Moodle vs. PowerSchool Unified Classroom

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Moodle
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
Moodle is an open source learning management system with hundreds of millions of users around the globe and translated into over 100 languages, used by organizations to support their education and training needs.N/A
PowerSchool Unified Classroom
Score 6.2 out of 10
N/A
PowerSchool Unified Classroom is a learning management and classroom collaboration solution suite. It aims to empower teachers with real-time student interaction inside and outside the classroom, bringing in more social and collaborative learning. Teachers can quickly create and deliver rich engaging lessons, electronically collect, annotate, and grade work, and easily collaborate and share with other educators. Unified Classroom includes PowerSchool solutions Assessment, Gradebook, Learning,…N/A
Pricing
MoodlePowerSchool Unified Classroom
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
MoodlePowerSchool Unified Classroom
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
MoodlePowerSchool Unified Classroom
Considered Both Products
Moodle
PowerSchool Unified Classroom

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
MoodlePowerSchool Unified Classroom
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Moodle
9.4
26 Ratings
14% above category average
PowerSchool Unified Classroom
8.1
2 Ratings
1% below category average
Course authoring9.422 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Course catalog or library9.523 Ratings6.72 Ratings
Player/Portal9.223 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Learning content10.021 Ratings8.32 Ratings
Mobile friendly9.423 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications10.025 Ratings7.92 Ratings
Assignments9.826 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Compliance management9.220 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration9.824 Ratings8.32 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics7.822 Ratings8.92 Ratings
Social learning9.423 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
MoodlePowerSchool Unified Classroom
Small Businesses
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Sakai
Sakai
Score 8.7 out of 10
Sakai
Sakai
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Intellum
Intellum
Score 9.2 out of 10
Intellum
Intellum
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
MoodlePowerSchool Unified Classroom
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(62 ratings)
8.9
(4 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(22 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.4
(15 ratings)
8.9
(2 ratings)
Online Training
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.8
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
MoodlePowerSchool Unified Classroom
Likelihood to Recommend
Moodle
Moodle is great for any environment where a class or other learning activity needs to be completed in an asynchronous manner. It can be used to post information, create interactive threads for discussion, issue quiz and exam work with grading, track and grade progress, and keep track of attendance. It is an overall wonderful solution for managing asynchronous learning.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
In the classroom it is very well suited. For classroom teachers, and for school systems in general. It is appropriate in this capacity because it creates a streamlined sense of communication for all stakeholders: teachers, parents, students, and administration. It makes parent meetings very easy, it makes interventions for students easy, and it helps administration keep tabs on overall progress
Read full review
Pros
Moodle
  • Moodle's grade book works well. Assignments are integrated so the grades are recorded automatically.
  • Moodle is customizable by administrators, so our version only gives us the options we need. NO Clutter.
  • The discussion board offers several options for instructors that help with grading. I use "sum of points", but there are other options as well.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
  • Hand in/Hand Out Assignments
  • Standards Based Assessments
Read full review
Cons
Moodle
  • The interface is not very intuitive. You must know what you are looking for in order to navigate effectively.
  • Although installation of Moodle is easy, it is a little more difficult to configure it with your other Learning tools. As an example, LDAP synchronization is a little difficult.
  • The interface is a little dated, even though new releases keep coming out (which is great!) none of them really add value to the appearance of the platform.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
  • The user interface is a little blocky and not entirely user-friendly.
  • It does take more training than we'd like with new staff.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Moodle
We use it because it is what have committed to back in 2011. Perhaps Moodle will evolve and advance in a positive way that will alleviate most of our user-based gripes? Perhaps it will not appear to be as cost effective given the need for a certain level of engineering and support staff to maintain it at a future level of sustainability? It's hard to say. As an enterprise scale critical application, we like it, but don't love it. Our instructors don't particularly like it at all.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Usability
Moodle
Moodle can be used on a tablet, on a mobile phone, and on a PC. It is easy to navigate for learners and figure out for administrators. The learners can easily complete tasks and the administrators can easily track completion. The last thing about Moodle that one may not realize is that it somewhat resembles Facebook in its layout. This means that users are already familiar with the interface and therefore they are more comfortable using it.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Moodle
Yes, Moodle is always available. We are self-hosted and Moodle is always up and available. The only time that it is not available is when we are upgrading it each semester. It is then down for just a few planned hours. That is in-between semesters and we let the faculty and students know. We do it on a Friday evening and it is back up within a few hours.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Performance
Moodle
