Blackboard Learn by Anthology vs. PowerSchool Student Information System

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Blackboard Learn by Anthology
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Blackboard Inc. is an enterprise learning management systems vendor. Blackboard was founded in 1997 and became a public company in 2004. The company provides education, mobile, communication, and commerce software and related services to clients including education providers, corporations and government organizations. As of December 2010, Blackboard software and services are used by over 9,300 institutions in more than 60 countries. Blackboard Learn is the company's flagship LMS, supporting…N/A
PowerSchool SIS
Score 7.1 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
The PowerSchool Student Information System covers administrative needs, such as scheduling, attendance, reporting, data management, faculty management, emergency/medical and health management, registration, and more for K-12 schools and districts. It is easy to use and boasts an industry-leading gradebook, PowerTeacher Pro. Users enjoy a fully web-based SIS that is flexible, configurable, and scalable with real-time updates on any operating system, browser or device.N/A
Pricing
Blackboard Learn by AnthologyPowerSchool Student Information System
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Blackboard Learn by AnthologyPowerSchool SIS
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsMust contact vendor for pricing information.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Blackboard Learn by AnthologyPowerSchool Student Information System
Considered Both Products
Blackboard Learn by Anthology
Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology
We use another product just like Blackboard Learn, and I also have used Google Classroom. I like Blackboard for this because the system and tabs are easy to map and navigate. I also think it appeals more to the students we have today who can connect better with technology than …
PowerSchool SIS
Chose PowerSchool Student Information System
PowerSchool has many more features than Blackboard such as attendance, grades, performance review standards platform, lunch, etc. Blackboard makes it easy to find a parent’s email or phone number quickly which is not in PowerSchool.
Chose PowerSchool Student Information System
Each of the above products has great features, but PowerSchool has features that each of the above products has, all in one system. This means that you could more easily use JUST PowerSchool without needing extensions and other systems to supplement features. This is less …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Blackboard Learn by AnthologyPowerSchool Student Information System
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Blackboard Learn by Anthology
8.6
30 Ratings
4% above category average
PowerSchool Student Information System
-
Ratings
Course authoring8.924 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library8.924 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal8.021 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content6.127 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly8.930 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications7.024 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments9.030 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance management9.017 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration9.925 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics8.926 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning9.022 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Student and Faculty Administration
Comparison of Student and Faculty Administration features of Product A and Product B
Blackboard Learn by Anthology
-
Ratings
PowerSchool Student Information System
8.5
3 Ratings
0% below category average
Integrations with 3rd-Party Education Technology00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Online Registration Management00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
District Communications, such as messaging and alerting00 Ratings8.12 Ratings
Roster Management00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Platform Customization00 Ratings7.73 Ratings
Teacher Self-Service00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Student Data Security00 Ratings9.43 Ratings
Community Support00 Ratings7.43 Ratings
Class Scheduling00 Ratings9.43 Ratings
State and National-level Reporting00 Ratings7.12 Ratings
Compliance Support00 Ratings7.62 Ratings
Teacher and Parent Mobile Application00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Blackboard Learn by AnthologyPowerSchool Student Information System
Small Businesses
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Jenzabar ONE
Jenzabar ONE
Score 9.5 out of 10
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.2 out of 10
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Blackboard Learn by AnthologyPowerSchool Student Information System
Likelihood to Recommend
9.8
(58 ratings)
9.0
(32 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
4.6
(11 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(5 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
7.7
(14 ratings)
8.5
(12 ratings)
Online Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Blackboard Learn by AnthologyPowerSchool Student Information System
Likelihood to Recommend
Anthology, Inc
A school with a well-established technology imprint with their students (for example, ours is a BYOB school where every student has their own laptop and must bring it to school every day and where over 99% of our families have reliable broadband at home) is a reasonable scenario for using The arrogance and intransigence of the sales force is quite disconcerting… They are no longer the only game in town and don't yet realize it. Less well-off schools/families may find it a challenge if students must be on campus or at a public library in order to use the technology. Obviously, during the pandemic, this became problematic for some districts.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
PowerSchool Student Information System is a cool software that can be highly recommended to anyone who is living in the educational management space. It is proven that this software can reduce your manual workload massively if you use it right. Plus it is really worth the price you pay. Especially if you are in the administrative field, this software will help you to minimize manual efforts put into student registrations, staffing recruitment, and main resource management processes.
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Pros
Anthology, Inc
  • Blackboard Learn makes submitting assignments electronically simple and provides a variety of built-in Web-based tools like e-portfolios, wikis, and blogs that our students use to create their own content.
  • Blackboard Learn is intuitive and easy to navigate from a students perspective
  • Blackboard Learn has many integrations available for connecting this LMS to other tools we use at our institution.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
  • PowerSchool houses student or staff information that can be easily accessed by those teachers and administrators who need the information. This allows everyone to go to one place to access information.
  • Parents can view their child's grades at any time with their protected login on a parent portal. This allows teachers to keep parents informed and involved in their child's progress at school. When everyone works together it increases our students' chance for success.
  • PowerSchool offers videos to train new users. When we have new employees, the videos can be accessed at any time the employee needs as opposed to them waiting for someone to help them.
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Cons
Anthology, Inc
  • Blackboard Learn has some limitations when it comes to submissions
  • It is not that user friendly, I had to spend some time to get a hang of it in the beginning
  • I have been struggling a bit with deletion of manually added courses
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PowerSchool Group LLC
  • Does not consistently communicate with related software such as Illuminate for Special Education Students.
  • Drop down menus frequently refresh as data is entered which slows down the user's ability to enter information.
  • Icons are sometimes unclear and not easily understandable. Word labels for some items might be more effective.
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Likelihood to Renew
Anthology, Inc
There are several aspects of Desire2Learn that outweigh the benefits of using Blackboard. I find that the Desire2Learn system is a bit more user friendly and looks more up-to-date. However, the decision to renew systems is not up to me because the entire University uses the same system. Regardless, I think I would choose Desire2Learn over Blackboard because of its improved user interface.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
We would be starting over at square one if we did not continue our PowerSchool subscription. We do not have a program in a place that would take its place.
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Usability
Anthology, Inc
It is very usable for both faculty and students. The interface is pretty intuitive and most students can use it without a lot of additional training. Faculty do need some training to effectively use the interface, but they usually get it pretty quickly. We have had to create some additional programming to give faculty a way to delve deeper into the content.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
Great features, but it can feel very cumbersome at times
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Support Rating
Anthology, Inc
My Blackboard support comes from the university I work with. They are responsive--eventually... but it takes them sometimes a week to respond to a reported issue. For example, I reported 2 issues last week and one was resolved and I was contacted about one still open option today. That is too long for a tech issue. I have not contacted any support offered directly by Blackboard, which may be a completely different experience altogether.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
Overall, I have not had to use support for PowerSchool Student Information System because our school district gives us training in each area in which we will be utilizing PowerSchool Student Information System. In terms of in-user support, I feel that there is mild to moderate user support that is built into PowerSchool SIS.
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Implementation Rating
Anthology, Inc
Blackboard's Managed Hosting was top-notch in getting us up and running quickly.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Anthology, Inc
Coursera offers a variety of modules in which a team is able to work on then, but [Blackboard Learn] offers more options to understand how are the team members developing and which tasks have offered a harder challenger for them. [Blackboard Learn] also offers a variety of reports that can be generate by a team lead.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
I have heard good things for Infinite Campus and Skyward. I would [evaluate] each of them and see what fits your needs. Each has their strengths and weaknesses and so picking the right one for your needs is important. PowerSchool [Student Information System] does have some great features, but lacks some fundamental reports and functions to make it top notch.
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Return on Investment
Anthology, Inc
  • At one of the institutions that I worked for, the ROI was excellent for the number of users we were serving; however, I could not speak to other instances as I was not aware of the overall cost of the contract.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
  • It has created shortcuts for all staff members, saving us time.
  • In creating shortcuts and combining many different systems into one, it is saving our school money.
  • It has created a safety net for teachers because grades and student information is stored electronically, which means teachers not having to worry about losing or misplacing their grade books.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Blackboard Learn by Anthology Screenshots

