Class for Web, formerly Blackboard Collaborate, is an online, collaborative learning platform for the education industry and corporate learning needs. It includes features such as screen and application sharing, and web conferencing.
$300
per year
GlobalMeet Webcast
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
GlobalMeet Webcast enables users to conduct online broadcasts and features HD video streaming and interactive audience engagement tools. It also offers customized event branding, webcast recording and editing capabilities, and event reporting.
$1,600
per month (for the 500 attendee minimum)
Microsoft Teams
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Teams combines video conferencing software with team collaboration tools. The communications platform allows MS Office users to conduct conference calls and share files via SharePoint, and join or initiate a group chat.
$4.80
per month per user
Pricing
Class for Web
GlobalMeet Webcast
Microsoft Teams
Editions & Modules
Classroom
$300.00
per year
Department
$9000.00
per year
Essentials
$3.20
per month per attendee
Professional
$5.20
per month per attendee
Enterprise
$7.20
per month per attendee
Microsoft Teams Essentials
$4.80
per month per user
Microsoft Teams Enterprise
$5.25
per month (paid yearly) per user
Microsoft Teams Enterprise
$5.25
per month per user
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
$7.20
per month per user
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
$15
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Class for Web
GlobalMeet Webcast
Microsoft Teams
Free Trial
No
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
Yes
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
Optional
No setup fee
Additional Details
—
There are 2 ways to consume GlobalMeet Webcast.
(1) As a fully managed event- which means the GlobalMeet professional services team helps setup the webcast portal, run the rehearsal and is the production manager during the live event. (Picture a TV news producer- taking people on and off camera, launching pre-recorded videos, advancing presentation slides, troubleshooting technical issues that arise, etc.) Typical price for a managed event is between $ 4K and $10K – price dependent on the Attendee Capacity (500 – 100K) and then any “extras” needed such as captions, transcriptions, translations, on-site production A/V for hybrid events, etc.
(2) As a license (paid monthly or annually) that can be used to hold as many webcast events as desired. The license is ‘self-service’ but if there are particular events where professional services are required, the user can add the managed component to a single event,w hich GlobalMeet states is fairly common among license customers. Licenses can be used all year for marketing events, webinars, monthly meetings, etc and managed services can be added for the big annual meeting, CEO Town Hall or other high profile event. Typical license costs between $ 30K - $90K / year (cost dependent on the max # of attendees needed for meetings- 1K, 5K, 50K etc and the feature set.)
Discounts are available for non profit organizations.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Class for Web
GlobalMeet Webcast
Microsoft Teams
Considered Multiple Products
Class for Web
Verified User
Administrator
Chose Class for Web
Canvas LMS is a far more superior product, in fact, many schools switched to it from Blackboard while 0 switched from Canvas to BB. The reason is that Canvas is a Cloud-native tool and it is faster at implementing new features, fixing bugs, etc. It has a bigger advantage in the …
We are currently evaluating whether Microsoft Teams Townhall is also an option. The evaluation is ongoing. Previously, we tried MS Teams Live Event, which was well suited for some events but specifically not for the GlobalWebcasts.
I would say it is very useful for group collaborations online, as well as virtual classrooms where you wish your students/guests to collaborate in an adaptable environment; however I would advise against using the shared screen to display audio or video, nor would I encourage the use of the shared board with a group of people with disciplinary issues (as there is no accountability for who wrote/drew what).
Their team was very hands-on and helpful in the set-up and execution of our meeting. I would recommend them, especially for first-time virtual meeting planners. They were thorough and thoughtful in the planning process, which made the execution smoother.
It's amazing as a daily driver for team communication, and document search/store. Also, if you're doing a lot of LONG meetings and have trouble remembering details, the AI summarization is amazing and convenient. It just works. I'm not saying I always do this, of course, but if I need to 'skim' instead of really digging into every detail from a meeting, the AI-generated summary is generally good enough that I can get away with it.
The Whiteboard feature is perfect for tutoring. We use it to write out formulas, draw diagrams, etc while in video chat to enhance explanations.
The file attachment feature is also very handy. This means we don't have to do a follow-up with a student using their email to send files of handouts, etc.
It's great that we only have to share a classroom access link for a student to enter a session. With other products, they had to set up a username and log-in with an account. Link access means 1 less hassle.
We are currently beginning to use the "record session" feature video sessions to use as training for new employees.
It's very helpful to have a point of contact to manage communication and the event. We've worked with a few event managers over the years and they have all been great.
We've also had great experience during the production (e.g., pre-recording sessions for simlive events). All the production team members we've worked with have been professional and efficient.
Our main account contact has been an absolute pleasure to work with. He is detail oriented and responsive. And we particularly appreciate his thoughtful follow-ups after the events to confirm everything met our expectations.
Some of the newest computer high resolution screens are not as compatible with the interface. The font and windows are much smaller and the user is not able to increase the size of the windows to make it easier to read/navigate.
The audio can sometimes be inconsistent and tune in and out when someone is speaking. This is not every time though and many times the audio is clear.
The login process takes a bit longer to get into the program. You have to go through a few step process and loading time to get into the application.
Although I love the polling feature, there are a few kinks that could be worked out, as the dialogue box at times interferes with the presentation.
