WhiteBoards
(of the Digital Variety, of course!)
Whiteboards:
Digital Tools for the Virtual Classroom
Whiteboards
The most commonly used tool in the virtual classroom is the whiteboard, where slides and documents are shared as if they were flipcharts in a traditional setting.
Facilitators use whiteboards to record participants’ comments, to emphasize important points, and to write exercise instructions.
Use the whiteboard in the same way you would use a flip chart or marker board in a traditional classroom. For example, at the beginning of a live online learning session, you can ask participants to state their expectations. The facilitator then writes down those expectations on the whiteboard and revisits the same board at the end of a program to see whether the session met those expectations. Facilitators can highlight content on the whiteboard as they discuss it, lending a visual emphasis to their comments.
The whiteboard can be used to create interaction or collaboration by calling on participants to write their ideas or conclusions on it. Whiteboard use makes your program more visually engaging and helps maintain participants’ focus.
The whiteboard is invaluable for visual learners. Kinesthetic learners benefit as well from the activity of marking it up. For all learners, the whiteboard helps to maintain attention.
Whiteboards have some or all of the following tools: pencil, eraser, highlighter, pointer, text, color, lines, and shapes. Some whiteboards can import files for use like prepared flip charts.
When you ask participants to use the whiteboard, encourage creativity. Suggest they use different fonts and colors as they write. or encourage them to use the drawing tool instead of typing – making a picture and highlighting its key parts.