MindTap vs iSpring Learn

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Our analysts compared MindTap vs iSpring Learn 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

MindTap is an online learning software owned by Cengage that provides educational content and some class management. Among its assets are coursework, textbooks and print with over 1,300 options. The subjects it covers span across business, economics, humanities, math, professional disciplines, science, social science and technology. Some of its educational modules include grading, testing, homework submissions and a mobile app. Instructors can inform students of due dates and encourage underperforming class members.
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The iSpring platform is a learning tool with over 54,000 clients worldwide. Overall, it has an authoring capability for creating interactive lessons, quizzes and assessments and reporting and analytics to track education in a corporate or institutional setting. With many integrations, it can be used for its content or act as a way to analyze skills in an organization.

One of its most notable functions is the way it works with PowerPoint.Through HyperPointe technology, it’s able to convert the slideshows into SCORM compliant HTML5 or MP4s. It has different levels of support and design abilities depending on the subscription.
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$160 Annually
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$2.82 Monthly, per-user
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Windows
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Chromebook
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On-Premise
Mobile
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Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
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Live Online
Videos
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Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • More Confident Students: Give learners more tools to succeed by increasing core competencies. Personalize materials and deliver feedback to reach people by highlighting text and annotations. Increase completion rates and security through smartphone accessibility and the ability to identify at-risk pupils.
  • Saves Time: Access information in one unified location. Automate grading processes to save the time of tediously entering grades. Integrate with other tools to ensure all needs are met without needing to hunt down individual applications.
  • High-Quality Content: Find and share interactive textbooks or create a resource library for employees so workers and students can peruse information at their leisure. Create a shareable, professional-looking collection of assets.
  • Greater Engagement: Increase students’ motivation to learn and boost engagement through improved coursework. Establish clear communication lines between trainer and trainee. Use StudyHub to follow notes, bookmarks and selected text. Students can also create study guides.
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  • More Effective Assessments The software has templates so instructors can quickly create multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, sequencing, matching and other types of questions. To ensure information is retained properly, it also has feedback capabilities, branching scenarios, randomized questions and customizable scoring rules.
  • Greater Security: The solution is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation and uses Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) for transferring data between EU and non-EU countries. The servers are hosted at Liquidweb, IBM Cloud, Amazon Web Services or FirstColo which all comply with various standards. It uses an https connection, thoroughly background checks all employees and undergoes security audits.
  • Higher Quality Content: Its ability to convert PowerPoint presentations makes it easier to create high-quality lessons with embedded links, images, animations and other elements. There’s also a library where administrators can find the necessary course materials and thousands of assets.
  • Better Communication: The platform comes with due dates and reminders to keep learners on track and centralizes knowledge so it’s easily accessible. In terms of video conferring, Zoom integrates within the application. This allows users to jump on calls without losing time switching applications.
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  • Course Management: Instructors can grade and curate content, facilitate online discussions and walk students through sample assignments. Provide quizzes, assessments and interactive homework. Let learners see current and upcoming homework as well as individual progress. Clone courses easily to repeat units for different classes, adding information, copying and changing dates.
  • Learning Path: Create a path by selecting material to customize a course. Add or delete material when needed and move activities around for personalized experiences. Encourage pupils to track progress and reach out to trainers.
  • Mobile App and eReader: Give employees and students access to an ebook that works on or off the internet through the smartphone app. Use interactive elements to keep people engaged. Take attendance with geolocation and polls to ensure learners are present. Provide other tools like online flashcards, practice quizzes and alerts for homework and due dates. Make annotations and notes in the online textbook. Embed videos into the reader, share highlighted notes and emphasize key text to demonstrate what’s important in testing. Give students access to a text speaker that reads aloud.
  • Suggested Content: Customize information for specific students to increase engagement with education guides. Suggest videos and assignments that reinforce learning, offered by class or by chapter.
  • Integrations: Connect with more full-service LMSs like Blackboard, Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle or other solutions. Integrate with other Cengage platforms such as SAM, WebAssign and Cengage Unlimited. Use the same login to access material. Some major products auto-sync grades, so instructors don’t have to duplicate work. Communicate with various programs with IMS Basic LTI standards and additional functionality for more common products.
