Home > LMS Software > MindTap > MindTap vs Blackboard Learn

MindTap vs Blackboard Learn

Last Updated: November 18th, 2024

Our analysts compared MindTap vs Blackboard 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.

Overview Pricing Benefits & Features Analyst Ratings Comparison Charts User Ratings Analyst Summary Screenshots

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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.

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.

$160 Annually

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$9,500 Annually

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24/7 Live Support

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Product Ranking

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Analyst Rating Summary

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User Sentiment Summary

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.

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.

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4.9 (18)

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3.9 (789)

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4.1 (456)

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4.2 (54)

4.6 (13)

3.8 (204)

Awards

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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FAQ

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