Basic guide to Mirofor participantsin online workshops

Basic guide to Miro for participants in online workshops
In this guide, we will explain how to use Miro and note the things you should keep inmind before participating in an online workshop or in the interactive sessions of online
courses.
Miro is an online whiteboard platform that allows for collaborative editing over theinternet. Web conferencing tools, such as Zoom and Google Meet, basically only allow
you to have conversations. With Miro, you can also create digital whiteboards on which
you can write, draw, and attach sticky notes. Changes made by others are shown in realtime, allowing you to discuss and collaborate online as if you are in the same room.
To take full advantage of Miro and ensure effective collaboration during online
workshops, it is necessary for all participants to know how to use the basic tools andfunctions so that they can concentrate on the discussions. However, unlike with online
platforms such as Zoom, the number of people familiar with Miro is still limited. Since
Miro is a multifunctional tool, it may also take time to learn all its functions. Therefore,
we developed this guide to focus only on the functions most commonly used in online
workshops. Although we are focusing here on interactive workshops such as those
involving brainstorming, the tools and examples we describe are also suitable forinteractive or participatory seminars or classes that involve group work. We encourage
you to learn how to use Miro yourself by following this guide before participating in aworkshop or class.

Contents
How to get started with Miro .............................................................. 1● Registering an account.......................................................................................................1● Joining a Miro board ..........................................................................................................1

How to use a Miro board ..................................................................... 2● How to enter text.................................................................................................................3● How to add and change sticky notes ...............................................................................3● How to add or change a shape .........................................................................................4● How to draw lines and shapes...........................................................................................4● How to add images.............................................................................................................4● How to change the order of objects .................................................................................5● How to navigate around the board ..................................................................................5

How to get started with Miro
● Registering an accountTo use Miro, you first need to register a Miro account. You can use your email to register orcreate an account by signing in with your Office 365, Slack, Google, Facebook, or Apple ID
account.
Miro can be used in a browser or via an app for PCs, smartphones, and tablets. To use theapp (free of charge), download it from Miro's website (https://miro.com/apps/) and install
it. When using Miro in combination with Zoom, we recommend using the app.

● Joining a Miro board
Workshop teams will appear here

Workshopboards willappear here

When you are invited to a workshop, you should receive an invitation link from theadministrator or facilitator. Click on the link and accept the invitation. Your workshop teamwill then automatically appear in the blue menu on the left. Once you select the workshop
team, you will see the workshop boards in the area marked “Boards in this team.”1How to use a Miro board
The Miro board has a main menu on the left and navigation tools on the bottom right. Mirohas several functions, including drawing, text boxes, sticky notes, shapes, and tables. Theboard itself has a large open workspace, and the navigation tool can be used to see what ison the board and what part of the board is currently shown on the screen. You can zoom inor out by clicking the + or - button.

Main menu

Frames can be used to divide the board
Navigation tool
Can be used to zoom in and out

To use a function from the main menu, click on the icon corresponding to the desired
function to display a submenu. From there, select the color or shape you want to use. Youcan then click anywhere on the board to insert the item or to start drawing. The arrow icon
at the top can be used to switch between the pan and select modes (see page 5 of thisguide).

SelectStickyShapesLines
Text box
Drawing pencils
Comments2

● How to enter text
The most frequently used tools in online workshops are text entry andsticky notes. Let's learn these two first.
To enter text, first click on the "text" icon in the main menu. Then move toany location on the board and click to change to text input mode. You can
now start typing.
Be sure to type using a font size that is easy for other participants to see.
You can change the font size after you have finished typing by selecting
the text (a text formatting menu will appear above the text).

● How to add and change sticky notes
To add a sticky note, click on the sticky icon in the menu, select a color from the sub-menu,
and drag it to the board.
To change the color or format of a sticky note, click on the sticky to reveal the customization
menu. Here, you can change the color and shape of the sticky note, as well as the formattingof the text. The size of the sticky note can be adjusted by dragging any of the white dots thatappear around it.

Customization menu3

● How to add or change a shape
Click on the square-shaped icon in the main menu to add basic shapes like squares, circles,and triangles. Select the desired shape and click anywhere on the board to insert it. Moreadvanced shapes can be found when you select “All shapes” in the submenu. To adjust theshape, click on any of the white dots at the four corners and drag accordingly. The formatof the shape can be adjusted using the customization menu, which automatically appears
when you select a shape on the board. Here, you can change the shape, color, opacity(transparency), border styles, and other formats. It is also possible to add and format text.

● How to draw lines and shapes
It is also possible to draw shapes and lines using the drawing tool. Click on the pencil iconin the main menu and select the pencil icon in the submenu. Now you can click anywhereon the board to start drawing. To erase a line, click on the eraser icon. You can also use theSmart Drawing tool (located between the highlighter and eraser icon) to automaticallyconvert your handwritten lines into appropriate shapes and connection lines.

● How to add images
To add images to the board, click on the “Upload” icon and select“My device” in the submenu. Here, you can upload images stored onyour device. When you see a list of the images on your device, selectthe image you wish to add and click “open.”4

● How to change the order of objects
When the number of objects on the board increases, you may need to stack them or change
their order. To change the order, click on an object to reveal the customization menu. Thenclick on the three dots ("...") on the far right to display more options and select "Bring tofront" or "Send to back."● How to navigate around the board
Finally, it is also important to know how to navigate around theboard without affecting the content.
The top icon in the main menu lets you switch between “pan”
and “select” modes. When the select mode is activated, yourcursor will be displayed as an arrow and you can select,change, and move objects on the board. Pan mode is afunction that allows you to navigate around the board without
affecting things on the board. To switch to pan mode, click on
the top icon. Your cursor will now be displayed as a hand andyou will no longer be able to move items on the board.
Alternatively, you can activate the pan mode by holding thespacebar on your keyboard while moving around.

5Conclusion
In this guide, we explained the basic operations and main functions of Miro. Using new
tools in online meetings may sometimes be overwhelming, but online workshops don’t
usually require the use of many functions. Ideally, you should practice a few times
before the workshop to gain familiarity with the different tools so it will be easier tofocus on the discussion itself during the workshop.
There is an accompanying video for this guide (accessible from the co-creation project
web page, https://cocreationproject.jp/en/learn/tool/). This video, called "Basic guideto Miro for online workshops," explains the workshop-related functions described inthis booklet. Please use it together with this guide. If you would like to learn about other
Miro functions, please visit the official Miro website (https://www.miro.com/).

The Co-creation Project is a research project of the Research Institute for Humanity andNature. The project promotes efforts toward sustainable development by collecting andanalyzing examples of knowledge co-creation in which researchers and parties work
together to solve environmental problems.

Basic guide to Miro for participants in online workshops

Date:

30 September 2022 (first edition)

Authors:

Yuko Onishi, Rob KuipersPublisher: Co-creation Project (No. 14200130), Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
Address:

Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047 JAPAN
Tel: 075-707-2100

URL: https://www.chikyu.ac.jp/

ISBN: 978-4-910834-09-2

ISBN: 978-4-910834-09-2