Enhanced whiteboard tools coming to Collaborate in August

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 10:30:40 -0400
active-learning, collaborate, fa2021, online-learning, ultra-update, whiteboard

A whiteboard is an important pedagogical tool to support handwritten expression and annotation, especially in a virtual classroom. Over the last year, Blackboard has been redesigning the whiteboard tool for Collaborate to provide more comprehensive tools and functionality. These new whiteboard tools are expected in time for FA2021 courses.

When files or a blank whiteboard are shared in Collaborate, instructors can use annotation tools to edit and mark up the document during the live session. The enhanced functionality includes:

Draw freehand on the page with various colors, thickness, and opacity. Select the eraser to remove annotations. You can erase parts of a freehand drawing with the eraser or select the Delete icon to delete the whole drawing.

Add text directly on the page. You can move, edit, and change the text and select the font, size, alignment, and color of the text.

Draw shapes including Line, Arrow, Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Polyline. Each shape has its own settings to change the color, width, opacity, and more.

Highlight text on a shared file. You can also strikethrough, underline, squiggle, or comment on the highlighted section. Note: The highlighter is not available on the whiteboard.

In addition to annotation persistence, which allows you to retain markups on a whiteboard even after closing the whiteboard, the new tool will support moving the whiteboard or shared file on the page as well as zooming and adjusting the view to automatically fit the width. Group annotations on a whiteboard will also be saved. Even a multi-page whiteboard is possible!

Please review the updated FAQ for more information about the new whiteboard tools or RSVP for the What's New in Collab for Teaching & Learning webinar on August 16.

[Video]

View this 6:42 minute overview of the new whiteboard tools.

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

PIVOT | Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources

Check our extensive FAQ collection

What’s new in Ultra? | Known Issues