Sizing Up the Best White Board Apps
Kim Boyd and Kay Cole
FBISD Digital Learning Department
Objectives
Investigate the various features of seven
white board apps.
Practice using each app.
Explore content connections.
Doodle Buddy
App Icon
Free - Apple and Android
Draw, paint, stamps, stencils, text, and backgrounds
Upload photos or diagrams for annotating
Shared through email or save to Camera Roll
Doodle Buddy
Advantages:
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Easy to use
Kids like it
Visuals
Can turn off sounds
Disadvantages:
• Ads and in app purchases
• Only one page
• No record feature
• Lots of “distractors”
• Sometimes images load upside down
Content Connections:
• Counting
• Math Problems
• Water or Rock Cycle Diagram
• Patterns
Screen Chomp
App Icon
Free - Apple
Draw and write
Upload pictures from camera roll or Dropbox for annotating
Record voice and action on the screen
Saves as URL that can be shared by email or copying and pasting
Screen Chomp
Advantages:
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Easy to use
Records
Very simple interphase
URL easy to share on teacher website or Edmodo
Disadvantages:
• Not a lot of bells and whistles
• Unable to add text
• Only one page, but can scroll up and down
• Cannot save without recording
Content Connections:
• Math Problems
• Drawing in places on a map
• Science diagrams and processes
• Annotate sentences and paragraphs
ShowMe
App Icon
Free - Apple
Draw and write
Upload pictures or diagrams from camera roll or Internet for
annotating
Record voice and action on the screen
Share via URL or email
ShowMe
Advantages:
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Easy to use
Records
Multiple pages
Explore previously created ShowMes
Disadvantages:
• Must create an account to share (Teachers can create accounts for
students)
• Some options for paid accounts only – limited searches for web photos
and private vs. public
• Cannot finalize and share without recording
Content Connections:
• Timeline of events
• Types of angles
• Parts of an organ or organ system
• Art from various artists – label, describe, etc.
Educreations
App Icon
Free - Apple
Draw, write, and type
Upload pictures (Clip Art) and diagrams from camera roll, Dropbox,
or Google Drive for annotating
Record voice and action on the screen
Multiple pages and backgrounds
Share link via email, URL, or post to their site if logged in
Swipe with 2 fingers to scroll for more space
Educreations
Advantages:
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Records
Search for pictures (clip art) within app
Multiple Pages
Disadvantages:
• Must create an account to share (Teachers can create accounts for
students)
• Can only have one draft at a time
• Limited storage space unless upgrade to paid version
Content Connections:
• Graphing equations
• Newton’s Laws
• Compare and Contrast Branches of Government
• Story Map
Skitch
App Icon
Free - Apple and Android
Draw, write, type
Upload pictures, PDFs, Maps, or Web Pages
Annotate, spotlight, or blur out
Share via email or save to camera roll
Skitch
Advantages:
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Do not have to create an account
Syncs with Evernote
Multiple ways to share and save
Disadvantages:
• Unable to record
• Only one page
• Once in a note, cannot add additional photos, maps, PDFs, etc.
Content Connections:
• Evaluate a website
• Trace the path of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Annotate a primary source document
• Create a postcard or poster
Explain Everything
App Icon
$2.99 - Apple
Draw, write, add shapes, and laser pointer
Annotate, Animate, Narrate, Import, and Export
Import almost anything from anywhere
Export MP4 movies
No account necessary
Explain Everything
Advantages:
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Multiple pages or slides
Records audio and action on the screen
Multiple options for sharing, exporting, and importing
Merge two or more projects together
Too many to list all of them
Disadvantages:
• Cost
• Advanced functions
Content Connections:
• A Trip through the Digestive System
• Create videos that can be used for flipping or importing into other apps
• Real world examples of angles, lines, symmetry, etc.
• Create multimedia presentations
Baiboard
App Icon
Free - Apple, Android coming soon
Online Collaborative Whiteboard
No account necessary
Real-time interaction
Draw or write
Import Maps, PDFs, and Images
Baiboard
Advantages:
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Do not have to create an account
Real-Time Collaboration
Multiple Pages
Can save and share boards
Disadvantages:
• Users can delete items posted on the board
• Pages easily get too crowded
• Posts are anonymous
Content Connections:
• Collaborative Graphic Organizer
• Cause and Effect
• Brainstorming
• Analyzing photos
Contact Info
Kim Boyd
Digital Learning Specialist
Fort Bend ISD
kimberly.boyd@fortbendisd.com
Kay Cole
Digital Learning Specialist
Fort Bend ISD
kay.cole@fortbendisd.com