Research

Foundations of learning design and technology online course exemplified different emerging innovative technology tools like Jamboard, 3D printing in education links to an external site, and Argumented Reality links to an external site with their created websites. Hence, in our team we have selected Miro, a whiteboard platform used in different online courses and the team tried to search research finding related to it. Thus, many researchers forwarded their suggestions and recommendation about such innovative technology tools to use in instructional design. For example, Wu & Liu (2014) stated that design education serves as a cornerstone for preparing future designers to navigate the complexities of the modern world. Miro is one of many innovative learning tools which are used to collaborative projects with its digital white board. Thus, many developments of shared whiteboards have appeared and are commonly used by design teams, including Miro, Figma, and Butter. I n this website we will focus on Miro platform.

Miro is an interactive platform for online collaboration and students’ engagement. Miro is very helpful for collaborative learning; it is the best online whiteboard platform, and pedagogically, it can create a learning environment. Researchers forwarded their findings in relation to collaborative learning, and they found out that it is one of the best platforms in higher education contexts, and it can expose learners to discuss, give feedback and assessment to each other, and forward their thoughts. In general, it can engage learners with its different features.

Aziemah & Azman (2023) also discussed that collaborative learning is fundamental in higher education. The Miro board serves as a hub for group projects and teamwork, enabling students to work collectively on assignments, brainstorm ideas, and provide feedback seamlessly. Miro's interactive features enable peer-to-peer learning, improving students' communication and cooperation abilities.

Brisco et al. (2021) suggested that currently, for collaboratively working, one of the most common digital online tools and design is the digital whiteboard, where many users can share ideas, brainstorm, and conduct specific design collaboration activities on a virtual whiteboard.

Skubik-Peplaski (2022) summarized that the Miro boards provided the ability to connect either synchronously or asynchronously, both of which were beneficial. This tool also encourages learners to take ownership of their work while building trust from team members.

Recently, Ahmmad et al. (2021) have found out that Miro is one of the best online whiteboard collaborative platforms for higher education. They created eligible criteria to compare and contrast with other collaborative whiteboard platforms. These platforms include Miro, Google Jamboard, Conceptboard, Bitpaper, Explain Everything, Microsoft Whiteboard, Invision Freehand, Limnu, Tutorsbox, Scribblar, Sketchboard, Twiddla, Ziteboard, Groupboard, and Prowise Presenter. Of these, Miro meets 85% of the criteria and became the best online innovative technology platform.

The main purpose of online courses is to engage learners to achieve the course contents with assessments. Redmond et al. (2018) developed a framework for online students’ engagement in higher education contexts; however, when examining in-person instruction or more conventional remote learning settings, these components are not appropriate. The framework covers five elements for effective student engagement viz social, cognitive, behavioral, collaborative, and emotional. 

The framework, online engagement developed by Redmond et al. (2018) can help for Miro as one of the online whiteboard platforms and to engage learners and create a learning environment.  In addition, according to Allah (2023), Miro is a great pedagogical methodology for implementing digital tools in educational activities and identifying the possibilities of modern digital tools in educational activities. When online teaching is performed with the support of Miro, students will be empowered to enjoy learning. Consequently, students will have greater interaction, learning motivation, and concentration. Similarly, Aziemah & Azman (Nov. 2023) forwarded that one of the remarkable advantages of Miro Board is its ability to connect students and educators irrespective of their physical location. In a time when distance education is becoming more common, Miro offers a smooth virtual learning environment that enables students from different places to collaborate both synchronously and asynchronously.

In learning design, learners need to be engaged and work collaboratively in the online teaching and learning process; they take active roles in achieving the course contents through the five online engagement elements for different purposes. These elements are developed by Redmond et al. (2018) are very helpful in higher education contexts for both learners and teachers. Learners need to be engaged socially and communicate effective relationships with their instructors and classmates; cognitive engagement, for actively participating; behavioral engagement, for developing their academic and multidisciplinary skills; collaborative engagement, for developing professional networks; and emotional engagement, where learners need to be committed to learning. Similarly, we believe that these elements are helpful for teachers as course designers to consider them when designing courses from the planning stage to assessment. Generally, Miro is the best online whiteboard platform and meets the criteria set by Ahmmad et al. (2021).

Ahmmad, A., Moughal, I., Alexandru, C. A., & Constantin, A. (2021). Systematic Review of Online Collaborative Whiteboard Platforms for Higher Education. In Poster presented at the University of Edinburgh Learning and Teaching Conference, June (Vol. 15).

Allah, R. K. (2023). The Use of Miro in Teaching Practice. Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal, 10(3), 77-91.

Aziemah, N.& Azman,M. ( Nov, 2023). Revolutionizing Education: The Impact of Miro Board in Teaching and Learning. UiTM News Hub. https://news.uitm.edu.my/revolutionizing-education-the-impact-of-miro-board-in-teaching-and-learning/

Brisco, R., Grierson, H., & Lynn, A. (2021, September). Lessons learned in the development of an online 6-3-5 digital design tool for distributed idea generation. In 23rd International Conference on Engineering & Product Design Education (p. 17).

Redmond, P., Heffernan, A., Abawi, L., Brown, A., & Henderson, R. (2018). An online engagement framework for higher education. Online learning, 22(1), 183-204.

Skubik-Peplaski, C., Edick, J., & Cook, W. (2022). Agile learning and teaching with Miro boards. Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings. 4.

Wu, D., & Liu, R. (2024). A Blended Approach OF Online Tools to Enhance Collaboration ability in Design Education. In DS 131: Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2024) (pp. 437-442).