Blackboard Learn by Anthology vs. Renaissance Accelerated Reader

Blackboard Learn by Anthology

Renaissance Accelerated Reader

Overview
Product	Rating	Most Used By	Product Summary	Starting Price
Blackboard Learn by Anthology	Score 6.0 out of 10	N/A	Blackboard Inc. is an enterprise learning management systems vendor. Blackboard was founded in 1997 and became a public company in 2004. The company provides education, mobile, communication, and commerce software and related services to clients including education providers, corporations and government organizations. As of December 2010, Blackboard software and services are used by over 9,300 institutions in more than 60 countries. Blackboard Learn is the company's flagship LMS, supporting…	N/A
Renaissance Accelerated Reader	Score 9.9 out of 10	N/A	Renaissance Accelerated Reader® is designed to save educators time by empowering them with Learnalytics® to make differentiating independent and close reading practice effortless – all while maintaining the flexibility necessary to fit within existing classroom routines. Students are engaged in reading self-selected authentic books and articles. Short comprehension quizzes and built-in close reading practice activities, combined with automatic and educator feedback, keep students…	N/A

Pricing

Blackboard Learn by Anthology

Renaissance Accelerated Reader

Editions & Modules

No answers on this topic

Offerings

Pricing Offerings
Blackboard Learn by Anthology	Renaissance Accelerated Reader
Free Trial
Yes	No
Free/Freemium Version
No	No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No	No

Entry-level Setup Fee

Optional

No setup fee

Additional Details

Must contact vendor for pricing information.

