Has good potential, but not for professional use.
➡️ A LOT of BASIC functions are missing.
1. No manual badge assignment. This is just an opinion, but before making an automatic badge assignment feature, shouldn't instructors have the capability to assign one manually first? The manual assignment is a basic function, while the automatic assignment is advanced.
2. No real-time or intuitive notification for students having a discussion inside a particular course that encourages fun learning. Basically, it feels like you are learning alone. You might even miss out on other students' opinions on a discussion because there's no notification unless you REMEMBER to check back MANUALLY.
3. When an enrolled student shares a direct link to a course with another student who is not enrolled in the course, the UI either allows access inside the unenrolled course without content display or displays the course's sales page as an iframe inside the unenrolled course - instead of properly redirecting unenrolled students towards the sales page.
4. One of the most important "BASIC" LMS functions is missing. Unique instructor access, which means - an instructor should not be able to edit or delete another instructor's course.
>This is already under development but there are new possible problems for this as well because it's not properly mentioned in the roadmap if they are addressing it. They only mentioned "Restrict instructors to their own content in course creator plans"
They might be working on the restrictions. But will SUPERADMIN be able to,
❌ Restrict instructors from using the UPLOADED CONTENT
❌ Restrict instructors from using the SCORM CONTENT
❌ Restrict instructors from using BrainCert virtual classroom to avoid sharing limited monthly resources BUT allow them for CUSTOM LINK so they can schedule live classes using third-party meeting apps.
❌ Restrict instructors from recording classes using the BrainCert virtual classroom.
❌ Restrict instructors from creating NEW landing pages, but able to duplicate existing landing pages created by SUPERADMIN
❌ Restrict instructors from creating NEW content pages, but able to duplicate existing content pages created by SUPERADMIN
❌ Restrict instructors from accessing ONLINE STORE.
❌ Restrict the limit of courses an instructor could create.
These restrictions, when not provided can easily deplete SUPERADMINS resources such as storage, and course limitations. It also limits unified branding.
Even if it can be requested, it might take years because they are more into "advanced" features rather than the foundational ones. So basically you are limited as a SUPERADMIN for now.
➡️ A lot of things don't make sense when it comes to UX/UI
1. Very hard to add texts to video lessons. For example, if you want to add a few instructor notes as a description to a video lesson, you would have to create it as content first instead of just typing the text below the video attachment and saving the text. It's like a basic LMS function.
2. If your branding does not complement purple, then you are out of luck. Because you cannot edit the welcome banner and global link color - it's purple ONLY.
3. There's no way to delete or edit default content pages (Sales & Marketing > Website > Content Pages) which defeats the purpose of whitelabelling. It has BrainCert branding on it.
4. It's very hard to organize content (Products > Contents). It's all list view, point, and click. No grid view, drag and drop.
5. It displays disabled sections and just says "this section is disabled" rather than properly redirecting or hiding the disabled section.
6. Redundancy on navigations which confuses users. "Courses" on the left panel, "Courses" on the header. But shows different contents. Can't use the language settings for this one because they are both the same.
7. The toggle to hide the table of contents of a course is on the right side of the screen. Why not on the table of the content area itself?
8. Only two login templates with limited editing capabilities. It even shows a hamburger menu on mobile even if there's no submenu active. Even a basic sign-in module with a logo on top is not available.
9. On the mobile view, you have a hamburger menu on the left side for the left panel, a hamburger menu on the right side for header contents, and a profile dropdown menu. Not for professional use because it doesn't look professional.
10. Overall mobile view navigation doesn't make sense professionally. If the solution to this is the upcoming mobile app, then that would defeat the purpose of white labeling because the upcoming app will have Braincert branding. So for users who want full whitelabeling, they would have to deal with a mobile web view that doesn't make sense, or wait longer and spend for a whitelable mobile app.
➡️ Bugs Bugs Bugs
I have submitted more than 40 tickets since purchasing. Approx. 85% of it is about bugs.
A LOT OF BUGS. Serious caching issue. And some of it is still unresolved.
