Rating: 4
Author: re.ai.ran

I have been using GoBrunch for a couple of months now to teach online both groups and one on one. Before that I was using Zoom and GoBrunch does seem to better suit my needs, But I still haven't cancelled my Zoom subscription.

Here's what I like about GoBrunch:

- The space is way more customizable than Zoom, and you can really create a unique atmosphere.

- I can create a private space for each student with a custom link, and the student can access it whenever he or she wants to.

- It's great for community building.

Here's why I am still holding on to my Zoom subscription:

- Zoom is still more stable. I have been experiencing video and audio breakups while zoom was working fine on the same connection.

- There are still some some bugs and glitches. For instance, sometimes my chat disappears - especially when changing from dynamic mode to presentation mode. Also, after a few times of switching between shared tabs, it crashed and I had to reconnect.

- In Zoom I can see my students. When I share my screen and working on the screen I am sharing. I realize that as a web-based platform GoBrunch can't display anything outside the browsed page, so I am not complaining. Just something to take into account.

- Also easier to work with a document camera with Zoom, because the camera size is limited in GoBrunch and can't be full screen.

Here are also a couple of suggestions for improvement:

1. Make the door icon change when locking and unlocking a space to indicate the state.

2. I don't know if it's possible but when someone speak and their mic is off, it would be nice to give them a notice like zoom does.

3. In the chat, after you reach the end of the input text box, you can see what you're typing. This is even more annoying on presentation mode because you can't expand the chat box and make it wider.

4. The Board plugin is cumbersome, overly complicated, and the size aspect is very confusing. I would prefer to have something simple and built-in the page for the occasional doodle I need to do. I don't need boxes, flowcharts and all that.