Google Classroom vs Study Island

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Our analysts compared Google Classroom vs Study Island 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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Study Island is an online learning platform that lets teachers individualize student learning through virtual, classroom or hybrid lessons. It combines technology with quality content and customizable teaching concepts to ensure higher success.

Teachers can increase student engagement and retention through game-based assignments, formative assessment tools and flexible, state-standardized learning modules. Analytics features allow teachers to track class progress and gain insight into student performance.
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$4.80/Student, Annually
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Tailored to your specific needs
$5.50/Student, Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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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

  • 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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  • Monitor Progress: Ensure impactful, effective and continuous virtual learning though flexible classroom instruction. Gain insight into performance factors such as pace, grade and progress with intuitive data, like real-time progress dashboards and customizable reports. 
  • Fill Gaps in Learning: Allow students to work only on what they need to. Provide opportunities for students to recover missing or incomplete skills and credits, and offer aid to those with poor academic performance through equivalent options, including accredited college courses. 
  • Improve Knowledge Retention: Engage students through customizable lessons and tailor educational pathways to individual aptitude. Success coaches are available to communicate with students, families and teachers. 
  • Provide a Complete Education: Teach students at every stage of their education, across all grades and skill levels. 
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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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  • Digital Curriculum: Implement traditional and specialized core subject courses for elementary, middle and high school. Additional offerings include college entry courses, high school equivalency and advanced placement exams. 
  • Language Options: Offer multiple language options for high school students to fulfill college criteria. ELL (English language learning) courses are also available for adults to improve proficiency in English listening, speaking, reading and writing. 
  • Cognia Accreditation: Allow students to transfer credits to new institutions and receive universally recognized diplomas. 
  • Growth Assistance Tools: Combine existing school data with NWEA, MAP and Renaissance integrations. Sort students by performance level to identify trends and stage interventions. Analyze student progress and responsiveness. Automatically detect potentially dangerous language in student work. 
  • Custom Study Plan: Create custom assignments and lessons tailored to specific students, classes, subjects or events. 
  • Shared Credentials: Use a single account to sign in into Clever, ClassLink, Google and Microsoft. 
  • Grade Record: View individual reports and maintain course records. Auto-generate and fill templates. 
  • Reading Eggspress For Pre K–6: Improve phonetics, spelling and syllable manipulation through engaging animations. Adjust lessons in spelling, sentences, words, letters and sounds based on knowledge level. Track and ensure completion of milestones with Lexile measure and growth charts. 
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Product Ranking

#7

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#42

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User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 4017 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 9 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.

92%
of users recommend this product

Study Island has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 92% when considering 9 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (14)
n/a
4.5 (1386)
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4.7 (2352)
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4.4 (265)
4.6 (9)

Awards

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

User Favorite Award

Study Island 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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Standards-aligned Content: Study Island's content is aligned with state and Common Core standards, ensuring students learn what they need to know for their grade level.
Personalized Learning: The platform creates a personalized learning path for each student based on their individual strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to focus on areas where they need the most help.
Engaging Activities: Study Island offers a variety of engaging activities, such as games, quizzes, and simulations, to help students learn and retain information.
Data and Reporting: Teachers and administrators can track student progress and performance through detailed data and reports, allowing them to identify areas where students need additional support.
Test Preparation: Study Island provides practice tests and other resources to help students prepare for standardized tests.
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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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Content Accuracy Issues: Some users have reported encountering outdated or inaccurate information within the platform's learning materials, particularly in subjects like science and history. This can lead to confusion and frustration for students who rely on the platform for accurate and up-to-date information.
Technical Issues and Glitches: Users have expressed concerns about technical problems and glitches within the platform, such as slow loading times, freezing, and occasional crashes. These technical issues can disrupt the learning process and cause frustration for both students and educators.
Limited Customization Options: Study Island offers limited options for educators to customize the learning experience for their students. This lack of flexibility can make it challenging for teachers to tailor the platform to meet the specific needs and learning styles of their students.
Repetitive Question Format: The platform's question format can become repetitive over time, which may lead to student boredom and disengagement. The lack of variety in question types can also limit the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
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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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Ready to embark on a learning adventure and navigate the vast sea of educational software? Let's set sail and chart a course through the user reviews of Study Island! Study Island receives praise for its user-friendly interface and engaging content, making it a popular choice among educators. The platform's gamified approach, with features like earning points and badges, motivates students and fosters a sense of accomplishment. Its comprehensive coverage of various subjects and grade levels, aligned with state standards, ensures that students have access to the necessary materials for academic success. The flexibility to assign specific topics or skills allows teachers to personalize learning and address individual student needs. However, some users note that the question format can become repetitive, potentially limiting its effectiveness for long-term engagement. Additionally, while Study Island offers a wide range of content, it may not always align perfectly with specific curriculum requirements, requiring teachers to supplement with additional resources. Despite these limitations, Study Island's strengths in user-friendliness, engaging content, and standards alignment make it a valuable tool for educators seeking to enhance student learning and track progress. Its adaptability to different learning styles and its ability to provide personalized instruction make it particularly well-suited for students who benefit from a structured and gamified learning environment. Please note that user experiences and software functionalities can evolve over time. It's always a good idea to check the latest online reviews and resources for the most current information on Study Island and similar educational software options.

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