Blackboard Learn vs LearningZen

Last Updated:

Our analysts compared Blackboard Learn vs LearningZen 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.
read more...
LearningZen is a robust Learning Management System (LMS) designed to streamline the training process for businesses, particularly those in industries like healthcare, retail, and hospitality. It excels in creating, managing, and delivering online training courses with ease. The platform is particularly beneficial for organizations seeking to enhance employee skills and ensure compliance with industry standards. One of its standout features is the intuitive course builder, which allows users to develop engaging content without technical expertise. Additionally, LearningZen offers insightful analytics to track learner progress and performance. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and the ability to customize training paths. While specific pricing details are not publicly available, LearningZen typically offers flexible pricing models that cater to different organizational needs. For precise pricing information, it is advisable to contact SelectHub for a tailored quote. Overall, LearningZen is praised for its efficiency and adaptability in meeting diverse training requirements.
read more...
$9,500 Annually
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
$199/User, Monthly
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
Small 
i
Medium 
i
Large 
i
Small 
i
Medium 
i
Large 
i
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

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

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.  
read more...
  • Easy To Use: Register for an instructor-led training program with an intuitive interface that suits both authors and students. Guide writers step by step in content creation through the comprehensive course building tool. Manage employee performance easily and send them messages quickly. 
  • Customizable: Customize the learning experience for employees by monitoring daily performance and tailoring course content based on employee’s areas of weakness. Provide personalized tests, assessments, curriculum, trainer-led customized guidance, and certificates on course completion to address each employee individually. 
  • Ensure Collaboration: Empower employees to communicate better through an internal messaging system and dialogue boards. Create collaborative easy-to-understand online courses in the form of inactive quizzes and videos with an incorporated course-builder. Also, integrate various content from third-party sources (i.e., SCORM, AICC, xAPI). 
  • Mobile-Friendly: Enable learners to access content easily anytime from anywhere from a mobile-friendly dashboard. Make sure employees never miss any updates related to training. 
  • Offers Scalable Pricing: Its tiered pricing accommodates organizations of all sizes, providing room for smaller businesses to upgrade as they grow. 
  • Generate New Revenue: Make extra income by selling tutorials and customized lessons to other organizations online via e-commerce. 
  • Leverage Proactive Support: The vendor prioritizes customer success and offers all kinds of launch assistance for every event with the help of professionals who physically attend events to assist company workers with product and event launches. Support can also help companies migrate all pre-existing training materials into a single location and accelerate the content assembly process, publishing content as quickly as possible. 
read more...
  • 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. 
read more...
  • Student Dashboard: Enable students to start learning as soon as possible, with an intuitive, mobile-friendly e-learning interface in the form of a customizable dashboard, with an integrated help center. Register for instructor-led courses, send messages and track progress with ease on what needs to be started, finished or reviewed. 
  • Collaboration: Enhances communication between learners and educators via built-in forums, discussion boards and an internal messaging system. 
  • Reporting: Monitor overall employee performance. Track exact areas of learner's weaknesses through reports in order to help strengthen them moving forward. 
  • Course Builder: Create online course content with its integrated, easy-to-use course builder and instructional designers. Collaborate directly with employees on various aspects of content authoring to develop appealing multimedia content. 
    • Media Formats: Supports various media types, like Microsoft Office Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets and more; audio and video files both owned and borrowed; and SCORM-compatible materials from products like Adobe Captivate, Articulate, Storyline, etc. 
  • Exams and Assessments: Streamline students’ learning experiences with regular tests, assessments and quizzes that demonstrate knowledge and provide certification for learners. Provide instructor-led feedback for additional insight. 
read more...

Product Ranking

#6

among all
LMS Software

#34

among all
LMS Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

74
we're gathering data
14
we're gathering data
82
we're gathering data
100
we're gathering data
Show More Show More

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Blackboard Learn
LearningZen
+ Add Product + Add Product
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
14%
0%
86%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
80%
0%
20%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
100%
0%
0%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
100%
0%
0%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
87%
0%
13%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
0%
0%
100%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
38%
0%
62%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
75%
0%
25%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
87%
0%
13%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
100%
0%
0%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
91%
0%
9%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

71%
0%
29%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A

User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 1521 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 4 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

LearningZen has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 96% when considering 4 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

4.9 (18)
n/a
3.9 (789)
n/a
4.1 (456)
4.8 (4)
4.2 (54)
n/a
3.8 (204)
n/a

Awards

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

Compliance Award

LearningZen 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.
Show more
Intuitive Platform: LearningZen is recognized for its user-friendly design, making it simple for administrators to set up and manage training courses, and for employees to navigate and engage with learning materials.
Customizable Training: The platform's course builder and monitoring tools empower businesses to create tailored training solutions that align with their specific requirements and objectives.
Cost and Time Efficiency: LearningZen eliminates the need for traditional training logistics, such as travel and physical accommodations, leading to significant cost savings and reduced time away from work.
Consistent Training: The platform enables businesses, especially those with multiple locations or franchises, to deliver standardized training content, ensuring consistency in knowledge and skills development across the board.
Strong Customer Support: LearningZen is commended for its responsive and helpful customer support team, providing users with assistance and guidance when needed.
Show more
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.
.
Show more
Limited Customization: While LearningZen offers free templates, businesses with unique branding or course design requirements might find the customization options restrictive.
Potential Feature Limitations: As a cost-effective solution, LearningZen may lack some advanced features found in higher-priced LMS platforms, potentially limiting certain training functionalities.
Show more

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.

Show more

Is LearningZen truly a state of learning tranquility, or does it leave users feeling like they're stuck in a digital detention? User reviews from the past year suggest that LearningZen is a breath of fresh air in the often-complicated world of Learning Management Systems (LMS). Users consistently praise its intuitive design and user-friendly interface, highlighting how easy it is to create and manage training programs without needing a PhD in computer science. This ease of use is a major differentiating factor, as many other LMS platforms are often bogged down with clunky interfaces and a steep learning curve. Imagine being able to launch a new training program within hours instead of weeks – that's the kind of efficiency LearningZen offers. While LearningZen excels in its simplicity and ease of use, some users have pointed out limitations in certain features. For instance, the platform might not have the same level of advanced customization or integrations as some of its competitors. However, these limitations appear to be minor compared to the overall positive experience reported by most users. LearningZen seems to be a classic case of "doing a few things very well" rather than trying to be everything to everyone. In conclusion, LearningZen is best suited for businesses, particularly franchises, looking to streamline their training processes without getting lost in a maze of complex features. Its intuitive design, coupled with its focus on core LMS functionalities, makes it an ideal choice for organizations that prioritize ease of use and efficiency. If you're searching for a user-friendly LMS that can help you get your training programs up and running quickly, LearningZen is definitely worth considering.

Show more

Screenshots

Top Alternatives in LMS Software


Absorb LMS

Adobe Learning Manager

Brainier

Brightspace

Canvas

Cornerstone LMS

Docebo

LearnUpon

Litmos

Moodle

Schoology

Seismic Learning

SkyPrep

Spoke LMS

TalentLMS

Thinkific

Tovuti

Trainual

WorkRamp

Related Categories

Head-to-Head Comparison

WE DISTILL IT INTO REAL REQUIREMENTS, COMPARISON REPORTS, PRICE GUIDES and more...

Compare products
Comparison Report
Just drag this link to the bookmark bar.
?
Table settings