Monday, April 2, 2018

Collaborative Whiteboards: Show Your Work!

I love having conversations with teachers that start with "I wish there was a way I could..." I am eager to meet their challenge by pointing them in the direction of instructional technology tools that support their goals. When I look for web-based tools I typically start with some basic criteria:

  • Does it support 21st-century teaching and learning?
  • Is it free?
  • Does it work on a Chromebook?
  • Is it easy to use?
  • Can it be used in a variety of grade levels and subject areas?
Recently a teacher asked if there was a way her students could use their Chromebooks to "show their work" in math. The answer is YES! In fact, there are a couple of tools I would recommend as they meet all of the criteria listed above: AwwApp and Scratchwork.

AwwApp
AwwApp stands for A Web Whiteboard. It provides users with a touch-friendly online whiteboard that makes drawing, collaboration, and sharing easy. With a free account, users can take advantage of AwwApp's basic tools like drawing, highlighting, erasing, and inserting text, shapes, and post-it notes. Users can also upload and annotate images and invite others to collaborate in real-time.
Scratchwork
Scratchwork, like AwwApp, is a virtual collaborative whiteboard that allows users to draw, type, import and annotate images, and write math equations. What sets it apart is that it also allows users to use a webcam to take a snapshot of hand-drawn notes and equations, which it will convert to a digital format.

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