Jamboard is a Google tool that allows users to creatively organize, format, and present information through text, images, shapes, and drawings. As of 2020, there are 1.8 billion global active Google accounts, all of which have access to Jamboard (Petrov, 2021). Jamboard falls under the category of virtual whiteboards – allowing users to write, draw, and erase like a traditional whiteboard, but also it features added digital functions (e.g., importing from Google Search, Google Drive, or Google Photos). Users can collaborate on the same Jamboard slide from separate devices, making this a community-centered tool. Up to 50 separate Google accounts can be added as collaborators on a single jam. A link to the jam can also be made public, which allows anyone with Internet access to view or edit it. Jamboard can enhance classroom participation by allowing students to visually portray their learning and thinking. This also helps teachers gain knowledge on what their students are comprehending in real-time. It is a great tool for collaboration in in-person, online, synchronous, and asynchronous settings. 

• Students can creatively express themselves within each jam using the features that the app provides.
• Students can utilize the different tools, styles, and formats to create original works or remix digital resources into new designs.
• Students can import images with ease from a Google image search, allowing access to a global domain of images.
  
  

• Students can curate and annotate the work of others or revise their own work.
• Students can make creative displays, artifacts, or presentations to show their learning and comprehension.
  
  

• Students from around the world can collaborate on the same jam.
• Students can share their work with others and learn from the work of their peers, experts, or community members.
• Students can connect with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures while presenting their creations.

English/Language Arts

Using the sticky note feature, students can write their thoughts on a sticky note and drag it to the appropriate section of the jam. For example, if the class is reading a short story or novel together, the teacher could create three columns: text to self, text to text, and text to world. This allows the teacher and students to examine each other’s ideas and reflect on them collaboratively.

Math

One feature of Jamboard is the ability to change the background to graph paper style. This digital graph paper is an excellent resource to use for math activities. Combining the graph paper with the shape tool, students have the ability to explore all sorts of perimeter and area exercises. For example, students could drag a rectangle onto the graph paper and color in the squares to calculate area. They could also use the sticky note function to label specific side lengths or sections of the shape. 

Science 

At the start of a science lesson, Jamboard can be used as a Driving Question Board for students. After being introduced to a phenomenon, students could write questions they have about the topic and build off of each other’s questions. Additionally, as the lesson progresses, students could return to the Jamboard to write answers to their questions and see what they have learned.

History 

Students can use Jamboard to gather information about historical events and create a timeline on or across frames. Students can work together to include a variety of images and text boxes that highlight information about specific historical events on each frame in order to create a complete timeline of events that can be shared with the class.

Art

Students can express their individuality in Jamboard. They can use their creativity when designing the board, including managing the settings for which tools they want to draw with (pen, marker, highlighter, brush), choosing which colors to include on the jam (black, blue, green, white, orange, or red), and adding unique details, such as text, images, sticky notes, and shapes. This is art!

Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model offers a lens for examining how technology is adopted in a classroom. As you strive to incorporate online tools into your classroom, we encourage you to use this model as an analytic tool. Here is an example of how Jamboard fits within the SAMR model:

• Substitution: Students use Jamboard as a traditional whiteboard while drawing and erasing digitally instead of working with pen and paper. 

• Augmentation: Students have access to the functions of a traditional whiteboard while also having added digital functions, such as the ability to instantly add images directly from the Internet.

• Modification: Students can curate and design multimodal jams that save automatically and can be accessed at a later date from any device, allowing students to reflect upon their thinking and continue building their knowledge anytime from anywhere. 

• Redefinition: Students from around the globe can view and edit other students’ Jamboards while collaborating, commenting, and learning from each other. 

• Become a Jamboard Pro

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