White Board Options

White Board Options

With features built-in to Zoom or using other applications, you can simulate a physical whiteboard. Conveniently, Zoom allows you to log in to your account from one computer, one tablet, and one phone Links to an external site., and you may wish to install Zoom across all of your devices to test which options work best for you. You can also use the document cameras at the podiums in all Emory classrooms or make a document camera using your phone/tablet/webcam directed at a physical whiteboard or piece of paper.

If you are not familiar with the Screen Sharing feature of Zoom, you may find it helpful to review the Screen Sharing page in this course before considering these white board options.

 

Zoom Whiteboard

The meeting host and participants can draw, type, and mark-up a blank, virtual whiteboard or documents on a shared screen using the Annotation and Whiteboard features in Zoom. (For more information, visit the Annotations page in this course and the Zoom support pages for using annotation tools on a shared screen or whiteboard Links to an external site., the Zoom Whiteboard User Guide Links to an external site., and sharing a classic whiteboard Links to an external site..)

Overview

Zoom Whiteboards have a number of useful tools and features, including:

  • tools to add text, shapes, images, lines, drawings, and highlights
  • multiple pages with an “infinite” canvas that can be zoomed in/out
  • the ability to collaboratively view/edit a whiteboard outside of a Zoom meeting (for example, you can create a whiteboard before a Zoom class and have students add to it during/after class)

You can access the Whiteboard feature in Zoom in several different ways.

  1. Login to the Emory Zoom web portal at emory.zoom.us/ Links to an external site. and click Whiteboards.
  2. Open the Zoom software from your computer and click Whiteboards.
  3. During a Zoom meeting, click the Whiteboards button.
  4. From your phone or tablet, open the Zoom app and select Whiteboards.

 

Using Whiteboards from the Zoom desktop client during a meeting

Here, we describe how to use the Whiteboard feature from the Zoom desktop client during a Zoom meeting. The steps for creating, editing, sharing, and exporting Whiteboards are very similar across these different Zoom platforms with a few key differences, listed below. You should easily be able to translate these steps to accessing whiteboards in other ways with the support of the Zoom Whiteboard User Guide Links to an external site.

Open a whiteboard

  1. Click the Whiteboard button   on the in-meeting controls.
  2. Click New Whiteboard or click an existing whiteboard you would like to edit.
    • Click the arrow next to All Participants can edit to set participation permissions. This includes whether participants can view or edit the whiteboard and whether they can access the whiteboard after the meeting.
  3. Click Open and Collaborate. The whiteboard will open in your meeting window.

Edit a whiteboard

  1. The whiteboard controls will appear automatically. You can use the page controls at the bottom of this menu to create new pages and switch between pages. Additional controls include the Select Tool, Pencil Too, Shapes, Lines, Text, Sticky Notes, Images, Eraser, and Color.
  2. To save a page, open annotation tools and click Save. You can save annotations as an image file (.PNG) or as a PDF. These files will automatically be saved to your default local recording folder (see the section on local recording on the Recording and Sharing Recordings page in this course).
  3. When you are done, click Close Whiteboard.

Export and share the whiteboard with other users

  1. Click Share to send the whiteboard to other users outside the meeting.
    • Enter the email addresses of the users you would like to share the whiteboard with and set their permissions with the arrow to the right of the entry box. Click Send to finish.
    • Click the arrow to the right of the Copy Link button at the bottom of the window to set the permissions for users you are going to send the link to. Click Copy Link and then paste the link in a message or email to send to others.
  2. To export the whiteboard as PDF or PNG file, click the menu button next to the Share button. Click Export and select the file type.

Differences across Zoom platforms

  • Using the Zoom app: Whiteboards can be viewed from mobile phones but can only be edited from devices like tablets or iPads which have larger screens.
  • Currently, you cannot import an image when accessing the Whiteboards feature during a Zoom meeting.
  • Currently, the interface for editing whiteboards through the Zoom web portal and Zoom desktop client appear better than the interface that appears during a Zoom meeting.

 

 

Using other applications as whiteboards

By opening an application that allows you to write and draw and then sharing your screen, you can easily have access to an electronic whiteboard from any device.