1. Logos and course images are missing (ticket May 8, 2024)
2. CSS/JS Code Inject is not saving input (ticket May 7, 2024).
3. Padding issues with iframe contents within a lesson (since April 14, 2024)
4. Interface language not fully working. After renaming "Courses", it still displays "Courses". After renaming "Enroll Now", it still displays "Enroll Now" (since April 14, 2024, still unresolved)
5. When uploading an image for an assessment, there's an Internal Server Error (since April 20, 2024, still unresolved).
I'm happy that I bought it from Appsumo. I have approximately a month left to see how this unfolds.
🏆 Overall, I gave it 3 tacos because it has better potential compared to other Lifetime Deal LMS I have tried.
Yasin_BrainCert
May 10, 2024Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed review. We value all feedback as it helps us to continuously improve and serve our diverse range of users better, from solo educators and small businesses to large enterprises and non-profit organizations.
1) Our platform's gamification engine was designed to automate the awarding of badges and points to streamline processes, but we appreciate that manual control is also important. Please create a feature request in our roadmap.
2) We are actively working on enhancing the notification system to create a more engaging and interactive learning environment. Meanwhile, there is a central commenting system where admins and instructors can view and participate in all course discussions.
3) The issue you're experiencing with course access might be related to course setup. Please ensure that your courses are added to the catalog page and that each course contains content. This will ensure that the sales page accurately displays the curriculum for prospective students.
4) Our current Appsumo course creator plans include predefined roles such as super admin, teacher, and learner. The teacher role allows for collaborative management of courses between teachers. We are also developing functionality to allow admins to restrict instructors to their own content. For more advanced custom roles and granular permissions, consider upgrading to our monthly or annual enterprise plans, which offer these features. For further information on setting up roles, groups and custom permissions, please check these articles:
- https://support.braincert.com/kb/article/59/using-roles-to-create-role-based-navigation-structure
- https://support.braincert.com/kb/article/194/customizing-user-access-and-roles-in-braincert-20
UX/UI Concerns:
---------------------------------------
1) Our centralized content library simplifies the process of uploading and embedding various types of content, including web contents and iframes. Within the curriculum builder, it's possible to enrich a single lecture with multiple types of content, such as a video lesson accompanied by instructor notes as text.
2) You have the option to customize the background color via the Branding page under the global settings. This feature allows for better alignment with your branding needs.
3) Default content pages like terms of service, privacy policy, and about us are fully customizable—you can unpublish, edit, or replace them. These pages are provided as templates and do not display BrainCert branding.
4) The content library is designed for ease of use with folder-based organization. While we understand the request for a grid layout, the current list view combined with a search function provides efficient navigation and content management, especially considering the various cloud integrations that support content upload.
5) If you're encountering an issue, please help us understand better by submitting a support ticket with screenshots.
6) The term 'Courses' is preferred by the majority of our users, but we provide options to customize this terminology via a language override feature.
7) The toggle functionality for the table of contents is placed to provide consistency across the platform, though we appreciate your preference for a different placement.
8) Our login page templates are designed to cover essential functionalities such as login/register and navigation to the course catalog.
9) and 10) The platform is optimized for mobile learners, and we generally recommend that admins and instructors use desktop browsers for course creation and management. We are also nearing the release of a native mobile app for iOS and Android, which will enhance the mobile experience for learners.
Issues reported:
----------------------------
The issues raised in over 40 tickets were predominantly minor and have been addressed by our team.
1) The issue with missing images was resolved promptly within minutes.
2) The problem you experienced with CSS/JS code insertion may be due to incorrect code usage; our support team can assist you with this.
3) We haven't identified widespread issues with iFrame embedded contents. If there are specific alignment or spacing concerns, these typically require minimal adjustments.
4) The language override function is continually updated; however, some features, especially newer or email-related ones, may not immediately reflect changes.
5) Images with incorrect resolutions, sizes, or special characters can trigger our WAF, which ensures security and compliance with our platform's standards.
We are dedicated to providing a robust and reliable platform and believe that with ongoing enhancements and the support of our community, BrainCert will continue to meet and exceed the expectations of our diverse user base. If you have further suggestions or need detailed assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team. Thank you once again for your feedback and for choosing BrainCert.