Collaborative whiteboards

How to collaborate with students in the same space in realtime

Andrew Rice, 5 April 2020

Collaborative whiteboard

In addition to screen-sharing options you might like to consider a collaborative whiteboard which you and your students can write on (and see changes from others) simultaneously. No special software is needed for this - you and your students go to a webpage which dynamically updates as it is 'drawn' upon.

There are options available from Microsoft (Whiteboard) and Google (Jamboard). The Microsoft version seems to be unreliable sometimes so I would advise experimenting beforehand.

Google JamBoard

  1. Go to jamboard.google.com.
  2. Ensure you are signed in with your @cam account rather than a personal account (click the icon in the top right corner of the screen).
  3. Click the '+' sign in the bottom right hand corner to create a new Jam (this is a whiteboard).
    Screen grab of Google Jamboard showing the plus icon to create a new Jam
  4. Rename the new Jam by clicking the name 'Untitled Jam' in the top right corner. A dialog box should appear.
    Screen grab of Google Jamboard showing the area in which to change the name of a Jam
  5. You can draw on the board using the tools on the left hand side. The icon in the top at the centre with left and right arrows lets you move between different pages.
    Screen grab of Google Jamboard showing the board's toolbars and navigation
  6. Click 'Share' (blue box top right).
    Screen grab of Google Jamboard showing the 'share' button
  7. A sharing settings box will open. Look for a 'Change...' link.
    Screen grab showing Google Jamboard sharing settings
  8. I prefer to use 'Anyone with the link' rather than 'Anyone at University of Cambridge with the link'. If you choose the latter then your students will need to log in with their @cam accounts before they can open it.
    Screen grab showing the sharing settings, highlighting the option 'Anyone with the link'
  9. Decide between 'can view' (they can only see what you are doing) and 'can edit' (they can contribute too).
    Screen grab of the sharing setting's different permissions
  10. Click 'Save' and the link to share should be copied and pasted and sent to your students.