When i first saw that this search term had appeared on the site my initial reaction was “You’ll be lucky!” It’s very rare that I ever come across anyone offering a Free Interactive Whiteboard! Then I got thinking… What if we could have a free, online interactive whiteboard? Perhaps we already have a board but don’t like the software it came with. What then? I’ve done some digging and here are some examples of IWBs that are free (but without hardware!)
Web based -collaborative whiteboards:
I’ve come across three web applications that are definitely worth a mention.
- 1. Dabbleboard
Import Pdf, Docs and other files and write over the top of them
Dabbleboard runs in your web browser and, just like the other two web applications in this list, requires the Internet in order for it to work. The application also includes built in voice and video chat ( Via Tokbox)so you could feasibly connect more than one classroom together to work on the same idea. It allows you to import PDFs, DOCs and excel sheets directly into it – so that you can annotate them.
You can have multiple pages and navigate between them. There is a small gallery of down loadable items available although this is not in anyway extensive. You can add your own drawings to your library and use them again later.
Basic pen functionality is possible with pen, highlighter and eraser along with the options of changing colour and size. It also has built in shape and line recognition.
It’s very easy to use too 
2. Scriblink.
The Maths tools in ScribLink are excellent!
Scriblink looks great. It also has VOIP built in and the usual basic tool pen functionality. It doesn’t have shape recognition but it does allow you to draw perfect circles and squares. You can not import a document to work on but you can import your own images.
The best thing about this particular application is it’s integrated use of STIMO maths tools. These beat Promethean’s paid for software hands down! A plug in from LaTex allows maths teachers to create both complex and simple mathematic equations and then drop them onto the page. (It would be possible to use LaTex’s tool online and drop the result straight into Activ Inspire /Notebook if you wished to)
The usual functions of print, save, send are available making it easy for you to keep and share notes with your students/participants. Only caters for one page. You must have Java installed on your machine to use this application.
3. Group Board.
There are 8 people in this conversation. The Chat applet is reminiscent of MIRC
Group board requires that you have your own website and some basic web editing tools; it would be great on something like a VLE or Wiki.
There are two options, Single user or Group Mode. There’s a demo version you can play with here. When I popped in I got chatting to some very talented artists who were “doodling” on the board.
Pages can be saved to a gallery to be accessed (and modified) later by other users. You must have Java installed on your machine to use this application.
This is also available as an Iphone / I pad app.
Other Online Whiteboards:
http://www.imaginationcubed.com/
Freeware and Shareware Interactive Whiteboard Software:
Coming soon…
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