our humble proposition is to not replicate the whiteboard but teach it digital tricks like enhanced legibility, auto-save, digitization (now: save as vector; later: transcribe). in other words: whiteboard in a remote/hybrid setting.
Whiteboarding is at the top of my team's list too. We couldn't live without them after going fully remote so we put together this little doozy: https://sharetheboard.com
It's the closest the real thing, IMHO. But I'd love some candid feedback if you're willing to kick the tires on it.
In answer to the original question (coming in after "lack of whiteboarding"), part of my challenge of going fully remote was training my EXTENDED family on what that means. I had aunties and uncles calling me up in the middle of the day or even showing up unannounced... "because I'm home anyway." Even though sometimes they'd bring fresh baked goods, it was still disruptive.
I think this challenge remains unanswered to this day in one important way: just about all current handwriting recognition tools assume you're capturing that handwriting digitally (touchscreen, smart pen, smart paper, etc.). That's already impacting the "operational mechanics" mentioned in the article.
Vision/light is what the physical and digital worlds have in common. I think this is the only (efficient) way forward.
Our focus was originally on shared whiteboarding (PdMs + devs) but in 2020, for obvious reasons, schools started contacting us and using the tech for remote/hybrid teaching.
But it's true: the real-time part of teaching/writing/debugging is critical in the learning process. For this same reason, many of the teachers we work with use our app to share a piece of paper in real time. Similar result and you don't have to own a whiteboard.
(if you get a chance to kick the tires on it, I'd love some candid feedback)
I completely agree: in certain cases, the whiteboard is irreplaceable. in others, a notebook/paper can be very efficient too.
We didn't want to part ways with our favorite analog tools just because we all went remote so we did something about it. our app give you the ability to "keystone" to the appropriate angle and also digitizes your handwritten content in real time. this way the content on your shared surface is not only legible, it's easily savable/exportable and can be combined with digital content in real time.
If you're interested, I'd like to humbly invite you to try it out and share some candid feedback (use the "trial" not the "free" version): https://sharetheboard.com
I agree (and I'm glad I'm not alone). Haven't seen the swivel stand approach - good idea!
Curious:
* Is sharing the whiteboard via camera enough for you/your colleagues?
* Are you ever the "recipient/viewer" of such a shared whiteboard or always the presenter?
* (How) do you transfer your whiteboard content to other tools?
I’ve mainly been the presenter. I’ve been on the viewing end before too and it is a lot easier to convey a quick concept. As far as transferring to other tools, I’ll typically transcribe the notes onto my computer if it is easy to type or take a picture and have it on my computer for reference. I haven’t had a need for a shared whiteboard experience yet and favor annotating images/files instead
"I haven’t had a need for a shared whiteboard experience yet..."
Just to make sure I understand correctly: does this mean that in all cases (whether you're presenting or viewing) you find that only one person needs to be able to write on the board?
Also, in your first comment, you wrote that digital alternatives are not the same as the real thing. In your opinion, what is the key advantage of traditional surfaces over digital tools?
The hard thing with digital is the spatial aspect. I like a big canvas to write on as opposed to the feeling of being confined to a screen. Note that even if the screen increased, it still is more cumbersome. I still use digital drawing programs for creating artwork so I’m not opposed to using a digital medium for drawing.
The other aspect is it allows you to step away from screens altogether and approach a problem in a more tangible way. I like standing in front of a whiteboard and taking in the flow if data or mockup and tweaking. In these instances, I’m not sharing my camera, it is purely a thought process for myself.
That is a good question. Since whiteboards are intended to be ephemeral, the need for a constant data link isn’t compelling (ex: like the notebooks that automatically transcribe to a cloud service). Something I haven’t done yet is fully utilized the magnetic aspect of my whiteboard by having precanned magnets for db design, mocks or data flow. That may be a next evolution for my use, but even that probably won’t get used as much as I’d expect as I’m not at the whiteboard every day, but more like a few times a week.
