September 14th, 2018 by Sean

How to Choose the Right Online Whiteboard

Best online whiteboard

One of the most challenging areas for teams is communication. Although most employees have learned how to overcome the challenges of working in different time zones or have gotten used to working with remote team members, communication remains one of the top challenges for distributed teams. Some issues are related to cultural and language differences, and they are linked to giving and receiving feedback or simply being understood. A great solution to these problems is online whiteboarding.

Most of us process information based on what we see since 65 percent of people are visual learners. This means that using a whiteboard, mind maps and sketches of your ideas works best for the majority of the audience. The same tactics apply when working with internal teams. In order to convey a message clearly, we should simplify and visualize sophisticated ideas and present them to others. Online whiteboards are a great solution for distributed teams. Companies do not need to purchase expensive hardware but instead use already existing infrastructure and find the best software.

How to choose the right online whiteboard

When choosing a web whiteboard we should ask ourselves a few questions. What features are we looking for? How will the results of the sessions be saved? What if someone is absent and we want to present the session?

Accessibility

Since companies may use different operating system on their devices, it is crucial to find a cross-platform solution that would work well no matter if the participants use a Mac, Chromebook or Windows computer with or without a touchscreen. Having a mobile version of a whiteboard for use with a stylus (e.g. Apple Pencil or Logitech Crayon) could also have great importance.

Media support

Adding media to a whiteboard is crucial. Whenever we want to explain something or work on a concept, we need to have pictures and documents at our fingertips. Everyday assets such as photos, documents, and presentations should be easily accessible.

Recording

A great feature of online whiteboards is recording. It’s very useful to capture the process of ideation and have a reference in the further stages of a process. Being able to generate an mp4 file from a session allows any interested party to watch and be on the same page.

Customization

For business representatives creating content to be presented to a larger audience, it’s important to be consistent with brand elements such as layout, colors, or assets. Being able to incorporate your own library (e.g. in a form of clipart) can be very useful to showcase consistent messaging.

Conclusion

Online whiteboarding is an effective way to improve communication among team members. Visual representation of ideas can be a great help to be better understood. When choosing a web whiteboard, it’s necessary to consider a couple of aspects such as accessibility, media support, interactive character and more. Only convenient solutions will be used by people.