Where OpenBoard Comes From and What’s Next for It

Updated

OpenBoard is a fork of Open-Sankoré 2.0, which was itself based on Uniboard. The fork was created to refocus the software on its original core purpose: a teacher’s work in the classroom, with ease of use as the priority. Future development is meant to follow those same principles. The project is currently maintained by the Education Department (DIP) of the canton of Geneva, Switzerland, with support from the University of Lausanne.

The lineage: Uniboard → Open-Sankoré → OpenBoard

The family tree matters because it explains why OpenBoard looks and behaves the way it does.

  • Uniboard was developed in 2003 by the University of Lausanne.
  • Open-Sankoré 2.0 came later, built on Uniboard.
  • OpenBoard was forked from Open-Sankoré 2.0.

Each step kept the interactive whiteboard foundation, but OpenBoard’s fork was a deliberate narrowing of scope. Rather than accumulating features, the project went back to what a teacher actually needs during a lesson.

Why the fork happened

The stated reason for creating OpenBoard was to refocus the software on its original core functionalities and values — specifically, the work of a teacher in a classroom — and to privilege ease of use. The site describes OpenBoard as “easy to use yet powerful,” a tool that “can help you do your job and does not get in the way.”

That principle is also the stated basis for how the software will evolve: “The evolution of this software will therefore take place in accordance with these core principles.”

If you are choosing between OpenBoard and a feature-heavy whiteboard suite, this is the key distinction. OpenBoard is not trying to be everything; it is trying to stay out of the way of teaching.

Who is involved

OpenBoard is not a solo hobby project. According to the site:

  • It is currently maintained by the Education Department (DIP) of the canton of Geneva, Switzerland.
  • The University of Lausanne, which developed the original Uniboard software in 2003, has joined the effort through a logistical and financial contribution.
  • An association project was to be developed in 2019.
  • In June 2016, representatives from the universities of Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Fribourg and Geneva, the education departments of the cantons of Geneva and Jura, and various institutions from the canton of Vaud met to reflect together on the desired evolution of OpenBoard.

This institutional backing is worth noting if you are evaluating long-term viability for a school or university deployment. The project is tied to public education bodies in Switzerland, not just to individual volunteers.

What’s next

The site states that interest is growing fast across Switzerland, but also in Europe and North America. It also mentions that a Swiss association project was planned for 2019 as part of the effort to structure the project’s future.

Beyond that, the direction is already defined by the fork’s founding principle: continued evolution in line with the core values of classroom teaching and ease of use. The project is community-maintained on GitHub and released under the GPLv3 License, so its roadmap is public and open to contribution.

What this means if you’re deciding whether to adopt it

  • If you want a whiteboard tool that stays simple and teaching-focused, the origin story is a point in its favor — the fork exists specifically to protect that focus.
  • If you need institutional longevity, the involvement of the canton of Geneva’s education department and the University of Lausanne is relevant evidence.
  • If you want to follow or influence development, the GitHub repository is the place where the community maintains it.

OpenBoard runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and can be used with an interactive whiteboard, in a dual-screen setup with a pen-tablet display and a beamer, or on a computer without additional hardware.