Introducing Jamboard

Jamboard in G Suite is Google’s collaborative whiteboard software. Originally made to use with Google’s physical interactive whiteboard, Jamboard software is a great tool for teachers looking for remote learning solutions that will allow students to work collaboratively in a space that is less structured than Google Docs or Slides.

A Jamboard virtual gallery walk

One great use for Jamboard is to create a virtual gallery walk. While the phrase gallery walk invokes visions of art museums and famous paintings, that is not necessarily what we’re talking about here. Gallery walks encourage students to look at and interact with each other’s work. In a classroom setting, that may have been by leaving projects on desks or hanging them up on the wall so that everyone can walk around and look at what their classmates created. In a remote learning context, the gallery walk has to be reimagined into a digital space. While there are plenty of options for sharing work, Google Jamboard has its advantages for an activity like this.

Let’s talk about the benefits of Jamboard

One of the biggest advantages to using Google Jamboard over other Google apps is the layout of the screen. Instead of having settings and tools take up whole sections of the top and side of your screen, when you create a Jamboard, most of the page is taken up by the board itself with only a small toolbar along the left side. This means fewer distractions and complications for everyone.

Another benefit of Jamboard is the ability to create multiple pages within one document. Because this whiteboard is digital, you don’t have to erase your page to keep writing. Instead, you can simply click the right arrow on the top of the screen and keep adding pages. So if you’re building a gallery where each student can post their work, you can set it up ahead of time by making enough pages and writing each student’s name on a page. That way the student can come into the document, find their name, and begin working right away.

Once the document is set up and student work is posted to the gallery, sticky notes add a second level of interaction. To set up, you can add a sticky note of your own, or you can leave instructions for students on the first page of the Jamboard. Then, students can go in and leave critiques, reactions, and praise about others’ work without having to make a comment or worry about making changes to what is in the document. This allows for everyone to get feedback on their work in a cleaner, more dynamic digital setting.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting our schools and learning, Teq is making all of our PD courses on OTIS for educators FREE to help schools and districts implement distance learning and online professional development.