Tag: whiteboard

Teaching Tools

Google Jamboard

Terri Eichholz

UPDATE 10/27/2020: For a curated list of Jamboard Templates and Ideas, visit this Wakelet (contains a list of Jamboards you can copy and use right away!)

When I first started reading comments on social media about using Google Jamboard, I immediately, well, Googled it. The first result took me to a site selling a physical interactive whiteboard, which confused me as most people seemed to be using the tool from their homes. Then I realized that while there is a physical board by that name, it is designed to be used with the online tool – also called Jamboard. Happily, the online tool can be used with any device (you can even download an app for it for mobile devices).

Jamboard is similar to Padlet, where multiple contributors can add text, drawings, and images to one whiteboard on the screen. However, Jamboard is completely free, while Padlet is limited to 3 “padlets” before you have to choose a paid version. If your district uses G-Suite tools, including Google Meet, Jamboard is worth using (check to make sure it has been turned on by your district administrator).

As I’ve been working on some curriculum that includes interactive Slides, I was interested in Jamboard because it is another Google tool, and that it allows for drawing. There is not an easy way to add drawings to Slides, (though it can be done, just not directly on the Slides), so I could see how a teacher may use a Jamboard instead of a Slides presentation for student contributions. You can also add Jams to Google Classroom. One feature missing from Jamboard, though, is being able to access a revision history – which you can do in Slides. If your students decide to have a little unsanctioned fun on the Jamboard, that can make it difficult to identify the culprit.

If you decide that Jamboard might be a good fit for your situation, there are plenty of ideas out there for using it with your students. Here are a few resources:

Stop and Sketch Template for Google Jamboard by Kris Szajner

Education, K-12

#whiteboardwisdom

Terri Eichholz

It started with a picture and a hashtag.  The picture showed a classroom whiteboard with an inspirational quote written decoratively on it.  The hashtag was #whiteboardwisdom. Since I love alliteration, quotes, and anything that might make me wiser, I searched the hashtag on Twitter.  Of course, that delivered many more motivational messages, and I resolved to see if any of my students would like to be in charge of providing a weekly #whiteboardwisdom.  That seemed kind of humdrum, though, so I did a Google search for #whiteboardwisdom in the classroom.  And that’s how I ended up here, a Pinterest rabbit hole of teacher and student creativity that I never even knew existed.

 

Many of the pins that I saw seemed to be inspired by a teacher named Brittney Briggs, who is incredibly creative and artistic from what I can see.  The common thread among all of the images in this Pinterest smorgasbord was that they invited student interaction instead of merely giving them something to think about.  Sometimes the students respond directly on the board, and other times the teachers offer sticky notes for responses.  Although I certainly can’t do justice to all of the great ideas out there, here is a sampling I chose to demonstrate this fun concept:

  • Monday Made It – What is the Coolest Thing You Have Ever Made?

    mondaymadeit.jpg
    image from teach_happy on Instagram

     

  • Tell Us Something Tuesday – One Thing That Most People Don’t Know About You?

    tellittuesday.jpg
    image from mrs.litz on Instagram
  • What Will You Create Wednesday – Find a Doodle and Turn it into a Masterpiece!

    whatwillyoucreate.jpg
    image from lovin7th on Instagram

     

  • Theme Song Thursday – What Should Be Our Class Theme Song?

    themesong.jpg

  • Finding Dory Friday – What is Something You Lose or Forget to Do Often?findingdoryfriday