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More Pricing Information

Community Pulse
	Blackboard Learn by Anthology	Renaissance Accelerated Reader
Considered Both Products	Blackboard Learn by Anthology Sherby Gully Teacher Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard is definitely more in touch with older students, particularly high school and college age students. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology I used Canvas as a student at a university in town. The feature set was comparable to that of Blackboard Learn with the mobile app was far, far superior. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard is the all around better fit for our intuition. It provides the "bells and whistles" we require in having a diverse faculty and flexibility in course delivery. The "bells and whistles" aren't cheap, but we have found that budgeting for this large expense has been … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Coursera offers a variety of modules in which a team is able to work on then, but [Blackboard Learn] offers more options to understand how are the team members developing and which tasks have offered a harder challenger for them. [Blackboard Learn] also offers a variety of … Incentivized Helpful? Meena B Information Technology Project Manager Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology I have not reviewed Brightspace till now but I have heard good things about it from my peers Incentivized Helpful? Craig Smallish Instructor Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology I did not select Blackboard Learn. Incentivized Helpful? QT Quincy Tamaribuchi Student Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Google Classroom has the same objective, and that is to connect students to their teachers along with the organization. Google Classroom is organized easy to read and customizable by the teacher. Very user friendly. I can say that Blackboard is a much better platform to take … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard Learn is way far behind Canvas. Many schools are switching to Canvas as it is better integrated with other solutions, it is much more user friendly and provides better user experience. Canvas is cloud native, unlike Blackboard Learn. They are trying to catch up with … Incentivized Helpful? Becca Guler Learning Specialist Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Zoom is better equipped for live streaming and recording lectures and tutoring sessions, research interviews, etc. and does allow content files to be attached through live chat function but does NOT have a student management component for grading and instructions or a … Incentivized Helpful? Brandon Cluff Associate Game Designer Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology I personally prefer Udemy because of its simplicity. Blackboard Learn has more options for how the content can be delivered to its users; Udemy only provides instructors the ability to upload videos and insert multiple choice questions for tests. Ultimately, it depends on the … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard Learn is very similar to Canvas by Instructure since they are both essential Learning Management Systems. Canvas is a bit more rigid in the structure and does not permit faculty to customize the course navigation menu fully. Blackboard Learn allows faculty to … Incentivized Helpful? RD Renee DiBiasio Assistant Principal Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology We use another product just like Blackboard Learn, and I also have used Google Classroom. I like Blackboard for this because the system and tabs are easy to map and navigate. I also think it appeals more to the students we have today who can connect better with technology than … Incentivized Helpful? Nicolas Hanhan Distance Education Instructional Coordinator Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard Learn is more user-friendly than Moodle. Blackboard offers support to customers which is not available effectively when using open-source learning management systems such as Moodle. Incentivized Helpful? Amy Westby High School Counselor Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard has been good for putting together course work and class discussion, which Google Classroom does not feature and Moodle is too laggy to work well. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology . Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard Learn is more robust because it allows for much more dissemination of materials for higher-level courses. Assignments are seamlessly connected in Blackboard Learn versus Google Classroom, where you have to access Google Docs to see your instructor's comments. Edmodo … Incentivized Helpful? Anissa Harris Senior Faculty Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology I am not a decision-maker about our learning platform but I have used both Canvas and Blackboard Learn for several years. From a teaching perspective, Canvas is SIMPLE and clean for a new user. However, Blackboard offers more options and creativity for integration and exporting … Incentivized Helpful? Rick Lupton Systems Programmer Analyst Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard has a vast training system to allow for supporting the product. While Moodle provides OpenSource code to allow for customization, it requires and investment in technical staff to program the software to do what you want. Blackboard has on-premise and hosted … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Very similar, equally effective in my experience. Perhaps the communication features in Blackboard are stronger. Incentivized Helpful? Matthew Deakyne Academic Services Manager Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology We did a formal evaluation of the LMS a few years ago, and selected to remain self-hosted on Blackboard Learn. At the time, we were not ready to upgrade or migrate and it was easier to remain with the system we already had. If we started from scratch - Canvas is the clear … Incentivized Helpful? Mark Fitzgerald Adjunct Professor Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology It can be configured to do anything you want. It is Blackboard's blessing and curse. I think it has the biggest feature set in the industry. It confuse people and leads to strange UIs. But some organization and working together you can find something that will work well for … Incentivized Helpful? Lori Riegel Alumni Representative Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology I have used Schoology before, and I think Blackboard Learn has many more features, and is easier to navigate. It is well organized, and easy to customize for each user. Schoology might be better suited for a mobile device, but when the mobile version of Blackboard is not up … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard Learn compares favorably to the other learning management solutions out there but has a leg up if you are using other Blackboard products. We liked Absorb a lot but it was ultimately more costly for us based on our current infrastructure. Moodle and Canvas are … Incentivized Helpful? Timothy Sawah IT Project Manager Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology Blackboard is more expensive than its direct competitors but has better customer support and a wider variety of features. Courses are more structured in blackboard. The graphics are less messy compared to Moodle and Edmodo. Blackboard has more interactive features and the code … Incentivized Helpful? Erica Terry Advising and Admissions Coordinator Chose Blackboard Learn by Anthology I believe that blackboard is more user-friendly than the other modalities I have used and taken online course work in as well. I think it is setup in a logically way, making it easy to navigate. Incentivized Helpful?	