Likelihood to Recommend Discord worked well for us in an academic setting, although I would probably recommend something like
Slack --which has more professional connotations--for a work setting. Discord is great for more casual conversation because it has a connotation for being frequently used by gamers, Reddit users, large groups of friends, and people interested in a particular topic.
Read full review - During the pandemic, the college needs a fast and easy solution to conduct Google Classroom. The integration with Google Accounts and Google Meet allows the university to run and access the Classroom on a large scale. - The teacher wants to conduct some exams in third-party software like Moodle. But we have not found any plugin for this famous open-source learning platform. The exam system in Google Classroom is so poor that it doesn't even fully screen the test when students are writing their exams.
Read full review Pros One to many Communications to ensure that we can quickly get messages out when we have to. Quick polling of questions and issues The ability to gate channels so we can focus on folks that we know are stakeholders gives them an added feeling of belonging and that they have a say in the direction of projects. Read full review Student-teacher communication - I love using Classroom for this because my students can always go back and check what was on Classroom by looking through the stream. This way they don't have to go dig through emails to find what they're looking for. Posting to multiple classes - I can post the same announcement or assignment to multiple classes at once without having to repeat the process or send separate emails. Streamlining grading - when students turn work in on Classroom, it all goes to one place and then when I'm grading I can open their documents directly from Classroom or my Drive folder. This way, I'm not looking through emails and Google Doc shared files for their assignment. Read full review Cons UI could always use improvement - may be a learning curve for new users Many young to middle aged users but may be difficult for older generation to take up Discord as a means of communication Sometimes the ads for their Nitro features can be obnoxious Read full review Although usually in the discussion with other LMS apps such as Schoology and Canvas, Google Classroom doesn't possess as in-depth of a platform. There is no ability to set individual learning paths, pace student work with completion settings, or embed other apps directly into teacher-created assignments. The assignment creation options are limited. Teachers can only choose from creating an assignment (usually a link with directions), a material (usually a doc/slide/website, etc), a question, and a quiz. With gamification taking on a new lens in education, there really isn't any way to use gamification elements with Google Classroom. There isn't any way to create Individual learning paths, or use badges and micro-credentials within Classroom. Outside programs would have to be used. Read full review Likelihood to Renew Testing is particularly important in online learning, and Google Classroom falls far short of other learning management systems in this regard. Security is also a concern: while account control is reasonable for the account used with Google Classroom, the person controlling a particular account is often able to, for example, forward or download proprietary materials.
Read full review Usability I can't really say much on this. It's extremely easy to use, it's very logical and intuitive, and very easy to install and set-up. Even the settings menus make sense even to nonliterate IT people.
Read full review This is only a product I would recommend to a humanities teacher. Math and science teachers cannot use this product the same way that I can as an English teacher. It is great for word process and for reading, but unable to handle the demands of math and science. Therefore, I would highly recommend this product to English or Social Studies teachers, but NOT math or science teachers
Read full review Reliability and Availability We have had very little trouble in accessing Google Classroom. Our issues, if any, have risen from our server and not the Google servers.
Read full review Support Rating I would give it a 10 rating because it absolutely deserves it. Discord has made things like keeping in touch extremely easy for people. Anywhere from gamers, businessmen and even family calls are all a part of this fantastic application. The ease of access of being able to jump in a room with your friends and talk to them is amazing
Read full review Since this platform is provided by Google, the technical support is better than any others, and we are not required to bother about the space constraints for adding the contents. If we have a good uninterrupted internet facility we can access Google Classroom without any delay or lag. They have app support in both Android and iPhone.
Read full review Implementation Rating It was relatively easy to implement due to the simplicity of the platform. Even our more technology challenged teachers found it easy to get started with Google Classroom.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Discord is better when addressing many people at once. I like how you can upload emotes, and it's just a lot more fun. I don't even use Whatsapp anymore. I'd rather text people than use Whatsapp for all intense and purposes. Discord also uses bots and I don't think Whatsapp does.
Read full review I haven't tested or evaluated another digital classroom website or application. I feel like Google Classroom is convenient for many reasons such as compatibility to Google docs, slides, etc. I also love the ability to link to YouTube and other sites. I don't know if there would be a site that is easier to maneuver.
Read full review Scalability It is very easy to push out this program across our buildings. Teachers are able to use it without much trouble.
Read full review Return on Investment Discord has allowed us to connect to students when typical email & text would not work. Discord has allowed easy creation and communication for small group leaders and their students. Discord is free and so many students have access to it. Read full review Students are able to continue learning in a remote environment Parents have a single, consistent organization structure to make it easy to track assignments and progress for multiple children Much better solution than the quickly assembled Zoom-and-gloom of the previous spring when school abruptly went remote with no planning Read full review ScreenShots