The whiteboard is an incredibly versatile tool. You can use it to brainstorm, diagram, or outline an idea. “A whiteboard application allows users to collaborate remotely through technology as though they’re participating in an in-person whiteboarding session” as per experts at Vibe.
It’s easy to start a whiteboarding session with no plan and end with something that’s much more structured than when you started. But before you get into the nitty gritty of using your whiteboard effectively in the classroom, let’s go over some basic techniques that will help make everything easier.
Use each wipe of the board as a way to break down an idea
One of the best ways to use whiteboards is to break down ideas into smaller components. Whiteboarding isn’t just about presenting information, it’s also about understanding and visualizing data in new ways. One way you can do this is by using each wipe as a way to explain, show relationships between concepts, or even show how two processes interact with one another.
Don’t erase your mistakes, use them to explain your thinking process
Another benefit of whiteboarding is that it allows you to explain your thinking process. If you make a mistake, take advantage of it as an opportunity to show how you approached the problem and why you made the mistake. This can help students learn from their mistakes and will also demonstrate what they need to do in order to avoid making similar errors in their own work.
Use a marker color that contrasts with the background color of your whiteboard
You can take this one step further by using a highlighter to draw attention to key points. Highlighting is a great way to make important information stand out, especially if you have a lot of content on your whiteboard and want to make sure that your audience knows where they should be looking. Use different colors for different types of highlighting. For example:
- Use yellow or orange for questions;
- Use green or blue for answers;
- Use red or blue for examples (in case there are multiple examples).
Mindfulness is a great way to get your students engaged and committed to their learning
- Mindfulness is a great way to get your students engaged and committed to their learning.
- When you are mindful, you pay attention to what’s happening right now in your own body, feelings and mind. This means that instead of thinking about the past or future, you’re able to focus on the current moment.
- Mindfulness allows both teachers and students the opportunity to hone in on what they are doing at any given time by reducing distractions from outside sources such as phones or other people talking nearby; this also helps them focus more on each other during collaborative activities like whiteboarding together!
Ask great questions. It gives you more time to think about how to respond, and it gets students thinking about their answer, too
Ask great questions. It gives you more time to think about how to respond, and it gets students thinking about their answer, too.
Open questions are the best kind of question to ask in a whiteboard lesson. You want your students asking themselves these types of questions as they think through their answers:
- What do they know?
- How do they find out?
- Why is it right or wrong?
The whiteboard is a powerful tool for learning, so don’t be afraid to use it! There are many different techniques you can try, but the most important thing is that your students feel engaged and committed to their own learning.