  • Reporting: Dig deep and understand where students are failing or succeeding with real-time analytics that measure 12 different metrics and deliver actionable insights.
  • Subjects: Let learners consume content, software and textbooks that cover a variety of topics like agriculture, anthropology, art, astronomy, biology, college skills, communications, counseling, early childhood education, film, history, humanities, human services, mass communication, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, social sciences, theatre, world languages and more.
  • Aplia: Connect concepts to real-world situations. Elevate critical thinking with feedback, algorithmic questions, review problems and other elements.
  • Pathbrite Portfolio: Showcases learner work through videos, images, documents and other assets. Give a visual representation of accomplishments and skills.
  • Cengage Unlimited: Work with several Cengage learning solutions aimed at specific subjects, including:
    • CengageNOWv2: Study for accounting, business statistics and taxation. Complete assignments, study for exams and succeed academically. Give workers and students practice opportunities to help them master content.
    • OWLv2: Save time with coursework in chemistry classes. Help finish assignments, study for exams and give learners other tools to help with success.
    • SAM: Cover Microsoft Office and computer concepts. Practice and apply skills to prepare for the Microsoft Office environment. Auto-grade assignments and use flexible reporting to report the outcomes.
    • WebAssign: Study STEM technology. Acquired in 2016, it has former educators on its development support teams to ensure the pedagogy of the experience.
    • Discontinued Programs: The iLrn, eSAM and iLrn Advance products aren’t for sale for students and can’t be accessed as of December 31st, 2020.
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  • Content Creation: Instructors can create a PowerPoint presentation and then add screencasts, narrations, quizzes and more to make a dynamic lesson. Then, they can upload the content for their students.
  • Products: There are two main options:
    • Learn: This product contains the base course functionality for students and instructors.
    • Suite: The Suite has a Suite version and a Full-Service Suite version on the pricing page to indicate two different levels of functions. The full-service version comes with authoring tools, access to the cloud, access to priority support and access to an online library.
  • Conversion: The platform converts PowerPoint presentations to an HTML5 or MP4 format. Through HyperPointe technology, they can generally keep the same animations and formatting so no one needs to reformat for the web. PowerPoints are converted without having to leave the program. Users can then upload to Vimeo or YouTube.
  • Content Library: It comes with over 55,000 royalty-free assets such as templates, over 30,00 character images and more than 230 backgrounds from different locations. Aside from that, it also has various icons, paper clips, buttons and switches to complete a presentation. For assets created in-house like logos or brand guides, the built-in cloud allows all team members to have access.
  • Integrations: For organizations that are looking for more robust functionality, the solution integrates with 156 systems. It’s built to integrate with materials that meet AIIC, cmi5, SCORM or xAPI compliance. The apps include Absorb, Adobe, Flora, Schoology, SmarterU, TOPYX and more.
  • Video Lessons: It can capture video lectures, narration, screenshots and annotations that provide step-by-step guides and easy to follow lessons. The program comes with a simple video editor so it’s easy to tweak videos, add effects, include text, add music and more.
  • Responsive Design: The platform works across mobile devices, tablets, PCs and more across Android and iOS. Teachers only have to create courses once. It automatically adapts to other formats. Learners can access materials offline.
  • Corporate Training: It can facilitate many different kinds of business training. The solution manages deadlines, provides consistent branding, secures information and can conduct comprehensive reports on employee skill level. An administrator can assign specific training options. Some real-world applications include:
    • Onboarding: It lets new hires get accustomed to company culture, compliance and policy more quickly.
    • Partner/Channel Training: For associations who work with other affiliates, channels or partners, it offers an easy way to get everyone up to speed.
    • Compliance Training: It helps learners stay on top of annual or monthly compliance whether that means safety, privacy, anti-harassment or discrimination policies or more.
    • Certification Training: Administrators can make in-house certification training so they can see who has completed the necessary training.
    • Product Training: It provides uniform, accurate dissemination of information to all when new products or updates are released.
    • Sales Training: With the ability to make how-to guides and choice-based scenarios, instructors can create interactive sales training to ensure the funnel is working properly.
  • Quizmaker: It helps create more engaging quizzes to see the skill level of employees. It has assignments geared toward retention and testing at key moments to ensure the subject is understood. The activities provide hands-on experience while teachers can provide feedback with annotations.
  • Cam Pro: This function allows the user to share their screens and record to provide tutorials. It provides narration over a slideshow and highlights the cursor so it can be followed visually.
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Product Ranking

#39

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#14

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User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 13 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 237 reviews
92%
of users recommend this product

MindTap has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 92% when considering 13 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

92%
of users recommend this product

iSpring Learn has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 92% when considering 237 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

