Bring lessons, staff meetings, and parent conferences to life with our new Whiteboard—a real-time, collaborative canvas built into your MySchool video conferencing tool (meet.myschooljamaica.com). It’s powered by Excalidraw, so drawing feels natural, fast, and easy.
What the Whiteboard lets you do
Co-create in real time: Draw, write, add shapes/arrows, and highlight ideas together.
Teach visually: Work through math problems, grammar, diagrams, mind maps—live.
Group activities: Brainstorm with students or plan with staff in a shared space.
Export your work: Save the board for later as an image or editable file.
Who can use it
Teachers & Staff: Can start and manage a whiteboard during any meeting.
Students & Guests: Can view and edit when allowed by the meeting host (recommended for classes and group work).
Tip: For large classes, keep editing rights to presenters initially, then invite students to contribute in turns.
How to use the Whiteboard (Step-by-Step)
Start a whiteboard
Join or start a meeting on meet.myschooljamaica.com.
Click More actions (⋯) or look on the main toolbar and select Whiteboard.
A new whiteboard opens in a panel. All participants can see it.
(Optional) If you want only teachers to draw at first, let students view only and grant edit access as needed.
Draw & annotate
Use the toolbar to select pen, shapes, text, eraser, and hand tool (move).
Hold Shift for straight lines; hold Alt/Option to draw from the center (for shapes).
Use Undo/Redo as you teach.
Share access
By default, meeting participants can view the board.
If you need tighter control, announce drawing turns or ask students to raise hands before editing.
Save or export
Click the Export option (usually in the whiteboard menu) to:
Export as PNG/SVG (image for sharing).
Export as editable
.excalidrawfile (so you can reopen and keep editing later).
Store exports in your class drive or attach them in your LMS/classwork.
Important: Whiteboards are not automatically stored long-term. Export anything you want to keep before ending the meeting.
Best practices for classrooms
Structure participation: Start with teacher-only edits, then invite students to annotate in small groups.
Use layers: Put your main problem or diagram first, then let students add answers on new elements or off to the side.
Color code: Agree on colors per group or per student to track contributions quickly.
Template sets: Keep commonly used diagrams handy and paste them onto new boards.
Recording & privacy notes
Recording: The whiteboard may not appear in cloud recordings unless it’s visible in the meeting layout the recorder captures. If you need a permanent copy, export the board.
Privacy: Use the whiteboard for classroom-appropriate content only. Avoid adding personal data (e.g., full names with grades) to the canvas itself; keep that in your gradebook/LMS.
Device & browser support
Works best on desktop browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox).
Touch devices (iPad/Android tablets) can draw, but a stylus is recommended for precision.
If the whiteboard feels slow, close extra tabs or switch off HD video while drawing.
Limits & performance
Designed for typical class sizes. For the smoothest experience, we recommend up to ~25 simultaneous editors (viewers can be higher).
Heavy use of images or very large canvases may affect performance—keep boards tidy and export/clear between activities.
Troubleshooting
I can’t find the Whiteboard button.
Refresh the page (Shift+Reload) and rejoin the meeting.
Ensure you’re using a modern browser (Chrome/Edge/Firefox).
Ask the host to confirm the feature is enabled for the meeting.
Edits aren’t syncing or others can’t see my changes.
Check your internet connection and rejoin.
If you’re on a restricted network, switch to a different connection or VPN if allowed.
Export isn’t downloading.
Make sure your browser allows downloads/pop-ups from meet.myschooljamaica.com.
Try exporting to PNG first; if very large, zoom out and retry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can students draw at the same time?
A: Yes. The host can allow collaborative editing; we suggest structured turns for large classes.
Q: Are whiteboards saved automatically?
A: Not by default. Export any board you want to keep before ending the session.
Q: Will the whiteboard show up in recordings?
A: Not guaranteed. Use Export for an accurate copy of the canvas.
Q: Can I reopen an exported board later?
A: Yes. Keep the .excalidraw file—you can reopen and continue editing in supported tools.
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