In summary
Up until a few months ago I was mostly using Miro as my digital whiteboard tool of choice. I've now switched to Canva which is a general online design tool that has also a Whiteboard feature. It allows me to better re-purpose content and offers other great productivity hacks like one-click translations.
Why I'm switching to Canva
Cost: I'm already paying for Canva, so it makes one less subscription (plus Canva comes with Unlimited Whiteboards even in the free tier)
Translation: Canva makes it super easy to translate automatically documents to other languages
Repurposing: I can quickly turn the content from a whiteboard session to another format within the same tool.
Include whiteboards in presentations: if instead of starting directly a whiteboard you first start a presentation, you can then in Canva, turn one of the slides into a whiteboard. This allows you to integrate whiteboards within larger presentations.
Example of integrating whiteboards in presentations
Within a project presentation about a new concept, I could easily add the full Service Blueprint as a whiteboard that you can zoom in and out (as seen on slide 7).
I love this approach because it makes it possible to also inform people on "How to read a blueprint" before your giving them the access to the full blueprint, and it all stays within one master document for that project. So no: "where the fuck is that other file?" question.
Repurposing example
Let's take an example of how I re-purpose "workshop" sessions into communication pieces. Within the Salvation Army where I work at the moment, I helped facilitate a kickoff session for a new project.
This is how the Whiteboard looks in Canva:
Then I quickly took elements and copied them into a new "document".
From sticky note to translated image summary
With this document I was able to share the "key principles" that we're using in the project to verify that we're on track with the rest of the organization within the intranet.
As within the Salvation Army communication is multilingual having an embeded translation tool that gives you a first draft of a translation is a huge help. Obviously the translation needs rework, but it's helpful.
With this approach it helps me then share within the intranet of this big organization content that respect each culture and creates an open conversation about what's happening in the backstage.
Here how that looks like in an intranet post:
From sticky notes to video with animations
Using Descript, I then quickly shoot a short 1 minute video in Swiss German in which I added animated titles made from the same Canva file:
Where Canva sucks in comparaison to Miro
Canva is a general design tool, this means it does a lot well enough, but not perfectly. It can do presentations, flyers, videos, whiteboards, etc. Miro on the other hand is focused "just" on the whiteboard aspect. Here are the missing features in Canva that I loved in Miro
Auto text size: In the sticky notes in Miro, by default the text size adapts to the sticky note. In Canva you have to always set it by hand.
Focused interface for participants: when you open canva there are many things you can do, in Miro it clearly helps workshop participants to focus on adding sticky notes.