Blackboard Collaborate vs. GoTo Webinar

Blackboard Collaborate is well suited for teaching and learning, especially online classes. When used with learning management, Collaborate allows for seamless sign-on between the users' course sites and the web conferencing platform. Collaborate is ideal for launching virtual discussions, lectures, office hours, and more. Users can easily upload files to display or share their desktop/specific applications, which is great for demonstrating course principles and meeting learning objectives. Collaborate is really good for breakout rooms, where users join or are assigned to small groups for discussions or team-based learning activities.

Incentivized

It is great for big events like training or product demos. It's good for marketing webinars with features like polls and Q&A. It's not ideal for small, casual meetings. It can be too expensive for some businesses. For smaller events, other tools might be better.

• The ability to host a number of people in a meeting and manage their participation via text and audio.
• The screen sharing features allows presenters to demonstrate procedures exactly as instructed on the screen. This also allows the presenter to permit others to share their screens if they need clarification of something or to share further ideas.
• The software gives you the freedom to use a whiteboard to draw/demonstrate concepts to students and other employees.

Incentivized

• We launched a product for a mass and more than 500 people attended the webinar and it was seamless.
• Recording capability for the later usage
• Setup is very simple for both admins and end users
• Polls are helpful in assessing the engagement of the customers

Incentivized

• Currently, the audio and video features are enabled separately from each other. You could end up in a situation where 6 people in a 12-person classroom have their cameras enabled and 6 different people have their microphones enabled. It would be ideal if one "Talk" button turned on that person's audio and video simultaneously.
• The number of active participants able to turn on their microphone or camera is still limited compared to other products on the market. Competing products allow dozens of participants to enable their audio and video during the entire session without having to switch back and forth as Blackboard Collaborate requires with larger sessions.
• Blackboard Collaborate still relies on Java to function. As such, it has to bundle a Java launcher application in order to open sessions. Similar products can function using HTML5 entirely within modern browsers.
• Desktop sharing is not visible on mobile apps although the chat, whiteboard, and audio is fully functional.

Incentivized

• Dashboard for control are mostly intuitive but in some menus like the webcasting section can be cluttered
• The current polling and survey capabilities are too simple. More advanced features, such as branching logic and real-time results, would make engagement more dynamic and insightful.
• Although it's easy for organiser to use goto webinar, users have reported issues and long wait time on their end and they don't have much control over the session

Incentivized

It is a tool that faculty likes to use. It has so much flexibility to allow students to see a class even if they happen to not be available in the classroom.

Incentivized

GoTo Webinar is not boring at all. Its design is extremely intuitive and specific for what its name serves. It is a great software for webinars which have become the trend of "continuous learning". I like the way we can manage participants in the webinars, interacting with them while they cannot disturb the flow of the speech by intruding with the mic.

Incentivized

I feel that Blackboard Collaborate does a lot of things right. It’s great for educational purposes and may be better for some age levels than others. I feel that they may benefit from making features that distinguish the types of learning environments there are. Primary schools won’t be operating the same as high schools or universities and may need completely different options and features. As well as private schools and public schools. As they continue to improve and add more features the platform will be even better and more tailored to each of the end users.

Incentivized

GoTo Webinar's User Interface is simple and straightforward, which is what I, as an end user, prefer to interact with when I only use a software once or twice a month; I don't want to have to remember extra steps just to attend a webinar.

Incentivized

The availability of the software is quite impressive. You can access it at any time that you want and from anywhere that you want, but that depends on how the software is set up by the University. There might be sudden outages due to not having enough space on your database, which we had that very issue happen recently here at our University. During that time, you could not access their blackboard at all until it was brought up online again.

Incentivized

I rated GoTo Webinar a 9 out of 10 for availability because it generally performs reliably, with minimal application errors or unplanned outages. The platform’s high uptime ensures that it’s usually accessible when needed, supporting a seamless experience for scheduling and conducting webinars. While occasional minor issues may arise, they are infrequent and typically well-managed, contributing to a strong overall rating for availability.

Incentivized

The performance of the software is remarkable. The loading speed of the pages is more than satisfying, it all depends on the users internet package. So far, there wasn't any issue of Blackboard slowing down other software or systems when integrated with them

Incentivized

I rated GoTo Webinar an 8 out of 10 for performance due to its generally robust capabilities. Pages load quickly, and reports are generated efficiently, even for complex data sets. The platform’s integration with other systems typically doesn’t introduce significant latency or performance issues. However, during peak usage times or when handling very large data volumes, there can be occasional slowdowns. Despite these instances, GoTo Webinar consistently provides strong performance and reliability in its core functions.

Incentivized

The support has been very good. We integrate Blackboard into our learning management system so everything is seamless for users. Most issues arise from the user's browser configuration, cookies, and other privacy settings, not from the tool itself. Collaborate is pretty reliable with strong audio and video quality. Support has been helpful when we've had the occasional quirk, again more likely due to a user-side challenge than the platform itself.

Incentivized

I was always able to get someone on the phone when I needed to. They were very thorough and ensuring my questions were answered. And if I was asking for a solution or request that they didn't offer, they told me so I could at least stop trying to search for it.

Incentivized

I didn't participate in the implementation nor did my company. As far as I know we have an IT office running alla these projects and we just use the final products for our educational purposes. I also didn't notice implementation at any level while using the desktop interface, but would immediately recognize it, if so.

Incentivized

I believe Blackboard Collaborate is a great app/platform, but like similar products; it should be used in tandem with alternatives. Blackboard Collaborate has features that I find in other apps/platforms, yet some are easier to learn and use. Such is the case with the feature to work in different groups, and switching between groups. Similarly, using the chat whilst sharing screen is a lot easier than with alternative platforms. I do believe it could benefit from certain features such as Miro's participation tracking software, when using the whiteboard app, and maybe some improvement to video/sound quality; yet Blackboard Collaborate is most definitely a useful platform for meetings, workshops, and classes.

Incentivized

Zoom scores well above GoTo and ON24 in brand recognition across mid to large enterprises. But GoTo scores well in SMBs. Regarding value for money and ROI, it's better than ON24. We selected GoTo because of the price point and to ensure that our partner-sourced SMB stacks do not end up not engaging with us because of a lack of a proper medium.

Incentivized

The reason for this rating is that the software is a pretty good tool that can be utilized for use in all of the Universities around the world. It has the capability to fulfill the needs of various different education systems. Although, there are slight improvements that are needed, therefore the rating is at 8.

Incentivized

I rated GoTo Webinar an 8 out of 10 for scalability because it effectively supports deployment across multiple departments and sites with its flexible features. It allows for easy management of large-scale webinars and integration with various systems, accommodating a growing number of users and sessions. However, some users might find limitations in advanced customization or specific integration needs as their requirements become more complex. Overall, its robust capabilities and adaptability make it a strong choice for scalable webinar solutions.

Incentivized

• Our implementation has been gradual over the last 2 semesters. Students who have used it to access live academic support despite being unable to drive in for face to face sessions have been extremely happy. It is gradually boosting student morale for offsite students, who have long felt they were unable to access services that were paid through fees with their tuition.
• Multiple support services who have wanted to provide online support but were unsure how they could are more empowered to do so now. The current mood is "what else can we offer online through this, workshops, advising, live broadcast of student org meetings"?

Incentivized

• Good: We've been able to keep various client teams trained up on our product
• Good: It helps us automate communication about the webinars, as well as follow-ups
• Bad: There is a time suck that shouldn't exist surrounding the recurring scheduler which needs to be rethought and retooled with more than the most basic real world use cases in mind

Incentivized