The best online whiteboards for teaching, remote work, Zoom, and online tutoring will have collaboration features as well as drawing tools that are designed for real-time use.
Online whiteboards can be used for math, chemistry, and even companies that need to video conference and collaborate at the same time remotely.
Related: 11 Best Interactive Whiteboards for Classrooms & Business
In this post, I’ll cover which the best free & paid online whiteboards are, why they work so well, and how well they perform. I’ll also cover the Pros and Cons each digital whiteboard app provides; dependent on what situation you require the app for.
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1. ExplainEverything: Best free online whiteboard for classroom teachers & Math tutors
ExplainEverything is one of the most popular, top online whiteboards for teachers and math tutors. Even before the appearance of Covid, teachers from all around the world used the app daily for the creation of instructional videos.
When it comes to teaching, ExplainEverything proved to be surprisingly easy to understand and work with. During our review, ExplainEverything proved to have every one of the tools someone needs when using a virtual whiteboard, and the platform’s environment is amazing.
The app is ideal for the collaboration between you and your students as it provides the opportunity for all seaters to create and share their presentations. Also, it allows you to rewatch your students’ presentations after your meetings, which is valuable to provide feedback.
If you’re using an online whiteboard as a teacher or work professional, you’ll likely want to use a drawing tablet with a screen built-in.
This will allow you to write and teach collaboratively with your students instead of using a mouse (very useful).
Having the opportunity to broadcast a whiteboard and lecture at the same time is something that other apps on this list offer as well, but this composite procedure comes effortlessly with ExplainEverything.
While reviewing ExplainEverything, I felt that even a toddler could cope with this app and create a presentation. Thus, if you believe that you should have constant engagement with your students and need an app where everyone can easily create whiteboard presentations, then ExplainEverything is one of the best options for you.
2. Miro: Best Online Whiteboard for Remote Work & Online Learning
Miro was one of the most organized and unique platforms I reviewed to create this list. It is an online platform that allows you to work from all your computers, tablets, or phones without the need of downloading it.
This feature is very important for someone like me, who works on more than one computing device daily.
Miro’s website is well designed and it contains an enormous number of templates you can utilize to create your teaching boards. Using Miro proved to be relatively easy and the platform is extremely suitable for brainstorming sessions.
Also, with Miro you won’t have any problem exchanging ideas and opinions with your students in real-time.
Miro includes a vast whiteboard where any member of your class can add sticky notes, diagrams, etc, and in this way promotes the remote collaboration you need as a teacher. I was surprised by how easy it is to organize and inject live classrooms with Miro. Also, the platform is one of the best for sharing projects and individual assignments.
Subsequently, Miro is a whiteboard platform that contains numerous tools for your online meetings and presentations and allows for great remote collaboration with your students.
If you are looking for a premium digital whiteboard to use with your tech company, startup, classroom, or for coding, then Miro is a great option for you as a teacher or professional.
3. Flipgrid: Best Online whiteboard app for iPad & Android tablets
Flipgrid deserves a place on our list, as it proved during our review that it is one of the best platforms for classroom video discussions & team collaboration projects. The platform is free to use, developed by Microsoft, and promises to help you as an educator to see and hear from every student in the class.
One of Flipgrid’s main characteristics is that it proves to be an application preferred by students. Most kids are relieved using it as the platform allows them to submit their responses at their own pace. This means that you, as a teacher, will receive more answers to your questions and thus, bigger engagement with every student.
If you’re using an iPad, the Apple Pencil is of consideration, especially if you’re using a digital whiteboard. For more on this, see our post: Is the Apple Pencil 2 Worth it? (The Truth)
Flipgrid is also great for creating school communities. A Reddit user argues that ‘We recently used it to build a school community within our staff’ and ‘it was one of the best decision as it helped our school’s collaboration’.
To sum up, Flipgrid offers a worthy, flexible venue for teachers and students to communicate. It isn’t as well organized and fancy as Miro for example, but it is worth your attention as it is a great video discussion experience for PreK to Ph.D. educators.
4. LIMNU: best free online virtual chalkboard
If you are a fan of traditional whiteboards and you miss working on them, then Limnu is one of the best solutions for you. This is the most simple, straightforward whiteboard app that I’ve tested and used online. It’s not only fast, but when I tested this, it felt like using a virtual dry erase board online, as all provided markers feel real.
If you are a math teacher, for example, Limnu is one of the best solutions as it will prove to be the easiest way to collaborate with your students on solving math problems. The platform promotes team effort and keeps things simple when it comes to problem-solving and this is the main reason why many math, design, or engineering educators prefer it.
It was easy for me to organize my Limnu boards and run a class. Limnu is also a great platform to boost your class creativity when you have a brainstorming session.
The only disadvantage we noticed during our review, is that you can’t export a presentation or assignment into other media formats (like jpeg or pdf) for printing.
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Limnu has the smoothest drawing and the fastest refresh on the list. Thus if you and your student use to draw a lot on your class’s whiteboard, it is the right platform for you.
