Blackboard Learn vs DigitalChalk

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Our analysts compared Blackboard Learn vs DigitalChalk based on data from our 400+ point analysis of LMS Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Blackboard is an educational management tool used commonly in K-12, higher education, online education and corporate training. It’s cloud-based and has several add ons including Learn, Open LMS, Classroom, Predict, Intelligence, Ally, Collaborate and more. All have different specialties that add to the primary online education functions.

The core product, Blackboard Learn, includes course management, mobile accessibility and insights into data and analytics. Upgraded versions have more robust facilities, including advanced web conferencing, virtual classrooms and more in-depth reporting.
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DigitalChalk, a cloud-based eLearning solution from Sciolytix, is designed to make corporate training easy and effective. It offers features like training, eCommerce, course management, course delivery, knowledge management, exam proctoring and more. You can access training content anytime, anywhere, and store it in a learning library.

The platform supports instructor-led training, customized learning paths, progress tracking and real-time analytics. Sell courses, ensure compliance with industry regulations, protect your intellectual property, and get unlimited product support for administrators and users.

Users love DigitalChalk for its responsive customer support, ease of use, and versatile branding and course creation features. For pricing details, please contact the vendor directly.

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$9,500 Annually
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$3,500 Annually, Quote-based
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Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Mass Communications: A message can be written and then sent via social media, email, voice message, SMS or push notification to everyone who needs to see it.nbsp;
  • Student Retention: It provides data on incoming and outgoing students, which helps with the development of student retention strategies. Some functions within the dashboard are also specifically geared toward targeting at-risk learners. 
  • Accessibility: Not only does it allow for accessible file formats such as semantic HTML, audio files, ePub and electronic braille, but it can audit content sent out by instructors and return with annotations to improve accessibility. It is also fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
  • Parental Involvement: Parents get access to see how students are doing and address potential problems early in the process. 
  • Multiple Translations: Over 15 different languages are available, including Arabic, English, Chinese (both simplified and traditional), Dutch, Russian, Korean and more. 
  • Implementation: Through a partner program, users can get help with implementation through technical support and strategy analysis. 
  • Accreditation Tracking/Documentation: The assessment and accreditation solution makes institutional reporting automatic, helps provide documentation where needed and streamlines evidence collection. 
  • Partnerships: More services are available for buyers who use partner programs. This support may be technical, marketing or strategic and varies depending on the different levels of partnership.  
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  • Create Courses Quickly: DigitalChalk makes course creation quick and easy, cutting down time spent on the process by up to 75%. Simply upload your videos, SCORM files or PPTs, add interactive elements like quizzes and publish the course.
  • Protect Content Privacy: With Content Fortress, give customers access to your courses on their own LMS without losing control. Protect your intellectual property, reduce losses from overuse or theft, and open new sales opportunities. Track exact usage, monitor learner performance and manage version control easily. You can create your course, package it as a SCORM or AICC file, and upload it to Content Fortress.
  • Innovate on Learning Delivery: Using the UPtick app, onboard staff, create custom simulations and run real-life sales scenarios for trainees. Get feedback from an expert who monitors staff progress and provides learners with the correct answers. Use content from an extensive library customized to various industries and situations.
  • Ensure GDPR Compliance: The solution follows GDPR guidelines and has strong security measures to protect your company and employee data. With Data Privacy Framework Certification and EU Data Residency options, the LMS is fully compliant with GDPR.
  • Save on Commission Fees: The vendor doesn’t charge a commission for transactions made from selling courses through DigitalChalk’s eCommerce system. However, there are additional fees based on the pricing plan you choose. Contact the sales team to discuss the details and find the best pricing model for you.
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  • Integration: It can be integrated with other essential educational programs such as Student Information Systems, lunch systems, online grade books and others to make collecting data easy. 
  • Collaboration: Through web conferencing and virtual classrooms, students, peers and coworkers can collaborate on projects and content creation. 
  • Mobile App: The app, which is available across several devices, offers mobile-friendly content that’s been adjusted to flip less on a phone screen. Learners can access tests, quizzes, notes and more. 
  • SaaS: It’s a software-as-a-service or cloud-based product. This means the hosting is online and not local. 
  • Templates: When instructors create courses, they can choose from several pre-made templates and customize as needed. 
  • Strategic Planning: Extra services include strategic planning, which comes with market research, help to develop a comprehensive strategy, deployment support and more. 
  • E-Commerce: It allows users to buy or sell courses, training materials and other content. This can be used as a revenue source or to find more information for a program. 
  • Sales Training and Development: In addition to its uses in K-12 and higher education, it helps with the training of employees to keep them in compliance or certified in a corporate setting. Individual workers can be tracked, and areas of improvement can be easily identified. 
  • Registration: It manages learners throughout the enrollment process and can help them sign up along pre-defined learning paths or prerequisites. 
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  • Course Creation and Management: Chalkboards let you create courses using video, audio, slides and other media, along with tools like chapters and captions.
    • Add details for each course, such as title, instructor and passing grade.
    • Add various question types such as MCQs, Fill in the Blanks, True/False and more.
    • Manage who has access to modify the course by authoring permissions.
    • Select how the course is considered completed and manage completion criteria.
    • Add grading categories for the course and edit achievements, and remove the course if necessary.
    • Preview what the course will look like to a user and display the list of elements within the course.
    • Upload any of your packaged content, such as SCORM files, AICC files, xAPI files or PowerPoint.
  • Media Library: Store all your course content in the Media Library. Upload content to a course, and it will automatically be added to the library. You can also upload it to the library and add it to your courses from there. List each piece of content in the Media Library with details such as the number of courses it appears in, name, description, versions, captions, chapters, a preview and its usage type in any course.
  • Gamification: Set up games for your users to participate in while they experience your content, and award points based on their completion of various elements. Name your game, describe what it's about and who it's for, create levels based on point thresholds and award badges for completing certain goals.
  • Grading: Grade learners individually or grade course elements in the Gradebook. Review survey results for individual learners or as an aggregate for groups of learners.
  • Data Reporting: Get insights into learner data and analytics with real-time data reports. Track learner progress, top-selling courses, performance trends, course completion rates and more. Filter reports by user type, job role and date range, and download them in CSV and HTML formats.
  • eCommerce: Sell courses online using an integrated eCommerce system. Offer discounts, bulk purchases and gift options, and manage trainees efficiently through bulk imports and automated reporting. Certify learners with badges and issue CPD-accredited certificates automatically.
  • Integrations: Add or develop custom integrations with almost any software tool to meet your specific needs. Connect with GoToMeeting, LinkedIn Learning, Salesforce and Webex, or use the RESTful API and SSO functionality to incorporate other necessary programs.
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Product Ranking

