According to the new normal, the frequency of using collaboration and remote work tools such as Trello, Slack, Notion, Webex, and Zoom is increasing. But are there other specialized tools you can use to collaborate remotely based on more complex ideas?
Digital whiteboard apps are used for that purpose.
Many of the digital whiteboard solutions are aimed at educational professionals, but they are also useful for all knowledge workers who want to explain something, and for group collaboration within a team.
All seven apps introduced in this article support iPad (most of them also support iPhone), and some offer native Mac clients. It also supports other platforms in many cases.
For reference, if you're a Mac user with an M1 Mac (i.e. a fantastic Mac mini), you might have to lobby app developers to support the M1 Mac. If the iPad app is available in the Mac App Store equipped with an Apple chip, it is indicated separately. Most of these apps support Apple Pencil, but it's a good idea to visit the developer's website to see if they have the features you need.
InVision
Available as an iOS app on the iPad, iPhone, and Mac app stores,
Invision is a powerful, feature-rich solution tailored to support brainstorming and digital product design. In addition to the standard digital whiteboard functionality, it offers numerous tools, including the ability to present and mirror files on any device and collaboration.
Anyone can add text, upload files (including Photoshop and Sketch files), add shapes, and more. There is also a presentation mode that makes the point clear. It integrates with industry-standard solutions including Slack, Photoshop, Sketch, and Team. It is free for up to three people, and for more, there is a monthly fee of $7.95 per user. There is a corporate rate system.
Miro
Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, Web With a
variety of powerful drawing tools, rich templates, and colorful integration with third-party apps through the Labyrinth Marketplace, Miro allows you to create high-quality whiteboards, brainstorms, and presentations across an infinite number of canvases. It is also useful for existing brainstorming. You can invite collaborators using email or Slack, and chat with collaborators in real-time or asynchronously within the app. (This feature costs $10 per month.)
Labyrinth has more than 10 million users and is used by several of the world's largest companies. Prices range from free to $16 per user per month.
IPEVO Annotator
IPEVO Annotator, available in iOS and Mac app stores, is an interactive whiteboard tool with full functionality. It provides drawing, pen, figure, stamp tools, useful editing tools, and the ability for two users to work at the same time. The true value of this solution lies in the document presentation and real-time markup tools, but it is somewhat inconvenient when using a mouse because there is no test input.
IPEVO annotators are really useful when developing ideas and collaborating on documents. The price is also free.
Explain Everything
Used by iPad/iOS, Android, Chromebook, and web apps by Apple (but why doesn't it support M1 Mac?), Explain Everything is a powerful whiteboard solution suitable for both offline and online use. It provides tools to draw, express, and animate ideas, and you can connect with others from virtually any device and collaborate in real-time or asynchronously. You can also record and share sessions.
Up to three projects are free and paid plans start at $6.99 per month.
Inko
Inko, a collaborative whiteboard that allows you to collaborate with others through iPad/iOS and Mac Apple devices, is lightweight and equipped with various functions. It's one of the best apps for brainstorming and creative projects, or for adding interactive elements to online meetings. Remote collaboration ($3.99 per month), collaboration over LAN ($1.99 per month) is possible and can host up to eight participants in an encrypted collaboration session. Thanks to the use of Metal, drawing is sharp, fast, and provides a virtual pointer tool that can accurately point to an object.
GoodNotes
Good Notes for iPad, iOS, and Mac are powerful writing solutions that include note and document sharing capabilities beyond whiteboards. Since it provides a handwriting recognition function, even notes handwritten using an Apple Pencil becomes searchable data. It provides PDF and PowerPoint annotation tools and a nested folder-based file system. It can be used as a powerful project workbook and compatibility solution through various other tools.
ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard
Available on the iPad and Mac App Store, Show Me Interactive Whiteboard is a simple, free whiteboard solution that provides the ability to create, record, and share whiteboard tutorials. Although its features are very limited compared to other apps, it is a simple and inexpensive whiteboard that complements Zoom Meeting or FaceTime Chat. Costs are added according to in-app purchases, but the price is quite expensive compared to the features you get. Buy Show Me Premium ($79.99) to share items and upload more content in private study groups.
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