In the modern classroom, whiteboard tools have become essential for facilitating collaboration and engagement, whether in online or in-person environments.

These tools enable educators to visualize concepts, brainstorm ideas, and promote a more interactive learning experience.

Among the various digital whiteboarding tools available today, two of the most popular options are Miro and FigJam.

Both platforms offer powerful features that have the potential to transform the way students and teachers interact, regardless of whether they are in a traditional classroom or a virtual setting. However, each tool has its own unique strengths, which makes it crucial for educators to understand the differences between them.

In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the features, pricing, AI functionalities, and educational applications of both tools.

Our goal is to help educators determine which platform best suits their needs based on their specific teaching style, classroom environment, and learning objectives.

What is FigJam?

FigJam, developed by Figma, is an intuitive and easy-to-use collaborative whiteboard designed to streamline ideation sessions, brainstorming, and group activities.

It provides a range of features that make collaboration simple and engaging, making it a popular choice for educators who want to encourage creativity in their classrooms.

FigJam's design focuses on reducing complexity and promoting collaboration, which is particularly effective in creative projects, design thinking exercises, and group brainstorming sessions. Its simple interface and playful features make it accessible to students of all ages.

FigJam emphasizes fostering an enjoyable atmosphere in the classroom through fun elements like emojis and stickers.

Additionally, the platform's templates and drawing tools allow for quick setup of classroom activities, which can be highly beneficial for teachers who need to save time during lesson preparation.

Ideal Users for FigJam

FigJam is designed to cater to the needs of design-focused teams, making it an ideal tool for:

• UX/UI Designers: Who require a collaborative platform for brainstorming and prototyping, enabling them to visualize and iterate on design concepts quickly.
• Product Managers: Who need to facilitate effective communication and collaboration among team members, ensuring that everyone is aligned on project goals and progress.
• Design Educators and Learners: Who want to create interactive and engaging learning experiences, using FigJam's tools to make lessons more dynamic and participatory.
• Freelancers and Small Teams: Who require a cost-effective and efficient collaboration tool that supports their creative processes and project management needs.

Use Cases for FigJam

FigJam is suitable for a variety of use cases, including:

• Brainstorming Sessions: FigJam's freehand drawing tools and voting plugin make it an excellent choice for generating and refining ideas. Teams can quickly sketch out concepts, vote on the best ideas, and build on each other's input.
• Project Planning: FigJam's customizable templates and real-time collaboration features enable teams to plan and manage projects efficiently. Whether you're mapping out a project timeline or organizing tasks, FigJam provides the structure needed for detailed project planning.
• Design Sprints: FigJam's timers and interactive cursors facilitate efficient and productive design sprints. Teams can stay on track and ensure that each phase of the sprint is completed within the allotted time.
• Educational Workshops: FigJam's interactive features and seamless integration with Figma make it an ideal tool for creating engaging learning experiences. Educators can use FigJam to conduct workshops that are both informative and interactive, keeping students engaged and actively participating.

What is Miro?

Miro platform is a versatile and feature-rich digital whiteboarding tool designed to facilitate structured collaboration and engagement.

With a wide variety of tools and integrations, Miro is suitable for both synchronous and asynchronous learning activities. Its advanced features make it ideal for educators who require a more powerful platform to support diverse teaching styles and complex content.

Miro's flexibility allows it to adapt to various educational settings, whether it's a remote classroom, hybrid learning environment, or in-person collaborative session.

Miro is especially beneficial for educators who need a platform capable of managing more detailed and complex content. Its multimedia embedding capabilities, presentation mode, and extensive toolset make it a preferred choice for subjects that require in-depth exploration.

With Miro, teachers can create comprehensive lesson plans that incorporate a mix of visual aids, multimedia resources, and structured collaboration tools, ultimately enhancing the overall learning experience.

Ideal Users for Miro

Miro is designed to cater to a wide variety of users, making it a versatile tool for:

• Educators and Trainers: Who need a platform capable of creating structured, multimedia-rich lessons that cater to different learning styles. Miro's advanced features make it ideal for in-depth exploration and organized lesson planning.
• Corporate Teams and Project Managers: Who require advanced tools for project management, team collaboration, and workflow visualization. Miro's integrations with other platforms and comprehensive whiteboarding tools make it perfect for managing large projects.
• Product Development Teams: Who benefit from Miro's extensive capabilities for brainstorming, planning, and prototyping. Its ability to embed multimedia and use various templates facilitates product design and cross-functional collaboration.
• Facilitators and Workshop Organizers: Who need an interactive platform to conduct workshops and seminars. Miro's presentation mode, voting tools, and real-time collaboration features help make workshops engaging and effective.