If there was a way to make intangible tangible on the whiteboard, that may be interesting. Like a way to have magnets that are linked to a digital object so as you moved around and marked up, it could be reflected digitally too…that being said, it is more of a novelty and not sure it would be compelling enough for a paid feature.
I’ll think about this the next time I use my whiteboard.
Please do! I love the exploration here. I think the interplay of offline-online is, generally, woefully underserved.
I resisted the temptation to mention it earlier but I feel I must (if nothing else, to help with your continued exploration... and generosity of sharing your thoughts!), as it relates to this notion directly: it is, indeed, this interplay that underlies our team's product. Or, more broadly: a desire to get us (and others) back to the real world. I'm not saying that digital tools aren't useful, I'm saying that they should play a role, not all roles.
More than that: I think digital tools should carry more weight than they currently do. I'm shocked at how many latest-and-greatest tools promise me the moon if I only change all of my habits. Why can't the tool adapt to me? It's all our fault, of course, we've let this happen (both as creators and consumers).
So, with that, the next time you use your whiteboard, consider testing out our app^. Hopefully, you'll see some examples of the above motivations in action; and, if you're interested, I'll be happy to share our future plans.
To be clear: my goal here is to facilitate your exploration. If using our app gets in the way of that (or your continued feedback), please disregard. I hope you share your reflections from your next whiteboard session either way!
A bit. One thing I thought was interesting is when you are at a whiteboard and sharing digitally, you have to turn around and look at the camera all the time. It would be interesting if you mounted an ipad on the whiteboard so you could see the people you are talking to while also having the whiteboard shared over screenshare. Having an angled camera that would allow for the whiteboard to be picked up would then make sure it wasn’t blocked. Almost like the old overhead projectors where you were always facing the audience and the material you are writing.
Yes, the idea (at least in our app) was to mimic the experience of a real whiteboard, where your colleagues also tend to be behind you. The app also serves educators who in fact called out the resulting eye contact and visible body language as one of the key benefits.
We do have an answer for the "overhead scenario" though (we call it the "tutoring scenario"): rather than using a whiteboard, you point your external camera at your desk and share a piece of paper. Then you can all write on the shared surface while facing each other online.
Our original plan was to synchronize cameras with projectors and deliver a remote whiteboard-to-whiteboard experience. Tricky but we did it in lab conditions. Put it on the back burner though, given the much smaller market.
I do like the idea of facing the whiteboard and not having to turn around. I guess a simple hack for now might be to just video conference with your colleagues on your cell while the laptop/camera faces the board (and your back)? I'll play around with this.
I'd like to offer an alternative to the surrogate method... Many of the folks on our team have kids and, like so many people worldwide, were greatly disappointed by what happened in early 2020. We watched our kids suffer as this normally human-rich interaction was replaced with powerpoints and tiny talking heads. We decided to offer a solution of our own.
Our team developed https://sharetheboard.com - an app which digitizes handwritten content in real time. The practical application here is that any analog surface/content can be shared simultaneously online, in real time.
For teachers this is valuable for a number of reasons (direct feedback from educators):
- it allows them to teach "as they always have" - standing in front of a board or writing on a notebook, etc.
- they don't have to learn anything new
- they don't have to buy new equipment
- they can simultaneously address in-person and remote students (again, without "doing anything new")
- they can work (in the same way) from home, when needed
You'll note that many of the above points are of interest to school administrators as well.
- No hardware + no learning curve = high adoption.
- Mobile/scalable = fast deployment.
- Low cost = well, low cost.
For students (direct feedback from students):
- the biggest plus is that this is as close to "like in class" as it gets: they get to see their teacher's natural body language, maintain eye contact, see the explanations evolve on a familiar medium (whiteboard, chalkboard, etc.)
- they can do more than ask questions: the app facilitates direct interaction with digitized content
- they can focus on the lesson: the app allows you to easily save board contents any time
What was meant to be a quick response to a problem is beginning to turn into an actual product. For better or for worse, some form of remote interaction seems to be in the cards (not only in education) for quite some time. Our goal is to help make it a more real/physical experience, despite being shared remotely. Interested in feedback from teachers, parents, and students on this thread.
