In this video I'm going to show you two new updates to Google Jamboard
that make it just a little bit more functional for you to use with your students
and I'll also address some of the most common questions that have been coming up about how
to use Google Jamboard. So I'm going to show you how to do things like bring an image in
so that both you and your students could write on top of it, I'll show you how to make a copy of a
Google Jamboard through Google Classroom, and I'll also talk about some of the issues such as whether
or not there's a revision history and how you can determine which student has written on the board.
My name is Sam Kary and this is my YouTube channel for The New EdTech
Classroom. One thing I do want to make clear before we get started here is that
this video is about the web-based version of Google Jamboard. The reason I mention this is
because there's also a physical product called a Google Jamboard and that's really like a smart
board and this web-based version has some of the features of that physical smart board but it's
also different. And then there's also an iOS and Android version of Google Jamboard. The app version
also has some different functionality, so I do plan to make a video about that in the future as well.
All right let's get started here by looking at the updates that were recently released for Jamboard
and then I'll also address some of the questions that have come up and show you some additional
tips and tricks for how to use it. So to get to that web-based version you're going to want to
go to jamboard.google.com. You can also access Jamboard from your Google apps on the top right
hand side of the screen if you're on a google page. And now that we're in, just a reminder that I
do have another video all about Google Jamboard, so if you want to know all the ins and outs of how to
use it, I recommend that you check that other video out first and then come back and watch this one
which shows you some of the updates as well as answers some of the nuanced questions about
how to use it. So first I'll go down here to the orange 'Add' button and just create a new Jamboard.
You'll notice that the tools that were previously available are still there, so you still have a
pen tool, an eraser tool, a select tool, a sticky note tool, and an image tool. You'll also notice
that below are two new tools. The first is a shapes tool and the next one is a text box tool.
The shapes tool will just allow you to bring some of these different shapes into Jamboard. So to
bring one in, just click on it, and then drag where you want that shape to go, and then you can resize
it and rearrange it. You'll also see up at the top here that you can add a different backfill color
to the shape and you can also change the color of the outline of the shape as well. So these shapes
might be a way that you could set up a custom graphic organizer directly here on Jamboard. But
probably the most useful change is the addition of this text box tool. So if you were concerned about
just using the digital pen and not really being able to type unless you typed onto a sticky note
now you can use that text box to add text wherever you want to go. So to use it simply click it and
then select where on the board you want the text to go, start typing, and then you can resize the box,
drag it around wherever you want it to go, and then by clicking on the drop down menu you can also
change the overall size, you can change the color, and you can change the alignment of the text as
well. So for most situations it's now probably going to make the most sense to show students
how to use this text box tool instead of using the digital pen. I have had a lot of questions come up
about using a stylus as the digital pen, and you can definitely use a stylus with the iOS
or Android version of Jamboard and that's actually a really good option with even more features than
this version, so if you have access to styluses and tablets and even smartphones, you might want
to check out the app version. Now another question that's come up a lot is whether or not you can
bring a custom image into the background and then have students write directly on top of it.
You'll notice that it doesn't have an option to bring an image in as the background, which
is unfortunate. You can still bring an image in but it's just going to require a couple of extra steps.
So I'm going to go over here to Google Slides. And what I did on this Google Slide was just make a
quick graphic organizer by inserting a two row, two column table and then resizing it. So to bring
this into Jamboard, I'm just going to go up here to 'File,' 'Download,' and then I'm going to download this
Google Slide as an image. Then what I'll do is go back to Google Jamboard and I'll select 'Image' and
then find that image on my computer. You'll notice that the image comes in kind of small so in order
to make it fit on the background, you're going to have to drag the corners to make it stretch and
look like it's basically taking up the entire Jamboard. And you can do things like add another
text box here to add a label on top and then I'm going to hit the blue 'Share' button to get the link
that I can share with my students. Notice how right now I have it set up so that anyone with the link
can edit this document. This way I don't have to enter student emails, but sharing it this way also
comes with a downside that I'll show you in a second. So now we're looking at a split screen
with the teacher view and the student view. And now the student would be able to fill out the
graphic organizer, so they could do something like add a sticky note here. Another question
that's come up a lot is whether or not there's a revision history and how you can figure out which
student wrote on the board. Unfortunately Google hasn't really solved either of those issues yet.
There's still no revision history and the only way to see what a student has written or done on the
Jamboard is by tracking the little icon that pops up immediately when they write on the board. And
remember how I also said that there's a downside to creating a shareable link so that anyone on the
internet can edit? If you do that, when students sign in, they'll just have this anonymous animal
icon affiliated with their account. So in this case it would be pretty much impossible to know who had
written on the board. If you want students initials to show up, you'll have to change the share setting
so that only people with specific email domains can access that Jamboard. That will help a little
bit by allowing you to see which students are in Jamboard and then you can also see really quickly
when they're writing on the board, but after they've written on it and posted,
it's still going to be impossible for you to tell who put up that post. And another thing to consider
is that once students are added as editors, if they were to choose the select tool and then select the
image that you had just added to Jamboard as the background, they would still be able to select it
and delete it. So it's not like that image is completely fixed to the background. If you want
another free digital whiteboard program where you can fix the image to the background and where you
have significantly greater control, then you might want to check out another program like
Whiteboard.fi and I will be making a tutorial about that program as well. One quick thing to
note though is that that's a personal whiteboard program as opposed to a collaborative one like
Jamboard. One question that's also come up is whether or not you're able to make a copy of your
Jamboard in the same way you would a Google doc or a Google slide. The answer is yes you can and
to do that just go up to the three dot drop down menu and select 'Make a Copy.' There you can choose
where you want the copy to go as well as whether or not you want to keep the same share settings.
And the last thing I want to show you here is how you can also use Google Classroom to make a copy
of a Jamboard for all of your students. So I'm here in the assignment editor and let's say that
I made a template in Google Jamboard that I want to push out to each of my students and I just want
them to be able to edit it and I want to be able to do things like jump in and give them feedback.
I'll go down here to attach a file, find that Jamboard in my Google Drive, click 'Insert,'
and then select to make a copy for students. Just like if you did this with a Google Doc
or Google Slides, now a student will have their own personal copy of the Jamboard that they can
write on. So this could be a good option for doing something like setting up an interactive notebook.
So with these updates, Google Jamboard is a little bit more functional as an educational tool,
but of course it still has some limitations as well. Some good news is that Google Meet and
Google Jamboard are soon going to have a direct integration, so when Google releases that update,
I'll be sure to make a video about that as well. In the meantime, if you have any other
ideas, tips, or strategies for using Google Jamboard or if you still have some questions about how to
use it, go ahead and put those in the comments below. Thank you so much for watching my video
to the end. If you found the tips that I shared helpful, please share it with other teachers that
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Thanks so much and have a great week!