Review by Amanda Bindel, Common Sense Education | Updated April 2019

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Jamboard

Name: Jamboard
Item: Jamboard
Rating: 4
Author: Amanda Bindel

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Versatile whiteboard app integrates with Google Suite

Subjects & skills

Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.

4–12

Great for:

Common Sense says (See details)

Teachers say (1 Review)

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5 images

Use Jamboard just like a whiteboard -- add images and text.

Collaborate by adding people to a Jamboard.

Add files from Google Drive into a Jamboard for presentations or collaboration.

Add sticky notes customizable with colors and text with a tap.

Short videos in the help section explain how to use Jamboard.

Pros: Students can pull files from Google Drive and collaborate within Jamboards.

Cons: Works more like slides with multiple pages rather than endless scrolling.

Bottom Line: Great addition to Google classrooms but can be used by anyone.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Use Jamboard as you would any whiteboard app. Teachers can demonstrate on the Jamboard whiteboards and share them with students for collaborative whole-class discussions. Students can work in groups using Jamboard, collaborating in real time with drawings, images, and text. Students can use Jamboard as a presentation tool, too. The flexibility of the app and the integration with Google Drive make Jamboard a tool that groups can use throughout a project -- from brainstorming and planning to presentation.

What Is It?

Google Jamboards are physical interactive whiteboards for front-of-the-class use, but the Jamboard app puts a whiteboard on any tablet in a student's hand. Students or teachers can create Jamboards, share them, and collaborate on them. For classes with the physical whiteboard, the creations could be broadcast onto the big Jamboard, but that's not necessary at all with the app. Jamboards can be saved as image files or PDFs. Rather than requiring endless scrolling, boards can have multiple pages, more like a slideshow.

Is It Good for Learning?

Since Jamboard can be used many ways, it can enhance learning in a variety of situations and in different content areas. It can be used for teacher-led lessons, collaborative class discussions, small group projects and presentations, and individual planning and organization. This versatility, along with the ease of integration into the Google platform, make this a tool that many Google educators will want to implement and students will enjoy using.

Rating Details

Overall Rating

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Intuitive design makes using Jamboard easy, and the options for collaboration make it fun.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Jamboard empowers students to share ideas and collaborate. Features are intuitive, saving and sharing is easy, and boards are automatically saved.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

It integrates easily with Google Drive, allowing students to add files to their Jamboard and save boards to Drive. The help section includes several quick videos demonstrating features.

Common Sense Reviewer

Amanda Bindel Classroom teacher

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Teacher Reviews

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Featured review by
Elisabeth T. , Classroom teacher

Classroom teacher

Archbishop Curley High School
Baltimore, United States

Great space for creative collaboration

The jamboard app can be applied to the traditional classroom setting as well. Jamboard will allow for student communication and collaboration to be easily accessible outside of the classroom thus freeing up time for deeper classroom discussions or activities. Jamboard can be used to foster in depth thinking and discussion about a topic in preparation for a greater classroom discussion, it can be used as a group project to present new information to the class, it can be used in a gallery walk in which ...

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