Sure…most meetings can be an email. But there’s one type of meeting that requires face-to-face interaction: the brainstorm. While working from home, brainstorming still needs to happen. It’s a break from the tedium of PowerPoint and it’s an opportunity to give our creativity a place to expand.
So what do you need to brainstorm virtually? Most video conferencing apps, including Zoom and Microsoft Teams have a whiteboarding feature. But you need something to draw with. Now here’s where most people get stuck: no one can/wants to draw with a mouse or trackpad. A Wacom tablet is the perfect tool to virtually whiteboard.
Which Wacom tablet is best for digital whiteboarding?
Wacom One is perfect for digital brainstorming and annotating docs.
If you want to draw on screen while you whiteboard digitally, and annotate docs while you’re at it, Wacom One is the perfect tool. The pen never needs charging and it’s designed to be comfortable to write on: no sticky, cold screens that you normally experience. Buy it at Wacom estore.
For those who want to experiment with digital whiteboarding, but aren’t ready to draw on screen, try a Wacom Intuos. Like the Wacom One, the pen never needs charging. It’s also light and small, so it’s easy to throw it in a backpack if you’re ready to move the home office from the dining room to the kitchen. Purchase this one at Wacom estore.
How do you whiteboard digitally?
Select the InVision app.
Now you’re ready to draw with your team.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams requires users to add a plugin to the platform. Here at Wacom, we’re using the inVision plugin. You need to sign up for InVision to add the plugin to your various chats, groups or meetings, but once you do all of the people within the chat can whiteboard together at once. You can do some sketch noting, or visual thinking while others expand on your ideas.
Zoom
Zoom includes a whiteboard feature right out of the box, but it’s a bit tricky to find. Here are instructions on how to access it.
1) When you are in a meeting, click on the share icon in the controls. It’s right in the middle in-between “Manage Participants” and “Chat.”
2) A dialog box will open up. Select the option that says “whiteboard.”
Now you can brainstorm on your very own whiteboard. Don’t worry about losing a great idea – there’s an option in the bottom right corner that allows you to open a new whiteboard.
You could use a trackpad or mouse in either of these applications, but chances are, your ideas are less likely to flow as smoothly and the end results may not be ready for primetime with colleagues or clients. Instead, try drawing with a Wacom. The Wacom Intuos is a great price and it comes with three free pieces of creative software, including Clip Studio Paint. The Wacom One is perfect for anyone who wants to draw on the screen. And, when you’ve clocked out for the day, you can hand either off to a student who needs to do their math or find a creative outlet with digital art.
We’re here to help
In the past few weeks, we have received many questions around working, learning, teaching and creating from home. We decided to collect all the information we have around some of the most pressing questions and share them on the Wacom Blog with you.
For more information on Wacom One, please check out the Wacom e-store. When you consider buying a new pen tablet or display, do keep an eye on our current discounts and promotions as well as the refurbished products.
