Domestika vs. Schoology Learning

Domestika is very well-suited to the business and creative worlds today. They offer relevant, good quality courses.. Why they've chosen to use fraudulent business practices doesn't make any sense to me since they have a good product.

Schoology does the job well enough, but there are enough areas of contention that make advanced use of the system unwieldy. District staff does not have easy reporting ability to determine adoption and use of the platform without having to export to another program for analysis. The reliability of the system is a huge pain point as we need to deliver the curriculum but cannot count on it being available when we need to use it.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• Their art videos are exceptional.
• Their marketing courses are relevant and contain useful content.
• Their AI courses are also informative.

• Assessments - Much more interactive and have more grading options than Google Forms
• Auto-rostering - We are able to use Infinite Campus to automatically roster classes and there are no extra steps
• Family/Guardian access - Schoology allows families to have a sign in and see student grades & work.

Incentivized

Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

• They have fraudulent business practices:
• I canceled my subscription after the first year. I have an email that my subscription was cancelled, my account also says the subscription was canceled, yet they charged me $349 for renewal.
• I originally paid for a one-year subscription via PayPal. Although I canceled the renewal before the term ended, the company bypassed my PayPal account entirely and charged my linked credit card directly for a second year. Because this transaction was processed outside of PayPal’s system, PayPal has no record of the charge and cannot assist with a dispute. I am reaching out to resolve this unauthorized direct charge immediately.
• They make it difficult to connect with customer service. It sends you to statements that basically say they don't issue refunds. It's very dicey how this is set up.

• While this product constantly seeks to make improvements, certain features need tweaking. As educators enroll in various courses, these course tend to accumulate. If the educator is not an administrator of the course, it is next to impossible to get out.
• Switching from one course/group to another course/group takes several steps. Not always easy to find the course/group needed.

While we have taken time to re-evaluate our selected 1:1 devices, Schoology's impact on student learning is unquestioned. Students are able to connect with other learners, create and share products of their learning, and develop their digital fluency through their use of Schoology.

I am giving them a 1. I can't get past the fact that they charged me for a second year even though I didn't renew my subscription. I have access to all the classes I purchased, and that's all I need. I can't give you any more positive feedback than I have because I'm so disappointed in how they handle customer service. Thousands of people have had the same experience.

It's very easy to use Schoology. As with any LMS, it helps to learn some tips and tricks prior to getting started. But, each item is clearly indicated within the platform. If I want to add materials, it is right at the top of my screen. If I want to view the calendar, it is indicated to the right of my screen. Navigating a course and the platform is quite straightforward. Additionally, the benefit of Schoology's help center and user community makes asking and answering questions quick and easy.

Generally good, but issue self-reporting has become a problem. When there are issues, it can be 20 minutes to an hour before it gets noted on the status page

Course saves or transfers can take several minutes and up to an hour

We have county-level support and district-level support, but their HELP page offers everything that is needed to answer questions and to find "how-to" information for staff. This includes video and written directions for every available feature. Schoology has also worked with our district to improve their product.

Too surface level with no follow-up. A

Sit and get with very little hands-on time. 5 minutes to try out a feature/question type, etc. is not enough time. Once your training is done, there is no option for new employees to get that training without having to rebook and pay for the training again. If you pay for basic training, that should be available to a district to use in the future.

I have reviewed 4 or so products, and most of them were very positive and useful comments.

I have taught using both Edmodo and Google Classroom. While both were easier than Schoology was to get in the beginning, Schoology is infinitely more powerful than either of them was. I can do so much more, and differentiate so much easier using Schoology than I could with either of my previous LMSs.

Incentivized

Invited by the Vendor

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info

We use it 5-12 so scalability is not an issue but sharing materials between departments including common assessments is difficult without paying for add-on features

• I am an entrepreneur and need a wide range of business skills; their courses are well-suited to my needs.
• I found that the courses addressed my social media, AI, and content creation concerns.
• I'm looking forward to all the classes I purchased. It's everything I need in one place.

• Using Schoology to build a foundation for a blended learning model has helped increase my students ABC rate between 15-20% in all classes!
• Using Schoology is forcing my students to become responsible for their own learning!
• The only negative thing I have encountered is the students resistance to change!