Blackboard Learn vs LinkedIn Learning

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Our analysts compared Blackboard Learn vs LinkedIn Learning 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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LinkedIn Learning, formerly Lynda.com, creates and hosts online courses for business, technology, creative services and certifications. Used by SMBs and in enterprise settings, it’s not a distinct learning platform; however, it does offer classes and video tutorials. Workers can build competencies in an individual subject or follow predefined paths for a comprehensive overview. Courses include graphic design, audio/visual editing, database management, leadership training, soft skills and a range of industry-specific information.
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$9,500 Annually
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$379.88/Seat, Annually
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Product Assistance

Documentation
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24/7 Live Support
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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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  • Learning Paths: Take a bundle of specific classes to teach subjects comprehensively. Some of the paths include Digital Marketer, Graphic Designer, Manager, Project Coordinator and more. Give employees necessary training in a structured way.
  • Scalability: Plan for rapid growth. Accommodate more learners as the organization grows with scalable pricing and feature sets. Ensure that the system lasts more than a few years, cutting down on costly upgrades.
  • Close Skills Gap: Sort through information from LinkedIn to help students and administrators identify where they fall short of their peers. Ensure that all learners are caught up on core competencies. Then, get recommendations for courses or learning paths based on the insights.
  • Employee Engagement: Use micro-learning to keep employees interested. Provide videos and tutorials in bite-sized bits to ensure they have the information and can consume it quickly. Make workers feel more confident with comprehensive training.
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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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  • Content Library: Choose from a vast number of courses, videos and tutorials from a platform that generally adds more than 60 pieces of content per week. Analyze learning patterns and use the insights to find classes for the industry’s most relevant hard and soft skills.
  • Certification Prep: Quiz, train and prepare workers who want to advance in the industry via certifications. Choose from popular, valuable certifications such as Google, Linux, Microsoft, Oracle, PMI, Six Sigma, CompTIA and more.
  • Instructor-Led Courses: Give workers a face-to-face experience with experts that have real, practical field experience. Let them ask questions and request further help from someone who knows what they’re doing. Encourage conversations with industry experts to reinforce and explain content.
  • Reporting Dashboard: Measure the effectiveness of training through different data and analytics, allowing the staff to see how their education initiatives work. Pull reports and share relevant findings with leaders.
  • Integrations: Integrates with various online education and talent management products, including Absorb, Adobe Captivate, Blackboard, Bridge, Canvas, Cornerstone, D2L, Docebo, SAP SuccessFactors, and more.
  • Continuing Education: Provide employees with the opportunity to maintain certification or compliance through appropriate credit. Choose from a range of courses designed to satisfy specific requirements.
  • Translations: Provide access to students who speak different languages such as German, French, English, Japanese, Spanish and more. Help standardize training across an international organization.
  • Personalized Recommendations: Give workers course options that apply perfectly to their fields based on previously entered LinkedIn information. Suggest skills, courses, certifications, videos and learning paths that enrich employees.
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Product Ranking

#6

among all
LMS Software

#44

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

Blackboard Learn
LinkedIn Learning
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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 12 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.

96%
of users recommend this product

LinkedIn Learning has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 96% when considering 12 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

4.9 (18)
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3.9 (789)
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4.1 (456)
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4.8 (12)
4.2 (54)
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3.8 (204)
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Awards

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

Compliance Award

LinkedIn Learning 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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Extensive Content Library: Users appreciate the vast and diverse collection of courses available, covering a wide range of topics from business and technology to creative skills. The platform offers over 18,000 expert-led courses.
High-Quality Courses: LinkedIn Learning is known for its high-quality courses, featuring industry experts and thought leaders as instructors. The production value of the courses is consistently high, with clear audio and video, engaging visuals, and well-structured content.
Personalized Recommendations: The platform provides personalized course recommendations based on users' profiles, interests, and learning history. This helps users discover relevant content and build a customized learning path.
Integration with LinkedIn: LinkedIn Learning seamlessly integrates with the LinkedIn platform, allowing users to showcase their completed courses and earned certificates on their profiles. This can enhance professional visibility and credibility.
Offline Viewing: The platform offers the ability to download courses for offline viewing, enabling users to learn on the go or in areas with limited internet connectivity.
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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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Limited Course Selection: The platform's course offerings primarily focus on business, technology, and creative skills, potentially leaving gaps in specialized or niche areas.
Subscription-Based Model: Access to LinkedIn Learning's content requires a recurring subscription fee, which may not be ideal for individuals or organizations with limited budgets or those seeking specific, one-time learning experiences.
Variable Content Quality: While LinkedIn Learning hosts a vast library of courses, the quality and depth of content can vary significantly between individual courses and instructors.
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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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Get "linked in" to the world of online learning with LinkedIn Learning!  This platform has been making waves in the e-learning scene, but is it the right fit for your needs?  Let's dive into what users have been saying about LinkedIn Learning over the past year.  Users appreciate the vast and diverse course library covering technical skills, creative pursuits, and business acumen.  The platform's integration with LinkedIn is a major plus, allowing users to showcase their newly acquired skills on their profiles and potentially catch the eye of recruiters.  The bite-sized course format is perfect for busy professionals who want to learn on the go.  However, some users find the content to be more surface-level than in-depth, and the lack of interactive elements can make the learning experience feel passive.  While LinkedIn Learning may not be ideal for those seeking comprehensive, hands-on training, it's a valuable resource for professionals looking to upskill or reskill conveniently and efficiently.  The platform's seamless integration with LinkedIn and its focus on career development make it particularly well-suited for individuals seeking to advance their careers or explore new job opportunities.

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Screenshots

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