We parsed the data and listened to education leaders to better understand why institutions are choosing Brightspace for their Learning Management System (LMS) needs.
Higher education institutions around the globe are migrating from Blackboard Learn to D2L Brightspace. We combed G2, a third-party software provider review site, and listened to education leaders to better understand why institutions are choosing Brightspace for their Learning Management System (LMS) needs.
First, a quick primer on G2. G2 is a third-party software review website. Each quarter, it releases software and service reports that help readers discover the right solutions to solve their business problems. All reviews, whether positive or negative, come from actual users of the software. These reports are highly regarded and the rankings matter. In fact, for the winter 2024 edition, G2 shared that less than 3% of the software and services it reviewed secured a G2 Leader badge.
According to the latest report, Brightspace has been named a leader in the market—in the highest tier possible. This distinction is based on a high customer satisfaction score and D2L’s large market presence. According to data collected by G2 from 537 Brightspace users:
All data is from G2 and accurate at the time of publication
Given the positive feedback, it’s no surprise that universities and colleges are starting to make the switch to Brightspace. Take Bentley University, a private university based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Over the last century, Bentley has grown into one of the top business schools in the U.S. “We’re always looking for what’s next and what can help evolve our business education,” says Gaurav Shah, director of academic technologies at Bentley University. This commitment to innovation led the team to reevaluate the LMS they had in place for over 20 years. They wanted a more modern LMS to help the university stay ahead of the curve.
Bentley University is recognized as one of the leading business schools in the U.S. The university recently evaluated its learning management system and decided to switch to D2L Brightspace in order to further support its innovative efforts.
A great user experience was one of the reasons why SUNY Binghamton chose to move from Blackboard Learn to Brightspace. Paula Russell, senior director at the Center for Learning and Teaching, shares more in the video below.
Over on the West Coast at the University of Southern California (USC), one early adopter of Brightspace shared that it’s “easier for students to navigate. Easier for course builders to build their content. Both can track their own progress with the self-assessment tool.”
According to data from G2, users gave Blackboard Learn an average rating of 3.9/5 stars. In contrast, users gave Brightspace an average rating of 4.4/5 stars. Each product’s score is calculated with real-time data from verified user reviews, to help potential buyers decide which option is best for their needs.
When assessing the two LMS, reviewers felt that:
When asked what they liked best about Brightspace, one G2 reviewer shared that Brightspace makes the student feel comfortable from the beginning. “As an instructor, I like to be able to assign badges and value the achievements of the students within the platform. This greatly encourages the desire to learn.”
The reviewer also cited specific features and functionalities they like about Brightspace, including having the option to upload elements, being able to extract material from other media, like YouTube, and integrating with Google Drive so that they can import files.
The overall satisfaction is a sentiment shared by Anna Galka, a learning technologies educational consultant at the University of Windsor. The University of Windsor recently chose to migrate from Blackboard Learn to Brightspace and has been very happy with the experience.
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D2L has made every effort to provide complete and accurate information. The content of this page is based upon information available as of March 19, 2024, and it is to be used for informational purposes only. D2L has permission to use information available on G2. If you identify any information outlined on this page that is inaccurate, please contact us at [email protected] with details so we can make the appropriate modification.
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