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I would like to share my situation with you: I want to a teach geographically-distanced person some mathematics. I've been trying to explain things over the phone, but I feel that visual explanations would be more helpful. That person only has an Android smartphone (no laptop/PC). Do you know of any collaborative whiteboard app where we will be able to sketch together (online)?

A few preferences:

  • I don't have a smartphone. It would be awesome if said app will be multi-platform. I.e. I will use a browser application and/or a Windows application, and the other person will use an Android smartphone.
  • If you only know of an app that requires two smartphones, you can also mention it. (It will be less comfortable for me as I'll have to borrow a smartphone from a family member, but perhaps it will still help someone else.)
  • If said app will be more math-savvy, that will be a big plus. (E.g. instead of just scribbling with a virtual pen on the whiteboard, it will be great to be able to draw tables and geometric shapes, write text, etc.) The mathier, the better.
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Not quite a collaborative whiteboard but a couple of resources that I think will be invaluable in the distance learning/teaching field. All of them are free and cross platform.

  • Google Docs allows collaborative working and you can insert equations, etc.
  • iPython Notebooks allow you to mix runnable code, charts, text, rich media & maths: iPython Example
  • nbViewer allows you to render shared notebooks into static pages that can be viewed on any web enabled device.
  • plotly allows you to create plots complete with LaTeX markup and share them.
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TeamViewer + GeoGebra

TeamViewer is a cross-platform screen sharing software. It has a built in whiteboard, but it might be better to use another application for that such as GeoGebra or any of the ones in Steve's answer. You can find the PC and mobile versions here:

You can start a session using the Meeting tab and give your student the meeting ID so they could join. You can also choose which specific windows to share with them using the share button that TeamViewer adds to your applications (next to the minimize button)

GeoGebra is also a cross-platform application. It can be downloaded Windows or ran on a web browser using Google Drive. It can be used for algebra and geometry, and it has straightforward plotting tools.

The problem with the above setup is that sharing is essentially one-way. The student would not be able to contribute, unless you give them remote control over your mouse, which is also a feature in TeamViewer. That would allow them to move the cursor around using the touch screen.

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Check out Whiteboard Fox - you can use just about any browser on any computer or tablet or smartphone. No math-specific stuff but you can import images (eg. of equations) easily

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I recommend Ziteboard, the online virtual whiteboard for math tutors. It runs any devices with a browser, including Android smart phones. The web app has useful features for math tutoring, like the graphing calculator synced in real time:

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