Laser Pointer and Live Cursors on an Online Whiteboard: A Guide

To point at something in an online class without drawing on it, use a laser pointer or a live cursor. In Educastic the Laser draws a red, glowing trail that fades within a second and never stays on the board, and the teacher can show their cursor to the class and see where students are pointing.

In a classroom you point with your hand: "this term here, then this one". Online, "look at the top left" costs students seconds of searching and you lose half of them. Pointing tools fix that, and they keep the page clean because nothing has to be erased afterwards.

What is a laser pointer on an online whiteboard?

A laser pointer on an online whiteboard is a tool that shows a temporary mark where you point, visible to everyone, which disappears on its own. Educastic's Laser works like a comet tail: each point of the beam fades by its own age, in about 0.6 seconds, so a quick circle around a word shows clearly and is gone a moment later.

The laser never adds anything to the board. It does not appear in the page, in undo or in a saved copy of the board, and it is shown live to everyone even when drawing previews are turned off.

How do you use the laser pointer in Educastic?

Use the laser pointer in Educastic by selecting it on the left toolbar and dragging on the board.

1. Click Laser on the left toolbar. The cursor changes to a laser pen.
2. Press and drag over the part you are talking about. A red, glowing trail follows you.
3. Release. The trail fades on its own within a second.
4. Switch back to a pen or Select when you want to write or move objects again.

Students who have drawing access can use the Laser too, which is useful when you ask "show me where you got stuck".

What do the two switches in the header do?

The two switches in the teacher's header control grid snapping and whether students see the teacher's cursor. Only the teacher sees them, and each shows ON or OFF.

The cursor switch's starting position comes from the Collaborator Cursor setting in Educast Setting (the gear icon on the right side of the board), so you can choose whether your cursor is shown from the start of every class.

How do you see where students are pointing?

See students' pointers by turning on Participant Pointer in the ATTENDEES & PRIVILEGES panel on the right side of the board. It is off by default. When it is on, you see the pointer of every student who has Whiteboard Tools Access, labelled with their initials, moving live over your board.

Students do not see each other's pointers, only yours (when your cursor switch is ON). That keeps a full class from turning the board into a swarm of dots.

Which pointer styles can you choose?

Educastic offers two kinds of pointer choice. The Pointer Tools group on the left toolbar changes your cursor on your own screen: Default Cursor, Arrow Head Cursor, Select Pointer, Circle Pointer, and Yellow, Pink and Green Pointers in three sizes (1x, 2x, 3x) plus a blinking version of each colour.

The pointer the class sees is your default pointer, set in your profile under Settings > Select default pointer: yellow, pink or green, in three sizes. Pick a large, bright one if your students join on phones or a projector.

When should you use the laser and when a cursor?

Use the laser for short, deliberate gestures and the shared cursor for continuous following.

• Laser: circling a key word, tracing the path of a reaction, showing which two numbers to multiply. The motion draws attention, then disappears.
• Shared cursor: walking through a long text line by line, or reading a graph with students.
• A student's pointer: asking a student "point to the mistake" before they write anything, so you see their thinking without anything being added to the page.

A common mistake is switching to a pen to point, then spending a minute erasing circles. Pointing tools exist so the board only holds what you want students to keep. For more on marking up files, see how to annotate a PDF in an online class.

Tips and limits

• Colour: the laser is always red, so it stands out from your ink. Keep red pen for something else on days you use it a lot.
• Who sees what: students see the teacher's cursor when the switch is ON; only the teacher sees students' pointers.
• Session tools: teachers choose which tools appear in a session, so the Laser and Pointer Tools can be hidden if a class does not need them.
• All tools: see the online whiteboard tools guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does the laser pointer leave marks on the board? No. The laser trail fades in about a second and is never added to the board or its saved copy.

Can students see my cursor? Yes, when the cursor switch in the header is ON, which is the default.

Can students see each other's cursors? No. Only the teacher can see students' pointers, with Participant Pointer turned on.

Can I change the laser colour? No. The laser is always red with a glow, so it looks the same on every screen.

Point, don't scribble

Open the Educastic online whiteboard, pick the Laser and walk your class through one worksheet question without making a single mark.

Try the laser pointer free