.8
Mobile support
Blackboard Collaborate
1.0
Zoom
8.6
Screen Sharing
Blackboard Collaborate
6.3
Zoom
8.7
Desktop sharing
Blackboard Collaborate
6.3
Zoom
9.2
Whiteboards
Blackboard Collaborate
6.3
Zoom
8.3
Online Meetings / Events
Blackboard Collaborate
8.0
Zoom
8.5
Calendar integration
Blackboard Collaborate
10.0
Zoom
8.5
Meeting initiation
Blackboard Collaborate
6.3
Zoom
8.9
Integrates with social media
Blackboard Collaborate
8.2
Zoom
7.7
Record meetings / events
Blackboard Collaborate
7.7
Zoom
8.9
Slideshows
Blackboard Collaborate
7.7
Zoom
8.7
Online Events Collaboration
Blackboard Collaborate
8.0
Zoom
8.4
Live chat
Blackboard Collaborate
8.0
Zoom
8.7
Audience polling
Blackboard Collaborate
8.0
Zoom
8.2
Q&A
Blackboard Collaborate
8.0
Zoom
8.3
Online Events Security
Blackboard Collaborate
5.8
Zoom
8.6
User authentication
Blackboard Collaborate
5.8
Zoom
8.7
Participant roles & permissions
Blackboard Collaborate
5.8
Zoom
8.6
Confidential attendee list
Blackboard Collaborate
5.8
Zoom
8.4
Pros
Blackboard Collaborate
- The ability to host a number of people in a meeting and manage their participation via text and audio.
- The screen sharing features allows presenters to demonstrate procedures exactly as instructed on the screen. This also allows the presenter to permit others to share their screens if they need clarification of something or to share further ideas.
- The software gives you the freedom to use a whiteboard to draw/demonstrate concepts to students and other employees.
Teacher/Curricululm Consultant
Robert Morris UniversityEducation Management, 501-1000 employees
Zoom
- It just works. Biggest complaint with our previous solution is that it took 10 minutes to connect to a meeting. Now, our users connect instantaneously.
- Dashboard is fantasitic. Can access real time information to troubleshoot calls.
- Admin ports offers quite a bit of information. Like that it's a one stop shop to access everything I need to administer the site, users, run reports and access the dashboard.
- Tickets get resolved quickly.
- Feature requests are realized quickly.
Lead IT Network Collaboration Engineer
Informatica LLCInformation Technology and Services, 5001-10,000 employees
Cons
Blackboard Collaborate
- Logging in can be challenging for students who are not exactly computer literate. The program's reliance on an updated Java can be a real source of frustration for students and parents.
- Accessing sessions once they've been recorded is a bit cumbersome. It is especially difficult for professors who are not as computer literate.
- Accessing a virtual classroom could be improved. I would like to see a customizable "button" or "widget" option that can be placed on a professor's webpage.
Adjunct English Professor
Polk State CollegeHigher Education, 201-500 employees
Zoom
- There are a few areas of the Zoom Phone functionality that I feel like need improving, such as the 911-calling capabilities and some of the call center solutions.
- Some of the ways in which Zoom interacts with other hardware, such as Cisco room kits and Advocor conference systems, leaves a little to be desired. Those that are partnering with Zoom to bring the meeting conference experience to the next level need to have the "bugs worked out" before launching their products.
Technology Adoption Specialist
Tyson Foods IncFood Production, 10,001+ employees
Likelihood to Renew
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate 9.0
Based on 1 answer
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.

Verified User
Project Manager in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employeesZoom
Zoom 9.5
Based on 15 answers
We're sticking with Zoom for the foreseeable future--given its compelling feature set, ease of use, and advanced technology, there's just no other competition to be excited about. Plus it's a Gartner-recognized industry leader, so it's a rather easy choice.
Associate, Video and Collaboration
BAYADA Home Health CareHospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
Usability
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate 8.9
Based on 3 answers
Blackboard collaborate, is very easy to use, in my opinion. However, I consider myself fairly computer and technologically literate. Some professors, students, and parents I know who try to use the software have a difficult time with it. Some suggestions for improvement--I think there should be an autostart tutorial for participants (and session leaders, if I'm being honest) with an checkbox option to "never see this again" if you find yourself to be an expert. It should cover the basics such as: the raise hand feature (or the other polling features), the chatbox feature, the whiteboard feature, and the mic/camera. This way, we don't have students freaking out when they enter the session and us having to calm them down every single time. It may make the program a little less "lightweight" which I know is what you're going for--but it makes the workflow more challenging for those of us actually using the software regularly.
Adjunct English Professor
Polk State CollegeHigher Education, 201-500 employees
Zoom
Zoom 9.6
Based on 16 answers
Everything is easy to understand and use, new users need no training. On the flipside there are minor annoyances such as calendar export being cumbersome (need re-auth every time) and also not having recordings shared within a team or forcing people to name them.
Co-Founder/Product
RouteThisComputer Software, 11-50 employees
Reliability and Availability
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate 8.0
Based on 1 answer
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.

