Using the Interactive Whiteboard in an Online Classroom

February 23, 2021 — Yiming Xuzhou Contributor

As a student in quarantine, I have become accustomed to the various technological issues that come up during video conferencing lectures. In my multivariable calculus class, I have seen my professor lag out of the call in every single lecture. Waiting for him to return to the class and try to communicate with the tens of confused students serves as a distraction and disencourages me to actively participate in class. At the start of the quarter, there were over 100 students in each class. Today, only 40 people showed up, and they slowly left as the laggy Zoom call continued.

Benefits of the Web Whiteboard

In my other class, Linear Algebra, my professor takes advantage of a collaborative online whiteboard to teach while giving the students a chance to learn independently and cooperatively. Personally, I have always been a visual learner. For this reason, I dislike learning by taking notes on a traditional powerpoint presentation. Instead, using smart board technology like a visual whiteboard software lets me save my teacher’s notes directly onto my drive so I can focus on drawing connections to the topic.

Collaborate Seamlessly, Focus on Class instead of Note-Taking

At the same time, the ability to collaborate with my peers and teachers instantly makes it so much more fun to be in an online class. Since we all share the same infinite canvas, I can write and draw right next to my classmates as if we were back in the physical classroom at the front of the class.

Help the Absent Students

I believe a very important addition of this new interactive web whiteboard app is how it helps students who cannot make the lecture on time. Since everything on the board is recorded and replayable at any time, I can effectively still watch a lecture and participate even if I was asleep during the actual session. This truly helps in an online environment where deadlines and time commitments can be exhausting on a day to day basis.

Using oneboard, any student can easily join and create on a beautiful, simple, and intuitive platform built for educators. As for the teacher, the only thing they need to present an entire lesson is time and a laptop/tablet. By sending out a 5 digit code to all their students, teachers have the easiest way of starting an online class session.