Google Classroom vs PowerDMS

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Our analysts compared Google Classroom vs PowerDMS 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

Google Classroom is a free online learning platform that integrates with G Suite applications. As part of Google for Educators, it has a wide breadth of capabilities. Educators can create courses, assign homework, give grades and feedback, build exams, provide supplemental reading materials, share resources and more. Students can complete assignments, reach out to their instructors, ask questions, collaborate with others and more. It was used by over 100 million people and developed in collaboration with educators. There’s a free and paid version of the product. The paid one has greater functionality, notably the ability to host many hundreds more in a web conference.
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PowerDMS software effectively manages policies, training, and accreditation processes, making it ideal for organizations seeking to streamline these crucial functions. A key strength of PowerDMS lies in its ability to connect policies, training materials, and accreditation requirements, ensuring that employees have easy access to the latest information and resources. The software facilitates efficient employee training by offering features such as course creation, progress tracking, and mobile accessibility. User reviews consistently highlight the platform's user-friendly interface, comprehensive reporting tools, and ability to adapt to evolving organizational needs. With a mid-range pricing structure based on a per-user monthly fee, PowerDMS presents a compelling option for businesses seeking a robust and user-friendly solution for managing their training and development programs.

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$4.80/Student, Annually
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$4,000 Annually
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Windows
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Chromebook
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Android
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Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

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

Product Insights

  • More Efficient: Save time through automation, the replacement of paper and manual processes. Grade quickly through the Docs app, which allows teachers to comment upon and return assignments rapidly.
  • Cut Down on Plagiarism: Prevent plagiarism with tools that scan for matching phrases or text online, find missing citations, do a cross-reference of books, look for paraphrasing and more. Provide this for learners who can check their work before they turn work in. Download originality reports and keep work so instructors can catch peer-to-peer copying.
  • Engaged Students: Integrate with virtual reality allowing users to explore famous landmarks, natural events and more. Explore spaces made by instructors and use mobile technology, the Expeditions app, while in VR to get further instructions and navigate the world. Let the app act as a roadmap while they explore. Pair the VR with mobile devices, access 360 views of virtual landscapes, work with several content partners and get a free course to teach individuals how to use VR provided by partners.
  • More Centralized Info: Use the complete G Suite, including Sheets, Meet, Drive, Docs, Forms, Calendar, Jamboard and more. Create and collaborate across several mediums while instructors can make various administrative processes more efficient.
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  • Provide a User-friendly Interface: Provides an intuitive experience that’s suitable for non-technical users. The software doesn’t have unnecessary features, making it simple to use. 
  • Adopt Automation: Configure settings to send out reminders to users when training is required. The system also has the option to automatically score tests and log training. 
  • Leverage Accreditation Support: Training records, lesson plans, certificates and other documents simplify the accreditation process. 
  • Access Flexible Training: Offering online courses enables learners to work through material after hours. This prevents training from taking away from on-the-job training and provides convenience for employees. 
  • Use Blended Learning: Organizations can conduct a blend of online and classroom training. It supports the in-person format by publishing and collecting course registrations. 
  • Try a Free Trial: The product offers a 14-day free trial. Test real-world scenarios to determine if the system is a good fit. 
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  • Different Roles: Adjust access on the platform allowing administrators to create other roles for parents, students, educators and more.
  • Web Conferencing: Create a unique link for each video session and send out a private link for classes. Use the IETF security standards for Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol and Datagram Transport Layer Security. Record and live stream with the expanded paid product.
  • Integration: Integrate with many school administration apps, curriculum building, communication, education enhancement and more. Use apps like Aeries, Aladdin Schools Connect, Classcraft, Pear Deck, Pearson Education, Quizizz, Squigl, Writable and a wide variety of others. Have programmers connect their app with the platform and access technical support, company-wide initiatives and marketing support.
  • Mobile: Use the mobile app that works on iOS and Android where learners and instructors can access the program from multiple devices.
  • Jamboard: Provide a smart display for tablets, smartphones or smart boards. Pull in images, make notes with the stylus and handwriting and shape recognition tools and more. Operate with Meet or during an in-person class.
  • Enterprise Option: Use the teacher center and Google for Education for more control, better security, device management, data loss prevention, a S/MIME for Gmail, Gmail logs and admin reports in BigQuery, a security sandbox and more. Set up a university-wide email system with Gmail.
  • Stream: See posts, comments and other materials when they log into the program. Upload content and respond to comments while students can collaborate with their peers and comment on posted materials.
  • Class Management: Facilitate classes through an organization with features such as a content library for assignments, slides, class papers, forms and other resources. Lock due dates, set a timer on access for materials, reuse content, add YouTube videos and more.
  • Accessibility: Accommodate students with impairments such as hearing, vision, physical disabilities and processing disorders. Use voice access, screen readers, closed captioning and more so learners can access information in a way that helps them. Adjust the content to make it more visual, auditory and more to match individual learning styles. Download an accessibility conformance report to analyze the effectiveness of the program.
  • Security: Use a system that supports the standards and compliance for the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Software & Information Industry Association, ISO/IEC 27018:2014, HIPPA, GDRP and more. Host information on secure servers, let administrators watch over data security and get audited by a third-party to ensure data protection.
  • Grading: Allow instructors to add comments, grade, enter commonly used feedback, apply rubrics and automatically notify students when their assignment is ready for them.
  • Educator Groups: Unite local educators so they can collaborate and help one another online and in-person. A local volunteer organizes the group and the members unite for teaching, workshops, advice and more.
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  • Course Management: Create courses using a WYSIWYG editor. Course elements include documents, videos, presentations, audio files, surveys and more. The system also supports embedding videos and web pages. Divide courses into sections for individual offerings based on different times for a classroom setting. Reorder individual course elements using the drag-and-drop capability. 
  • Tests: Customize tests to describe fields such as timed or untimed pass/fail, graded and open book or close book. Add due dates, number of retakes, images and text boxes, and enable auto grading. Create question banks, set mandatory questions and preview the test before publishing. 
  • Reports: Generate reports to segment on-training and non-training employees. Document the type and amount of training each employee has received, associated costs of training, credit hour summaries and more. 
  • Certifications: Award employees with certifications to designate receipt of job training after completing courses. 
  • Surveys: Gather employee feedback using different question types, such as true/false and multiple choice. Assign surveys directly to individuals or include them in a course for better accessibility. 
  • Content Hub: Connect with publisher sites to access and share content. Import single files or entire folders, bulk import items and edit documents in case of site changes. Get notified via email as content on the publisher site is added or updated. 
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Product Ranking

