50 ways to use online whiteboards in and outside classrooms

Online whiteboards have become increasingly popular in educational settings as they provide a dynamic and interactive way for students to collaborate and engage with course material. While remote learning is one area with clear benefits from using online whiteboards - such as for teachers holding virtual office hours or online classes using online whiteboards to work through problems, demonstrate essential points, or illustrate visual lessons without having to be in the same space as the student - in-person classes and educational scenarios outside conventional classrooms can also take advantage of these tools. If you've been curious about online whiteboards but are lost for ideas on how to best utilize them, you've come to the right place. Here is a list of 50 ways students and instructors can use online whiteboards in an educational setting.

1. Collaborative brainstorming sessions: Online whiteboards can be used for brainstorming sessions, allowing students and teachers to share and collaborate on ideas in real time. This can be especially useful for group projects or when working on complex concepts.
2. Interactive class discussions: Online whiteboards can facilitate interactive class discussions, allowing students to share their thoughts and ideas with the group. This can be especially helpful in remote learning environments where face-to-face talks are impossible.
3. Collaborative concept mapping: Online whiteboards can be used to create and collaborate on concept maps, which can help students to better understand complex concepts by visualizing their relationships.
4. Sharing and annotating documents and images: Online whiteboards can be used to share and annotate documents and images, allowing students and teachers to mark up and discuss specific points in real time.
5. Collaborative note-taking for lectures: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative note-taking during lessons, allowing students to work together to capture important information and insights.
6. Virtual office hours for one-on-one teacher-student meetings: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual office hours, allowing teachers and students to meet one-on-one and collaborate on specific topics or assignments.
7. Collaborative editing of written work: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative editing of written work, allowing students to provide feedback and suggestions to their peers in real time.
8. Group problem-solving activities: Online whiteboards can be used for group problem-solving activities, allowing students to work together to solve complex problems and puzzles.
9. Virtual field trips with guided exploration: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual field trips, allowing students to explore new places and concepts from their homes.
10. Collaborative storyboarding for video or film projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative storyboarding, allowing students to work together to plan out the details of a video or film project.
11. Peer-to-peer tutoring sessions: Online whiteboards can be used for peer-to-peer tutoring sessions, allowing students to work together to explain and understand concepts.
12. Interactive quiz or game creation with a group: Online whiteboards can be used for an interactive quiz or game creation, allowing students to work together to design and play educational games.
13. Collaborative study sessions for exams: Online whiteboards can be used for joint study sessions, allowing students to work together to review and prepare for exams.
14. Interactive classroom polls or surveys: Online whiteboards can be used for interactive polls or surveys, allowing teachers to quickly gather student feedback and insights.
15. Sharing and annotating visual aids such as diagrams and charts: Online whiteboards can be used for sharing and annotating visual aids such as diagrams and charts, allowing students and teachers to discuss and analyze specific points in real time.
16. Collaborative foreign language translation exercises: Online whiteboards can be used for joint foreign language translation exercises, allowing students to understand foreign language texts collaboratively.
17. Collaborative, interactive grammar and vocabulary exercises: Online whiteboards can be used for collective grammar and vocabulary exercises, allowing students to work together to practice and master language skills.
18. Collaborative mindful meditation and reflection exercises: Online whiteboards can be used for collective mindful meditation and reflection exercises, allowing students to work together to cultivate mindfulness and self-awareness.
19. Collaborative peer editing of written work: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative peer editing of written work, allowing students to provide feedback and suggestions to their peers in real time.
20. Collaborative virtual music lessons: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual music lessons, allowing students to work with their teachers to learn and practice new scores.
21. Collaborative poetry writing: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative poetry writing, allowing students to create and revise original poems.
22. Virtual science experiments: Online whiteboards can aid virtual science experiments, allowing students to conduct more accurate and safe simulations and experiments in a remote learning environment.
23. Collaborative coding projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative coding projects, allowing students to work together to write, test, and debug code.
24. Interactive geography lessons: Online whiteboards can be used for interactive geography lessons, allowing students to explore and learn about different locations and cultures around the world.
25. Collaborative math problem-solving activities: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative math problem-solving activities, allowing students to work together to solve complex math problems.
26. Virtual book club discussions: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual book club discussions, allowing students to discuss and analyze books together in a remote learning environment.
27. Collaborative virtual art lessons: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual art lessons, allowing students to work with their teachers to learn and practice different art techniques.
