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How to use Jotboard on school networks

Photo of Greg Ives

Written by Greg Ives

Creator of Jotboard

Guidance for IT administrators on configuring school network firewalls and filters to allow Jotboard access.

How to use Jotboard on school networks

Some school networks have firewalls or content filters that may block parts of Jotboard. If you’re experiencing connection issues, here’s what your IT administrator may need to allow.

Common symptoms

  • The board loads but you see a “Connecting” spinner and can’t draw or interact.
  • The board won’t load at all.
  • Real-time collaboration doesn’t work (you can’t see other people’s changes).

What to whitelist

Jotboard uses the following services that may need to be allowed through your network’s firewall:

  • jotboard.co — The main Jotboard website.
  • WebSocket connections — Jotboard uses WebSocket connections for real-time collaboration. Make sure WebSocket traffic (wss://) is not blocked.
  • Firebase/Google Cloud — Used for authentication and data storage.
  • Google Cloud Storage — Used for image uploads.

Tips

  • If only the drawing and collaboration features are broken but the site loads, the issue is likely WebSocket connections being blocked.
  • Try accessing Jotboard on a personal device or mobile data to confirm whether the issue is network-specific.
  • Contact us through the chat widget on our website if you need help troubleshooting network issues.