Open source web conferencing system for online learning
3.91/5 (34 reviews)Pricing model: Open Source
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3 reviewers had the following to say about BigBlueButton's pricing:
Pros
We have most of the features that are an musthave for online learnings. It has the best price-performance ratio and is Open Source so you can customize it like you want.
Cons
You need to customize it to use it but this is not that hard.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
Pros
This is the prove that open source software can be better than paid software. It's the one tool for education. You have shared board, real-time survey and more.
Cons
The servers are a bit expensive if you want to run it 24/7. The shared board could have option to just let one student write on it. Also, the teacher should have the option to mute the alumni.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 10/10
Overall works well, but would prefer other competitors such as Zoom or Google Meets.
Pros
This software is integrated with Canvas LMS by Instructure, making it easy for schools already using the Canvas LMS to adopt. It has a robust security system to prevent "zoombombing" as only registered people in each course can access the conference they have been invited to with a unique user token. Certain features such as breakout rooms, shared whiteboard and embedded video player would rival other video conferencing software such as Google Meets, and it most definitely has most if not all classroom needs for most schools around the world. The Learning curve is low, and it runs smoothly most of the time. Private chat works very well, and is intuitive to use.
Cons
The design is a bit outdated, and looks a slightly boring. "Hot" features right now such as virtual backgrounds and full screen tile view is not up to par with competitors, and there are small annoyances such as keyboard shortcuts not working on MACs and the need to do an "echo test" every time I enter a new conference which takes several seconds off my precious time. Additionally, the ability to record a conference after having entered and forgotten to click the "make conference recordable" button while creating the conference results in having to have everyone leave the conference and have a new one created. Lastly, although I like the breakout rooms feature, if you so happen to put a timer for the breakout rooms to be less than needed, there is no option to extend the time without having all the breakout rooms close and reopen - something that happens way too often.
Rating breakdown
Likelihood to recommend: 5/10