Renaissance Accelerated Reader AD Andrea De Leon Library Aide/Media Specialist Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader Renaissance Accelerated Reader for me is better than other programs. I haven't had much experience with the other programs but for me this was the easiest to understand and to develop. I have been looking into learning more about the Renaissance Accelerated Reader program in … Incentivized Helpful? VS VIvian Salazar Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader They go hand in hand. What I loved was that when they would read a book on MyOn, it would take then directly to the AR quiz. This helped my lower leveled students who struggle when typing. I also like that they can pick whether it reads them the book or not. Incentivized Helpful? AE Alma Escamilla Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader Renaissance Accelerated Reader has a greater variation of books available to all students. While MyOn has its own books that are easily accessable an testable through Renaissance Accelerated Reader. I love the fact that students can read books at home that they already have, … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader This program was set up by our district for our students to work with and I believe is a great program for students love reading. Incentivized Helpful? VB Vanessa Brown teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I use MyOn in conjunction with Accelerated Reader. They work hand in hand together. Incentivized Helpful? LH Lynn Humphrey Kindergarten Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I have not used any other products like this. I have used Accelerated Reader for about 20 years, and I have nothing else to compare it to. I have NOT used A/B Smartly, but I could not skip this question so I had to randomly select something. AR is a good product. If it … Incentivized Helpful? Stacia Guarisco High School English Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader Renaissance Accelerated Reader offers so much more than accountability. If used properly, Renaisssance Accelerated Reader provides statistics and data teachers can use to align lessons and group students. The program offers visual reports and goal setting as well as rewards. As … Incentivized Helpful? DB Diane Bunn Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I love Renaissance Accelerated Reader because it is always consistent and it tries to keep up with and turn out products that will engage students. Accelerated Reader is the best at what it does and gives me great data to help monitor my students' reading comprehension without … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader Epic's collection of books is far superior to Ren Place's my/on. Epic is more user friendly and visually engaging. Incentivized Helpful? VD Vivian Dawson Paraprofession Special Education Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I have not used any of the products listed. However, AR has been my choice of product. My school system choice this product because it interfaces well with all other reading and testing programs that have been purchased. It is an excellent product, but that is a given since it … Incentivized Helpful? Kerri Ziegler Special Education Department Chair Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader STAR assessments work well with [Renaissance] Accelerated Reader. The STAR assessment can inform students what material they will be able to comprehend and help guide teachers when they are trying to help students find books to read. STAR assessments also help teachers focus … Incentivized Helpful? MS Meredith Sanders Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I love having access to Renaissance Accelerated Reader for science class. I loved the Renaissance Accelerated Math program just as much, but currently I do not have access to it through my district. All Renaissance products I have used in my 18 years in education have been … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader We have been using Accelerated Reader for quite some years at our school district. I think it is a good program that gives students the tools to become better readers. The website is user friendly and very self explanatory. Students are able to track their progress and set … Incentivized Helpful? Stephania Sherman, Ed. D Academic and Teaching Director Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader Our teachers and students love Freckle! The students are able to interact with the platform on a student-specific pathway. The students love the pig and the interactive graphics. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I have only used AR in my classroom during the years. Incentivized Helpful? AW Angela Williams librarian Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I like the Renaissance products. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I don't know another program like this. We do have many online resources that we use, but nothing like Accelerated Reader. I like that even when we use ebooks such as Capstone, we can link the book to Renaissance so that they can take the test immediately after the book ends. Incentivized Helpful? Keyanna Kimbrough Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader They both are awesome. Incentivized Helpful? MY milecha young English Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I haven't used any other product like this. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader There is no comparable product. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader I know of no other product that is similar to Accelerated Reader. Incentivized Helpful? EC Elizabeth Cavazos Librarian Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader There is no other program that compares to Accelerated Reader. Incentivized Helpful? JS Jessica Spivey School Library Media Specialist Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader They are about the same. The only difference is that MyOn has ebooks. The tests seem to be very similar. Incentivized Helpful? JT Jennifer Taylor Reading Teacher Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader We use both DRA and Renaissance products in our school. I like DRA for benchmarking and for in-depth responses from students. I can use DRA to pinpoint errors because I can see the answers, unlike the STAR assessments (the placement tests given in conjunction with Accelerated … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose Renaissance Accelerated Reader This is the only program like this which I have used. Incentivized Helpful?