Have the "guest" and "host" bubbles bigger when logging in, sometimes guests get confused and log in as a host accidentally thinking they need a password to join.
A kink I've noticed lately, is not being able to upload presentations forcing me to use screenshare. I'm not sure if it's a naming convention or why this error occurs.
I have limited use in the webcam feature as when using it in the past there was a serious lag time making it difficult to communicate, but, it could've been my internet speed as well... I'll have to give it another shot.
The webinars feature has some missing functionally such as the ability for all users to use the Q&A feature (only those with a Microsoft Teams account can use it now), the ability to upload documents for attendees to easily access and download, and the ability for presenters and organizers to easily chat amongst themselves throughout the webinar.
The "Channels" organization hierarchy could be more clear. If you have several channels set up, it can get clunky and hard to find the specific channel you are looking for.
The MS Planner tool lacks functionality and organization. You cannot assign more than one person to a task and it's confusing when you try to share tasks with people - it would be nice if they were automatically added to someone's calendar.
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.
Microsoft Teams is included with our Office 365 subscription and we have no intention of migrating off of Office 365 and Microsoft products. Since Microsoft Teams is included for free with our Office 365 subscription, and since we enjoy all the features, benefits, and functionality, there is no question that our team will continue to use the product
Blackboard Collaborate is reliable and feature-rich. It's a great web conferencing tool for teaching & learning, offering polls, chat, video and audio, whiteboard, content sharing, and breakout rooms. Blackboard Collaborate can be used for virtual office hours, lectures, guest speakers, training, professional development, conferences, technical support, academic advising, and so much more. Blackboard Collaborate can be used separately from the learning management system or it can be integrated for a single sign-on experience. It supports recordings, playbacks, private sharing, and MP4 downloads. Overall, it's a solid tool and very reliable.
Generally, I find it relatively easy to use, but I'm a techie, so I understand that a certain amount of training is required for most other business users. The counterpoint here is, of course, that GM provides excellent knowledge articles and training material. The barrier of entry is a bit high due to customer hesitation to "just try it". Training is necessary, but well done and available. Knowledge is a Self-Service after all.
If you have the full Microsoft Office suite, it works really well because it's integrated well within its ecosystem, but if not, it can be annoying because it tries to open a shared file in the web versions of the file equivalents. The web version is also a bit slow, and the login is very difficult to handle if you have multiple Microsoft or Outlook accounts.
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.
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
Sometimes they do planned maintenance. Depending on the time zone you’re in, this may be in the middle of the night. That’s great. Sometimes this maintenance isn’t completed overnight however, and you need to use the platform and it is down. I’ve never been able to successfully contact them to report an outage or get assistance when it is down. I just have to wait until it comes back up to go to class, review sessions, etc.
The overall support provided by Microsoft for Microsoft Teams has been quite good but there is still some room for improvements. Microsoft needs to proactively work on fixing the open bugs in order to provide a seamless experience to the users. But over the service and experience provided by the Microsoft team have been quite satisfactory.
Nearpod does not allow for the same type of synchronous environment that Blackboard collaborate does. Further, Nearpod, as the name suggests is best suited for a face-to-face classroom that is, preferably, one-to-one. While it has some of the same functions as Nearpod, Blackboard collaborate is best suited for remote transmission rather than face-to-face
GlobalMeet is much superior in service and attention to detail for their client's events. Repeat business is a gauge of success and they have much repeat business.
Microsoft Teams offers a much more integrated experience between their chat and video call function compared to Google Chat and Slack. Both other tools are much better for internal communications are they have simpler UI without other features. Whereas Microsoft Teams can be used for more critical conversations, particularly between external companies, and has been very useful in sales conversations which is what we chose it for when speaking to companies that work exclusively through Microsoft.
Honestly, this tool is worth every penny. Yes, it's not free and you pay for the quality of services and the license. But the ROI and the benefits are all there. Also, the renewal, negotiation, and contract terms are all very well explained by our Microsoft account manager, and she's a charm.
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.
I used Skype for Business to take calls, hold conferences, and provide remote assistance to users. Microsoft Teams, on the other hand, is superior to Skype for Business in my opinion. My job entails a lot of screen sharing.
Because faculty can schedule sessions on-the-fly without IT involvement, they are able to accomplish goals that they plan for weeks in advance as well as impromptu goals that come up at a moments notice.
Integration with the campus Learning Management Systems provides quick and easy scheduling of sessions that can be joined easily by students in those courses.
Scheduling of meetings can also be done through the web interface directly which enables administrative departments not associated with courses in the learning management system to also schedule meetings not affiliated with courses.
On-campus users can schedule meetings without outside participants by sending an open "guest link" URL that allows users to participate despite not having an account within the system iteself.
Personally, I would say that by using Microsoft Teams, it upped my collaboration with my colleagues by around 50% or around more than half of what I usually did prior to using it.
I had 100% show rate and attendance on all of my meetings in the past 6 months.
If I may add, I also have been chattier & collaborative towards my colleagues in past 3 months particularly the month of December when we had huge traffic at work. I would estimate this behavior to have been increased by around 60% than what I usually incur during normal operating days.