5. Educreations: Best whiteboard app to use with a drawing tablet
Educreations is an interesting whiteboard app, specially designed for teaching and learning on the go. With this application, you can create and share video lessons with your students.
Your students will also be able to show what they know by creating their videos. Then, you can easily provide feedback on their work. This app is one of the best options if you use a drawing tablet, as it allows you to record your voice while drawing or creating notes for your class. When you’re done with the presentation, all you have to do is share it with a link.
Educreations is compatible with other platforms too, meaning you can easily import documents saved in Dropbox or Google Drive.
Related: Best iPad Document Camera Stands in 2021 (iPhone & iPad)
During our review, Eductreations proved to be one of the easiest ways to create video tutorials for students. Thus, this platform is the best option for you as a teacher if you need to create appealing presentations with an iPad or tablet.
6. IPEVO whiteBoard: best whiteboard to use with a document camera (iPad & Android)
IPEVO Whiteboard isn’t just one of the best online whiteboard applications you can find. but it also includes a unique feature that allows you to display, adjust, and draw on a live image. What this means is that you can connect a document camera to the app wirelessly through WiFi, and then manipulate what the camera records by adding notes or drawings on it.
If you plan on using a drawing pad that is more of an notebook style (instead of an app), you can weigh the pros and cons of the Best Digital Writing Pads (Electronic Notebooks)
For this reason, IPEVO is a unique and a top choice for teachers in the classroom as well as those for remote learning. We understand that live text annotating is very important for most teachers, and IPEVO is one of the few applications on the market that allow it.
You should keep in mind that to use this feature, you’ll need a document camera. Apart from that, connecting the camera to the app is super easy and there is no learning curve concerning your workflow on IPEVO. Apart from that feature, you also have the option to enable the whiteboard mode and turn your iPad/Tablet into a blank canvas for writing notes or drawing for your students.
Related: Best Apps to Convert Handwriting to Text on iPad and iPhone
If you think that having the option to draw and annotate live on documents is a priority for you, then IPEVO is the best whiteboard application for you.
7. Ziteboard: Best free Online Whiteboard for teaching & online tutoring
Ziteboard is one of the most easy to use, instant whiteboards you can use online for free and without logging in. This is not only useful for teaching, but ois great for anyone who needs quick online whiteboard without delay.
Given the fact that many people don’t have powerful computers, we decided it is worth a place on our list. The online whiteboard will work fluidly on any device from laptops to tablets and mobile phones. It requires minimal resources since it uses a web app instead of a bulky software that you need to download.
Collaborating with my team through Ziteboard in real-time proved to be unproblematic. It was easy to start video and audio chats while teaching and our brainstorming sessions were boosted due to the platform’s enormous, fully-editable canvas.
However, you should have in mind that the free package of Ziteboard doesn’t include audio and video chat, meaning that you would have two options: either purchase one of the paid packages or use apps like Skype or Zoom at the same time as Ziteboard.
Also, you can learn How to Use a Document Camera with Zoom for above view photos and class learning of physical presentations.
Another important feature of Ziteboard is that it allows you to export your whiteboard into JPEG or PDF format, something I missed in other applications like Limnu. The designers of this whiteboard have also created an algorithm that will recognize your intention when drawing to create perfect shapes, which proved valuable for me while teaching.
8. Sketchboard: Top well-rounded digital whiteboard web app
When I first used Sketchboard, it felt like a well-developed online platform. By keep using it, it also proved to be one of the best whiteboards on the market for teachers. Sketchboard is an all-rounder and will demonstrate to be a great tool for you as a teacher.
When it comes to remote learning, Sketchboard is flawless. It does a great job by keeping teaching workflow unique, as the canvas and all tools have eye-catching, organic looks. According to the Sketchboard development team, this will boost your class’s creativity and the collaboration between you and your students.
Sketchboard allows you to work with your students on the web, in real-time. This fact proved to be extremely helpful for me, as I always have the option to provide immediate feedback and track my teammates’ movements.
See our post on 7 Ways to Write and Draw on a Non Touch Screen Laptop
To sum up, Sketchboard is an excellent web sketching board to draw and write on. It will reduce your effort while increasing your students’ productivity.
9. Jamboard: Best free whiteboard web app
Jamboard is a web whiteboard developed by Google, specially for educational purposes. The platform is reliable, like all Google suites and keeps simple looks that feels like a classroom whiteboard.
Jamboard is suitable for brainstorms or lectures and allows your students to access it from all kinds of computing and mobile devices. During our review, we noticed that Jamboard has features that distinguish it from other whiteboard apps.
First of all, Google has developed this whiteboard to feel like an actual whiteboard, meaning you can draw and write with a stylus and then erase with your finger. Also, Jamboard connects to google meet easily, allowing you to have video-calls with your students while editing and writing on a virtual whiteboard.
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If you prefer other apps like Zoom for your classroom’s video calls, you will have to share a Jamboard link with your students. Then you will be able to run the Zoom meeting in the background while editing the board.