Use Cases for Miro

Miro is suitable for a range of use cases, including:

• Lesson Planning and Delivery: Miro's multimedia embedding and presentation mode make it an excellent tool for educators who want to create engaging lesson plans. Teachers can guide students through complex topics using visual aids and embedded videos to enhance understanding.
• Team Collaboration and Project Management: Miro's pre-built templates and integration capabilities make it ideal for team collaboration, whether it's for planning a project, setting milestones, or managing tasks. The platform provides a shared space for teams to visualize progress and stay aligned.
• Brainstorming and Ideation: Miro's sticky notes, clustering tools, and AI features allow teams to brainstorm effectively. Participants can add their ideas in real time, and AI-powered clustering helps categorize and organize thoughts for focused discussion.
• Workshops and Interactive Training: Miro is well-suited for conducting workshops, training sessions, and interactive seminars. Its features such as voting and polling tools, as well as real-time collaboration, help keep participants engaged and ensure that everyone's input is captured.

FigJam vs Miro: Functionality

FigJam Functionality

FigJam offers an intuitive, easy-to-use collaborative whiteboard with a variety of features designed to make brainstorming and collaboration simple and engaging.

Sticky Notes and Shapes

FigJam allows users to add colorful sticky notes, shapes, and arrows to help visualize ideas effectively. The different colors and icons help students differentiate concepts, making lessons more dynamic and interactive. Sticky notes are easy to use and allow for quick idea sharing, which is especially useful during group discussions and brainstorming sessions.

Emojis and Stickers

FigJam provides emojis and stickers to add an element of fun and engagement. Students can use them to provide instant feedback, creating a lively atmosphere. This feature helps make classroom activities more enjoyable and encourages students to express themselves in a visual and interactive way.

Drawing Tools

The freehand drawing tools allow teachers and students to easily sketch out ideas, promoting creativity during brainstorming sessions. These tools are particularly effective for visual learners who benefit from drawing and visualizing their thoughts.

Templates for Activities

FigJam offers pre-made templates for mind mapping, brainstorming, and group discussions, saving teachers time and adding structure to classroom activities. The templates are highly customizable, enabling educators to adapt them to their specific lesson objectives.

Collaboration Features

Multiple users can contribute simultaneously, making it great for collaborative projects and developing teamwork skills. Real-time collaboration allows students to work together seamlessly, even in remote settings, thereby promoting a sense of community in the classroom.

Miro Functionality

Miro is known for its extensive capabilities and versatility, making it ideal for structured and more advanced collaboration. Miro is particularly equipped to support complex projects with its advanced tools and features.

Comprehensive Whiteboarding Tools

Miro offers a wide range of tools like sticky notes, connectors, and shapes, allowing educators to create detailed diagrams and visual aids. These tools are helpful for explaining complex topics and creating a more engaging learning experience.

Pre-built Templates

With a vast library of customizable templates, Miro is adaptable for a wide range of educational activities, from concept mapping to project management. Teachers can use these templates to facilitate various learning scenarios without starting from scratch, saving time and enhancing lesson quality.

Multimedia Embedding

Miro allows for embedding videos, images, and documents, enhancing lessons with rich multimedia content to cater to different learning styles. This feature is particularly useful for creating interactive lessons that incorporate multiple forms of media, making learning more engaging for students.

Voting and Polling Tools

Built-in voting and polling tools help keep students engaged and allow teachers to assess student understanding in real time. These tools are effective for quick assessments, gauging comprehension, and making group decisions during collaborative activities.

Integration with Other Platforms

Miro integrates seamlessly with third-party applications like Teachfloor, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, allowing educators to incorporate Miro into their existing digital learning environments easily.

Winner: Miro

Miro wins for its versatility, comprehensive whiteboarding tools, and ability to handle complex content. FigJam is more suitable for simpler, creative collaboration, while Miro is ideal for a more structured and feature-rich experience that can support complex educational needs.

FigJam vs Miro: Pricing

FigJam Pricing

FigJam offers a free plan that includes basic whiteboarding features, suitable for small classes or individual educators.

Paid plans start at $5 per editor per month

FigJam also offers free access for educational institutions, making it a cost-effective solution for schools.

The affordability of FigJam makes it a popular option for educators working with limited budgets, especially when advanced features are not required.

Miro Pricing

Miro also has a free plan, which includes up to three editable boards—suitable for smaller classes.

Paid plans start at $10 per user per month,

Discounts are available for educational institutions, making Miro a viable option for schools seeking additional functionality.

Miro's pricing may be higher compared to FigJam, but the additional features and versatility, including advanced prototyping tools, justify the cost for educators seeking a more robust platform.

