Freckle by Renaissance vs. Google Classroom

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Freckle by Renaissance
Score 9.5 out of 10
N/A
Freckle’s differentiation platform is designed to makes it easy for teachers to reach each student at their own individual level—without having to spend extra time preparing many different lessons every day. The Freckle platform was designed by Freckle Education in San Francisco, and was acquired and is now supported by Renaissance Learning (acquired May 2019).N/A
Google Classroom
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
N/A
$0
per month
Pricing
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Education Fundamentals
$0
per license/per month
Google Workspace for Education Standard
$3
per student/per year
Teaching and Learning Upgrade
$4
per license/per month
Google Workspace for Education Plus
$5
per student/per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsEducation Fundamentals Version - 30-day free trial for qualifying institutions.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Features
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Freckle by Renaissance
-
Ratings
Google Classroom
7.9
57 Ratings
4% below category average
Course authoring00 Ratings8.149 Ratings
Course catalog or library00 Ratings8.337 Ratings
Player/Portal00 Ratings9.136 Ratings
Learning content00 Ratings6.940 Ratings
Mobile friendly00 Ratings6.355 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications00 Ratings7.842 Ratings
Assignments00 Ratings8.256 Ratings
Compliance management00 Ratings8.132 Ratings
Learning administration00 Ratings7.944 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics00 Ratings8.440 Ratings
Social learning00 Ratings7.949 Ratings
Gamification00 Ratings6.57 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning00 Ratings8.810 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Small Businesses
Google Classroom
Google Classroom
Score 8.2 out of 10
iSpring Learn
iSpring Learn
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.7 out of 10
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.7 out of 10
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Likelihood to Recommend
9.5
(30 ratings)
8.6
(77 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(3 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(7 ratings)
8.5
(8 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(4 ratings)
1.9
(14 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
1.0
(1 ratings)
2.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(2 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Freckle by RenaissanceGoogle Classroom
Likelihood to Recommend
Renaissance Learning
Freckle is a fantastic online learning platform. I think it works well in multiple learning environments. Last year I used Freckle in a distance learning model and this year on individual iPads in class. I love that it is a quick platform to assess student achievement. I haven't experienced a scenario where Freckle would fail however, lack of access to the internet is always a factor.
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Google
Google Classroom allows teachers to post for daily lessons and assignments. It also allows teachers to be able to communicate with students easily outside of class. Students are able to stay connected and know where to find all information and resources easily in a streamlined manner for all of their classes.
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Pros
Renaissance Learning
  • “Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”
  • One of the very first things I learned my first five years of teaching, except that student teaching does not really prepare you, is that it is my job to help my students succeed, not to just give them a grade. In the beginning, I taught the lesson, assigned work, administered tests, and took grades. I did that because that is how we are supposed to determine efficiency. Right? No, Wrong. I learned this the hard way and, sadly and regrettably, at the expense of my students at that time. Over time, I noticed how sometimes it took re-teaching along with small group instruction and interventions for students to understand and master the concepts. Since then, I have allowed for them to fix, re-do, and re-re-do their work, as needed.
  • I focus on my interventions just as much as I do my initial teaching of the objective. Making sure that they truly understand and master the content before moving on to another objective helps me just as much as it helps them. It saves me from continually re-teaching. Slow and steady does win the race. This approach allows me to help the student master objectives with more efficiency.
  • Accelerated Math has allowed for me to individualize my instruction and interventions. I love this program. Truly! I have three types of students; above, on target, and below. This program allows for growth in each area. However, I have found the most growth in my bottom quartile. Why? I believe it is because I am able to recognize a problem or issue with a particular objective immediately. I, then, can address that issue immediately before the bad habits or wrong approach is repeated.
