LearnDash vs. Schoology Learning

LearnDash is perfect for starting out with your courses or if you're tired of paying exorbitant fees to third-party platforms. It allows you to create audio, video, or text-based training in a simple and intuitive way if you're familiar with WordPress. I don't recommend it if you're not comfortable editing or designing your own website. LearnDash es perfecto para empezar a crear tus cursos o si estás cansado de pagar comisiones abusivas a plataformas de terceros. Te permite crear formaciones en audio, vídeo o texto de una forma sencilla e intuitiva si sabes manejarte dentro de Wordpress. No te la recomiendo si no te sientes cómodo editando/diseñando dentro de tu propia web. This review was originally written in Spanish and has been translated into English using a third-party translation tool. While we strive for accuracy, some nuances or meanings may not be perfectly captured.

Incentivized

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

• Integrate with the website and other plugins (woocommerce, etc.)
• Simple lesson design
• Offers different formats in which to offer your courses (free, paid, restricted access, with groups, etc.)
• Integrarse con la web y con otros plugins (woocommerce, etc)
• Diseño sencillo de las lecciones
• Ofrece diferentes formatos en los que ofrecer tus cursos (gratuito, pago, acceso restringido, con grupos, etc)

Incentivized

• 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

• I would like to see more options for creating activities (games, fill in the blanks, etc.)
• It would be nice if the support section had a Spanish translation.
• I miss that when you install the plugin they give you a small introduction to teach you how to use it.
• Me gustaría que haya más opciones de creación de actividades (juegos, rellenar huecos, etc)
• Estaría bien que la sección de soporte tuviera traducción al español
• Echo en falta que en el momento de instalar el plugin te hagan una pequeña introducción para enseñarte a usarlo

Incentivized

• 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.

Learndash is an intuitive tool with everything you need to create courses and present them in an engaging way. It's also surprisingly easy to use. I've deducted a few points because, while it offers quite a few options out of the box, you may need to integrate it with other plugins (bbpress, etc.) to get the most out of it. Learndash es una herramienta intuitiva con todo lo necesario para crear cursos y presentarlos de una manera atractiva. Además es sorprendentemente fácil de utilizar. Le he quitado unos puntos porque, aunque de base ofrece bastantes opciones, es posible que necesites integrarlo con otros plugins (bbpress, etc.) para sacarle el máximo provecho.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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

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

• It has allowed me to transform materials that were previously only for my students into scalable digital products, multiplying the income generated with certain resources by up to 50x.
• I have been able to amortize the cost of the plugin with just a few sales.
• It's allowed me to present my courses in a professional manner and on my own website. Although the impact is difficult to measure, this has also contributed to increasing my sales.
• Me ha permitido transformar materiales que antes eran solo para mis estudiantes en productos digitales escalables, multiplicando hata x50 los ingresos generados con ciertos recursos.
• He podido amortizar el coste del plugin con unas pocas ventas
• Me ha permitido presentar mis cursos de una forma profesional y dentro de mi propia web. Aunque el impacto es difícil de medir, esto también ha contribuido a aumentar mis ventas.

Incentivized

• 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!