The app digitizes handwritten content in real time, making it an excellent way to share a real whiteboard (or other surface) with remote teams. Remote participants can contribute digital content and the combined contents can be then shared/saved as needed.
There are many excellent digital-first tools out there but our goal was to bring some more reality back to our shared remote experience. There are some tasks that are simply better served by analog tools. Integrations with many existing apps are forthcoming; you can think of STB as a connector of digital/analog content.
I agree with most of your assessment. I particularly like the focus on fatigue. I think this tiredness (in oh so many ways) has yet to be fully understood - not to mention, addressed. If I may be so bold, I'll go one step further: something has got to give! People can't be tired all the time. Something has to (and will) change. Here's hoping that in 2022 it'll be largely for the better.
As for the whiteboard, I humbly offer our team's answer: https://sharetheboard.com
We too couldn't bear to be whiteboard-less and have come up with at least a partial solution. If you have time to kick the tires on it, I'd love some feedback.
Hey Marcind! this is an interesting app a few questions that I wasn't able to get a clear answer on in your FAQ.
0) What data is shared through your servers?
1) What video conference tools does this support?
2) Can I use a mobile phone to capture the whiteboard?
0 is the most important part for my current employer as we can't use any tools which share any data with third parties without a lengthy approval process. If there is a guarantee that the app doesn't share data with a third party then it can more easily be tested at a team level (somewhat of a unique requirement for large tech companies).
Feedback on the experience: I tested out the tool from my personal linux machine (Razer blade 15) using a hand written note pad.
0) The experience is really promising
1) I can't hold a notepad steady enough for the video to capture the text appropriately, flipping the notepad around to write more text removes the existing text from the space.
2) I had to hold the notepad within ~6 inches of the laptop camera to have the pen/handwritten text appear clearly. This could be due to the quality of the laptop camera - which is certainly inferior to my iphone 12 pro's camera, and my work machines MBP 16 inch camera.
3) Overall I'd give it a proper test with my coworkers if not for the data sharing/video conference requirements of my current employer.
Thanks for taking the time to test out the app. Really appreciate the thoughtful feedback. In answer to your questions:
0) In short, unless you volunteer to share data - to get a discount or to use the free version - no data is shared (for your company test, simply use a Trial of the Starter version and you should be good to go).
We do track (anonymous) UI clicks, essentially to make sure the app is working. If this is prohibiting you from a broader pilot, contact me and we'll figure something out.
1) "Integration" with video conferencing currently relies on screen sharing: so.. it supports all tools! We are working on a few platform-specific integrations and would love your feedback here.
2) The primary use case is board (whiteboard, blackboard, flipchart, etc.) sharing - usually via a laptop or some external camera. We will be supporting a mobile version but to do it justice we'll need to release some apps. The amount of real-time processing going on already is quite ambitious; adding a useful image stabilization or surface detection to be executed in a browser has proven too heavy for most devices. That said, we may release a thinned-down version for mobile capturing before we do the apps (waiting on some POCs to inform this).
To sum up, for your broader test, I'd recommend:
- using the Trial (of the Starter version)
- using a laptop (or external cam) pointed at a whiteboard
And contact me at "marcin" [at] sharetheboard.com if you have any special requests or follow-ups. Would love to get feedback from your team!
Nicely done! Very smooth stabilization. I'm curious: in most of the examples on your site you show the smartphone quite close to the shared surface. What's the maximum distance you've tested? Can I use it to share someone else's surface?
Our team is working on a very similar challenge: sharing any offline surface through real-time digitization. Check it out when you get the chance: https://sharetheboard.com
Love seeing more and more focus on real surfaces! Anything that brings us back to real whiteboards is welcome in my book. Keep up the great work!
Thanks alot! And same to you! sharetheboard looks cool =). The physical world has so many benefits, it's really such a waste not to use it.
We haven't really done any specific testing to figure out the max distance away from a surface to share. But it definitely works in room scale settings.
tear it to shreds, please: https://sharetheboard.com