Winner: FigJam

FigJam is more affordable for educators on a tight budget, with lower pricing for its paid plans and free access for schools. Miro's higher cost may be justified for those who need advanced features, such as tools that help in tracking project progress and integrating with other industry tools, but for educators who prioritize budget-friendly solutions, FigJam is the winner.

FigJam vs Miro: AI Functionalities

FigJam AI Functionalities

Leverage the power of large language models to streamline your workflow in Figma Design and FigJam.

Currently powered by OpenAI, Figma's AI features can help with tasks like summarizing sticky notes from meetings, brainstorming ideas, and more. Discover the full range of AI functionalities in FigJam:

Create Boards and Diagrams Effortlessly

Simply input text prompts to generate customized boards, including layouts for team meetings, collaborative exercises, flowcharts, timelines, Gantt charts, and project plans.

Organize and Summarize Ideas Easily

FigJam AI can help categorize sticky notes by theme and summarize them, making it simpler to align ideas and outline next steps.

Enhance Collaboration With Jambot

Use Jambot, a widget powered by ChatGPT, to brainstorm meeting ideas, summarize sticky notes, create mind maps, adjust text for specific audiences or tones, generate code from prompts, and explore new topics with ease.

Miro AI Functionalities

AI Creation

Miro AI can generate diagrams, mind maps, and images based on prompts, saving teachers time and ensuring high-quality visual aids. Perfect for lesson planning, teachers can simply input concepts and receive ready-made visuals.

Sidekicks

Miro offers specialized AI assistants that provide contextual advice and feedback to help educators enhance their strategies. These AI sidekicks can suggest improvements to lesson plans, boost engagement, and offer valuable insights for classroom activities.

AI-Powered Clustering

This feature automatically groups sticky notes by keywords or sentiment, enabling teachers to organize brainstorming sessions effectively. It streamlines categorizing student contributions, making class discussions more focused and productive.

Text Editing

Miro's AI can refine text by correcting grammar, adjusting tone, and condensing information, ensuring lesson content is polished and accessible. This tool is especially helpful for educators who need to quickly enhance and improve their teaching materials.

FigJam vs Miro for Education: Pros and Cons

FigJam Pros

• Simple & Accessible for Students: FigJam has an intuitive layout is ideal for K-12 or higher education students who need a straightforward, easy-to-learn tool for brainstorming and basic diagramming.
• Visual Learning Support: The simplicity of sticky notes, shapes, and connectors makes it easy to organize thoughts and visually plan projects, supporting students with various learning styles.
• Integrates with Figma for Design Courses: For design-focused classes, FigJam's connection with Figma can enhance student projects and give them industry-standard experience.

FigJam Cons

• Limited Advanced Features: FigJam feature set may be restrictive for teachers or students needing deeper collaboration tools, such as detailed project tracking or expansive templates.
• Less Collaborative Depth: While suitable for basic teamwork, it lacks some of the more dynamic, interactive options that foster active student engagement in larger groups.

Miro Pros

• Wide Range of Templates for Learning Activities: Miro has an extensive library of templates—from timelines to flowcharts—enables educators to design and structure diverse, engaging activities quickly.
• Real-Time Collaboration for Group Work: the Miro interactive capabilities allow multiple students to participate in real time, ideal for class brainstorming sessions, group projects, and discussion boards.
• Supports Complex Lesson Plans: With its wide variety of tools, Miro suits advanced projects and courses that require detailed workflows and diverse educational activities.

Miro Cons

• Learning Curve for Younger Students: Miro's feature-rich environment may feel overwhelming for younger students who might struggle to navigate its more complex interface.
• Cost for Educational Institutions: Miro's pricing can be a consideration for schools and universities with budget limitations, though it offers discounts for educational use.

Both FigJam and Miro provide valuable collaborative features, but FigJam works best for lighter educational activities, while Miro shines in environments that need detailed, interactive group learning.

In an educational setting, the winner depends on the specific needs of the classroom or institution:

• For Simplicity and Ease of Use (Younger Students or Basic Activities): FigJam is the preferred choice. Its straightforward design is perfect for basic brainstorming, visual planning, and quick group discussions, making it ideal for younger students or simpler tasks.
• For Depth and Advanced Collaboration (Older Students or Complex Projects): Miro comes out on top. Its vast template library, real-time collaboration features, and flexibility make it well-suited for complex projects, interactive activities, and collaborative lesson planning, especially in high school or university settings.

Overall Winner for Education: Miro, due to its broader feature set and adaptability for more interactive and advanced educational activities. However, if simplicity and cost are key factors, FigJam is a strong contender for foundational collaboration needs.