Screenshot of A modern and intuitive learning management system (LMS) designed in collaboration with the global education community, providing students and faculty with a more inclusive, flexible, and insightful experience.Screenshot of Fostering a sense of belonging is essential to student success. To truly create an inclusive learning environment requires a holistic approach, and Blackboard Learn leads the market in many critical areas which allow your institution to meet students of all backgrounds where they are. Built to be mobile-first, Blackboard Learn is the only LMS that provides the same great experience on PC, tablet, and smartphone. And we're proud that Blackboard Learn was the First LMS to achieve accessibility Certification from the National Federation of the Blind and all of our interfaces undergo rigorous accessibility testing. Learn also has the best integration with our market-leading accessibility product, Ally, of any LMS. Learn also ensures that every user has an experience which reflects – and celebrates – their unique identity. To take just one example, users can record their name pronunciation, and choose their preferred pronouns.Screenshot of Blackboard Learn supports instructors with multiple formative and summative assessment methods, and features capabilities that reduce stress for students. For example, we’ve recently released features that allow students to use different test-taking strategies and understand their progress through assessments – including a timer that can be hidden – to maximize their result and minimize anxiety. Grading workflows have been designed to increase efficiency for instructors and give more insightful feedback to students. For instance, we’ve recently revamped the overall grade functionality to make it easier for instructors to change weightings between tasks and tailor to individual students. Blackboard Learn also offers deep integrations with hundreds of partners to create even more interactive and engaging courses, including the deepest interaction of any LMS with Microsoft Teams.Screenshot of Blackboard Learn presents insights embedded right into instructor and student workflows - making useful information readily available, and making it easier for instructors to help students where and when they need it most. Learn's progress tracking tools help students and instructors always know how they're tracking to achieve their goals - and where there is opportunity for improvement. Quick actions are tied to these insights, like following up with students in groups or individually. Blackboard Learn also provides built-in value with Blackboard Data Reporting to help leaders understand how the LMS is being used, student performance, and surfacing opportunities for continuous improvement.

PowerSchool SIS Screenshots

Screenshot of Student attendanceScreenshot of Standards-based gradingScreenshot of At-risk dashboardScreenshot of Parent view of student schedule