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4.7 (14)
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4.7 (48)
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4.7 (135)
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4.1 (3)
4.6 (13)
4.2 (37)

Awards

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

User Favorite Award

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

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Improved Student Engagement: MindTap offers a variety of interactive activities and assessments that can help to keep students engaged with the material. This is in contrast to traditional textbooks, which can be passive and unengaging.
Personalized Learning: MindTap can be customized to meet the individual needs of each student. This means that students can focus on the areas where they need the most help, and they can learn at their own pace.
Accessibility: MindTap is accessible from any device with an internet connection. This makes it easy for students to access their course materials from anywhere, at any time.
Data and Analytics: MindTap provides instructors with data and analytics that can help them to track student progress and identify areas where students are struggling. This information can be used to improve instruction and better support student learning.
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User-Friendly Design: Around 80% of reviewers loved the interface and said it was easy to implement, learn and navigate.
Excellent Customer Service: Users found the customer service to be friendly, helpful and effective in 60% of all reviews.
Competitive Price: About 60% of users felt that the price was fair and that the functionality was well worth the money.
Overall Good Functionality: The features were described as working well in just over 40% of the reviews. The most popular mention was its quick course setup, learning paths, customization, integration, mobile functionality and course authoring capabilities.
Testing Assessments: Around 20% of users who left reviews said the platform had excellent capabilities when it came to delivering tests, surveys, quizzes, assessments and simulations.
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Cost: Students have expressed concerns about the additional cost associated with purchasing access to MindTap, especially when required course materials are already expensive. This can create a financial burden for students, particularly those on a tight budget.
Technical Issues: Users have reported encountering technical problems with MindTap, such as glitches, errors, and compatibility issues with certain devices or browsers. These issues can disrupt the learning process and cause frustration for students who rely on the platform to access course materials and complete assignments.
Learning Curve: Some students have found MindTap's interface to be complex and not intuitive, requiring a significant investment of time and effort to learn how to navigate the platform effectively. This can be a barrier for students who prefer a more straightforward and user-friendly learning experience.
Integration Challenges: Integrating MindTap with existing Learning Management Systems (LMS) can sometimes present challenges, leading to synchronization issues, broken links, and difficulties in accessing grades or assignments. This can create confusion and inconvenience for both students and instructors.
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Problems with Features: While many felt the features worked well, around 40% found issues with the existing tools, with around10% disliking the reporting and customization features.
Missing Functionality: In 20% of the reviews, users requested add-ons to the current feature set with better native screen recording and screenshots capabilities mentioned the most.
Pricing Issues: Between 10% to 20% felt the price was too much for its functionality with just under 10% saying they felt pressured to buy more expensive subscriptions.
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Let's tap into the minds of MindTap users and see what they have to say. User reviews from the past year suggest MindTap offers a robust platform for learning and course management, but it's not without its quirks. Reviewers frequently praise MindTap's ability to integrate seamlessly with learning management systems (LMS) like Blackboard and Canvas, making it a convenient hub for accessing course materials, assignments, and grades. The platform's interactive features, such as quizzes, flashcards, and simulations, receive positive feedback for enhancing engagement and comprehension. However, some users find the interface a bit clunky and overwhelming, especially for those new to online learning platforms. Technical glitches and occasional syncing issues can also disrupt the learning flow. Despite these drawbacks, MindTap stands out for its comprehensive content library and alignment with Cengage textbooks, making it a valuable tool for students seeking additional support and practice. Ultimately, MindTap is best suited for students who prefer a structured learning environment with readily available resources and are comfortable navigating a feature-rich online platform. Those who value simplicity and a more intuitive interface might explore alternative options.

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The iSpring system is an extremely user-friendly option especially popular among educators. This is likely due to its tie-in with PowerPoint. Users can create a presentation in PowerPoint and then, without leaving the app, directly upload it to iSpring where it’s converted into the proper format. Its usability, quick adoption, good price and excellent customer service made for an overwhelming number of satisfied reviews. On the other hand, the satisfaction with the feature set was split with half saying it worked well and half finding the functionality wanting. Many users wanted new features, but the requests were mostly distinct from one another and for very specific capabilities. While iSpring does offer customization options, there are many features that are out of reach due to price, technological limitations or lack of knowledge on the part of the customer. Overall, this is a great solution for educators and corporate administrators looking to adopt a system quickly and easily. It may not be suitable for large businesses with more complex needs. Users should also look into exactly what they need so they don’t get bumped into the more expensive pricing tier.

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