A Blackboard LMS alternative built for Arabic and English
Blackboard LMS is a long-established platform, especially in higher education. If you need Arabic and English throughout, or want admissions, parents and payments in the same system as teaching, Ilmoria may be a closer fit. Here is a fair look at both, and at how a move usually works.
About Blackboard LMS
Blackboard LMS is made by Blackboard, an education technology company co-founded in 1997 by Matthew Pittinsky and Michael Chasen. Blackboard merged with Anthology in 2021 and operated under the Anthology name until 2026, when it became an independent company under the Blackboard name again, owned by Nexus Capital Management and Oaktree Capital Management. Its current platform launched as Blackboard Ultra in 2016 and is now called simply Blackboard LMS. Higher education is its core market, and it also serves K-12 schools, government agencies and businesses. Other products include Blackboard Ally for accessibility and tools for institutional effectiveness.
When Blackboard LMS may suit you better
- Your institution has years of courses, integrations and staff training built around Blackboard LMS, and the cost of switching outweighs the gains.
- You also want accreditation, programme review and institutional effectiveness tools from the same vendor.
- You depend on LTI tools today. On Ilmoria, LTI 1.3 is on the roadmap.
Why teams look for an alternative
You want Arabic and English with full right-to-left out of the box
Every screen in both languages, switchable by each user, with your staff able to correct the Arabic wording.
You want parents, admissions and payments in the same system
Families follow progress and see invoices, and student affairs reviews applications, without a separate portal to maintain.
You run several schools or campuses as one group
Each needs its own brand, web address and data, with reporting across all of them from one account.
You want a partner focused on bilingual institutions
Implementation and support from a team that works with Arabic- and English-speaking schools, universities and companies.
Where Ilmoria is a strong fit
Arabic and English, properly
Every screen in both languages with full right-to-left Arabic, and text people write is never machine-translated. See bilingual support.
Parents in the loop
The parent portal shows each child's grades, final results and invoices, with categorised conversations with the school.
Admissions to graduation in one record
Applications, placement tests, e-signed enrolment documents, transcripts and graduation certificates sit in one place.
Exams with integrity monitoring
Integrity scores on every attempt, flagged attempts for review, and an approval step before final exam grades are released.
Several institutions, one account
Each school, college or campus gets its own branding, domain, users and isolated data.
A checklist for your decision
Use this list to compare Ilmoria with Blackboard LMS, or any other system, during demos.
| What you need | In Ilmoria |
|---|---|
| Arabic and English interface | Every screen in both, fully right-to-left Arabic |
| Parent portal | Progress, final grades, messages, invoices and receipts |
| Admissions and enrolment | Applications, placement tests, e-signed documents |
| Payments | Invoices and receipts per student, with payment statuses |
| Exam integrity | Integrity score per attempt; final exams need approval |
| Several campuses | Own branding, domain, users and data per campus |
| Sign-in | Google and Microsoft; SAML SSO on enterprise plans |
| LTI 1.3 | On the roadmap |
Moving from Blackboard LMS
A move from Blackboard LMS usually runs in four steps. Export users, courses and grades as CSV files and import them into Ilmoria. Upload files, videos and PDFs directly, and rebuild lessons and assessments in the course builder; Ilmoria has no automatic importer for Blackboard course packages. Pilot with one programme, grade or campus for a term, ideally starting with a new term so grade history stays in one place. Then train faculty, staff, students and parents before the full launch. Book a demo to plan your timeline.
Questions buyers ask
Is Ilmoria only for schools, or for universities too?
Both, and for corporate training as well. Universities and colleges can use courses and sections, integrity-monitored exams, peer-reviewed discussions, final grades, and transcripts with GPA and credits. One account can run several colleges or campuses, each with its own branding and data, while K-12 schools add the parent portal, admissions and payments.
Can we import our Blackboard courses?
Not automatically. Ilmoria does not import Blackboard course packages. Users, courses and grades move across as CSV files, files and media upload directly, and lessons and assessments are rebuilt in the course builder. Starting with a pilot programme keeps the rebuild manageable and lets faculty learn the course builder on real content.
Does Ilmoria support single sign-on?
Yes. Users can sign in with Google or Microsoft accounts, and SAML single sign-on is available on enterprise plans. Role-based permissions control what each person can see and do, and audit trails record important actions, so administrators can tell who changed what and when.
How are final exam grades released?
Final exams include an approval step. Objective questions are marked automatically, written answers queue for the teacher with the answer key beside them, and grades reach students only after approval. Students can download the question paper, never the answers. Each attempt also carries an integrity score, and suspicious attempts are flagged for review.
How is Ilmoria priced?
Ilmoria uses annual plans priced per active learner, in three tiers: Starter, Growth and Enterprise. Your quote depends on learner numbers and the features you need, such as SAML single sign-on or the REST API. Visit the pricing page to request a quote for your institution.
Other comparisons
- Moodle alternative
- Canvas LMS alternative
- Google Classroom alternative
- Classera alternative
- CYPHER Learning alternative
Blackboard LMS is a trademark of its respective owner. Information about other products is general and may change; check details with each vendor.
See Ilmoria with your own school in mind
A 30-minute call with a product specialist. Bring your timetable, your grading rules and your toughest question. We will show you how it works for you, in English or Arabic.