Moodle is an excellent LMS in relationship to any other one that I have seen or used. The pages load quickly and the reports complete in a reasonable time frame. Moodle has taken on Respondus, StudyMate, BigBlueButton, Turning Tech, Turnitin2, Certificates, Attendance, Tegrity, Questionnaire, Virtual Programming Lab, and Badges. All of these programs work right in with Moodle and do not cause any issues. Instructors may also use Camtasia and Snagit software as well as using webcams, downloading videos from the Internet, adding into books, or any of the many other areas within Moodle. Our instructors use the grade books without many problems and really don't ask questions much anymore. We upgrade Moodle every semester and are currently on 2.9+. Our instructors have basically learned to use most of the resources and activities.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Moodle
Moodle is open source, and must be evaluated in that context, but one also has to provide a fair comparison to competing products with commercial backing. Support varies depending on the component of Moodle. Bug reports in Moodle Core that affect security or stability are dealt with promptly. Functionality requests or features not working smoothly may or may not be addressed, depending on whether the functionality desired matches the "vision" of Moodle HQ. The user community provides excellent support for initial installation and configuration, but more complex questions may go unanswered, unless they are noticed by someone who happens to know the answer. The support forum feature at the Moodle site (the same feature used within Moodle itself) does not provide granular subscription to topic discussions, apparently by design, and Moodle HQ seems resistant to changing this feature.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
They are very responsive to the issues that we have and follow through with their assistance. Having a live assist that is available when our teachers need it is essential too. They also seem to listen to suggestions on making improvements and have been transparent with us when renovations are done.
Read full review
Online Training
Moodle
I have used a few sites and they were adequate but my best learning experience was face to face and hands on.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Moodle
Find a partner who will work with you during the implementation process. Be sure to provide ample training for veteran users on the changes and for newbies on the overall product.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Moodle
Blackboard has clear advantages in rubric management, and offers a content management system of its own. The largest barrier is cost for smaller or financially-disadvantaged organizations. However, as in any IT project, adequate resources must be made for even "free" software.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
I have used markbook and gradebook. Each system had good features that were slightly different but the fact that this one is web based and accessible makes it the best of the 3 I have used. The learning curve to using the program is similar to the other 2 and overall has allowed me to save time reporting to students and parents.
Read full review
Scalability
Moodle
Well, I administer Moodle for a dozen of our divisions and there is a wide range of flexibility between offerings. I have course instructors who use every module i their course, chock full of videos, pictures, links to web tools for synchronous sessions within the asynchronous course. I also have others who are content with a syllabus, a few pdfs, links to podcast lectures and a few simple assignments. No matter if your organization is big or small, or if your requirements are strict for credentialing or non-existent (for internal know-how), Moodle can accommodate you.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Moodle
  • While it certainly takes more time to develop an online training vs a face-to-face we can offer the same content over and over again and meet a larger audience. There's no way we could have offered these trainings face-to-face to the same size audience. Economically it's just not feasible. Moodle allows us to share multiple trainings on a variety of topics over extended periods of time in a cost effective way.
  • The impact on early interventionists is still being evaluated, but we do know that early interventionist now have more ways to access professional development than in the past. The ability to customize the registration page has allowed us to track which agencies in Virginia are having their staff participate and we can see which topics are favored above others.
  • Other LMS's were far too costly. Aside from the monthly hosting fees (less than $200 a year), and the time it took to do the initial install and setup, Moodle is free. Once it's setup the only elearning costs are related to the development and creation of each training and then the setup of training on Moodle. This allows us to devote more time and money to the development and creation of more courses vs. the management of the system.
  • Minimal tech support for the users is required and most requests are limited to lost/userid passwords. The course designer is able to manage tech support needs for the users because so few requests are received.
Read full review
PowerSchool Group LLC
  • Positive impact- i don't know how much it costs but every teacher spends probably 1-4 hours on powerschool every week but it streamlines communication
Read full review
ScreenShots

Moodle Screenshots

Screenshot of Moodle offers activities and resources to create courses.Screenshot of The course dashboard shows the courses which an student is enrolled in.Screenshot of Inside a course view shows the course complete index of activities and resources.
The course view can be customised to be cleaner allowing the student to focus on learning.Screenshot of Moodle Workplace includes all features in Moodle LMS and other exclusive features like multi-tenancy, dynamic rules, and report builder.Screenshot of Programs help users stay up-to-date with compliance, and help with designing learning paths for a teams so that they can develop the right competencies. Certificates can also be issued to validate learning and compliance.Screenshot of Dynamic Rules help to avoid the tedious tasks and create and manage automated rules for several groups of users. Learning experiences based on location, department, position, roles and other criteria are available.

PowerSchool Unified Classroom Screenshots

Screenshot of Discussion in LMSScreenshot of LMS student portalScreenshot of LMS student portfolio