Quick Start Guide: Digital Whiteboarding

At a Glance

Digital whiteboarding lets you write on slides as you teach, sketch out ideas on the spot, and share your content wirelessly from anywhere in the room. Use it for class lectures, office hours, brainstorming sessions, or to visualize idea or solve problems in real time. Everything you create can be saved and shared so students can review it later.

Use digital whiteboarding tools to:

• Annotate PowerPoint slides and other content
• Write or sketch on infinite whiteboards
• Collaborate in real time (Explain Everything only)
• Move freely around the classroom while presenting your content
• Save, export, and share content for later review

Ready to present wirelessly? Learn how to connect your iPad or laptop in MIT Sloan classrooms.

Use Cases

Digital whiteboarding supports a variety of teaching and learning scenarios, helping you adapt your approach whether you’re lecturing, meeting one-on-one, or facilitating group work.

Class Lectures

• Annotate diagrams and equations in real time
• Highlight key concepts as you explain them
• Save and share notes with students for later review

Office Hours

• Work through problems step by step
• Provide visual explanations for complex concepts
• Give handwritten feedback on student work

Brainstorming Sessions

• Visualize ideas in real time with students
• Foster creativity and collaboration through shared whiteboards
• Capture group discussions and decisions

Choose Your Whiteboarding Tool

Select the option that matches your teaching style and needs:

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is a quick and familiar slide annotation tool. It’s great for instructors who want to add basic annotations to existing presentations without learning new software.

To learn more, see How to Use Microsoft PowerPoint for Digital Whiteboarding.

Explain Everything

Explain Everything is a feature-rich digital whiteboard app for tablets and web browsers. It’s great for instructors who want an infinite canvas, advanced whiteboarding, media integration, and collaboration options.

To learn more, see How to Use Explain Everything for Digital Whiteboarding.