Verified User
Former Employee in Information Technology
Computer Software Company, 11-50 employeesZoom
Zoom 10.0
Based on 1 answer
There have been less than a handful of outages during our two years with Zoom, and whenever there was one, an email informing us of the outage went out immediately, and they had the issue resolved shortly thereafter.
Associate, Video and Collaboration
BAYADA Home Health CareHospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
Performance
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate 9.0
Based on 1 answer
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

Verified User
Former Employee in Information Technology
Computer Software Company, 11-50 employeesZoom
Zoom 10.0
Based on 1 answer
Zoom has among the best performance of any video conference platform, as I've mentioned several times. Besides that, their Chat platform works great, and their back end always runs smooth. It's unfortunate that reporting can now only be done by one month at a time, but nonetheless, it only takes a second to run any kind of Zoom report, whether it's an attendee report, Poll results, a user report, a list of meetings from the past month, etc.
Associate, Video and Collaboration
BAYADA Home Health CareHospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
Support Rating
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate 9.0
Based on 1 answer
Blackboard support is quite knowledgeable and quick to respond to requests.

Verified User
Project Manager in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employeesZoom
Zoom 7.3
Based on 16 answers
As I've written before, Zoom makes us feel like we matter and that we're a client rather than a customer. They want us to succeed and they put in the time to make sure that we do. I feel like they're more of a business partner rather than simply a vendor or supplier. They spent a lot of time onboarding with us, giving us demos, helping us get set up, and then giving us follow-up to be sure it's going well.
Senior Systems Analyst
CymSTAR, LLCDefense & Space, 201-500 employees
Implementation Rating
Blackboard Collaborate
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Zoom
Zoom 9.7
Based on 7 answers
If you receive any pushback from higher ups, point to any of the various positive reviews like this one. Or show Zoom's excellent Gartner report, or articles describing Zoom's partnership with Sequoia capital. It's not difficult to show how Zoom is a trustworthy industry leader with best-in-class technology.
Associate, Video and Collaboration
BAYADA Home Health CareHospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
Alternatives Considered
Blackboard Collaborate
While other products can handle more active participants in a meeting at one time, Blackboard Collaborate has a much simpler and easy-to-use interface that makes it an ideal product for one to many presentations. It integrates fully with multiple learning management systems to allow simply scheduling as well as has a separate front-end to allow for use outside of the LMS.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 1001-5000 employeesZoom
Zoom is more user-friendly than any of these other options. The UI is better looking and easier to understand. Zoom also integrates well with our chosen hardware including Avocor touch screens, Huddly cameras and Shure microphones.
Audio Visual Technician
Western UnionBanking, 10,001+ employees
Scalability
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate 8.0
Based on 1 answer
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.

Verified User
Former Employee in Information Technology
Computer Software Company, 11-50 employeesZoom
Zoom 10.0
Based on 1 answer
Because the Basic licenses are completely free, and because it's very easy to configure and install Zoom, and because anyone can join Zoom from a link without needing an account, scaling is a Breeze. There are absolutely no roadblocks. My company keeps adding more Zoom Pro license every week since it's so in demand. We were able to convert users from several different platforms onto Zoom with no trouble at all.
Associate, Video and Collaboration
BAYADA Home Health CareHospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
Return on Investment
Blackboard Collaborate
- Collaborate Ultra has been the most effective for us for training faculty virtually.
- Faculty have been excited that they can have a remote guest speaker in their classroom, and all they need to do for set up is to e-mail that guest speaker a link to join the session.
- Collaborate Ultra is beyond useful for faculty to meet with online students who are either across the country, or even in other countries, with tools that really help to focus on course work.
LMS Administrator
Westfield State UniversityHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees
Zoom
- Allowed for us to start meetings at a faster speed especially with its Slack integration.
- Integration with HubSpot has made it easy to also set up Zoom webinars and sync any contact data within the CRM.
- Need battery chargers for laptops in a meeting lasting over an hour - drains them fairly quickly.
Creative Lead, Marketing
Impact Branding & Design LLCMarketing and Advertising, 11-50 employees
Screenshots
Blackboard Collaborate
—Pricing Details
Blackboard Collaborate
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Blackboard Collaborate Editions & Modules
Edition
Classroom | $300.001 |
---|---|
Department | $9000.001 |
- Per Year
Additional Pricing Details
—Zoom
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
Entry-level set up fee?
No
Zoom Editions & Modules
On-premise Edition
Virtual H.323/SIP Room Connector | 49/month |
---|---|
Business | 19.99/month |
SaaS Edition
Basic | $0 |
---|---|
Pro | 14.99/month |
Business | 19.99/month |
Zoom Room Conference Room | 49/month |
Webinar | 54.99/month |