Moodle vs Google Classroom

Moodle and Google Classroom are two of the leading learning managements systems out there. Whilst Moodle has been popular for a long time, Google Classroom has seen a dramatic increase in users of the past five years.

But what are the differences between these two learning tools, and how are they similar to each other? And can you use both of them in tandem to get an even better experience? Well, we’re going to look at some of the main information about both Moodle and Google Classroom, then give you our verdict.

The main difference between Moodle and Google Classroom is that whilst Google Classroom works really well for individual teachers, Moodle is best used throughout the entire school system.

You can create entire courses with Moodle, and whilst you can collaborate with others in Google Classroom, it’s not as extensive. And whilst Google Classroom is based on the cloud, Moodle is deployed both on the cloud but also on-premise too.

But these are not the only differences between Moodle and Google Classroom. No, there are a few other things to mention which might help you make a choice between the two. So, let’s look at each of them a little bit closer.

Moodle

Been around since: 2002 | Worldwide users: 80+ million

Moodle has been around for a long time, and it’s one of the most used learning management systems in the world. It provides a whole internal system for your education institution.

In most cases, Moodle doesn’t actually cost an institution that much. The base version can support 100 users, but the increase version can support up to 500 users. The prices vary based on where you’re located, and can cost as little as a few hundred dollars.

If you’re thinking of using Moodle in collaboration then this isn’t a bad idea at all. However, for most people there are other softwares that integrate with Moodle better than Classrooms – one example is Mahara, which is a portfolio framework.

Pros

One thing that Moodle does really well is give you a lot of customization options, more so than the competitors out there.

Moodle is by far the better option for those that are looking to create things at a larger scale. If you want something for a whole institution, with the ability to create full courses within different subjects, then Moodle is much better for this.

You can easily export courses with Moodle if you need to, which you can with Classroom.

Pros

It’s not really worth using Moodle if your entire school or college isn’t using it as well, as you’d have to host it yourself, which is not simple.

You can sign up to Moodle for free, but to use it properly you’ll need to sign up for a school package, which can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand per year, depending on the size of your instituion.

Whilst Moodle is pretty good, it’s definitely not the finished article. There are still improvements that need to be made, like scheduling and course cloning.

Google Classroom

Been around since: 2014 | Worldwide users: 100 million

Whilst Moodle has been around a lot longer than Google Classroom, they actually have a similar amount of users. Until 2020, Google was behind Moodle, but recently a lot of teachers have been looking at tools to help them teach online. And as Classroom is free, it’s no surprise that a lot of teachers have become interested in it.

Google Classroom is part of G Suite’s full range of different tools and features that you can use. Essentially, Google Classrooms is great for creating a social media connection between the teacher and the students in the class.

You can post about that specific class, and it gives you an easy place to have students submit their work or practice exams. If you’re not sure how to get to grips with Classroom, then there’s a good troubleshooting help section which can be used to resolve any of your issues.

Google Classroom is said to be the best software to use if you’re just getting started with e-learning, and I think that this is true. But for those looking for something more in depth, a full LMS like Moodle will likely be necessary.

Pros

One of the main benefits of using Google Classroom is that it’s very compatible with all of your other Google products, like Google Drive.

In the modern day, most students will be using gmail. It’s very easy for you to send them their assignments and grades through Google Classroom, as it works much like a social media.

As long as your education institution has signed up to Google Education, then you can get Classroom free of charge.

Cons

Google Classroom, despite being extremely useful, isn’t a full learning management system.

Classroom is quite simplistic, which makes it work very well for simple word processing tasks, and makes it compatible with English & most other subjects. But, it struggles when used by STEM subjects, as it isn’t capable of supporting science & math teachers fully.

You might be able to collaborate with other teachers, but it’s not advanced or connected enough to connect with other schools, or to give you the ability to submit grades.

Conclusion

All in all, it’s clear to see the difference between these two different forms of learning systems. Whilst Moodle is the more comprehensive of the two, Google Classrooms also has its place as a useful tool for teachers too. It works well with laptops or Chromebooks (check here for the best laptops for teachers).

But all in all, it’s easiest to use the one that your education system is already using. If you school has been using Moodle for a decade already, then there’s no reason to switch from this. But getting Google Classroom for individual use could be a good idea.