  • This program is masked as a whole-group classroom approach, however, the most important components are found under the mask. One-on-one instruction is how I describe it to educators. My students are actively engaged in their own learning. They are also actively engaged in the learning of their peers, as well. I use a lot of peer tutoring techniques. They have access to knowing who is also working on mastering the same objective(s) they are working on plus they know who has already mastered said objective. This allows them to know who to go to for effective help. They are able to steer their own learning to a point. They can ask a peer or me. They can get on Accel math and look at the objective and see completed answers for a reference. This also boosts the confidence of their own understanding. They feel confident in having control of the path they want to use for gaining knowledge. Peer-tutoring and peer-discussions give them the opportunity to say out loud what they are thinking/feeling about a concept and rationalize their approach to evaluating said concept. As the teacher, I play various roles. I can teach, facilitate a small group, or just be an observer. A lot of times, I just ask open-ended questions to jump start their own questions.
  • Accel Math has assisted my math classrooms with tremendous gains. My test scores have gone up significantly. My students have a greater sense of accomplishment since they have been given the "driver's seat" for their own learning. This makes my heart smile! ;)
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Google
  • 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.
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Cons
Renaissance Learning
  • I would like to be able to choose specific math problems for my students to practice.
  • It would be beneficial to see more practice products on Freckle that address writing conventions.
  • My students could benefit from more leveled reading practice, so having multiple stories that address the same skills would be beneficial.
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Google
  • The content management of the Classroom is not that good. The sub-section for notes, syllabus, or discussion is missing.
  • It doesn't have parental control feature.
  • It converts the excel output into a normal file. All the formulas and pivots got changed into plain text.
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Likelihood to Renew
Renaissance Learning
I have used Freckle for a long time, even before the premium version. If my district were not to renew the program, I would utilize the free options as a digital tool to assess standards. Love it
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Google
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.
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Usability
Renaissance Learning
As a tech savvy person, I found Accelerated Math to be easy to learn. There are a ton of options to display your data and integrate your students learning abilities into the program. It can, however, be a little overwhelming for a tech beginner and if they don't have someone to walk them through the initial steps and get them started, I can imagine it might be difficult for them to get going.
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Google
Simple design and seamless integration with Google tools and drive, but missing some key features. However, since it is limited in overall functions and ability to truly personalize / customize, it is quite user friendly and easy to set up and get going, other than sending out the code to your course or dropping students in via their gmail account. Users of Google Forms and sites will find the layout similar in design.
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Reliability and Availability
Renaissance Learning
It is consistently available with outages planned and communicated well in advance. The outages also seem to be planned to provide the least disruption to teachers.
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Google
We have had very little trouble in accessing Google Classroom. Our issues, if any, have risen from our server and not the Google servers.
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Performance
Renaissance Learning
It is easy to use and understand. Students have no difficulty finding their way around, and teachers easily understand the reports and data.
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Google
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Renaissance Learning
Such an excellent program that is a hidden gem at no cost for teachers to use with students.
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Google
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.
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Implementation Rating
Renaissance Learning
No answers on this topic
Google
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.
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Alternatives Considered
Renaissance Learning
I like the support I receive with Renaissance Accelerated Math. I like that I can quickly and easily print the problems I need for interventions. I like the hands-on lessons with Engage but it is too scripted for my tastes. I gave up on I-Ready years back because it was too complex. I still use Moby for filling in gaps. I use Study Island for my higher students after they work through Renaissance Accelerated Math.
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Google
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.
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Scalability
Renaissance Learning
If there is going to be an outage for service, Renaissance does a great job of communicating that well in advance to allow the faculty to plan accordingly.
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Google
It is very easy to push out this program across our buildings. Teachers are able to use it without much trouble.
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Return on Investment
Renaissance Learning
  • Freckle has been an asset by allowing me one more resource to use while trying to teach my students certain skills. I have been using it as a source for my students to practice skills in an attempt to strengthen their reading abilities.
  • Freckle is an asset to our entire school. By teaching my students how to read more effectively while using Freckle to strengthen their reading abilities, students become more successful in every area of education.
  • As students become better readers they tend to be more successful on the state test at the end of the year. Freckle plays a part in our success as a school. We tend to do well in our state. We were rated in the top 10 schools within our region. This is important in the financial stability of our school as it plays a part in our funding.
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Google
  • 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
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