Squiggle for Teachers: A Quick Guide
How teachers and tutors can use Squiggle as a digital whiteboard for lessons, with templates, screen overlay, and PDF annotation.
If you’re a teacher looking for a simple whiteboard app that just works — no accounts, no loading screens, no monthly fees — Squiggle might be exactly what you need.
Why teachers love Squiggle
It opens instantly
No browser to open. No login page. No “Loading your workspace…” screen. Click the icon, and you’re drawing in under a second.
It works offline
Teaching in a school with unreliable WiFi? Squiggle works entirely offline. Your boards are saved locally on your computer.
It’s private
No student data concerns. No cloud storage. Nothing is uploaded anywhere. This makes it easy to comply with school privacy policies.
It’s affordable
Free to use for core features. $5 one-time for Pro. No per-teacher licenses. No annual school subscriptions. No purchase orders needed for $5.
Built-in teaching templates
Squiggle comes with templates designed for education:
Cornell Notes
The classic note-taking format with sections for cues, notes, and summary. Open a board, click “New from Template,” and start teaching.
T-Chart
Two-column layout for compare/contrast, pros/cons, or cause/effect activities.
KWL Chart
What I Know, What I Want to Know, What I Learned. A classic pre/post-reading activity.
Coordinate Plane
A pre-drawn grid with x and y axes for math lessons. Plot points, graph equations, or teach geometry.
Mind Map
A central idea with branching connections. Great for brainstorming, vocabulary webs, or concept mapping.
How to use Squiggle in class
Live whiteboard
Open a blank board and teach just like you would on a physical whiteboard. Draw diagrams, write equations, sketch illustrations. Everything you draw is saved automatically.
Annotate over slides
Press Ctrl+Shift+D to open the screen overlay. Now you can draw on top of your PowerPoint, Google Slides, or any other presentation — circling key words, adding arrows, underlining important points.
Mark up PDFs
Import a PDF worksheet or textbook page. Draw on it, highlight answers, add notes. Export the annotated version as a new PDF to share with students.
Create step-by-step guides
Use step markers (1, 2, 3…) to create numbered visual guides. Perfect for instructions, procedures, or multi-step math problems.
Spotlight during explanations
Use spotlight mode to dim everything except what you’re pointing at. Great for focusing student attention on a specific part of a diagram or equation.
A typical lesson workflow
- Before class: Open Squiggle, create a board, set up a template
- During class: Draw, annotate, use the overlay over slides
- After class: Export as PDF or PNG, share with students or save for next year
- Bonus: Boards auto-save, so you can pick up where you left off
Compared to Google Jamboard
Many teachers used Google Jamboard before it was discontinued in 2024. Squiggle fills that gap:
- Same simplicity — open and draw
- Better privacy — no Google account needed
- More tools — screen overlay, blur, spotlight, step markers
- More reliable — your data is on your computer, not in a cloud that can shut down
Getting started
- Download Squiggle — free, no signup
- Open it and create your first board
- Try a template: click the “+” button and pick Cornell Notes or another format
- To unlock all features (overlay, PDF, templates), upgrade for $5
That’s it. No IT department approval needed. No school-wide deployment. Just download and teach.