As more organizations embrace remote and hybrid work, digital whiteboards have become a valuable tool for collaboration, facilitation, and learning. Whether you're leading a training session, strategic planning meeting, workshop, or retreat, virtual whiteboards help participants capture ideas, organize information, and work together in real time.
The best platform for your team depends on how you plan to use it. Some tools excel at brainstorming and visual collaboration, while others offer simplicity, accessibility, or easy integration with your existing technology ecosystem.
How We Evaluate Collaboration Tools
At Training Resources Group, we often use digital whiteboards when facilitating meetings, training programs, and retreats with clients around the world. These interactions are frequently one-time events, can be virtual or hybrid, sometimes involve sensitive topics, and often include participants with varying levels of technical experience. But what tool is best? We typically evaluate collaboration tools using the following criteria:
- Public Accessibility: Does editing access require users to log into the tool?
- Ease of Use: How complex is the tool? How much time will it take to orient users to it?
- Editing Permissions: Are you able to lock certain components of your board so guest editors can’t interact with portions that were not intended for them to edit?
- Bandwidth: Will users in low-bandwidth environments be able to use the tool?
- Mobile-friendly: Particularly in hybrid use environments (i.e., some users are online and others in person), having a mobile-friendly tool for the in-person participants to pull up on their phones can be important.
If our use case sounds similar to yours, keep reading and we’ll dive into three of our favorite virtual collaboration tools: Miro, Padlet (specifically its Sandbox functionality), and PowerPoint or Google Slides. Read on to learn about their key features and find the best fit for your needs.
Miro
Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard platform that offers a wide array of features that go beyond basic brainstorming. It’s ideal for more complex project planning and management and excels in using artificial intelligence to unite teams.
Cost
Miro offers a free basic plan, but the functionality is pretty limited, so you’ll likely need to purchase at least their Starter plan, which is $8 per month per member.
Considerations
Top features:
- Supports a variety of formats, including text, images, videos, and sticky notes.
- Multiple users can work simultaneously from different locations.
- Easy integration with other tools like Asana, Slack, and Jira.
- Provides more than 300 customizable templates.
- Has AI-powered tools that can generate diagrams, simplify data, and more.
Cons:
- New users may find the interface overwhelming.
- Advanced features, including inviting collaborators to boards without sign in, require a paid subscription.
Padlet
Padlet is an interactive platform for organizing, sharing, and collaborating on content. It’s best known for its user-friendly interface, making it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise. The drag-and-drop functionality, customizable features, and real-time updates contribute to its ease of use and versatility. Additionally, Padlet has recently introduced Sandbox as a tool that emulates core Jamboard functionalities and can even import Jamboards.
Cost
Padlet offers a variety of plans, starting with a free account. For more functionality, including the ability to create more than three boards at a time, there are gold ($6.99 per month) and platinum ($9.99 per month) plans, along with team, classroom, and school accounts.
Considerations
Top features:
- Supports a variety of formats, including text, images, videos, and sticky notes.
- Multiple users can work simultaneously from different locations.
- Easy integration with other tools like Asana, Slack, and Jira.
- Provides more than 300 customizable templates.
- Has AI-powered tools that can generate diagrams, simplify data, and more.
Cons:
- New users may find the interface overwhelming.
- Advanced features, including inviting collaborators to boards without sign in, require a paid subscription.
PowerPoint OR Slides
Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides are widely used and known for features in creating, editing, and slideshows. While they're not necessarily made to be used like a virtual whiteboard, they provide a nice option to consider because most users have some familiarity with PowerPoint or Slides and it’s easy to recreate whiteboard-like functionality. We've created these templates!
Cost
PowerPoint is included with any Microsoft license. Slides is included with any Google Workspace subscription.
Considerations
Top features:
- Allows users to create slides with text, graphics, charts, and multimedia elements.
- Offers a wide range of design tools and templates.
- Seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft Office or Google applications.
- Provides animation and transition effects to create dynamic presentations.
- Flexibility to create your own version of a whiteboard on slides.
Cons:
- Learning curve for advanced features.
- Primarily designed for linear presentations, and less flexible for spontaneous brainstorming.
Conclusion
Miro, Padlet Sandbox, and PowerPoint/Slides offer a variety of solutions for digital collaboration and brainstorming. If you want to explore more options, check out Mural, similar to Miro, or Microsoft Whiteboard, ideal for teams heavily relying on Microsoft products, or integrated whiteboards available in platforms like Zoom.
Ultimately, the best choice for you depends on your organization’s specific needs, preferences, and existing technology infrastructure. Evaluate these factors with your team to determine which tool aligns best with your current and future projects.
If you'd like support designing engaging virtual experiences or selecting the right collaboration tools for your team, reach out to us at TRG. We'd be happy to help!
