Skip to main content
All help topics

For creators

Whiteboard edit access — students request, you approve

Students see your boards read-only by default. A 'Request edit access' button on the board page pings you in the notification bell; you approve from a dropdown on the same board. Approved students can edit alongside you; the rest just watch.

Last updated May 22, 2026

The student's side

When a student opens one of your public whiteboards from /p/<tenant>/my/whiteboards/<id>, they see the canvas in read-only mode with a 'Request edit access' button in the top-right. Clicking it does two things:

  • Drops a request row into the workspace's pending-requests list.
  • Fires an in-app notification to you — title is 'NameStudent wants to edit "BoardTitle"', body invites you to approve or deny.

From then on the request button on their side flips to 'Edit request pending' so they can't pile on duplicate notifications.

Student taps “Request edit” → 🔔 You're notified → Approve / Deny from the board → Student can draw with you
The whole loop: a student asks, you get pinged, you approve or deny from the board, and they're notified either way.

Your side

When a request is open, the board editor at /dashboard/whiteboards/<id> shows an 'Edit requests' button in the top bar with the pending count. Click it for a dropdown listing each pending student + Approve / Deny buttons.

Before · read-only 🔒 Student watches; can't change anything After · invited editor Live cursor + full draw, type & move tools
Before approval a student only watches (read-only); after approval they get a live cursor and full edit tools on that board.
  • Approve → the student is added to the board's invitedUserIds. Their next render drops readOnly and they can draw alongside you. We also fire them an in-app notification ('You can now edit "BoardTitle"').
  • Deny → the request is marked declined. We notify the student ('Edit access denied — the instructor kept the board read-only.'). The board stays untouched.

Why not just make boards public-editable

Two reasons. First, public-editable whiteboards become free-for-alls once a class gets large — someone always nukes the canvas by accident. Second, the request flow doubles as engagement signal: students who ask to edit are leaning in, and you'd usually rather know which students those are than blanket-grant everyone.

Private boards (visibility = private, no invitees) stay private — students can't see them at all, let alone request access. Make a board 'public' from the editor's visibility chip to expose it to students in read mode.

Related