If you’re similar to me and have had to adjust to working remotely and attending online meetings, chances are you’ve been using Zoom frequently. One of the obstacles I encountered was trying to effectively annotate on a whiteboard during a Zoom meeting. Annotation enables you to sketch and write on the screen, facilitating collaboration and idea-sharing with your colleagues. In this piece, I will walk you through the steps of annotating on a whiteboard in Zoom, while also providing some personal suggestions and techniques.
Step 1: Start a Zoom Meeting
To begin, open Zoom and start a meeting by either joining an existing one or creating a new meeting. Once you’re in the meeting, you should see various controls at the bottom of the screen.
Step 2: Share Your Screen
In order to use the whiteboard feature, you need to share your screen with the meeting participants. To do this, click on the “Share Screen” button located in the meeting controls at the bottom. A window will pop up showing your available screens or applications to share. Choose the screen where you want to use the whiteboard and click on it to select it, then click the “Share” button.
Step 3: Open the Whiteboard
Once you’ve shared your screen, you’ll see a new toolbar at the top of the screen. Click on the “View Options” button, which looks like an arrow pointing up, and select “Whiteboard” from the drop-down menu. This will open the Whiteboard feature in a new window.
Step 4: Annotate on the Whiteboard
Now that you have the Whiteboard open, you can start annotating! The toolbar on the left side of the screen contains various tools such as pen, highlighter, and text. You can use the pen tool to draw freehand, the highlighter to emphasize specific areas, and the text tool to type text directly onto the whiteboard.
Here are a few personal touches and commentary from my experience:
– Experiment with different colors and line thicknesses to make your annotations stand out. It can help to color-code different ideas or use thicker lines for headings.
– If you make a mistake or want to erase something, simply click on the “Eraser” tool in the toolbar and erase your annotations by clicking and dragging over them.
– To save your annotations, click on the “Save” button in the toolbar. You can choose to save the whiteboard as an image file or export it as a PDF.
– Don’t be afraid to get creative with your annotations! Add emojis, arrows, or even hand-drawn illustrations to make your ideas more engaging and memorable.
Conclusion
Learning how to annotate on the whiteboard in Zoom can greatly enhance your online meetings and collaboration efforts. By following the steps outlined in this article and exploring different annotation techniques, you’ll be able to effectively convey your ideas and engage with your team in a more interactive way. So, the next time you find yourself in a Zoom meeting, give the whiteboard feature a try and see how it can take your collaboration to the next level.