Jamboards
Jamboard is my Jam!
Have you been struggling to engage students through the computer screen?
Girl (or guy), same!
This year I was asked to teach second grade virtually and it has been an interesting challenge. The first half of the year I basically just focused on figuring out Zoom and how to get my students to log in to the Google Classroom. I dabbled about in Google Jamboard.
If you aren’t familiar with Google Jamboard, it is a virtual whiteboard that students can collaborate on together in real time, similar to Google Docs and Google Slides. You do need a free Google account in order to use them .
I tried to do a few cool things on Google Jamboard, but unfortunately my students kept accidentally deleting parts of my work no matter how many times I told them to be careful. There wasn’t a way to lock certain features, and second graders aren’t always the greatest listeners.
Then over Christmas break, Google gave us the greatest Christmas gift imaginable: the ability to add a photo as your Jamboard background! This feature was a game changer. Uploading my own background meant that students could no longer move or delete anything I didn’t want them to be able to! Since then, Jamboard has been my students’ and my favorite tool to use during lessons, small group work, and independent work.
Here is an example of work one of my second graders did independently. I made this template and uploaded it as the background. Then I wrote these words on sticky notes and she sorted them into the correct categories.
#1 Multiple Ways to Share
There is more than one way to get your Jamboard to your students.
If you have a Google Classroom, you can post your Jamboard as an assignment or a material.
If you click the share button in the top right corner of the page you can type in the Google account names of the people you want to send your Jamboard too and then click share again.
If you click the share button in the top right corner, you can copy a link that you can email out to your students. Once they click the link they will be taken to your Jamboard.
#2 Give the Correct Editing Access
This might sound obvious to my friends who are G Suite veterans, but I still mess this up all the time! Before you send out your Jamboard, decide what you want your students to be able to do with the board.
I want my students to be able to see the Jamboard but not manipulate it.
Easy! Once you hit share, but before you copy your link or send the invite to your Google friends, make sure the sharing settings are set to “viewing” and not “editing”.
I want my students to be able to manipulate the Jamboard.
Easy! Once you hit share, but before you copy your link or send the invite to your Google friends, make sure the sharing settings are set to “editing” and not “viewing”.
#3 Make Google Classroom do the Work for you!
I already mentioned that if you have Google Classroom you can post the Jamboard for students to access there. Another amazing feature of Google Classroom that I have loved this year is the “make a copy” function. When you assign your Jamboard as an assignment, you have the option to allow students to view or edit, just like when sending out the link. Your third option here is “make a copy for each student”, which will do exactly what it sounds like. Now, when your students click on the Jamboard, they will be taken to their own copy of the Jamboard, where they can manipulate the board on their own and not interfere with the work of their classmates. This is how I assigned the “Ways to say ed” Jamboard I showed earlier.
#4 All Work and no Play Makes Jamboard a Dull Tool!
Not really, but kids are kids! Sometimes they just need a moment to play! Although I have used Jamboard to make many educational activities and games, sometimes kids just need to play a good old-fashioned fun game. This was hard to accomplish virtually before I discovered Jamboard. Since then, we have played board games, checkers, bingo, tic-tac-toe, and more! If you are looking for some fun games you can personalize for educational practices or just play for fun with your class click here. You can also find the games and templates mentioned above bundled here!
I hope you found this article helpful. Please consider following us for even more tips and tricks!
Good luck jamming!
