Google Jamboard

Jamboard is an excellent virtual collaborative whiteboard.  It is part of the Google Suite and there are IOS and Android apps too.  On the whiteboard, the user can type, add images, paste sticky notes, and use a pen tool which is especially great on tablets.  The interface is simple and intuitive.  A single Jamboard can be made up of multiple whiteboards so organization of content is simple.  The user can share a Jamboard with others via a shareable link. For teachers who are currently teaching online or in a hybrid model, Jamboard is a great tool for doing a virtual gallery walk.  A gallery walk is an active learning technique in which students move around the room to examine, reflect on, or respond to questions about student work or resources that are posted around the room.  A teacher might use this strategy to give students the opportunity to see the work of their peers, for example.  Or, to interact with different works of art, readings, or other resources.  In order to do a virtual gallery walk, a teacher might set up a Jamboard with different passages from a text, for example, and prompts.  Students use the sticky note feature to add their responses.  A teacher might also use Jamboard to showcase student work.  For example, if students have drawn a scene from the text or created a cartoon, the teacher can add each student’s work to an individual slide in the Jamboard and then ask the class to look at each slide and offer affirmations or feedback via a sticky note. 

One thing that is worth noting, Google also has a physical digital whiteboard called a Jamboard that the software supports.  So, if you’re looking up additional information online and come across this, know that you do not have to invest in the hardware to use the Jamboard online application.  

To get started:  go to http://jamboard.google.com

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