We performed a comparison between Google Classroom and Moodle based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Features: Users appreciate Google Classroom for its simplicity, intuitive design, and seamless integration with Google applications. Moodle has earned high marks for its adaptability, extensive customization options, and diverse feature set, including course backup and integration with platforms like Zoom and Teams. Some users have said that Google Classroom lacks certain features of a true learning management system, has a confusing interface, and struggles with tracking assignments and feedback. It also has limited collaboration. Moodle could enhance its interface, mobile operation, and reporting features. Users say they would like to see better integration with social media, an easier setup process, and enhancements in the user interface
Service and Support: Some Google Classroom users reported challenges in obtaining assistance, while others value the forums and resources provided. Moodle's support quality depends on the circumstances. Some users reported prompt issue resolution from the team. Others expressed a desire for improvement.
Ease of Deployment: Google Classroom's initial setup is simple and quick, requiring only a few minutes to complete. Moodle's setup process is somewhat more involved. Users may require technical skills and additional training to implement Moodle correctly.
Pricing: Google Classroom pricing varies depending on the type of customer. Educational institutions can access the platform for free, but private companies need to pay. Customers may incur additional expenses for storage and integration. Moodle is a free open-source product with no yearly or monthly fees. However, companies may need to spend money to customize and integrate Moodle.
ROI: Google Classroom does not offer a quantifiable return on investment, whereas Moodle has proven to be a valuable and efficient solution, resulting in financial and time savings.
Comparison Results: According to our reviews, users prefer Google Classroom over Moodle. Users appreciate its easy-to-use interface, integration with other Google apps, and the ability to communicate with students and assign points. They also say that uploading class materials is easy and convenient. Users find Moodle's interface and mobile operation less user-friendly and in need of improvement. Overall, users like Google Classroom better because of its simplicity, convenience, and responsiveness to user feedback.
"What I like about Google Classroom are the video lessons. I enjoy using it because it makes my life easier, for example, I can easily change my class and my lecture notes."
"I like that Google Classroom is free and integrates with the entire Google Suite, which includes Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, etc. I also like its flexibility, which makes it perfect for synchronous, asynchronous, and blended courses, and including live and archived webinars, as well as other kinds of content."
"Assigning a unique copy of Google Classroom to students and giving out information is what the solution excels at."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its performance."
"Google Classroom is easy to use and intuitive, and it's not difficult to set up."
"This solution integrates with all the other Google apps including Google Calendar and Google Docs. This makes it very easy to manage."
"The most valuable feature of Google Classroom is its clouds based. It can be accessed anywhere. Additionally, the GUI is good, we have not had any complaints and the platform has built-in security. For example, email has protection."
"The most valuable feature of Google Classroom is the ability to meet people and it is online."
"The number of permissions that are available and different ways to report and get the information out are the most valuable features. We have been able to get precise bits of information out, and we have also been able to delegate a lot."
"Cost-effective and intuitive."
"Moodle has a vast array of features which are really useful for the work our company does. Moodle hosts the courses through online systems and also offers quizzes and badges which our customers frequently use."
"It doesn't take long to learn how to use it and to set up basic courses and things like that."
"The solution is stable."
"Since it's an open-source product, you can integrate it with many other things."
"The most valuable features of Moodle are the ability to create assignments, divide them into teams, and the course delivery. In Cornerstone, I need to reach out to the team, and it is not as simple, a little more involved. Additionally, the solutions is easy to manage."
"Moodle integrates with many third party plugins, which has enabled us to make use of the latest technology. During the Covid 19 period, we used a plugin called BigBlueButton to facilitate online learning which was quick and easy to do."
"The stability could be improved."
"It would be useful if this solution had its own online teaching platform with an integration with a Google video conferencing tool."
"There are some websites where you can create activities and guide students to do them in a sequence. You can guide them to do an activity first and then go to the next one. You can automatically link activities, and there is a flow, but in Google Classroom, you don't have that feature. All you can do is put the material and tell students what to do. For example, I have an assignment, but I want my students to read a particular text before that. They need to tick it, or they need to click next before they start doing the activity. After that, I want them to do comprehension questions or something else. In Moodle, there are activities such as assignments, quizzes, etc. There is a lesson module in which you can put all of the activities in a flow. So, you can decide what they need to do first. If students answer a question incorrectly, you can decide and design to which page do they need to go next, and which part do they need to review. This is currently missing in Google Classroom."
"The user interface of Google Classroom could improve by being more user-friendly."
"Initially, the product's initial setup phase may not seem user-friendly."
"I would like to see a master list of documents with folder names so that it is more convenient for students to know whether they have submitted a particular document. At present, you need to go to each classroom to check what you have submitted."
"Students used to have points that were accumulated and the letter grades, such as A's, B's, C's, et cetera. Google Classroom should add a feature by which you can toggle in between both of them. It's more than only accumulated points, which are not going to mean that much for students unless there's a prize at the end or some type of reward for the effort. However, if there's a way to toggle in between allocating points versus allocating a grade, it would be nice."
"The product must provide different plans for different customers so that we can pay for only what we use."
"Moodle should improve the interface. You can download plugins, such as templates, and use them in Moodle, but they're limited. The interface component in Moodle can improve for students because we always have to train every student on how to use some of each feature. The solution overall could be more user-friendly."
"The multi-tenancy system within Moodle could be improved. IOMAD is what makes the multi-tenancy possible but this comes with many issues."
"Its interface design could be more user-friendly."
"The solution should have more student-centric details in the modules."
"The UI and interface of Moodle could be greatly improved. There has been some improvement in recent releases by Moodle but there is still a lot to be improved upon. It is challenging to get buy-in from different stakeholders when they see what it looks like."
"Setting up groups and allocating privacy settings to different groups is quite complicated."
"The biggest area for improvement is the UI. They should also make the navigation simpler to understand. They've recently introduced a new way of having navigation work in Moodle, but they all look very similar."
"Sometimes, discrepancies arise when the information is not updated or lacks precision, potentially leading to the model producing misleading or incorrect outputs based on its training."
Google Classroom is ranked 3rd in Learning Management Systems (LMS) with 23 reviews while Moodle is ranked 2nd in Learning Management Systems (LMS) with 26 reviews. Google Classroom is rated 8.2, while Moodle is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Google Classroom writes "An easy-to-use and intuitive solution that can be used to facilitate excellent teaching and learning". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Moodle writes "Inexpensive and pretty easy to use, but not easily adaptable for an individual". Google Classroom is most compared with Canvas LMS, Blackboard Learning Management and CYPHER Learning, whereas Moodle is most compared with SAP SuccessFactors Learning, CYPHER Learning, Chamilo LMS, TalentLMS and LearnWorlds. See our Google Classroom vs. Moodle report.
See our list of best Learning Management Systems (LMS) vendors.
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