Virtual Whiteboard for Collaboration



A couple of weeks ago, I was part of a brainstorming session where some people couldn’t attend in person. Our in person plan was to bring different colored post-it notes and use an in-room whiteboard. I set out to find us an online solution so everyone could participate.

I’ve used a few sticky note apps in the past, for organizing my own work and for online collaboration so I looked at those apps first. After considering Google Keep, note.ly and Stormboard, I settled on RealtimeBoard for our meeting.

RealtimeBoard is an endless virtual whiteboard that can be accessed from anywhere. You can:
  • Add files, notes, stickers, icons, draw, comments, images, video
  • Collaborate together at the same time or on your own
Here is an example of our whiteboard (zoomed out):



You can start with a blank board or from a template:



Once you are on your board, use the toolbar to add files, text, notes, boxes, arrows, lines and comments. You can upload documents from your computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, capture a web page, create a chart, add wireframes, icons and images:



I was able to copy/paste an entire column from Excel and it created notes for every single cell. That saved me a bunch of time!

When you add a sticky note, you can change the size, format text, change color, add tags and emojis. You can layer your notes or drag them anywhere on the whiteboard.



You can view a map of your whiteboard and use the zoom tools or your mouse to move to different parts of your board.



Use this app for your projects, visual planning, building wireframes, consensus workshops, presenting, creating infographics, brainstorming and visualizing ideas. I downloaded the app for my iPhone which will be great for times I don't have my computer with me. Check it out for yourself! It’s an awesome tool. Best of all is that it’s free for educational use.

It worked great for our meeting. I'd love to hear how a tool like this could help your work. Share your thoughts in the comments.


Comments

  1. Karen, thanks for another informative post. I'd been looking for a dependable virtual whiteboard. Do you know how this tool works with adaptive technologies?

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    1. I have vision issues and was able to scroll in and make the text very large--not the same as a screen reader, I realize! ;)

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  2. As always Ann, you are so mindful of very important things like accessibility! I do not know the answer to this but I posted your question on the RealtimeBoard online forum. I will let you know what I find out. Thanks Ann :-)

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    1. Ann, the RealtimeBoard folks said this tool does not currently work with screen readers, voice recognition software or screen magnification software but they would like to add these integrations in the future. Good to know! Thanks.

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