#6

among all
LMS Software

#16

among all
LMS Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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DigitalChalk
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AI-based Capabilities Assessments Collaboration Compliance Content And Course Management ECommerce Learning Delivery Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Reporting And Dashboard User Management And Gamification 14 82 100 100 91 0 68 78 87 100 91 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 1521 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 135 reviews
79%
of users recommend this product

Blackboard Learn has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 79% when considering 1521 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

94%
of users recommend this product

DigitalChalk has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 94% when considering 135 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

4.9 (18)
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3.9 (789)
4.6 (28)
4.1 (456)
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4.7 (99)
4.2 (54)
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3.8 (204)
5.0 (8)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Blackboard Learn and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Compliance.

Compliance Award

DigitalChalk stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Grading: A total of 80% of users who mentioned the grading capabilities felt it worked well and saved them time.
Effective Communication: Over 70% of users who mentioned communications features were thrilled with the discussion boards, messaging, live classrooms and other features.
Great Customer Support: More than two-thirds of reviewers who mentioned the customer support had good experiences with the staff.
Easy to Use: Users felt that the UI worked well in over 50% of reviews.
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Accessibility: An LMS allows students to access course materials and participate in learning activities anytime, anywhere with an internet connection. Its self-paced nature accommodates diverse learning styles and schedules and creates a personalized, inclusive educational experience.
Centralized Content Management: LMSs simplify the creation, storage and distribution of educational materials, ensuring an efficient and user-friendly delivery system. They enable smooth content management, update and dissemination, and make the learning experience structured and effective.
Interactive Learning Experiences: LMS platforms are designed to optimize the user learning experience, offering user-friendly interfaces, interactive features and personalized learning paths.
Centralized Data and Analytics: A centralized platform to collect and analyze student data allows educators to gain insights into learning patterns and tailor course content accordingly. They can get insights into key training metrics like course completion rates, learner progress and activity, top-performing employees and more to make data-driven business decisions.
Cost-Effectiveness: An LMS can be more cost-effective than traditional in-person training. Its long-term benefits often outweigh the initial implementation and maintenance costs, making it a financially viable option for many organizations and institutions.
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Poor Mobile Function: Around 75% who mentioned the app said they had issues with the design, especially on mobile.
Issues with Features: Over 41% of users said there were holes in the functionality of the integrations, grading features and said there was too much text on the website.
Steep Learning Curve: While many said the UI was easy-to-use, over 40% of those mentioned it said it took a long time to learn.
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Technical Difficulties: Implementing and maintaining LMS can be challenging for novice users. It may involve integration issues with existing systems and compatibility problems with various software components.
Adoption Challenges: Users unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the technology may have difficulty using the software, and require effective communication, training and support to transition smoothly.
Lack of Face-To-Face Interaction: Online learning can lack personal touch and face-to-face interactions that some employees may prefer, potentially leading to a sense of isolation or disconnection.
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Blackboard is an online learning solution used most commonly in educational institutions. As one of the biggest players in the market, its users appreciate its features, useability, grading functions and the different channels of communication. The most common complaint was that it’s hard to learn. However, many said it was easy to navigate after getting over the initial learning curve. Though many people liked its features, there were gaps and additional functionalities wished for in almost every category. Its lack of accessibility was also an issue for some users. This solution is good for institutions looking to implement a standardized learning solution. However, it’s important to compare it to its big competitors as some complained it was generic or too similar to other systems. Still, this can be an extremely efficient platform for online and blended learning.

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