Features

Blackboard Learn by Anthology

Renaissance Accelerated Reader

Learning Management

Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
	Blackboard Learn by Anthology 8.6 Ratings 5% above category average	Renaissance Accelerated Reader - Ratings
Course authoring	9.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Course catalog or library	9.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Player/Portal	8.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Learning content	6.10 Ratings	00 Ratings
Mobile friendly	9.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications	7.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Assignments	9.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Compliance management	9.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Learning administration	10.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics	9.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Social learning	9.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning	9.00 Ratings	00 Ratings

Best Alternatives
	Blackboard Learn by Anthology	Renaissance Accelerated Reader
Small Businesses	iSpring Learn Score 9.6 out of 10	iSpring Learn Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies	Schoology Learning Score 9.7 out of 10	iSpring Learn Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises	Schoology Learning Score 9.7 out of 10	Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment Score 6.3 out of 10
All Alternatives	View all alternatives	View all alternatives

User Ratings
	Blackboard Learn by Anthology	Renaissance Accelerated Reader
Likelihood to Recommend	9.9 (0 ratings)	9.9 (0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew	4.6 (0 ratings)	9.1 (0 ratings)
Usability	10.0 (0 ratings)	10.0 (0 ratings)
Availability	- (0 ratings)	9.1 (0 ratings)
Performance	- (0 ratings)	9.1 (0 ratings)
Support Rating	7.7 (0 ratings)	9.0 (0 ratings)
Online Training	7.0 (0 ratings)	- (0 ratings)
Implementation Rating	10.0 (0 ratings)	5.5 (0 ratings)
Configurability	- (0 ratings)	6.4 (0 ratings)
Ease of integration	- (0 ratings)	4.5 (0 ratings)
Product Scalability	- (0 ratings)	9.1 (0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale	- (0 ratings)	9.1 (0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale	- (0 ratings)	9.1 (0 ratings)

