How I use agile retrospectives in my online classes and which ones I prefer
I have long been on a quest for a decent agile retrospective board as a tutoring tool. One of the common challenges that my writing students share is that they need a tool to help them synthesize their ideas before they begin to write their essays. Without that, the essays end up taking the form of a stream of consciousness lacking in structure and flow. The intention is that an agile retrospective board would allow them to express their thoughts in a non-linear format before allowing them to visually restructure the components in a way that is logical. This can be considered as a mapping process for the composition before the actual writing begins.
Google Jamboard was an option; I use many applications of Google Suite for tutoring and it seemed like a reasonable choice. However, though it is user-friendly, perhaps the most user-friendly of all the options out there, arguably what makes it so user-friendly is that it lacks in functionality compared to other applications. There is only so much you can do with it and it isn't very aesthetically attractive.
Miro
One of the most popular agile retrospective boards out there, very versatile and fun to use, is Miro. Miro is also embedded into Kumospace, so that is an added bonus. It allows you to import images, create sticky notes, and add flowchart shapes to facilitate brainstorming. You also have the option of downloading your board as an image or a PDF, a highly useful function for students who would benefit from referencing back to their boards when compiling their essays. If you are looking for an agile retrospective board with nearly unlimited options and templates, this is likely the best choice.
However, like most applications, Miro is for profit and charges or many of their best features. In the free version, you are limited to only three boards and cannot lock them as private boards. Anyone using the boards has to log in as a team member and, although you are allowed an unlimited number of team members, they all have access and can make changes to them at any time. With all of the myriad functions offered, it is also more challenging for newcomers to navigate. When you are in the middle of a tutoring session and time is of the essence, the student can potentially become frustrated with the technology before any of the subject matter work even begins.
Metro Retro
The happy medium I have discovered is Metro Retro. The artistic component of the OS is not as attractive or sophisticated as Miro, but it has numerous templates to use, including many that would be helpful in brainstorming and synthesizing ideas. You are allowed unlimited workspaces and boards, but you are limited to 2000 board objects (such as images and sticky notes) and 30 team members. Anyone with the link can view the board, although Metro Retro requires registration to edit a board.
The one area where Metro Retro falls short is in the download. Despite all the fun templates provided, Metro Retro will only allow the boards to be downloaded as data in CSV format. It is not possible to download the board as a PDF and, in order to take an image of the board, the only option is to create a screen capture. This has the added challenge that it is not always easy to read text on a screen capture.
Although I have currently settled on Metro Retro as my best option, I am still in search of better agile retrospective boards if they exist. If anyone uses an agile retrospective board application regularly for tutoring and has a great suggestion, I would be happy to hear it.
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