A virtual whiteboard for online teaching is a great tool to improve the learning experience in the classroom. It could be a well-known alternative to a real whiteboard which is present in all rooms used for teaching purposes. However, using a virtual whiteboard is easier and cheaper than the real one.
In this article, I will show you 6 of the best tools that can be used as a substitute for a physical whiteboard when teaching online and alslo compare with some other amazing whiteboards. After you read this article, you will know where to find a free online whiteboard and how it can be utilized in a practical way in your lessons.
Conceptboard
Moving a step beyond a blank canvas, Conceptboard pushes the virtual whiteboard beyond a digitalized version of the same physical tool. Labeled as a collaboration tool, Conceptboard is all about sharing ideas and tracking progress on mostly visual projects – think web, interface, or UX design. With a focus on visual projects, Conceptboard is an entire app that houses all your projects and allows for in-depth management of the overall project, and specific tasks. Users can input images and files directly onto a board, where others can draw, write, pin notes and collaborate in a visual nature, for visual projects that require more than just a text-based collaboration method, while remaining content-focused, and in real-time.
- Visual content is the major focus on Conceptboard, so users can drag and drop almost any document from word docs, to excel spreadsheets, PDF files, images, photoshop documents – you name it. This allows your content to be the main focus and lets you draw and collaborate around the content.
- RealTime collaboration means user presence, auto-syncing, an integrated board chat for quick conversations, and even project management with task assignments and in-app email alerts. If you’re on a Microsoft or a Mac device, using Android or iOS, you can collaborate without stress.
- Sharing might not be as quick but is incredibly secure with password-protected boards and links, read-only mode for guests to not mess up your beautiful collaboration, and even a whiteboard minimap to aid in quick navigation.
Twiddla
Breaking the mold slightly, Twiddla is a setup-free, web-based “meeting playground” as they like to put it. Both a sandbox mode for a public session to play around and familiarize yourself with the tools at hand or private meetings to collaborate and get work done are available to all users. Twiddla makes it super easy to mark up more than just a blank whiteboard, but specific web pages, screenshots, images or files. One of the most powerful use cases is eliminating the need for a developer to mark up an MS Paint screenshot, email it to the designer and wait for an email response. Instead, just start a Twiddla meeting, invite your coworker with the no-login and no-setup nature of a web-based whiteboard, and start discussing changes.
- Twiddla makes it easy to discuss and share webpages with coworkers and friends, you can open a webpage directly in Twiddla and use the host of drawing, marking and writing tools to point out exactly what it is you want to show everyone in your meeting.
- There are zero limitations to the number of users in a meeting, so invite just one or two, or your entire team to check it out. Since its browser-based, nothing needs to be downloaded just like the other tools, but you can even save your Twiddla boards and upload them again for later editing.
- Twiddla’s main focus is on sharing and collaborating directly on images, files, and webpages. If you’re looking to plan out projects or write long term brainstorming sessions you need to save, other options might suit your use case a bit better.
Groupboard
With the free, no setup or login required nature of other alternatives, Groupboard goes a little bit further in providing a blank canvas. The same principles of sharing via a link with minimal setup time apply to Groupboard, utilizing web browsers to access the virtual whiteboards. However, Groupboard allows users to setup administrator controls, so you can moderate your whiteboard space, and even ban users or keep the board private. This is especially helpful for any teams that want to keep their collaborative space a little bit more private and helps prevent unwanted eyes from getting access to your space. Groupboard even offers more robust Designer and Groupworld applications for other collaborative use cases. Built-in video chat is great for quick communication right in the app itself as well.
- Users can either access this whiteboard tool through any web browser including even Internet Explorer and Safari, as well as mobile browsers. You can also download a standalone smartphone app so you don’t have to direct yourself to a web page every time you are on the go.
- Administrative tools make it easy to keep your workspaces private, saved and moderated so only a few eyes you invited can access the board, and you can keep the drawing work-related.
- Users can even upload images as backgrounds for the board, so you can share quick snapshots of projects or web pages to collaborate within a specific context, with your content right on the board itself.
Ziteboard
As another web-based, shareable, real-time, zoomable virtual whiteboard that loads right in your web browser, Ziteboard will be familiar to anyone reading this list. Ziteboad is lightweight, html5 based, with real-time updates to your drawings, and doesn’t require any setup or logging in. Sharable board URLs will remain permanent and always bring you back to your old board. A unique take, Ziteboard allows users to publish their boards to the web so others can view without editing or collaborating. Instead of letting guests or remote teams into the board or app, this acts more as a presentation mode. You can even sync screens with a mirror view so coworkers only see what your screen is currently looking at.
