Increasing engagement in online classes can be a challenge. Jamboard by Google has been an easy way to incorporate team work during live learning sessions. The Jamboard app can be found in the Google Apps menu.
It is an interactive whiteboard that is perfect for online collaboration with students. The Jamboard service allows you to do so many things! You can add sticky notes, pictures, and textboxes. Plus it has a laser pointer, a pen, and a highlighter with multiple colors!
I use Jamboard for education during my live learning sessions. It was first introduced to me last year, during our first experience with distance learning. At the time, I felt overwhelmed by everything and didn’t take the time to learn it. And that’s okay!
However, when I heard that we would be continuing to teach online, I knew I needed something good.
Overall, Jamboard is an online whiteboard. It has been the best tool for teaching math online. I use it to walk through problems, explain new concepts, etc. But the student aspect is the most exciting! I use it in conjunction with Zoom breakout rooms. You can use it with other platforms, but my school prefers Zoom.
When it is time for students to work with their teams, I drop the link in chat. When they open the link, they see this:
You can either preset the teams or do them on the fly. I typically create them in the moment because attendance tends to vary from session to session. For Zoom, the breakout rooms are numbered. Whatever breakout room number you are in, that is your team number!
Students put a J in chat when they have the Jamboard open and are good to go! Then I release them to do the activity.
My favorite feature of Jamboard is you can see where all students are within the slides. If you click the box that is on the top middle of the screen, it drops down to show all the slides. It will have the students’ icons above whatever slide they are on! This is a great tool to see how teams are progressing as well as to make sure no students are lost in the Jamboard. I’m a visual learner, so here is a link to my Instagram Highlights showing you this!
I hope you have enjoyed this overview of the Jamboard app! Let me know in the comments your favorite part about Jamboard!
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