Whiteboard Options for Collaboration

Last Updated: September 16, 2024

Using digital whiteboards collaboratively with and among students can help them to generate ideas for a discussion, organize thoughts for a project, build a collection of resources, or generate a flow chart. This post includes free, collaborative whiteboard and diagramming solutions along with their current capabilities and limitations.

WWU-Integrated Options

Lucid – Integrated in Canvas

As of summer 2024, Lucid is integrated in the WWU Canvas environment. The option is enabled and available to use in any rich text editor area via the Lucid icon in the toolbar.

Lucid Whiteboard – Faculty Primer – WWU video by AJ Barse
Lucid Whiteboard – Student Primer – WWU video by AJ Barse
Using Lucid in Canvas – Guide created by Lucid

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Now available in WWU’s Canvas environment, Lucid includes both the LucidSpark and LucidChart products. Lucidspark works well for ideation and planning, while Lucidchart can take users further into creating diagrams and other visual displays of information and graphics.

In the free version of Lucid there are 3 allowed editable documents in each, 60 objects per document, and limited templates. You can continue to create new documents, but only the most recent 3 will remain editable. This program is one of the most intuitive here for flowcharts, with dragable and connectable simple shapes and arrows. Lucid can integrate with Google Drive for real-time collaboration and clearer organization, or with Microsoft and other programs. LucidSpark is built for brainstorming, with laser, voting, sticky notes, and the usual whiteboard drawing and creation—LucidChart is better at developing ideas through diagrams built of provided elements. It includes an AI for generated diagram development. See also Lucidchart vs. Lucidspark: When, why, and how to use them both.

Zoom – Part of Zoom Pro

Zoom Whiteboard is included with all WWU accounts through Zoom Pro. Through the Western Zoom account, you have access to unlimited whiteboards. Whiteboards are useful for brainstorming and ideation, presenting and teaching, and during meetings and workshops. Zoom Whiteboards are saved automatically and can be accessed anytime and anywhere (inside or outside of a meeting). They are accessible via desktop, web browser, or Zoom Room for Touch. Share whiteboards with other Zoom users using share sheet. Some features include: brainstorming with smart connectors, sticky notes, drawing tools, and comments. Templates are also readily available for use (as shown in the photo below).

See: Learn more about features, Enabling whiteboard, Sharing a whiteboard, and Using annotation tools.

Other Free Options

Canva Free

Canva Free is optimized for design, with free elements, some element and image editing, and the ability to free-draw or add text. Elements go beyond simple shapes to crucial design elements. There are also templates for font combinations, diagrams, presentation slides, posters, social media posts, whiteboards, and more. Slides can be easily converted to whiteboards and vice-versa. Use is intuitive, images may be imported, and whiteboards/documents/slides can be exported in several types. Presentation, sharing, and collaboration are easy, and in presentation the mouse can be used as a pointer for communication. It also has AI assistance and 5GB of cloud storage. No element/board limits.

Canva templates. Reports, business slides, statistics, basic flowcharts, whiteboards.

Draw.io

Draw.io: This product has excellent tools, templates, and functions, despite the initially unfriendly interface. It can be saved to and shared via Google Drive. Collaborative editing on diagram files stored in Google Drive and OneDrive let you see everyone’s changes in real-time, as you edit a diagram. There are no limitations on commercial or other uses, or on number of elements or size of canvas.

Figma

Figma (Education Status) has no limits on projects, pages, or elements, and provides a vast range of tools for use in brainstorming, building portfolios and prototypes, making slides and presentations, and learning how to build designs. Elements are primarily simple shapes that are connected by arrows for flowcharts. While Figma is more complicated than some of the other available tools, it also has an extensive library of tutorials, including the beginner tutorials and a forum of examples, templates, plug-ins, and UI kits. The potential for plug-ins and templates lends Figma a lot more customizability and capabilities than other tools, and it still retains the ability to collaborate, share, and create teams.

Google Jamboard

• Google Jamboard is shutting down on October 1st 2024; all materials not exported by then will be deleted •

Jamboard only allows exporting as PDF or image. Whiteboard programs like those listed here won’t edit PDFs, currently. However, you can edit the text on these slides in some PDF editing programs, such as Adobe’s PDF Expert. For text editing abilities in PDF Expert, you do need a paid account, which is $6.67 a month billed annually (cheapest subscription; special offers for instructors and students). For the ability to edit images as well (moving, rotating, etc.), Acrobat Pro can be an option.

For more alternatives, see Jamboard is NO MORE | Here are 7 Alternatives

Microsoft Whiteboard

Microsoft Whiteboard is a simple whiteboard tool that includes the basics as well as preset templates. It is available to all with Office 365 accounts via WWU and can be found online, or via the 9-dot apps menu in the upper left of any Office.com window. It also allows you to save previously-used whiteboards on the cloud in your account. While it does not currently allow for custom templates, you can copy-paste content from one whiteboard to another. See: How to Use Microsoft Whiteboard – YouTube and Microsoft Whiteboard Help

Miro

Miro (Educator’s Account) has unlimited boards and allows integration with Zoom, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams (among others). It also has more complicated features like unlimited Talk Tracks (allowing audio walkthrough of boards), voting, a timer, chatting and screensharing, and AI assistance with creation, summary, images, and more. Can present the board as a whole whiteboard or individual slides, and students can edit or comment on the board. Can export the slides or whiteboard as PDF, Google Drive, or spreadsheet.

For a “no account required” version: Miro’s Web Whiteboard is the same thing but without templates and with the boards expiring every 24 hours; meaning, boards must be downloaded by 24 hours after they’re begun, or they’ll be deleted.

Example Miro template with AI capabilities displayed

TutorialsPoint

TutorialsPoint is good for fast, easy, and simple whiteboard usage. It allows drawing, download as image or board, and the addition of text, basic shapes/arrows, and imported images and documents. Documents and images may import blurry and there don’t appear to be any collaboration, sharing, or presentation options without downloading an image or board and opening it elsewhere. However, there are no element or board limits, and it has a word processing section as well as the whiteboard section. When the site is reloaded, board contents are deleted—thus progress is only saved when the board is downloaded. No account required.