Applications and considerations

You should consider whether you want your whiteboard to be collaborative or not and whether it should be available outside of class. Shared whiteboards and shared documents (through Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive/Office 365 with your Emory account) will allow multiple people to write and draw simultaneously and/or asynchronously, depending on your settings.

The applications available to you may vary depending on your device, but some options that you could use are listed below. (Note that all of these are available to use from your computer and most if not all should be available on your mobile device or tablet.)

Collaborative online whiteboards:

Other applications that can be used as whiteboards:

  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft OneNote
  • Google Slides or Google Docs
  • Any apps where you can annotate on a PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader, Evernote, Foxit MobilePDF, Xodo PDF Reader & Editor, etc.)

Sharing an electronic whiteboard from your standard or touch-screen computer

Open the application that you will use to draw, and select this application in the Zoom Screen Share menu (or share your entire screen).

For example, you could have a worksheet as a PDF and open it any of the applications listed above and write directly over it.

Alternatively, you can draw in the Office suite using the Draw ribbon Links to an external site.. The Draw ribbon is automatically enabled on touch-enabled devices (and you can use your finger, a digital pen, or a mouse), but you can manually enable it by right-clicking anywhere on the ribbon at the top your screen and checking the Draw button. (More detailed instructions can be found here. Links to an external site.)  

Sharing an electronic whiteboard from your phone or tablet

You can share your screen from your phone or tablet if you have the Zoom mobile app installed on your device. From the Zoom mobile app, select the Share Content button, and pick the application that you will use to draw (or share your entire screen).

Zoom has integrated screen sharing from iOS devices. You can broadcast from your iOS device to Zoom Links to an external site., or select your iOS device from the Share Screen menu of the Zoom desktop client Links to an external site.

 

Using a Classroom or "DIY" Document Camera

Classroom document cameras

All Emory classrooms are equipped with a microphone and document camera at the podium you can use during your class. Please watch the video below for a demonstration and for more information.

External webcam as a document camera

If you have a second external USB webcam, you can use it as a makeshift document camera.

  1. Connect the webcam to your computer.
  2. On your computer, connect to your Zoom meeting.
  3. In Zoom, choose Share Screen. When prompted to select what you want to share, click the Advanced tab, select Content from 2nd Camera, and click Share.
  4. Position a sheet of paper on a nearby surface, and place your webcam on a box or stand pointing at the paper. Make sure the entire paper is visible in the camera shot.
  5. Common issues:
    • If you see the video from your computer's main webcam instead of the external webcam, click Switch Camera in the top left of your Zoom window.
    • If the camera image appears upside down or sideways, open the drop-down menu next to the video icon in the Zoom toolbar. Choose Video Settings, then click Rotate 90° until the image appears right-side up.

Phone or tablet as a document camera

You can also use your phone or tablet's camera as a document camera. You will need to join your Zoom meeting from both your computer and your phone/tablet.

  1. Connect to your Zoom meeting from your computer. Turn on your microphone, and start your video if you want your students to see your face.
  2. Join your Zoom meeting from your phone. Make sure your microphone on your phone is off and that the volume on your phone is all the way down.
  3. In the Zoom app on your phone, select Start Video to turn on the phone's camera. Tap the Switch Camera icon (a camera outline with circular arrows) to switch to the front-facing camera. Physically rotate your phone so that the Zoom app appears in landscape orientation.
  4. Position a sheet of paper on a nearby surface, and place your phone on a box, stack of books, or other stand with the camera pointing at the paper. Make sure the entire paper is visible in the camera shot.
  5. On your computer, you will see the video from your phone in a small pane at the top of the Zoom window. Click the ellipsis (...) in the upper right of that pane to open an options menu. Click Spotlight Video to prominently display the video from your phone to all participants. (For more on spotlighting, see Spotlight Video Links to an external site..)

Using a webcam, phone, or tablet to show a physical whiteboard

If you are in a classroom with a whiteboard or have a whiteboard at home, you can follow the steps above for a document camera but position your external webcam or other device so that the camera is pointed at the whiteboard. You should check to make sure that the entire board is visible, that your writing is legible (i.e. that your markers are thick enough and your writing is large enough for meeting participants to see), and that you are still audible even if you are at a distance from your computer.

(Adapted from Indiana University: Share handwritten content in Zoom when teaching from home Links to an external site..)

 

Zoom Support