Brainshark is a video presentation platform for sales enablement, now from BIgTinCan (acquired August 2021).
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Canvas
Score 8.6 out of 10
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Instructure is an educational software company based in Sandy, Utah. It is the developer of the Canvas learning management system, which is a comprehensive software package that competes with such systems as Blackboard Learning System, SumTotal and Saba.
Brainshark is very user-friendly and it’s very easy to create learning content, even a beginner could walk through it fairly easily. They also have a great support team and help site that can pretty much answer any question with video tutorials.
It is really well suited for school situations like knowing what [assignments] need to be done when, getting feedback, getting points, finding the slides that the teacher used for explaining an [assignment] or theory. I think It would be less suited in business situations because it's [primarily] made to be a [one-way] communication tool for schools. Businesses need more control on individual levels I think[.]
I love how easy creating a Brainshark and their formal learning is to use. Upload an animated Power Point, record audio, add music, or use videos etc.
Their formal learning also keeps track of people in classes, allows us to invite people to a curricula, send notifications when classes are added, and update on the fly without having to resubmit all new classes.
I also love that people in classes can run their own transcript and see where they are in a program, and if graded how they scored.
Creativity options for teachers to create a virtual space that still has fun graphics and accessibility options.
Canvas has versatility in viewing options for assignment due dates such as the calendar built in feature as well as the dashboard options to display upcoming and due assignments.
Allowing teachers to create community with each other and collaborate in each-other's space.
Discussion platforms within classrooms for students to communicate with each-other and with their teachers.
Easy messaging portal within each virtual classroom.
Our customers (internal employees) have expressed desired for online learning and we have received positive feedback on the Brainshark modules used in eLearning and communications. We are also increasing usage at the project level as the word spreads about the benefits of using Brainshark.
The other LMS tools have fallen behind. One reason is they are not able to update their systems, features, toolsets in a timely manner. While other LMS providers release bug fixes and new features several times a year, schools struggle to install and implement them in a timely manner. It is not uncommon for a school to take 6 months to a year to fully install and implement new releases on other LMS platforms. With Canvas, those features are released every 3 weeks, and there is nothing for a school to do other than choose to turn them on once released. This has allowed Instructure to innovate faster, and get new features and tools to customers quicker. Other factors include great pricing, customer support, and the innovative way in which LTI is implemented in the tool.
The vendor offers customer support services that are reliable and diverse and this ensures that users do not get stuck anywhere in using the platform and are able to use with minimal hitches.
The functions in Canvas are well integrated and consistent across the application, and mostly intuitive. Overall navigation and setup is streamlined through integrated features and navigation. The feedback we've gotten from our program participants is that it is easy to learn to use. It also integrates well with third party software like Google Docs and Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing software
I'm always able to access Brainshark, whether it is to upload, record, share, download, or view presentations. Whenever I do need to contact someone at Brainshark, there is always someone there. I have never had a problem accessing a presentation and any updates to presentations are viewable immediately.
We've found a few glitches and needed some branding updated. Each time we've called, they were super responsive and cared about my issue as much as I did! They've even helped me (and another vendor) figure out how to have this other outside software integrate with theirs to achieve an even greater presentation. I'm super impressed with their Customer Service people.
I do not personally use Canvas support since we have a central office that helps us. However, our central office always has the answers we need and are always able to solve our issues - so I would assume that get great support from the Canvas team on their end. They also offer great training, which uses materials directly from Canvas
The training is easy to use. You can take as little or as much as you need. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. There is a variety of training you can take. There are mini lessons, courses, and webinars. The folks at Brainshark truly want to help you have the best presentation possible.
Once you purchase and sign the contract there is nothing to install or hardware to buy. You can almost immediately start using it and have courses up and going within weeks. We signed in December and had pilot courses online ready to go for the start of school in January
There are a lot of sites that allow you to host/share content in the loud. What won for me was their tracking, analytics, and reporting. At the time there was nobody even close to Brainshark and I have not seen anything since that would make me want to switch. I look forward to many years working with them.
Canvas is more secure, has a cleaner design, and has more features. For the features, they have in common canvas still stacks up against [Smart school] by going for the extra mile. Besidfor e that, [the] canvas looks a lot more [professional] than [Smart school]. I didn't make the decision myself to get canvas instead of [Smart school] but I'm happy they did.
Client satisfaction - we send out summaries of our big webcasts/conference calls via Brainshark. We've received lots of replies stating they love the format because they can consume the information on their own time.
Time to market - before Brainshark, it took several days, if not weeks to work with a design team to get professional-looking summaries available. Now, we have the process down to a day or two.