- Somewhat unique to Ziteboard is a powerful line smoothing and shape recognition algorithm. Just draw a circle or square, and Ziteboard will instantly recognize your intention and smooth the edges of your shape so it’s nice and neat!
- A WordPress plugin, Slack integration, and even Google Chrome Extension allow users to leverage the collaboration tool with other tools already used.
- Ziteboard is also available as a white-label service to truly customize the platform to your team’s needs, and there is even an API in development to take advantage of the platform.
Limnu
If the most authentic whiteboard experience is what you are after, then look no further than Limnu. A virtual whiteboard accessible through any web browser, and with its mobile apps, Limnu offers the most realistic take so far on the virtual whiteboard experience. The tools users can play with are shared amongst the other contenders on the list, although administrator features help this option stand out amongst only a few others with a similar function. However, Limnu goes as far as almost perfectly replicating the strokes of an actual whiteboard marker to truly replicate the experience in the digital world. Without a surefire way to test the responsiveness, Limnu felt to be the most responsive, quickest updating and most fluid experience of the virtual whiteboards we have tested.
- The Limnu User Experience stands out amongst the challengers as one of the strongest, replicating the visual and almost physical experience of writing on a whiteboard with markers. Not to mention, easy to understand and quick to navigate menus.
- Keyboard shortcuts, like E to open an eraser, S to select objects on screen, M to move around the whiteboard, users can quickly and easily change tools settings on the fly, expanding on an already positive user experience.
- Another point for the Limnu UX, everything drawn or written on the whiteboard can be selected, grouped, dragged, moved around as objects. Similar to a marquee selection tool, users can easily drag and select objects to rearrange them so you don’t have to erase and rewrite if something is not in the right spot.
Scribblar
With a strong focus on education and learning, Scribblar comes packed with a lot of unique features you won’t find in other platforms. While this does mean use cases might be more limited than the free, open nature of other alternatives, Scribblar does still manage to bring a lot to the table that many users can find a way to fully take advantage of. Unfortunately, this interactive whiteboard no longer has a free version, just a 14-day trial so users would need to be serious about adopting Scribblar as their whiteboard solution, but for education, it is probably one of the most robust offerings. APIs and white label solutions are available, and you can even integrate Scribblar directly into your website.
- Wolfram Alpha integration makes Scribblar an incredibly powerful tool for almost any form of learning or tutoring, but especially so for working out and solving new math problems.
- Other education tools like a specific section for lesson materials and information, an equation editor, and the ability to control a shared pointer make Scribblar the go-to education digital whiteboard.
- Lack of a free model might make some users shy away from Scribblar, but if you require the built-in education tools, it certainly is one of the strongest offerings and provides an incredibly UX for collaboration.
Online Whiteboard Comparison Chart
| AwwApp | Realtime Board | Whiteboard Fox | Web Whiteboard | Conceptboard | Tiwddla | Groupboard | Scribblar | Ziteboard | Limnu | |
| Free Plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Free Trial |
| Basic Plan Price | $10/mo | $35/mo | N/A | N/A | $28.50/mo | $14/mo | $9.90/mo | $14/mo | $8/mo | $5/mo |
| Free Plan Board Limit | One Board | 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 50 | 1 | 1 | N/A | 3 | 15 |
| Free Plan Guest Limit | Unlimited, Draw Only | 3 draw, unlimited view | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5 | N/A | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Basic Plan Board Limit | 10 | Unlimited | N/A | N/A | Unlimited | 1 | 2 | 5 | Unlimited | 300 |
| Basic Plan Guest Limit | Unlimited, View or Draw | Unlimited | N/A | N/A | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Slack Integration | DIY | Yes | DIY | DIY | DIY | DIY | DIY | DIY | Yes | Yes |
| Undo Function | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Duplication | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Multiple Ink Colors | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Pen Widths | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clear Entire Board | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Text Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Post-It/Sticky Notes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Built in Chat | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes, voice | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Image Embed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| File Embed | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Export Board | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Conclusion
Whiteboard is a free online whiteboard which you can use to draw diagrams, brainstorm, present ideas through drawing. Its features, such as the marker tool which supports different writing modes and the dynamic URL link, as well as multi-platform compatibility, makes it a compelling platform for many different scenarios. It also supports collaborative drawing.