A free screen annotation tool for teachers, so students see exactly what you mean
Online, the gesture of walking to the board and tapping a line disappears. SHARA gives you a digital pen, a laser pointer and a visible cursor on top of anything on your Windows screen, in Zoom, Teams & Google Meet, free.
Free forever for the tools a lesson needs.
No account, no subscription. Windows 10 and 11.
What’s the easiest free way to draw on screen for online teaching?
Use an annotation overlay that draws above every app, so one pen works over slides, a PDF or a browser. On Windows, SHARA is free: press Ctrl+Space (or use the docked toolbar), pick the Pen or Laser, and draw. Share your entire screen in Zoom, Teams or Meet so students see the ink. No account needed.
“Can you see where I’m pointing?” Usually, they can’t
Your students see your screen in a small video window, often on a phone. The mouse pointer is a few pixels wide there, so you end up describing positions out loud: the second line, no, the one under it. The explanation slows down and attention drifts.
The built-in fixes don’t travel with you. Zoom has one annotation toolbar, Teams another, your slides and PDF reader their own. Each works differently, some only inside their own window, and many teaching tools add a subscription and a sign-in on top.
What teachers need is closer to chalk: one pen that works the same over anything on screen, costs nothing to keep and sends nothing anywhere.
Set it up once, then teach the way you would at the board
Do this once before your first lesson. After that it’s a key you press when you need it.
- Install SHARA free from the Microsoft Store.No account and no sign-in. It starts in the background and waits for a hotkey.
- Share your entire screen, not a window.In Zoom or Teams, share your entire screen: a single-window share doesn’t capture SHARA’s overlay. Google Meet works the same way: choose your entire screen.
Entire screen: SHARA’s overlay is seen Share one window: the overlay is left out - Make the cursor visible.Press Ctrl+Win+H for the cursor halo. Every click flashes, so students see what you selected.
- Try the Wheel once.Press Ctrl+Space: the SHARA Wheel opens at your cursor. Hold to peek and release on a tool, or tap to pin it open. Turn on Presenter Mode if you record lessons, so the Wheel stays out of the video.
Try it in your next lesson, free. The Pen, Laser, Arrow, Eraser and cursor halo never expire.
What you press at each moment of a lesson
Three of the five moments use free tools. Default keys shown; you can change any of them.
1. Explain
“Let’s work this one through.”
The Whiteboard covers the desktop in white, black or grid, so you explain on a clean board.
Ctrl+Win+K2. Point
“This value here changes.”
The Laser leaves a short trail that fades on its own, so there is nothing to clean up.
Ctrl+Win+X3. Mark
“Underline the verb.”
The Pen or Arrow draws over the live page, and a text label types a word where you click. Hold Shift for straight lines at 45° steps.
Ctrl+Win+W4. Zoom
“Everyone look at the small print.”
Live Zoom enlarges the whole screen and the Magnifier a lens under the cursor. Try it free for 14 days.
Ctrl+Win+G5. Reset
“Next example.”
Clear All wipes every mark. Ctrl+Z brings it back if you cleared too soon, up to 32 steps.
Ctrl+Win+B
The first Esc puts your ink in idle, so it stays on screen while you use your apps normally. A second Esc erases all ink and shapes. Right-click also leaves drawing mode, so you’re back in your slides straight away.
Free covers the lesson
$0, no expiry, no account
Everything a teacher uses in moments 2, 3 and 5, in one ink colour.
- Cursor halo with click flash
- SHARA Wheel on Ctrl+Space
- Laser pointer with fading trail
- Pen with Shift for straight lines
- Arrow and text labels
- Eraser and Clear All
- Undo up to 32 steps
- Master on/off: Ctrl+Win+Z
Pro, if you want more later
- Highlighter
- Whiteboard: white, black or grid board
- Line, Rectangle and Circle
- The four zoom modes
- Colour sets, Alt+1 to Alt+4
- Smart Keystroke Pill
Free forever tier. SHARA Pro is a $19.99 one-time lifetime license with a 14-day money-back guarantee, usable across your personal Windows devices via the Microsoft Store.
Every install starts with a 14-day Pro trial. When it ends, SHARA simply carries on with the free tools. Nothing to cancel.
The tool comes to your cursor, so you keep teaching
The Wheel opens where your mouse already is, so you never travel to a corner mid-sentence. Prefer a fixed bar? Dock the toolbar at a screen edge. Ink stays crisp at small sizes, which matters when students watch a shrunken screen.
“SHARA has earned a permanent place in my training toolkit. The exceptionally smooth and clear writing, even at very small sizes, and the brilliant Ctrl+Space workflow that puts every tool right where my mouse is make live annotation remarkably effortless, letting me focus on teaching rather than managing the tool.”
Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
A note you can forward to IT
On a school-managed laptop, whether Store apps can be installed is IT’s decision. This answers what they’ll ask.
- What it is
- SHARA, a screen annotation overlay (pen, laser, cursor highlight) made by Mashyo.
- Where it installs from
- Microsoft Store, app ID 9NSBK9J07HS4. Windows 10 and Windows 11.
- Network and data
- Runs on the PC, online or offline. Zero telemetry; the network is used only to buy or restore Pro. It stores no student data and sends nothing.
- Accounts
- None. No sign-in, no email, no cloud service.
- Cost
- Free tier with no expiry. Optional Pro is a one-time $19.99 licence, not a subscription.
- Support
- support@creatorkit.mashyo.com
Teaching with SHARA, answered
Can my students see what I draw in Zoom, Teams or Google Meet?
Is SHARA really free for teachers?
Does SHARA collect data about me or my students?
Can I use SHARA as a whiteboard?
Can I use it in a classroom on a projector?
Try it in your next lesson, free
Install it now, share your entire screen, and point at the first diagram with the Laser. No account, no subscription, nothing sent online.
Mashyo makes SHARA. Lesson moments describe common teaching situations, not measured results.