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So I am a single individual and do not have access to any university schemes related to my issue.

I would like to be able to use my wacom device (an pen that allows me to write down on the computer) so that I am able to handwrite equations etc to my students.

I also need to be able to conference with more than one student, but typically less than five.

Last but not least while video conferencing I want to be able to handwrite (like in a blackboard) so that all the students will be able to see in real time what I am handwriting on the "blackboard"

If possible (but not necessary in case it excludes solutions you may have in mind) I would like that black board to be interactive so that students can draw on it as well.

Also since I am a single individual the software or service has either to be free or at a "consumer service" price I am not able to spent e.g 300$ a month for such a service.

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    There is a selection of online whiteboard services. Have you tried any of them? Do they solve your problem?
    – Dmitry Savostyanov
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 18:15
  • @Dmitry Savostyanov English is not my native language and I struggle to find such a service especially since most of the ones I found are either described very vaguely and require you to post an inquiry or are very expensive obviously aimed at institutions none of the ones I found mention this "blackboard" functionality they may have it but I couldnt see that feature explicitly stated in the website that's why I tried my luck here :)
    – papajo
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 18:22
  • I use whiteboardfox.com for collaborative hand-writing.
    – Dmitry Savostyanov
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 19:16
  • Zoom has such a functionality (they call it "whiteboard") and it is not too expensive (14€ per month or 140€ per year).
    – Denis Nardin
    Commented Oct 12, 2020 at 7:28

2 Answers 2

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For the video conferencing software, I recommend Discord. It was started in the gaming community. When we all went online in March, several of the students in one of my classes suggested it, and I went with it.

It's very good for low-bandwidth voice channels, and also allows screen-sharing. The only downside is that it only allows 25 people to see the screen share at once.

To get around that, a colleague of mine streams his video feed to Twitch (another gaming site).

As far as drawing, I use Microsoft's OneNote software. Its drawing allows my to use my Wacom tablet to write on top of PDFs that I upload into it.

Below is a still from one of my video lectures, showing my (awful) handwriting on top of a PDF in OneNote. This was streamed to YouTube for recording purposes, but most of the students were watching live.

enter image description here

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    Thanks a lot for the response, this would be my plan B (I thought something similar with OBS and twitch) since it does not allow (at least as far as I understand correct me if I am wrong) for the participants to e.g ask a question while I draw something on screen. As for the number of the participants it wont be an issue I think since usually I have classes of less than 5
    – papajo
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 19:10
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    @papajo Yes, I use Streamlabs OBS to compose the display (the icon in the top left and the mini-me in the bottom right). That also lets me stream directly to YouTube. The main reason for that, as I said, is for recording purposes. Some students need to miss lectures, and this way they get to review them afterwards.
    – Peter K.
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 19:23
  • Note though that Discord can be very confusing to people who aren't very technical. A great suggestion for a math or CS department, but it might be more challenging with other students
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 19:42
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    @AzorAhai--hehim I find Discord less confusing than MS Teams to use, and most institutional users (business) go the Teams route....
    – Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 20:25
  • @BrianTompsett-汤莱恩 I've never used Teams, I don't know anyone who does. So I can't speak to that. But among my friends, it's clear the gamer-y and CS types find Discord much easier to use than my non-techy friends.
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 20:30
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I agree with Peter K and also have used Discord in a teaching situation, but also MS Teams which my institution uses.

I use the video and screen sharing capabilities of these in conjunction with OpenBoard which is free and designed for online teaching and should work well with the tablet.

enter image description here

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  • Ooh. I might have to look at OpenBoard. Thanks for the tip! :-)
    – Peter K.
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 19:21

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