Microsoft Whiteboard is a collaborative digital canvas available to U of T instructors through Microsoft 365. It allows instructors and students to develop, organize, and share ideas using text, sticky notes, drawings, shapes, images, and other visual elements.
Whiteboard can support brainstorming, concept mapping, collaborative analysis, and group activities during or outside of class. It is available through a web browser and Microsoft Teams.
Getting Started with Microsoft Whiteboard
To access Microsoft Whiteboard:
- Sign in to Microsoft 365 using your U of T credentials.
- Select All apps, then select Whiteboard.
- Select New Whiteboard to create a board, or open an existing board.
- Use the available tools to add text, sticky notes, shapes, images, drawings, or templates.
- Give your Whiteboard a descriptive name so it can be identified and reused.
Whiteboards are saved automatically in Microsoft OneDrive. Instructors can return to existing boards to review or continue working on them.
For detailed instructions, consult Microsoft’s Whiteboard help and learning.
Support Collaborative Learning Activities
Microsoft Whiteboard provides a shared visual space where instructors and students can contribute ideas, examine relationships, and develop understanding together.
Whiteboard can support activities such as:
- Brainstorming: Gather ideas, questions, or initial responses to a topic.
- Concept mapping: Organize concepts and explore relationships between ideas.
- Collaborative analysis: Ask students to annotate images, diagrams, or other visual materials.
- Problem-solving: Work through a process, develop possible solutions, or compare approaches.
- Group synthesis: Bring together findings from small-group discussions and identify common themes.
- Reflection: Revisit initial ideas and revise them as understanding develops.
Instructors can prepare a board before class by adding prompts, organizing spaces for group contributions, or selecting an appropriate template. During the activity, students can add and move objects, contribute ideas, and discuss their thinking.
Consider whether the visual canvas supports the intended learning activity. For tasks that primarily involve extended writing or structured discussion, a shared document or Quercus Discussion may be more appropriate.
For teaching examples and guidance, consult Microsoft’s Whiteboard for educators.
Share and Manage Whiteboards
Instructors can share Whiteboards with students and colleagues for collaborative editing or viewing. Whiteboards can also be used during Microsoft Teams meetings.
Sharing a Whiteboard
To share a Whiteboard:
- Open the Whiteboard you want to share.
- Select Share.
- Review the available sharing options and choose whether participants can edit or view the board, where supported.
- Enter the email addresses of the intended participants or generate a sharing link, where available.
- Share the invitation or link with students through Quercus or another appropriate channel.
Whiteboards can also be shared during Microsoft Teams meetings to support collaborative activities. Participants can contribute to the board when they have the appropriate permissions.
Saving and Reusing Whiteboards
Whiteboards are saved automatically and can be revisited after an activity. Instructors can use them to continue discussions, review contributions, or prepare related activities.
Whiteboards can also be exported as images for reference or documentation.
Important: An exported image does not preserve the full accessibility or interactive functionality of the original Whiteboard. If students need to review the activity independently, provide an accessible text summary or another suitable format.
Whiteboard content shared during a Teams meeting is not necessarily captured in the meeting recording. If the board is important for students reviewing the session, share the relevant content separately.
Design Accessible and Inclusive Whiteboard Activities
Whiteboard can support collaborative visual learning, but an open canvas may be difficult for some students to navigate, interpret, or interact with. Instructors should consider how the activity will be structured and how students can participate using different technologies and approaches.
When designing Whiteboard activities, consider:
- Clear organization: Provide a labelled starting area and organize the board into manageable sections.
- Readable content: Use typed text, meaningful labels, and sufficient colour contrast. Avoid relying exclusively on handwriting, colour, or spatial placement to communicate information.
- Accessible objects: Use typed text, shapes, and other supported elements rather than relying entirely on freehand drawings. Add alternative text to informative images where supported.
- Clear instructions: Explain the purpose of the activity, how students should contribute, and how they can navigate the board.
- Flexible participation: Allow students to contribute through another format, such as a shared document, Quercus Discussion, or verbal contribution, when appropriate.
- Accessible summaries: Describe important visual relationships verbally and provide an accessible text summary of the activity when students need to review the content afterward.
- Student experience: Test the board and its sharing settings before class, including how students will access and interact with the activity.
Microsoft provides accessibility features for Whiteboard, including keyboard and screen reader support. However, accessibility and usability can vary depending on the content and interactions involved.
Whiteboard is one option for supporting collaborative learning. The choice of tool should reflect the learning purpose, students’ access needs, and the ways participants are expected to contribute.
For detailed guidance, consult Microsoft’s Whiteboard accessibility support.