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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Classroom

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AN/A

    $0

    per month

    LightSail

    N/AN/ALightSail, from MindPlay since the March 2023 acquisition, is a personalized literacy solution featuring thousands of engaging books with embedded assessments & instant data. LightSail offers a number of reading exercises, as well as vocabulary assessments.N/A
    Pricing
    Google ClassroomLightSail
    Editions & Modules
    Education Fundamentals
    $0
    per license/per month
    Google Workspace for Education Standard
    $3
    per student/per year
    Teaching and Learning Upgrade
    $4
    per license/per month
    Google Workspace for Education Plus
    $5
    per student/per year
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google ClassroomLightSail
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsEducation Fundamentals Version - 30-day free trial for qualifying institutions.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google ClassroomLightSail
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    No answer on this topic
    MindPlay
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    97%
    Would buy again
    34 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    34 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    32 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    18 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    26 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Google ClassroomLightSail
    Learning Management
    Comparison of Learning Management features of Google Classroom and LightSail Education
    Feature
    Google Classroom
    7.8
    56 Ratings
    5% below category average
    LightSail Education
    -
    Ratings
    Course authoring8.048 Ratings00 Ratings
    Course catalog or library8.937 Ratings00 Ratings
    Player/Portal9.536 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning content5.139 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile friendly5.754 Ratings00 Ratings
    Progress tracking & certifications8.042 Ratings00 Ratings
    Assignments8.255 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compliance management8.132 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning administration7.743 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning reporting & analytics9.039 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social learning7.749 Ratings00 Ratings
    Gamification6.57 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning9.010 Ratings00 Ratings
    User Ratings
    Google ClassroomLightSail
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (76 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.9
    (14 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    2.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google ClassroomLightSail
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Google
    Google Classroom allows teachers to post for daily lessons and assignments. It also allows teachers to be able to communicate with students easily outside of class. Students are able to stay connected and know where to find all information and resources easily in a streamlined manner for all of their classes.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Pros
    Google
    • Student-teacher communication - I love using Classroom for this because my students can always go back and check what was on Classroom by looking through the stream. This way they don't have to go dig through emails to find what they're looking for.
    • Posting to multiple classes - I can post the same announcement or assignment to multiple classes at once without having to repeat the process or send separate emails.
    • Streamlining grading - when students turn work in on Classroom, it all goes to one place and then when I'm grading I can open their documents directly from Classroom or my Drive folder. This way, I'm not looking through emails and Google Doc shared files for their assignment.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Cons
    Google
    • The content management of the Classroom is not that good. The sub-section for notes, syllabus, or discussion is missing.
    • It doesn't have parental control feature.
    • It converts the excel output into a normal file. All the formulas and pivots got changed into plain text.
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Likelihood to Renew
    Google
    Testing is particularly important in online learning, and Google Classroom falls far short of other learning management systems in this regard. Security is also a concern: while account control is reasonable for the account used with Google Classroom, the person controlling a particular account is often able to, for example, forward or download proprietary materials.
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Google
    Simple design and seamless integration with Google tools and drive, but missing some key features. However, since it is limited in overall functions and ability to truly personalize / customize, it is quite user friendly and easy to set up and get going, other than sending out the code to your course or dropping students in via their gmail account. Users of Google Forms and sites will find the layout similar in design.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Reliability and Availability
    Google
    We have had very little trouble in accessing Google Classroom. Our issues, if any, have risen from our server and not the Google servers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Google
    Since this platform is provided by Google, the technical support is better than any others, and we are not required to bother about the space constraints for adding the contents. If we have a good uninterrupted internet facility we can access Google Classroom without any delay or lag. They have app support in both Android and iPhone.
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Google
    It was relatively easy to implement due to the simplicity of the platform. Even our more technology challenged teachers found it easy to get started with Google Classroom.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Google
    I haven't tested or evaluated another digital classroom website or application. I feel like Google Classroom is convenient for many reasons such as compatibility to Google docs, slides, etc. I also love the ability to link to YouTube and other sites. I don't know if there would be a site that is easier to maneuver.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    Google
    It is very easy to push out this program across our buildings. Teachers are able to use it without much trouble.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Google
    • Students are able to continue learning in a remote environment
    • Parents have a single, consistent organization structure to make it easy to track assignments and progress for multiple children
    • Much better solution than the quickly assembled Zoom-and-gloom of the previous spring when school abruptly went remote with no planning
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MindPlay
    No answers on this topic
    ScreenShots