#7

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LMS Software

#60

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LMS Software

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User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 4017 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 835 reviews
92%
of users recommend this product

Google Classroom has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 92% when considering 4017 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

96%
of users recommend this product

PowerDMS has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 96% when considering 835 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (14)
n/a
4.5 (1386)
4.7 (107)
4.7 (2352)
4.76 (291)
n/a
4.8 (290)
4.4 (265)
4.9 (147)

Awards

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

User Favorite Award

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

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Affordable: Over 80% of viewers who mentioned price were happy with the cost.
Integrates with the G Suite: Users who mentioned the integration with Google Docs, Slides and other products were pleased in 80% of reviews.
Uploads Efficiently: Over 70% of reviewers felt that uploading ran smoothly.
Easy to Use: The majority of users who mentioned the UI were happy with its capability in just under 70% of reviews.
Multimedia Support: More than 60% were happy with the various formatting and multimedia support in the system.
Excellent User Communication Tools: Users who mentioned the messages, notifications and other communications functions were pleased in more than 60% of reviews.
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Centralized Document Management: PowerDMS excels at keeping documents organized and accessible, eliminating the need to search through emails or shared drives. It acts as a single source of truth for policies, procedures, and other critical documents, ensuring everyone has access to the latest versions.
Streamlined Training and Compliance: The platform simplifies assigning, tracking, and reporting on training activities. Automated reminders and notifications help ensure that employees complete required training on time, reducing the risk of non-compliance.
Efficient Collaboration and Communication: PowerDMS facilitates collaboration by allowing users to share documents, provide feedback, and track changes. Discussion forums and messaging features enable clear communication and knowledge sharing among team members.
Enhanced Security and Control: The platform offers robust security features to protect sensitive information. Role-based access controls ensure that only authorized individuals can view or edit documents, while audit trails provide a record of all activity.
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Glitchy: More than 80% of users who mentioned the speed of running the program felt it was glitchy.
Lack of Customization: Reviewers who mentioned customization felt the options were lacking in more than 70% of reviews.
Not Enough Admin Control: Over 60% of reviewers who discussed the user admin function felt functionality was lacking.
Lacks Features: In over 50% of reviews that mentioned the feature set, users felt they were missing features.
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Limited LMS Functionality: PowerDMS is primarily a policy management system, so its features for delivering and tracking training content are less robust than dedicated learning management systems (LMS). For example, it may lack advanced features like SCORM compliance, gamification, or detailed learning analytics.
Usability Challenges: Some users find the interface to be clunky and unintuitive, particularly when creating and managing training courses. Navigating the platform and finding specific information can be time-consuming, especially for new users.
Customer Support Concerns: There have been reports of slow response times and difficulty reaching customer support, which can be frustrating for users who need assistance with technical issues or have questions about the platform.
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Google Classroom is an eLearning solution that’s widely used in education because of its price point. While the base version is free, there is a paid enterprise package with expanded functionality. Reviewers like its simple UI, integration with the G Suite, support of multimedia options and good base functionality with grading, assignments, exams and more. They also felt it encouraged engagement and collaboration while saving time and money. On the flip side, reviewers felt the platform lacked options for customization and didn’t come with enough features. The platform isn’t a full-service LMS. It delivers lessons, shares files and has some higher function feedback functions, but doesn’t have the advanced administrative, reporting and other options of more robust solutions. This is an excellent option for small to medium-sized organizations that need to facilitate training. Make sure you understand the functional differences between the free and enterprise versions.

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PowerDMS is a popular choice for businesses looking for a user-friendly and feature-rich learning management system (LMS). Users appreciate its intuitive interface, robust functionality, and responsive customer support. PowerDMS simplifies policy and training management, allowing for efficient distribution of critical information and seamless tracking of employee progress. However, some users note that the software can be pricey and may require some initial setup effort. PowerDMS stands out from the competition with its emphasis on compliance and accreditation management. This makes it a top pick for organizations in heavily regulated industries such as healthcare, public safety, and education. Its ability to streamline document control, automate workflows, and ensure adherence to industry standards is a major draw for these users. While PowerDMS may require a larger investment compared to some other LMS options, its comprehensive features and focus on compliance make it a worthwhile choice for organizations seeking a powerful and reliable solution to manage their learning and compliance needs.

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