Ask HN: Did the Pandemic Kill the Whiteboard? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Did the Pandemic Kill the Whiteboard?

#11

Post by marcind » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 11:30 AM UTC

coreyhn wrote: post #10

marcind wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please do! I love the exploration here. I think the interplay of offline-online is, generally, woefully underserved. I resisted the temptation to mention it earlier but I feel I must (if nothing else, to help with your continued exploration... and generosity of sharing your thoughts!), as it relates to this notion directly: it is, indeed, this interplay that underlies our team's product. Or, more broadly: a desire to…

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

Hello again. Have you had chance to continue your exploration?

Re: Ask HN: Did the Pandemic Kill the Whiteboard?

#12

Post by coreyhn » Wed, Jan 26, 2022, 1:20 AM UTC

marcind wrote: post #11

coreyhn wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

Hello again. Have you had chance to continue your exploration?

A bit. One thing I thought was interesting is when you are at a whiteboard and sharing digitally, you have to turn around and look at the camera all the time. It would be interesting if you mounted an ipad on the whiteboard so you could see the people you are talking to while also having the whiteboard shared over screenshare. Having an angled camera that would allow for the whiteboard to be picked up would then make sure it wasn’t blocked. Almost like the old overhead projectors where you were always facing the audience and the material you are writing.

Re: Ask HN: Did the Pandemic Kill the Whiteboard?

#13

Post by marcind » Wed, Jan 26, 2022, 4:03 PM UTC

coreyhn wrote: post #12

marcind wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hello again. Have you had chance to continue your exploration?

A bit. One thing I thought was interesting is when you are at a whiteboard and sharing digitally, you have to turn around and look at the camera all the time. It would be interesting if you mounted an ipad on the whiteboard so you could see the people you are talking to while also having the whiteboard shared over screenshare. Having an angled camera that would allow for the whiteboard to be picked up would then make…

Yes, the idea (at least in our app) was to mimic the experience of a real whiteboard, where your colleagues also tend to be behind you. The app also serves educators who in fact called out the resulting eye contact and visible body language as one of the key benefits.

We do have an answer for the "overhead scenario" though (we call it the "tutoring scenario"): rather than using a whiteboard, you point your external camera at your desk and share a piece of paper. Then you can all write on the shared surface while facing each other online.

Our original plan was to synchronize cameras with projectors and deliver a remote whiteboard-to-whiteboard experience. Tricky but we did it in lab conditions. Put it on the back burner though, given the much smaller market.

I do like the idea of facing the whiteboard and not having to turn around. I guess a simple hack for now might be to just video conference with your colleagues on your cell while the laptop/camera faces the board (and your back)? I'll play around with this.

Thanks for sharing. Please keep 'em coming!