Jamboard proves to be a top choice for you as a teacher, especially if you need a whiteboard extremely compatible with other video call applications like Zoom and Google meets.
10. Windows whiteboard app
Microsoft created this whiteboard application, which made it on our list for numerous reasons. Microsoft Whiteboard is available for all kinds of computers and mobile devices. Working and teaching with this app felt great from both my iPhone and my Windows laptop.
Microsoft allows you to access the Whiteboard in the app or from a browser, which is very helpful, especially for students that use different devices. Moreover, all your class’s whiteboards will be saved automatically allowing you to resume at any time.
Just like with Google’s whiteboard, Microsoft Whiteboard can be easily connected to Microsoft Teams, the company’s video call app. All you have to do is press the Whiteboard tab at the top of your meeting chat and the board will be added automatically. Of course, you can also use Zoom or Skype for video calls while editing on Microsoft’s whiteboard.
See our post: How to use iPad as a Phone replacement
In a few words, the Microsoft whiteboard is a great choice for you as a teacher, especially if you already use Microsoft Teams for your classroom meetings.
11. Twiddla: Best whiteboard app for remote learning
Twiddla is one of the best whiteboard platforms on the market for tutors and remote work. It’s developers call it a ‘web-based meeting playground’ and promise it will be a fun way to collaborate with your students but also an incredible tool for you to teach on.
Although the website doesn’t have the classy looks of other whiteboard platforms, Twiddla has certain features that other apps on our list don’t include.
Firstly, you can start a web meeting directly from the app, meaning you don’t have to use Zoom or another web conference platform at the same time. This characteristic proved time-saving and boosted my workflow. Through Twiddla, you can also directly share documents with your students, which proved to be vital for many of my meetings.
If you need an app that can host your classroom video meetings while including a reliable and playful whiteboard to write and draw on, then Twiddla is one of the best options for you.
12. Scribblar: Collaborative whiteboard tool for teachers and students working together
By utilizing a retro design, Scribblar offers a unique feel for the user. It was one of the most elegant whiteboards we reviewed. Scribblar’s chatroom and rooms will make you feel like hosting a non-virtual classroom. A Reddit user claims that ‘My online students tell me that using Scribblar is as good as having a face to face lesson in a classroom’.
Scribblar is a great tool for communicating with your students and you won’t have any problem learning how to draw or write on the platform’s canvas.
The fact the Scribblar is designed only for online tutoring, makes it perfect for brainstorming sessions as well. You and your students will be able to access and edit the canvas in real-time.
Although Scribblar is a paid platform, there is a 14-day trial available for you, to decide if you fancy the app’s environment. If you are looking for an online whiteboard with unique, vintage looks, that will feel like teaching in a classroom, then Scribblar is one of the best solutions we could find for you.
13. CodeShare Best online whiteboard collaboration tool for coding and programming
If you’re a programmer, coder, developers or are using python, java and other similar languages, then sharing your work in a collaborative, virtual space online like CodeShare will benefit you greatly. This app will allo you to troubleshoot, teach your team, collaborate on like-minded ideas and even make interviews easier.
You’ll be able to code in real-time with each other on the same virtual web app. This really benefits those who are teaching others or are trying to troubleshoot an issue. For these reasons, CodeShare is the best online app to share code with each other that I’ve tested amongst expert developers.
How to use an Online Whiteboard
You can use a online whiteboard and collaborate with your team or class online, you’ll need to download or sign up to the app or software and determine if the limitations and pricepoint makes sense. Once you’ve decided on the online whiteboard you will need to invite other members of your team. For example, a virtual whiteboard online works great for Students, co-workers, and classmates to collaborate on work or school together.
Here’s how to use a virtual whiteboard online:
- Download or sign up to a free online whiteboard, such as Flipgrid, Miro, or Limnu
- Invite your team, co-workers, classmates or students to the collaborative whiteboard.
- Once everyone has joined, you can begin drawing, writing, and entering text and shapes on the online whiteboard.
- Other team members will be enabled to write and draw as well depending on the settings and the type of whiteboard you have chose
- Congratulations, you’re able to use an online whiteboard.
What is a Good Online whiteboard with Video Chat?
The best online whiteboards with video chat is zoom. You can connect a graphics tablet, like the Wacom Intuos, and enter Zoom. Next, invite friends or those you’d like to collaborate using video on Zoom.
From here you can share a whiteboard on Mac, windows, Android or iOS by clicking share screen on the bottom. Locate ‘share whiteboard’, and look for ‘whiteboard’, then tap or select share.
Now, you can display your whiteboard and share an online video chat/conference. This is possible to do at the same time as your virtual whiteboard session. This is very similar to use a dry erase board or whiteboard in person, only virtual.
Conclusion
The best online whiteboards can be used to share a project, teaching session, or remote work, tutoring & learning online, and with your team or classroom.
The top apps will include text, shapes, drawing, and stylus input. These apps will also allow yo auto invite friends or co-workers to draw on the same whiteboard in real-time, which is a unique and important feature that most in search of a virtual, digital whiteboard desire.
