Collaborative Online Whiteboards and Discussions

There are two basic product categories competing with Talk-A-Bout:

1. Collaborative Online Whiteboards or Bulletin Boards

2. Discussion/Debate platforms

Collaborative Online Whiteboards/Bulletin Boards

Competition in this category includes tools such as Padlet, Wakelet and digital whiteboards such as Google's Jamboard. Like many teachers, I LOVE these tools, but they are not designed specifically for synchronous, online break-out activities and present challenges that Talk-A-Bout aims to solve.

Below is a summary of how "Talk-A-Bout" differentiates from these products:

Discussion/Debate Platforms:

Competition in this category more closely resembles the primary purpose of Talk-A-Bout: to facilitate engaging, collaborative activities that are effective across disciplines and present low barrier to entry.

The only examples I could find are Parlay Ideas and Kialo-edu, which each offer one style of activity, and are limited in different ways. The greatest drawback of Parlay Ideas is its overly complicated interface (for a relatively simple discussion activity), and the greatest drawback of Kialo-edu is that it basically does one thing: creates "pro"/"con" lists.

Below is a summary of how "Talk-A-Bout" differentiates from these products:

Summary:

Talk-A-Bout simplifies the part that matters: the technology; and frees instructors to focus on the content, not the set-up, while delivering a variety of high-quality, engaging group activities.