Virtual Whiteboarding is a Remote Work Super Power for Technical Explanation and Collaboration
All-remote whiteboard setups also work well when leveraged for in-person and hybrid meetings because:
This setup was devised by checking out many Tablet types (e.g. non-active pen ones), Apps and Websites.
The emphasis for selection was prioritized on:
The first three criteria drove a lot of research into many applications + collaborative sites. Notably, options that did not support a native mobile application (used a webpage) lacked drawing fluidity.
The Drawing Implement: Staedtler Digital Pencil $30 - the built in stylus is too small for drawing speed.
Liveboard Online | Google Jamboard | Miro | |
---|---|---|---|
Long Term Usage of Free Tier | Yes | Yes | No |
Native Mobile Apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Native Desktop Apps | No | No | Yes |
Web App (For Screen Sharing) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fluidity Extras | Multiple pens on deck | ||
Pages / Canvas | Pages | Pages | Endless Canvas |
Presentation Mode | No | No | Yes |
Direct Import From Google Slides | No | Yes | No |
Shape Recognition from Hand Drawing | Light Duty | Light Duty | Awesome |
Export to PDF | Yes | Yes | No |
Reusability of Drawing as Formal Technical Design | No | No | Yes |
Viewers Synchronized to Drawing Location | Yes | Yes | Manual |
Simple UI for Drawing | Yes | Yes | No |
Android tablets with no physical buttons put a navigation bar on the bottom part of the screen. I found that I was having my palm be picked up by the Home Screen button, which would close the white boarding app. Also, when any of these buttons are activated by the stylus it is equally disruptive to the flow. For the Navigation Bar settings I set “Navigation type” to “Swipe gestures” and I enable “Block gestures with S Pen” (Android 12, Samsung OneUI v4.1)
This setup is the result of Darwin Sanoy thinking about the problem way too much ;)