Given how essential chalkboards and whiteboards have been to learning, it’s not surprising that interactive whiteboards are one of the most crowded categories in edtech. It’s a massive category with each app and tool offering a unique set of features that aim to turn a blank canvas into a place of creation, collaboration, feedback, and assessment. We gathered the most promising tools together and put them through their paces to help you decide which one is right for your teaching and learning needs. Below you’ll find our top choices for a few of the key uses of interactive whiteboards. If none of these work, explore the full list below.
Please note: Common Sense Education is a nonprofit with a strong commitment to an unbiased, in-depth editorial process. Our ratings and reviews of learning media aren't influenced by developers or funders, and we never receive payments or other compensation for our reviews.
Our selections
Best for collaboration and feedback
This beautiful and collaborative platform is useful for everything from workflow tasks to creative expression.
As long as you’re not looking to record videos or assign work, Miro is likely the tool for you. It’s free for teachers, available on any platform, and has a nice blend of ease of use and tons of features. It’s a perfect platform for collaborative work, allowing 100 people to work together and to assign tasks, conduct polls, chat, and offer quick feedback. It’s got tons of creative tools as well as a best-in-class content library full of useful templates that make projects so much easier. When you’re done you can export work as an image, PDF, spreadsheet, or even make your creation into a template.
Best for video lessons, flipped classrooms, and virtual instruction
The paid version strikes a perfect balance of features, offering options without going overboard.
If you or your students want to use a whiteboard to create instructional content or demonstrate learning, Explain Everything is as good as it gets. While it might be a bit more complex than some competitors, it’s got a best-in-class editing tool for crafting your recordings. It’s an ideal tool for flipped classrooms or hybrid/virtual learning scenarios where sharing pre-recorded whiteboard sessions is key. Teacher trainers will also want to give it a look.
Best for younger students
This handy tool encourages collaboration and creativity, and it makes sharing assignments and giving feedback a snap.
Most tools on this list can be adapted for younger students, but Drawp is designed for them. While you’re gonna need to pay for it, this might be worth the cost since it focuses on facilitating flow of assignments from teacher to student and back again in a way perfect for younger students who need more support. It’s also set up for collaboration and accessibility, allowing students to send their projects to each other and to contribute text, images, audio, and more.
Quick and easy option
Great collaborative tool for groups, whether remote or in person.
Sometimes you just need to get people together quickly and sketch, post stickies, and collaborate on a simple project – like you would in a classroom or office around a whiteboard. That’s Google Jamboard. It’s free and simple to use with a limited but functional feature set focused on generating and organizing ideas. If you use Google Meet, you can also launch it directly from your video call.
Compare the tools
| Grades | 8–12 | 3–12 | Pre-K–12 | 4–12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free, Paid | Free to try | Free |
| Privacy | ||||
| Platforms | Web, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android | Web, Android, Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch | Android, iPad, Web, Chrome, Mac | Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Kindle Fire, Web |
| Pros | Impressive library of time-saving templates. Useful for in-person and distance learning. | Detailed editing of recordings. Real-time collaboration. Cloud saves. | Cloud storage and integration with Google Classroom. Students can input audio, text, and images. | Students can pull files from Google Drive and use Google Meet to live chat and discuss. |
| Cons | Big learning curve, so designing useful content will take time. | Can't easily switch microphone source. No infinite canvas. Less intuitive than competitors. | It'll take time to convert your curriculum. Similar products available for free. Lesson search could be improved. | Lacks ability to add media content such as music and videos. |
| Bottom Line | This beautiful and collaborative platform is useful for everything from workflow tasks to creative expression. | The paid version strikes a perfect balance of features, offering options without going overboard. | This handy tool encourages collaboration and creativity, and it makes sharing assignments and giving feedback a snap. | Great collaborative tool for groups, whether remote or in person. |
| Read our review | Read our review | Read our review | Read our review |
How We Rate
Our recommendations are based on a research-backed rubric we use to rate apps and websites. Here are just a few sample criteria from this rubric:
About Our Review Process
Common Sense Education is editorially independent, nonprofit, and research-backed. Our team of editors and reviewers—all current or former educators and/or researchers—look at dozens of products before choosing a select few for deeper evaluation and consideration. Each product goes through a rigorous evaluative process by both a reviewer and an editor. This involves hands-on testing (including in some cases in classrooms or other real scenarios), rating according to our research-backed rubric, communication with developers and other educators, and finally a written review. We also consult our vast library of from-the-field reviews submitted by practicing educators. Learn more or request a product review.
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