28. Virtual debate sessions: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual debate sessions, allowing students to engage in structured debates and discuss different perspectives on various topics.
29. Collaborative historical research projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative historical research projects, allowing students to work together to research and analyze different historical events and figures.
30. Virtual language immersion exercises: Online whiteboards can aid virtual language immersion exercises, allowing students to practice speaking and writing in a foreign language with their peers.
31. Collaborative social studies research projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative social studies research projects, allowing students to research and analyze different social issues and topics.
32. Virtual presentations: Online whiteboards can be used in place of cardboard presentation boards for students to create and present their work when in-person presentations are not viable. It is also more environmentally friendly.
33. Collaborative peer review of scientific research papers: Online whiteboards can be used for joint peer review of scientific research papers, allowing students to provide feedback and suggestions to their peers in real time.
34. Virtual science fairs: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual science fairs, allowing students to present their science projects and experiments to their peers and teachers.
35. Collaborative media analysis projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative media analysis projects, allowing students to work together to analyze and critique different forms of media.
36. Virtual professional development workshops for teachers: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual professional development workshops allowing educators to collaborate and share best practices for teaching in a remote learning environment.
37. Collaborative language exchange programs: Online whiteboards can be used for joint language exchange programs, allowing students from different countries to practice speaking and writing in each other's native languages.
38. Virtual science lectures with interactive demonstrations: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual science lectures, allowing teachers to demonstrate and explain different scientific concepts in a remote learning environment.
39. Collaborative history role-playing exercises: Online whiteboards can aid collaborative history role-playing exercises, allowing students to imagine and explore different historical events and scenarios.
40. Virtual student-led conferences: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual student-led conferences, allowing students to present their work and achievements to their peers and teachers.
41. Collaborative engineering design projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative engineering design projects, allowing students to work together to design and build prototypes of new products and inventions.
42. Collaborative music composition: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative music composition, allowing students to work together to write and arrange original pieces of music.
43. Virtual guest speaker events: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual guest speaker events, allowing students to interact with experts in modals to ask questions in real time.
44. Collaborative digital storytelling projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative digital storytelling projects, allowing students to work together to create and share multimedia stories.
45. Virtual study groups: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual study groups, allowing students to collaborate and review material together.
46. Collaborative data analysis projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative data analysis projects, allowing students to work together to collect, analyze, and interpret data.
47. Mind maps and diagrams: Students and teachers can brainstorm, plan, and visualize complex concepts dynamically and interactively by creating and editing mind maps and diagrams using various drawing tools, such as lines, shapes, and arrows, which can be used to create more detailed and intricate mind maps and diagrams.
48. Collaborative environmental science projects: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative environmental science projects, allowing students to work together to research and address environmental issues by taking advantage of creative tools for a more rich expression of ideas.
49. Virtual coding competitions: Online whiteboards can be used for virtual coding competitions, allowing students to compete with their peers to solve coding challenges and earn points.
50. Collaborative lesson planning: Online whiteboards can be used for collaborative lesson planning, allowing teachers to plan and design engaging lessons for their students.

Using an online whiteboard to collaborate in educational settings

Did this spark any ideas for your next class session using an online whiteboard? Many online whiteboards are available on the market today, each offering unique features and benefits. Some of the most popular brands include Miro, Jamboard, and Explain Everything, each offering various collaborative tools and integrations to enhance the learning experience. One such real-time communication solution is Pagecall. Pagecall's online whiteboard allows teachers and students to collaborate on projects in real time, regardless of location. Individuals can engage with the material creatively and interactively. In particular, Pagecall's lag-free video conferencing and online whiteboard make it easy for teachers to provide real-time feedback, answer questions, and engage with students in a dynamic and engaging way.

From interactive lectures to virtual study groups and from K-12 classrooms to universities and professional development settings, online whiteboards offer a unique way to engage and connect and a flexible way to collaborate and learn regardless of their location.

About Pagecall

Pagecall is a state-of-the-art tool for real-time audio, video, and whiteboard interactions facilitating interactive and seamless online communication. We’re transforming the tutoring industry, one lesson at a time.