User Testimonials
	Blackboard Learn by Anthology	Renaissance Accelerated Reader
Likelihood to Recommend	A school with a well-established technology imprint with their students (for example, ours is a BYOB school where every student has their own laptop and must bring it to school every day and where over 99% of our families have reliable broadband at home) is a reasonable scenario for using The arrogance and intransigence of the sales force is quite disconcerting… They are no longer the only game in town and don't yet realize it. Less well-off schools/families may find it a challenge if students must be on campus or at a public library in order to use the technology. Obviously, during the pandemic, this became problematic for some districts. Incentivized Verified User Anonymous Read full review	I have found Renaissance Accelerated Reader to be well-suited for elementary readers. I don't have experience using it with high school students; however, I know that for our elementary readers, there are no shortages of tests available. Our students can read trade books, articles within the program, or even stories from our textbooks and take tests on them Melissa Thomasson Teacher Read full review
Pros	Provides HTML quality course content that is easily retrievable and viewable. Provides multiple methods of communication: email, threaded discussions, real-time "live" online discussions, as well as grade portal. Allows facilitators multiple methods of grading or providing feedback: threaded discussions, rubric scoring, personal comments, inline viewer, or download/upload attachments. Incentivized Anissa Harris Senior Faculty Read full review	If used correctly, Accelerated Reader helps students grow with their reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. I advise teachers to have one on one conversations with students when setting goals (allow students to have input) so that the students are given more responsibility to achieve their own goals. Renaissance's online chat/customer service is outstanding. They can usually answer my questions and do so in an understandable manner. They seem to be willing to help and will follow through if necessary. There are many reports that Accelerated Reader administrators can use to help decipher the data created from their students taking Accelerated Reader quizzes. Incentivized Jason Eifling Library Media Specialist Read full review
Cons	Although the current graphic user interface is easy to use, it can be improved with larger fonts, dynamic menus, and attractive graphics. The system does not include a module to pay the school fee. The roster tab lacks detailed information about students. Incentivized Timothy Sawah IT Project Manager Read full review	Creating Spanish reports similar to the ones accessed in English. Simplifying the way books students can find an AR quiz. It does not find books if students are missing a "question mark" or "exclamation mark". Deleting a quiz when a student enters the wrong book title and begins a quiz. It has been difficult to remove a quiz and the quiz appears even after the monitor password has been entered. LQ Laura Quiroz Librarian Read full review
Likelihood to Renew	There are several aspects of Desire2Learn that outweigh the benefits of using Blackboard. I find that the Desire2Learn system is a bit more user friendly and looks more up-to-date. However, the decision to renew systems is not up to me because the entire University uses the same system. Regardless, I think I would choose Desire2Learn over Blackboard because of its improved user interface. James Gurney Research/Teaching Assistant Read full review	[Renaissance] Accelerated Reader is a great way to track student progress, motivate students to read, and measure their comprehension. Accelerated reader gives both teachers and students immediate feedback. There are countless options of books for students and can help increase student interest in books and improve students' reading ability. Incentivized Kerri Ziegler Special Education Department Chair Read full review
Usability	It is very usable for both faculty and students. The interface is pretty intuitive and most students can use it without a lot of additional training. Faculty do need some training to effectively use the interface, but they usually get it pretty quickly. We have had to create some additional programming to give faculty a way to delve deeper into the content. Inez Whipple E-Learning Instructional Designer Read full review	I give Renaissance Accelerated Reader a great 10 in usability rating. I give this rating because overall the program is very easy to use and for the most part easy to understand. I am currently in my first year working in the library and with the teachers using the Renaissance Accelerated Reader program so there is still much to learn, but it has been an overall great experience so far. All of the data is easy to read and there is so much information to look over in case anything is missed or not understood. I have so far been very happy with the Renaissance Accelerated Reader program and what it has done for the students. AD Andrea De Leon Library Aide/Media Specialist Read full review
Reliability and Availability	No answers on this topic	I have not encountered any problems with availability Verified User Anonymous Read full review
Performance	No answers on this topic	Quick loading, no issues. Incentivized Verified User Anonymous Read full review
Support Rating	Itʻs a good platform for certain things such as tests. Blackboard may not be the most user friendly but there is always room for improvement in any website, business, etc. When used with other platforms such as Google Classroom, Blackboard can be more effective, but when used by itself I feel it is not as impactful from a student perspective. QT Quincy Tamaribuchi Student Read full review	Renaissance Reader has a great support team, and generally, they are quick to respond when needed. The live chat tool is a life-saver when trying to get your problems solved in real-time. They also have a lot of online support articles that ensure that you can get your questions answered without necessarily having to use the live chat during the school day. SB Steve Braband Innovative Teaching Coach Read full review
Implementation Rating	Blackboard's Managed Hosting was top-notch in getting us up and running quickly. Incentivized Verified User Anonymous Read full review	Extensive training on Ren Place is necessary. There are a myriad of reports that we need help understanding. I have joined Ren Royals and have learned a lot from that support piece. Incentivized Verified User Anonymous Read full review
Alternatives Considered	Blackboard is the all around better fit for our intuition. It provides the "bells and whistles" we require in having a diverse faculty and flexibility in course delivery. The "bells and whistles" aren't cheap, but we have found that budgeting for this large expense has been more than worth it for us. Incentivized Verified User Anonymous Read full review	STAR assessments work well with [Renaissance] Accelerated Reader. The STAR assessment can inform students what material they will be able to comprehend and help guide teachers when they are trying to help students find books to read. STAR assessments also help teachers focus on comprehension and vocabulary skills which then lends to help students understand what they are reading and utilize [Renaissance] Accelerated Reader. Incentivized Kerri Ziegler Special Education Department Chair Read full review
Scalability	No answers on this topic	Because students can take tests on varying book levels. Verified User Anonymous Read full review
Return on Investment	It has answered all my needs for distance learning and met most of the objectives The only negative I can think of is not having access to the past course material and not being able to download the lectures Another positive is the zoom integration feature Incentivized Meena B Information Technology Project Manager Read full review	I have seen a positive impact using AR by allowing us to track independent reading time more effectively. We can analyze student data in ways that would be either too time-consuming or too difficult to track on our own. Student engagement has increased when students can use their ZPDs to help find books that are in a readable range for them. Incentivized JT Jennifer Taylor Reading Teacher Read full review
ScreenShots	Blackboard Learn by Anthology Screenshots