When you’re looking for a tool to help you brainstorm, not just any old thing will do. You need the best tool for the job and you need it for free.
So we’ve put together this list of the best free online brainstorming tools available, because we care.
Table of Contents
Best Free Online Brainstorming Tools
Google Docs & Google Sheets
Google Docs, of which Google Sheets is a subset, is the modern scratch paper. The free collaborative web-based software makes it simple to upload a document, create a tracking table, and use all the other features with a team, sharing documents with each other and collecting edits.
Slack
Slack is often viewed as a chat app, but its real value lies in its name: Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge. Originally built to develop a video game, Slack’s value is that it keeps your chats, shared documents, and links permanently, so you can just search for the item you need instead of having to ask someone to share it again.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft has combined features from Slack and Google Docs into Microsoft Teams. The goal of Teams is to put everything you need to finish a project on one platform. It’s most powerful when paired with Microsoft Office, but robust third-party support makes it a useful tool for teams that have downtime at the airport or may only have a phone or tablet with which to work.
Lucidchart
Lucidchart offers a nice solution to help ease the ideation process by allowing users to collaborate in real-time. It not only offers a basic whiteboarding tool for brainstorming, but it also allows users to create more advanced process mapping and systems design.
IdeaBoardz
If you like to organize your ideas in a tangible way, like with pushpins and note cards, IdeaBoardz translates that experience to a browser. It allows members of a group to make virtual sticky notes and place them under chosen categories. A Like button serves as an informal polling mechanism among teams, especially if you’re managing a big group; as likes collect, the more popular ideas stand out.
Coggle
Coggle creates mind maps. Write down a term, begin free-associating, and add each association as a bubble with arrows and connections.
MindMeister
Available on the web and updating in real-time, MindMeister’s virtual whiteboard allows you and your team to collaborate and discuss no matter where you happen to be.
This video reviews Coggle, MindMeister, and Draw.io, three excellent mind-mapping tools, analyzing the benefits and disadvantages of each. Options like Coggle and MindMeister are easier to use, whereas Draw.io gives you a wider variety of options. Which one do you prefer?
Visual Thesaurus
Visual Thesaurus generates association trees from any word you type in. For example, if you type in “car,” it’ll create trees not just for roads, but for train cars, sidecars, and so on. It’s useful for finding the right word to describe a concept, but it can also bridge creative gaps when you’re searching for a metaphor or a different approach. The tool also offers definitions and pronunciations of unfamiliar words, so you’ll learn something along the way.
Bubbl.us
Perfect for freeform structure and design, Bubbl.us lets you layout bubble charts with ease.
MindMup
MindMup is another free mind map maker online. You can easily access your mind maps from anywhere via any device. When you’re done mind-mapping, you can publish and share your mind maps online or present to your colleagues by converting them to PDFs or PowerPoints.
online brainstorming tools for students free
- Trello (Manage projects)
Students often work on multiple projects simultaneously and it can be easy to lose track of the endless list of tasks that have to be completed. Fortunately, project management applications such as Trello can help with that!
Users can create a Trello board for each of their projects before inviting their group mates to collaborate on the board. Our advice is for students to create different sections to categorise each task under. Some examples of section headers can be: ‘ideation,’ ‘work in progress,’ and ‘awaiting review.’ As each task moves up the stages of development, students will be able to drag and drop these tasks under the relevant category.
With Trello, students can track the group’s progress on different aspects of their project and thus devote more attention to weak areas that need more pushing.
Online brainstorming tool for students: Trello
Trello board with different sections. Screenshot from Trello.
Alternatives to Trello:
ClickUp
Wrike
nTask
- Slack (Communicate for work)
Slack is a virtual workspace that brings individuals together for work purposes. Within Slack, you can create different channels to segregate departments and different work processes.
If you are a student managing a group project, you may consider designating channels for announcements, idea generation, writing, designing, and even a coffee talk channel for some downtime between work!
If you are a teacher, you could create private channels to manage and weigh in on conversations within each project group. That way, Slack serves as a centralised platform to stay up to date on each group’s progress.
Slack also allows you to set office timings such that notifications will be turned off beyond your preset hours. When we are working from home, it is important to set boundaries and to balance work and relaxation.
Online brainstorming tool for students: Slack
Slack virtual workspace. Screenshot from Slack.
Alternatives to Slack:
Microsoft Teams
HeySpace
Workona
- MindMeister (Create collaborative mind maps)
Katherine Schulten and Sarah Gross write in the New York Times that “mind mapping, goes beyond note-taking and can be used for organising, problem-solving and brainstorming.” Mindmaps are useful for visualising concepts and to draw links that may not be immediately obvious.
MindMeister is a free online mind mapping tool that enables students to work together in real-time to create mind maps detailing their ideas. With the ability to link different bubbles with arrows and to add pictures within each bubble, MindMeister is an excellent tool for visual learners to organise their thoughts.
In group projects, students may diverge in their way of thinking. Mind maps are inclusive ways to display multiple perspectives. With this big picture view of the topic, students will be able to brainstorm and arrive at a consensus faster and more efficiently.
Online brainstorming tool for students: MindMeister
Mindmap created on MindMeister. Screenshot from Meister.
Alternatives to MindMeister:
Coggle
Wisemapping
Ayoa
- Google Meet (discuss ideas through video conferencing)
Sometimes, talking it out over video is more productive than communicating over text messages through Slack or emails. Google Meet enables users to schedule online meetings in advance. Once the invitation is accepted, students will be able to add the details to their Google calendar.
Google Meet is accessible across a range of devices including desktop, Android, and Apple devices.
Online brainstorming tool for students: Google Meet
Google Suite. Photo by Elle Cartier on Unsplash.
Alternatives to Google Hangouts:
Skype
Zoom
- HeyHi’s online whiteboard
So far, we have covered four different tools that enable students to collaborate and brainstorm for project ideas. Now, we are pleased to introduce you to HeyHi, an online whiteboard that enables students to schedule video conferences and brainstorm ideas with the aid of a blank canvas.
On HeyHi’s online whiteboard, students can make handwritten notes and drawings to brainstorm for ideas. Students have the freedom to present their ideas in a way that is most productive for them. Whether students generate better ideas with arrows, Venn diagrams or doodles, students are not restricted to a limited selection of arrows and bubbles with HeyHi’s online whiteboard.
HeyHi’s online whiteboard. Screenshot by HeyHi.
By signing up for a free HeyHi account, students will be able to schedule and invite their group members to meetings. These meetings can only be accessed with a meeting ID and an access code. Therefore, you can be assured that the security and safety of students is a top priority for developers at HeyHi.
Conclusion
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