Earlier this summer, I heard someone describe a task as a “whiteboard project.”  It took a second for me to process the connection.  She was referring to a project with enough parts, players, and relationships to warrant the use of a flexible visible representation (such as a whiteboard) to facilitate thinking.

It wasn’t until a week or so later, though, that the aptness of the term struck me.  I was sitting in the living room, surrounded by books, trying to determine the interrelationships among various factors in a process when I looked up and saw it.  It was Colin’s whiteboard, which Sarah had intelligently brought out from the safety hazard that is our computer room so we can play Pictionary and other games with him this summer.

Now, I’m not one to label myself  as a “visual processor.”  I don’t necessarily believe in those categories to begin with, and I like to think that the learning situation—not a limiting self-description—determines the most appropriate mode of processing information.  But when I saw the promise offered by all that white space and those colored markers, the next step was obvious:  It was time to draw.

And draw I did.  I had never used a whiteboard for such a purpose before, largely because one is rarely around when I need it.  But as I continue to reflect on how I think and compose, the concept of a “whiteboard project” was a satisfying development from abstract idea to practical application and has continued to be useful as I’ve done other work this summer.  I don’t think I would ever use a whiteboard to plan out a piece of writing, but for thinking through projects and processes, I’m sold.

Before I’m mocked for claiming discovery of the usefulness of a planning tool probably most closely associated with the 1980s, I’ll give this story a vaguely 21st century spin.

You’ll recall that the whiteboard is in the family room, away from the computer now.  Short of dragging the board back into the treacherous terrain of the computer room, how could I get my thinking to a place where I could process and refine it before sharing it electronically (absent a laptop with wireless)?  Camera phone to the rescue!

Aligning goals, content, and processes...

Thinking through a PowerPoint...