Google Meet has been a useful resource for educators as more teaching takes place from home and in a hybrid environment. Now that it’s being used to conduct the day-to-day business of delivering classes and staying connected with coworkers, Google is rolling out new features to make your Meets even more interactive. 

Google Jamboard is Google’s whiteboard application that up until now had to be shared with students manually. Now, however, a teacher can simply start a meeting and choose to integrate a Jamboard, which means live access to an easy-to-use whiteboard that will be shared with all meeting participants. Participants can review notes, answer questions, and collaborate on all sorts of tasks using this great whiteboard feature.   

Let’s take a look at how it works and the steps for setting it up

Start your Google Meet just like you normally do — nothing fancy required. Once your meeting has started, click on the three-dot menu in the bottom right-hand corner and locate the option for whiteboard and open a jam. You can either create a brand new Jamboard, or open one you’ve already set up.   

Next, you will need to choose how you want the people in the meeting to interact with the Jamboard. You can either give them editing access or view only access depending on if you want them to just follow along with what you’re doing or if you want them to be able to collaborate. Keep in mind that you can change the editing access at any time by clicking on the blue share button and changing the settings from there.    

If you are new to Jamboard, we have courses on our OTIS for educators platform to learn more about how you can use this whiteboard tool with your students. And stay turned for more exciting new features coming to Google Meet!

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For more tips, tricks, and tools for teaching in and out of the classroom check out more articles on our blog.

We also offer virtual professional development, training, and remote learning support for educators with OTIS for educators. Explore the technology, tools, and strategies that can spark student success — no matter where teaching or learning are happening.

Teq is an experienced Google for Education Partner. If your school is purchasing G Suite Enterprise for Education or Chromebooks, you may be eligible to receive free PD from Teq as part of the Google Service Offer program.